The Westin St. John - Virgin Grand Villas

This island is paradise and this resort is as good as management can make that paradise! There are always remarks- someone didn't come fast enough to fix something - or someone did, but in the 12 years or so that we have been owners, it is the vacation spot that my kids adore (and they have been to many, many high quality and different places - in the US and outside).

The Westin ferry (from when one lands at the airport) is about $100 per peron, But it also includes unlimited r/ts all week to St. Thomas - and is door to door, with no concern about ever touching your luggage -- and a welcome drink and ride to your lodging awaiting you upon disembarkation.

We always have some minor issue with service, but we also love arriving to a great resort and great accommodations in one of the best islands in the world - with exceptional restaurants, people, beaches and natural wonders.

It is safe, well-maintained, beautiful and a haven and privileged respite from an otherwise beleaguered world (and, of course, it can be beleaguered by hurricanes, so when that happens - or you are there in the aftermath - happened to us once in 12 years - but, it certainly happens -- just have some patience! There will be some extra water and bugs! But everyone will also be working as hard as they can to make it right).

Our family of 6 are in the middle of our 2-week stay here at the beautiful Westin St. John! We are staying in a 3 bedroom bay vista unit (the ones without the private pool) and are absolutely loving this place! No-we are NOT owners here..we own over at the Westin Maui and traded in.

First of all let me tell you everybody here, from the check-in staff to the concierge and the restaurant staff has been extremely pleasant and helpful throughout our stay. Workout room is great and ..yes...we have used it! Our unit is relatively new and absolutely spotlless. We had a couple of loose fixtures in the bathroom and kitchen and when we called a maintenance person was at our door in moments. We have a beautiful view of the bay and have been enjoying the balmy "hurrricane season" weather out on each of our 3 balconies.

The beach and pool are fantastic! We spent our whole first day with the kids (ages 12,9,7 & 6) swimming between the 3 ocean trampolines and climbing the wall that floats in the center of their beautiful beach. We then headed over to the pool bar with some newly found friends and enjoyed a great lunch with reasonably priced kids meals ($9) and tasty tropical drinks.

The next day we boarded the "Bad Kitty" Catamaran that was nice to pick us up right here on the beach and motored off to the British Virgin Islands (Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke & Cooper Island) a "must do"!

We also were able to rent an SUV right here at the resort for a day and were able to take a beautiful drive up to Waterlemon Cay for some great sea turtle, starfish, and stingray sightings . On our return back to the Westin we stopped by at the Caneel Bay Resort (also a beautiful spot) enjoyed a lovely dinner (great fish & chips!) and the kids all got to jump off the end of their dock!! (watch out for boats!!) Exiting Caneel Bay we all got to see , pet & name the islands famous donkeys...don't know if the names will stick, but do know that wonderful memories of our stay here will!

We stayed in one of the "renovated" villas. The Westin ground are beautiful and the staff are very friendly and eager to help. When we arrived, the villa was FULL of mosquitos because the weather stripping on the french doors was gone. We had a private pool and hot tub which was nice, but were instructed to fill the hot tub daily because it leaked! The 3 drains were clogged on the patio deck and had standing water on the patio at all times - great for mosquitos. Decking around pool was broken in several places. Air conditioning was not working and we had to call for repairs. Internet connection cable was broken and we called for repairs. Internet, cell phones and tv did not work because of storms in area. We were able to get internet in villa 3 days later. The lock on our villa gate was broken 1 day after we arrived and we had to go back to the main lobby to get a repairman which was a 7 minute walk. Many of the light bulbs in the villa were burned out and we called to get them replaced. Bathroom tiles had recently been regrouted but had not been wiped off of tiles. A closet door had the pins missing from it's hinges and fell off when opened. Lovely island with stunning beaches but we won't be staying at The Westin.

Let me start out by saying that I've stayed at this location many times and fully understand that the level of service is several notches below what one would expect to receive at Westin in the states although one needs to remind themselves that they're on vacation and this is the Caribbean, so be a bit more patient and/or tolerant. The employees at the resort are friendly and the food is average and priced accordingly with the exception of the restaurant located above the main lobby where prices tend to be much more. Restaurants in town are your best bet and shuttles can take you directly there for $4.00 per person each way. I recently stayed in one of the new Vista 2bdrm Lofts which is a great setup and is wonderful for families with children since both bedrooms are separated by a large space in the loft area which has a table and computer desk. Both bedrooms are large with full baths and the master has a separate living area as well which also includes a foldout sofa and flat screen televsion. There are 4 flats screens throughout the unit. Closet space is plentiful in this unit although in the 3bdrm units, there is hardly any storage and the layout is poor in 2 of the 3 bdrms. I ended up moving into one of the 3bdrm units since the A/C wasn't working properly in my lofted unit and that was all that was available at the time. In regards to the new Vista Units, if I were an owner, I would be disappointed with the quality of the buildings both interior and exterior as it appears that construction was rushed to meet demand and problems with electrical, A/C fit and finish is very obvious throughout. From shower door handles coming off, floor tiles with grout lines that are so far off that it looks as though someone installed them with the lights out, floors in showers that weren't graded propery to allow water to flow towards drain etc etc. To think that some people are paying $50K or more plus yearly maint. fees for such shoddy work is just rediculous. I was able to rent this week from an owner for under $2000. That's right for under $2000 I ended up with a new Vista 2bdrm loft for approx what this owner is paying in maint fees alone. It just goes to show that timeshare is one of the worst investments and should one wish to visit this location, ebay often times is your best bet, especially when ones schedule is flexible. Best recommendation is to rent a car on St. Thomas and take ferry from Red Hook. Westin charges nearly $100 round trip for each passenger and its approx $50 roundtrip for the vehicle on the ferry and there's no charge for it's passengers. (GREAT DEAL) Also, rental cars are less on St. Thomas but be sure to rent a 4X4 as a standard car just doesn't prove wise on St. John. Lastly, I don't own at this location nor would I with the ability to easily rent from an owner from $200-300 per night for 2 to 3 bdrm and for $125 to $200 for a studio or 1 bdrm..(expect to pay slightly more during peak periods) I would be wary of many of these reviews as there's no doubt many if not most were written by owners at this resort.

Just returned from a two week stay at the Westin St. John and can't wait to return. This is absolutely one of the nicest resorts in the Caribbean. The island itself is stunning and offers one beautiful beach after another. For the very best in locally prepared food, visit Sheila's stand across from the ferry in Cruz Bay. She's there for lunch only and you don't want to miss her offerings. Zozo's is an excellent choice for your evening meal and won't disappoint.