Hi all, <br><br>We've been back for a couple of weeks, so I guess its time to repay all of those who helped us with advice. I'll make several posts over the next few days, but here is some info on the 2 villas we stayed in.<br><br>On STT we stayed at the Pineapple Villas on the grounds of the Renaissance Grand. We had a studio suite and really loved it!![Linked Image][Linked Image][Linked Image][Linked Image]. These units are extremely private, with a solid 8-9' wall surrounding the garden/patio area. This garden/patio is approximately 20' x 30' (guessing) and included a multitude of trees, tropical plants, a hammock, a bar-b-que, a patio table and chairs for 6, etc. Our particular unit even had a small outdoor laundry closet, which we were told we could use in the evenings. Being expert light packers that came in real handy. <br><br>The inside of the unit was immaculantly clean, very large for the 2 people it is intended to accommodate, and had everything we could think of--A/C; a kitchen that had more utensils and supplies than I could ever imagine using; a bathroom that worked in every way; a nice living room area with cable (satellite?) TV, a VCR, games, books; and a bedroom area with a king, I think. The wall that faces the patio/garden is about 75% glass. <br><br>Our unit is owned and managed by a nice lady named Gwen, and the housekeeper is James. We met them the first morning (which was nice), but then never really saw much of them after that (though Gwen was staying in one of the bedroom units attached to our suite). The combination of having lots of privacy and knowing she was right next door (over the 9' high wall) in case there was a problem was very comforting. <br><br>By staying in these villas, we also had access to the facilities of the whole Renaissance Grand resort. I would give this resort a grade of B-. It wasn't bad (and please understand that I had access only to the public areas, not the guest rooms), but some of its facilities are not as good as other resorts we visited. For example, the beach is fairly small, and had boats moored within 15-20 feet of the beach. We never went swimming there since there are so many better choices on the island. The pool is nice, and there is a small hottub.<br><br>The one real strong negative was the restaurant. We went for a Caribbean Buffet dinner that was supposed to include entertainment one night. The food was so-so, the entertainment was non-existant as of the time we finally gave up at 8:40 (it was supposed to start at 8:00) and the bill for 2 was something like $90, drinking only iced tea. A serious rip-off!!<br><br>I don't want to over-emphasize the bad at RG, it's just that there may be better choices, depending on one's budget (since we didn't officially stay there, I don't know what the rates are for real guests). We visited both the Sapphire Resort and the Marriott Frenchman's Reef Resort, and thought those were better--especially the Marriott. These could be in a completely different price category though.<br><br>Our second villa was on STJ. We stayed at the Cruz Bay Villas. Don't waste your money [Linked Image][Linked Image]. (Please don't confuse these with the Cruz Views Villas, which are next door and appeared to be quite nice. <br><br>Let me explain why I didn't like the Cruz Bay Villas. And please understand that our apartment was large and everything worked just fine. <br><br>The problem is that the management company and the on-site manager didn't seem to understand that people save up all year to go on a 1 or 2 week vacation, and they want to be treated with respect and feel like they are special. <br><br>There were no fewer than 9 signs posted throughout the apartment telling us (1) not to move the furniture (because they have 1000 pounds of plywood stacked behind it--probably for boarding up the windows in case of a hurricane) (2) not to let the toilet run (3) not to let the shower run (4) not to move the TV (5) not to move the TV cable box (6) not to use any water during a power outage (7) that it would be the guests responsibility to re-prime the water pump if they broke rule #6 ETC.ETC. ETC. <br><br>I understand that the island has water issues and that we were staying in someone else's home, but being hit in the face with a flouresent pink sign every time we turned around was just a little pushy for our tastes. <br><br>Also, the on-site manager (Garry) could not have cared less that we were the guests paying his salary. He would literally pass us on the way to our car and not respond when we said hello. One one occasion, he stood on a landing near the pool and stared at us for 30 seconds or so, then turned and walked away. Sort of creepy. <br><br>However, since it isn't on a beach, and the pool is more of a plunge-pool, we didn't spend much waking time there anyway. The bed was comfortable and the A/C rocked, so that was good. <br><br>That's it about these 2 places. Let me know if you have any questions that I failed to address here. <br><br>Mike