Westin St. John [Master Thread]

[DanCali]

We just returned (thank god) great weather, great times, what would happen if we were at the WSJ this week? Would WSJ refund us?

I would not expect a refund. That is what travel insurance is for. We just returned from HRA and had travel insurance that covered flights and trip interruption... ~$100 for peace of mind was well worth it, even though it was unncecessary in hindsight.

I think the best Starwood can do for owners if you cancel a reservation on short notice due to a hurricane is to not restrict your Staroptions to use within 60 days. Not sure if they would even do that but I imagine they could if they wanted to...

 

[DeniseM]

You can buy TS travel insurance that will cover you for a whole year for $100 - a bargain in my opinion. See the stickies at the top of the Travel Board for more info.

 

[jerseygirl]

We just returned from HRA ....

Not to hijack this thread ... but please tell us if you had a good time (can report on another thread!).

 

[DavidnRobin]

Hurricane Earl

beating on the USVI

http://www.stjohnspice.com/stjohnspicecam.htm

looking at STJ ferry dock

 

[DavidnRobin]

http://www.stormcarib.com/goes.htm

 

[DavidnRobin]

http://www.stjohnspice.com/stjohnspicecam.htm

why late-Aug thru mid-Oct is considered low-low season - advise Trip Insurance.

 

[olivias dad]

No kidding huh?! We flew out on Friday, great weather all week, 3 days later all hell broke loose!

 

[DavidnRobin]

from News of St John:
http://barnako.typepad.com/news_of_st_john_usvi/

Westin says damage 'minimal'

An announcement from the Westin St. John says Earl was no big deal. The resort "experienced minimal damage to our outdoor areas and the property did not sustain any structural damage. The resort team is currently cleaning up landscaping debris. Our associates and customers are all safe."

While the Beach Cafe and pool will reopen Wednesday, and the Snorkels bar/restaurant will be back in operation Friday, the beach is closed "until the necessary water safety tests have been completed."

A report from Storm Carib states that the Westin dock is gone and boats on the beach... (so a mixed report - somewhat)
http://stormcarib.com/reports/current/stjohn.shtml

 

[Carolyn]

Here some video CNN ireports from a WSJ guest at WSJ

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-486893

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-486884

 

[DavidnRobin]

^^^^^ excellent find - looks like dock is mostly intact - but covering was blown off.

 

[DavidnRobin]

more photos and video from Bob Egan - it looks as if Bob and family were staying in the Bay Vista section
http://ireport.cnn.com/people/bobegan

 

[DavidnRobin]

TS Guston

Looks like high probability of hitting the USVI as a hurricane
http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at201009_5day.html#a_topad

still days away, but...

 

[DavidnRobin]

more Earl video around the Westin and Great Cruz Bay - I wonder if they will replace the water toys
http://iwitness.weather.com/_hurricane-Earl-600-august-30/video/1288166/148597.html
http://iwitness.weather.com/_Hurricane-Earl39s-effects/video/1286583/148597.html

 

[DavidnRobin]

WSJ Grounds - Hurricane Damage Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJPUdsbDc6Y&feature=related
quote... "It's going to be a long week folks"

this one is nuts - guess these guys haven't heard about flying debris
http://www.youtube.com/user/broker1970#p/u/5/NlRZeKzJmbo

 

[blackfly]

WSJ Week 16

Apologies for the cryptic message, but if you own a 3-bedroom pool villa at the WSJ, week 16, please send me a PM. Thank you.

 

[sb2313]

Ferry to St john

How is the ferry ride from St Thomas to St John as we were able to exchange into a week at Frenchman's cove with a 1 bedroom sbp and I was thinking about adding a few days on St John. Our concern is with possible motion sickness on the ride In case my wife becomes pregnant between now and next September when were going. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[DavidnRobin]

How is the ferry ride from St Thomas to St John as we were able to exchange into a week at Frenchman's cove with a 1 bedroom sbp and I was thinking about adding a few days on St John. Our concern is with possible motion sickness on the ride In case my wife becomes pregnant between now and next September when were going. Thanks in advance for the help!

The passenger ferry from RedHook to STJ is like 15 minutes... and the motion is pretty minor. Generally the seas are very calm. If there is any motion that may be a concern - focus on a one single spot on horizon and try not to allow the eyes to shift around.

I would say the the motion sickness due to driving in STT and STJ is much more of a concern - one of our vacation buddies is guaranteed to barf at least one time...

 

[DavidnRobin]

Anyone interested in summarizing the very long letter that we got from the new WSJ BOD directors - maybe we can share the effort?

