Westin St John

All -

I know this is the BVI forum but the USVI forum does not seem to have the traffic. I have a month sabbatical from work that I am excited about - we are spending one week on a CAT. We are also looking at renting a Villa at the Westin St. John I was told they were updated recently. We are traveling down from Nov. 7th through Dec. 2nd. Does anyone know if the construction is still going on at the Westin - Coral Vistas? Any feedback regarding the Westin construction would be helpful.

I would rather spend the month on the Cat than a Westin Villa. Great if you have kids under 5 but otherwise, it is a mangrove w no beach. JMHO

I'd rather spend the time on a cat too But if you want to just have time on land, the Westin is nice. I don't know what villas they have, but we stayed in a 3 bedroom condo like unit and it was nice - friends have a time share there. But we didn't spend too much time at the resort. We rented a jeep and went to a different beach each most of the days we were there.

There is a beach at the Westin. Its man-made and that bay is home to many boats. The water quality (or lack of) makes the news from time to time.

I think the condo units Maytrix mentions are the "villas" I am fairly certain they are not feed-standing units.

St. John has villa rental options for all tastes and budgets. Is there something in particular drawing you to the Westin? It probably the most vanilla of STJ options. (no to knock it, I know people are huge fans)

We did swim at the beach there once. It's my understanding they have their own desalination plant and it pumps right back in there which is the only explanation I could see for the incredibly salty water - far more so then normal.

They do have a nice pool though and its easy enough to drive to other much better beaches.

The water issues are of the bacteria counts from the discharge of human waste in the bay, not from the desalination plant. We don't stay there so I am not super in tune to the reports but on a regular basis, I see people post (a different forum) about the findings as they are released.

We were there in May 2015, and the Villas were under renovation. We returned again in May 2016, and the Villas were completed. It's my understanding that the Gardenside/Poolside buildings were next on the renovation list. With that being said..... I'd flip-flop and do a week in the Villas and spend the rest of the time on a Cat.

My wife and I love STJ, and like mentioned above we tend to head towards private villas vice the resorts. Why... because that is what we like, and we realize many like the resort environment.

However, I think the Westin gets some unfair knocks over their “Beach”. I just looked at what they say on their website about the beach. “Our St. John beach hotel is situated along the shores of Great Cruz Bay, just steps from the Caribbean. Great Cruz Bay is a calm, tranquil bay with a pristinely landscaped white sand beach. Spend the day relaxing and taking in the view, or wade in the bay's smooth waters.” All of which is true. A very scenic man made beach just steps away from many of the rooms. BUT - I think the keyword in that sentence is - wade.

One just has to look at all the boats in Great Cruz Bay, and they will know it is not the place to swim. Neither is Cruz Bay, Frank Bay, or Coral Bay. Chocolate Hole is pushing it also. They are lovely bays and are also homes for many boats and/or ferry traffic. I am pretty sure that the only regulations about pumping waste water off boats is one of: Please be a good steward and dump while underway not in the harbor. As in any marina in the USA, even with dump laws, I personally do not swim in harbors/marinas.

There are some beautiful beaches and VERY few resorts on STJ - So it would be my recommendation to anyone if staying at the Westin get a car, taxi, or walk/hitch hike to STJ’s wonderful beaches. Then come back to the Westin, enjoy the pool, the view of boats, and WADE out to listen to the clanging of the sailboats with a rum punch in hand. Once again the "keyword" - Wade. You will not be in paradise, but you can see it from there.

Great Cruz Bay has liveaboards, but the much bigger problem is runoff from Guinea Ghut into Great Cruz Bay. There is water running much of the year, there is a dump at the top of the hill that leaches into the Ghut and septic tanks routinely overflow into the Ghut. When there is a heavy rain all of that washes into Great Cruz Bay.

Cheers, RickG