Q: Is there anyone on site to call if there is a problem?
A: Yes! We use ‘St John Signature Villas and Condos’ as our property managers. They will meet you upon your arrival and will give you an orientation of Palm Breeze Villa as well as the Battery Hill compound. Sherrolyn and her team can help you with any issue you have including maintenance issues in the villa or the Battery Hill compound, laundry, cleaning, lost key, etc. They are locals as well as the best in the business – winners of the Tommy Star Award for hospitality.
Q: Is this villa listed anywhere else?
A: Yes! We list on Airbnb as well as VRBO. See below for the links to those listings. The nightly rates are the same as you will find on this website. However, you will save ~10% in fees by booking through this website as opposed to our listings on VRBO and Airbnb. We have the same policies and protections in place for you as we have on VRBO, but we certainly have no issue if you feel more comfortable booking through one of our other listings!
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/706444672800063615
Q: Do I need to bring beach towels?
A: No! We provide numerous beach towels as part of the villa along with a cooler and beach bags you can bring with you to the beach. There are also beach chairs and other beach accessories that you can freely use included as part of our Battery Hill complex.
Q: Am I going to have a problem with the walking up the hill to the villa?
A: If you’ve visited St John previously, you know the hills here are no joke and can be quite steep. Our villa is 120’ above sea level and does require approximately 5-10 minutes of walking, some of it on steep paved streets, to get to/from the center of Cruz Bay. Most guests don’t have an issue with it, but if you have bad knees/hips/etc, then this may not be the villa for you. Some of our guests have found they can get a very cheap taxi to/from town if they don’t want to hike back up. However, if you want the best views, we think the hike up the hill is more than worth it!
Q: Do I need ‘Reef-Safe’ sunscreen?
A: Yes! Reef-safe is the only sunscreen allowed on the US Virgin Islands. There has been a law in place since March of 2020 banning non-reef safe sunscreen from the US Virgin Islands. Our villa typically has a some reef-safe sunscreen left over from previous guests that you are free to use, but we recommend you bring your own to ensure you have what you need.
Q: Are the beds comfortable?
A: Yes! We actually have gotten this question several times. Our beds all have foam mattress toppers for extra comfort. We’ve never gotten any complaints about the beds being uncomfortable.
Q: How do I get to St John?
A: You cannot fly into St John, you can only get there by boat. When our family travels there, we’ll fly into St Thomas, take a shared taxi to red hook, then hop on a passenger ferry over to St John. It seems to be the most flexible, quickest, and easiest option. Then if you want to rent a car, you can do so locally on St John. However, there are many other ways to do this – please see link below:
https://www.vinow.com/stjohn/getting_there/
Q: Do you have any restaurant recommendations?
A: There is no shortage of good restaurants near our villa from very casual to upscale. It will all depend on what you like! In Cruz Bay, we always go back to The Beach Bar and St John Brewers Tap Room for casual dining and delicious food.
Q: Is there a reason why I should stay close to Cruz Bay versus somewhere else on St John?
A: It is all personal preference, but we think being close to Cruz Bay has numerous advantages over being elsewhere on St John. First, we enjoy being within walking distance of shops and a considerable selection of restaurants. It is very nice to be able to enjoy dinner out and not have to drive yourself home in the dark on St John’s adventurous roads...
It is also extraordinarily difficult to find parking anywhere in Cruz Bay at any time of day. If you’ve been here before, you know that! Our villa has dedicated parking which is extremely nice and ensures you won’t waste your day looking for non-existent parking in Cruz Bay should you be driving over from another part of the island.
Our family also makes a lot of use of the activities, which primarily are run out of Cruz Bay. We rent our car in Cruz Bay, we take boat charters out of Cruz Bay, we arrive/depart on the passenger ferry from Cruz Bay, snorkel/scuba diving trips are mostly done out of Cruz Bay, etc. It just makes your vacation a lot easier and more enjoyable to have those services at your fingertips.
You are also only a 10 minute drive to the Hawknest Beach and the start of all the world famous north shore beaches on St John, a closer drive than from just about anywhere else on the island.
In the end, our family finds that it is fun to go explore St John during the day and end up back in Cruz Bay for a relaxed evening.