If you haven't yet (or care to) - remember to send in your contact information for the WSJ VG Owners Directory. They must receive this in order to be included.

 

[jerseygirl]

I was very disturbed by the following statement at the bottom of page 6 / top of page 7:

When the use of a unit is denied to an owner who has not paid the required maintenance fee, the current practice is first to provide that week to the Starwood Vacation Network for use (through StarOptions) by St. John owners or other SVO owners by requesting exchanges ...



First of all, how does this help us recoup costs???

Second of all, I specifically asked (in writing) if this was the practice and received a response (in writing) that it was NOT how delinquencies/lock outs were being handled.

I'm in the process of contacting the BOD with copies of my prior communications to request a clarification.

I liked their thoughts about how to potentially handle this issue in the future, but I can't believe we're almost two full years into this delinquency situation and there does not appear to have been any efforts to actually recoup funds in the form of an organized rental program.

This doesn't just apply to WSJ - all Starwood owners should be appalled at this practice. Personally, I think it borders on conversion ...

 

[GeneNWendy]

Ferry from St Thomas to St John

How is the ferry ride from St Thomas to St John as we were able to exchange into a week at Frenchman's cove with a 1 bedroom sbp and I was thinking about adding a few days on St John. Our concern is with possible motion sickness on the ride In case my wife becomes pregnant between now and next September when were going. Thanks in advance for the help!

As Dave indicated, the passenger ferry from Red Hook to St. John is only about 15 minutes and minimal in motion. However, you may want to rent a car on St. Thomas and take it on the car ferry barge from Red hook. That has even less motion than the passenger only ferry. Also renting a car in St. Thomas is considerably less money than renting one on St. John The car ferry barge takes a little longer as it travels slower, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Here is a link to an article I wrote about renting a car in St. Thomas and taking it over to St. John.

http://stjohnvirgingrandvillaowners.com/blog/?p=43

 

[GeneNWendy]

I was very disturbed by the following statement at the bottom of page 6 / top of page 7:

When the use of a unit is denied to an owner who has not paid the required maintenance fee, the current practice is first to provide that week to the Starwood Vacation Network for use (through StarOptions) by St. John owners or other SVO owners by requesting exchanges ...



First of all, how does this help us recoup costs???

Second of all, I specifically asked (in writing) if this was the practice and received a response (in writing) that it was NOT how delinquencies/lock outs were being handled.

I'm in the process of contacting the BOD with copies of my prior communications to request a clarification.

I liked their thoughts about how to potentially handle this issue in the future, but I can't believe we're almost two full years into this delinquency situation and there does not appear to have been any efforts to actually recoup funds in the form of an organized rental program.

This doesn't just apply to WSJ - all Starwood owners should be appalled at this practice. Personally, I think it borders on conversion ...

I was disturbed by most of the newsletter. The indication seems to be that there was unanticipated damage to the roofs due to termites. I recently spoke to a construction expert who told me that termite damage in the cedar shank roofs is extremely unusual (this is probably why that type of roofing was used in the first place). Secondly, I've been on the island tour of St. John several times. On more than one occasion tour guides have pointed out the termite nests that you see throughout the island and have explained that they have plenty of natural habitat to feed off of and do little damage to homes and physical structures for that reason. Something doesn't add up. i'd love to see an independent engineering report justifyin gthe need for new roofs.

 

[mishpat]

which room type?

In the hotel WSJ, do you know which rooms have better views. Seems the lower priced garden view are 100 sq ft larger so I question whether the smaller views on the better rooms(makes no sense0 are worth seeking? In sum, were we to be upgraded, where do you recommend we try to stay?

 

[DavidnRobin]

I know nothing about the WSJ hotel rooms outside of what is written on things like TripAdvisor (not necessarily positive). There is a resort map that shows the hotel buildings.

If I were to upgrade - I would try and get into a villa.

 

[GeneNWendy]

I know nothing about the WSJ hotel rooms outside of what is written on things like TripAdvisor (not necessarily positive). There is a resort map that shows the hotel buildings.

If I were to upgrade - I would try and get into a villa.

I second that. I would further add that the Virgin Grand Villas are probably better than Bay Vista, since you can park a rental vehicle right outside your unit and have the use of the Villa Pool.

 

[Robin&Mark]

Anyone interested in summarizing the very long letter that we got from the new WSJ BOD directors - maybe we can share the effort?

If you haven't yet (or care to) - remember to send in your contact information for the WSJ VG Owners Directory. They must receive this in order to be included.

Thanks for including this, we thought we would automatically be added to the list as an owner. I will send our information so we do receive from now on.