Good Morning, Good Morning! What is the first thing you think of when you think of owning a home on St. John? I’m guessing it has something to do with sweeping views of the sapphire sea and the breezes that go right along with it. Am I right? Ok, well the absolutely DARLING three bedroom, three bathroom home that would be perfect for a family is named Brisas Del Mar. Which literally translates from Spanish to English as sea breezes. Pair those notable breezes with an incredible view, a pool, a jacuzzi, a spacious open floor plan and spacious outdoor living spaces and you have yourself a beautiful little package of perfection in St. John home ownership.
Good Morning, Good Morning! I know we cover a ton of Real Estate here on News of St. John. But, this post is dedicated to those of you looking for your next vacation rental! WindSong Villa encapsulates the perfect escape for a family or group of friends. Four Primary Suites with exquisite private baths, mountain and ocean views, 6000 square feet of luxurious outdoor and interior living and entertaining areas combine to make this the perfect vacation destination for up to eight guests. Oh, and for the first time in twelve years, this home is ready to welcome guests AND they have very limited availability. So, if you like what you see here, act fast. This divine home will book up quickly!
Good Morning, Good Morning! How are we doing out there today? It is an absolutely gorgeous morning here on St. John with a light breeze and scattered sunshine peeking through the patches of clouds. Wish you were here? Well, today I’m going to tell you a bit about an absolutely stunning villa in a remote area of Coral Bay with sweeping views, solar power, a breathtaking pool area and a killer layout that is absolutely perfect for entertaining. And, as the owner of Alice by the Sea, you can spend less time wishing you were here. And more time just being here 🙂
Good Morning, Good Morning! You guys, I have an absolutely to die for family home to share with you today! Three bedrooms and three and a half baths surrounded by lush tropical landscaping, spanning outdoor living areas and views of Coral Harbor all within walking distance to some of Coral Bay’s best dining and shopping…Like what you’re reading so far? Well, then, let me tell you a bit more about Seabiscuit…
Good Morning, Good Morning! The St. John Carnival Village kicked off last night and, if you were there with us, you might be on the hunt for an extremely leisurely lunch today 🙂 Well, what about a breezy boat ride, delectable cocktails AND and incredible lunch next to the sea with beautiful views and a little retail therapy? Sound good? Alright! Well, Lovango Resort + Beach Club is making it easier for all of us to head out to the Cay for an exquisite lunch over the next few weeks with their new lunch shuttle from St. John.
Good Morning, Good Morning! If you have ever thought about ease of homeownership on St. John, look no further! There is an amazing three bedroom, three and a half bathroom villa at The Hills currently on the market. But this is no run of the mill opportunity. This exquisite home, situated on the mountaintop overlooking Cruz Bay, is more than your average turnkey move in. It is fully equipped with absolutely everything you need to start limin’ here on St. John. But, it also comes with on site management, built in rental income AND resort like amenities that will allow you to just kick back and relax while you are enjoying the beauty of your new HOME!
Good Morning, Good Morning! I had the opportunity this past weekend to take a walk through a captivating estate that is currently on the market with Tropical Properties. Now, I don’t always do actual walk throughs with these write ups, but I jumped at the chance to see the interior of a home that I see almost daily and have often pondered what grandeur might exist within the walls. Well, it did NOT disappoint and my breath was taken away from the moment I stepped through the ornate iron gate from the private parking lot into a pristine tropical oasis, only moments away from the heart of Cruz Bay.
If you have visited St. John in the past five years, you know exactly the expansive villa I am about to show you. And, trust me when I say, Casa Bella Luna is ALL that she appears to be.
Perched high atop a ridge above historic Cruz Bay stands a uniquely built 30,000 square foot estate with nine bedrooms, eleven and a half bathrooms, two kitchens, a pool with waterslide and fountain, a full gym, three laundry rooms, a multitude of outdoor and indoor living spaces, a nine car garage and two separate wings, one for sleeping and one for living. Casa Bella Luna offers the feeling of a remote and pristine paradise, just steps from the action of downtown.
This custom and meticulously built villa, rests behind beautiful, thirty foot tall native stone work walls and artistic iron gates on quaint and charming Frangiapani Lane to the south. But to the north and to the west, there is nothing but views of enchanting Caribbean Blues as far as the eye can see. Ascend the central staircase to the third floor of the home and from the rooftop deck, there, you will encounter panoramic views of the sea as to every horizon line.
Below, within the courtyards, pool area and open air walkways, tropical green foliage surrounds you, mimicking the feeling of being in the great outdoors, rather than within the walls of an astute Caribbean Villa.
Casa Bella Luna is somewhat divided into two wings and, because throughout my walk through this weekend, I got a little lost myself :), I want to give you the lay of the land for a moment. The pool area and the sprawling courtyard that surrounds it is located in the middle of the two buildings surrounded by that luscious tropical landscaping on the second level in the photo below.
The top two floors of the building to the left contain sleeping quarters, bathrooms and laundry rooms (YES. There are THREE on the property!). In the bottom left corner is the upper level of the two story caretakers’ quarters. A beautiful grassy lawn and solar field, which combines forces with WAPA to power the home by day, is just to the right. And, the upper right building contains a one bedroom “nanny suite” on the main level an immaculate kitchen, dining area and living area on the second level. And, on the top floor, a sun deck, and additional entertaining space. Got it? Ok.
Let’s take a closer look at each section, starting with the pool deck…
Yes, this incredibly inviting pool that sits center stage in this amazing gated compound has BOTH a waterslide and a waterfall! Oh, but that’s not all, the adjacent entertainment courtyard contains a sun deck with plenty of lounging space, a three seat wet bar, complete with wine chiller, a ping pong table and a beautiful table for eight with a built-in lazy Susan!
Adjacent to the “common” area, is a the most elegant and expansive “mother-in-law” suite I have ever laid eyes on. A thoughtfully laid out one bedroom apartment with a king size bed, kitchenette with a full sized stainless refrigerator, a full bathroom, large living area and private patio is the only sleeping quarter on the west wing, and the main floor, of Casa Bella Luna.
Up the open air stairwell from the pool area, you will find the main functional living space of the home. Outdoors, plenty of covered areas for lounging or dining await you…
And, indoors, an absolutely stunning open concept kitchen, dining area for ten and spacious living area reside. Every single room in this home fully utilizes the outdoor landscape with floor to ceiling windows. But, if you are in need of a bit of reprieve from the Caribbean sun, ALL of those windows have the ability to hide behind a system of shade blinds that are controllable with ease at the push of a button. Additionally, ALL of the interior spaces on the property are kept nice and cool with a powerful central air system. It was so refreshing to walk into each space for reprieve from the warm sunny day.
I want to, for a moment, make note of the gentle interior and exterior designs of this modern villa. The blues, the greys, the whites, the light colored wood…They are all accentuated with thoughtful textures, whether man made or natural. And throughout all of the interior spaces of the home, clean lines and unique modern lighting fixtures keep the neutral color scheme from being anything but dull!
Incredible lighting and thoughtful textures throughout this entire villa add to the allure
Up the stairs once again to the top level of the west wing….This place is where I would spend ALL of my time if I were lucky enough to be living at Casa Bella Luna. Sweeping panoramic views all the way from St. Croix to Jost van Dyke surround you whether you are inside or out. You are literally surrounded by light breezes and Caribbean Blues! An air conditioned interior living space is surrounded on all sides by spacious decking with a sun deck and wet bar at the west facing end.
Facing Cruz Bay from the wrap around, third level veranda
View of the third level sundeck with the indoor, glass enclosed living area behind it.
Third Floor Interior
I had to tear myself away from the incredible views on that top deck in order to complete the tour 🙂 Cruz Bay seemed so quiet and serene from that vantage point…But, there was so much more to see. So, we descended the stairwell to proceed to the east wing to take a peek at the majority of the sleeping accommodations. But not before taking another look at that dreamy pool!
Oh, and this place just has surprises around every single corner. For starters, there is a luggage elevator near the main entrance to save the owners or guests the trouble of lugging their bags up and down the sweeping staircases. Also, we peeked into the FULL GYM in the corridor between the pool area and the “sleeping” wing of Casa Bella Luna! And this is not just a workout room. This compact space comes complete with treadmills, weights, cross-fit equipment, floor to ceiling mirrors and a flat screen TV to pass the time while you burn the calories!
Once ascending the stairs to the first level of the east wing, my breath was taken away once again at the eloquently simple spaces. All whites, greys and neutral colors keep the tone, while photographs filled with the bright natural colors of our local landscape pop against the mellow backdrop. This place is an interior designer’s DREAM!
On the main level of this wing, you will find two queen suites and an amazing bunk room for the kiddos! Two beautiful, full sized bunk beds with an absolutely adorable custom staircase built in the middle just beckon the word “fun”…Even at bedtime!
Oh, and don’t even get me started on the eleven and a half bathrooms!!! Every single one of them is breathtaking, yet functional, and very different all while keeping with the same neutral color scheme. In all of the bathrooms, kitchens and laundry areas throughout Casa Bella Luna, I don’t believe I saw the same type of ornate tiling even once. And they were all uniquely GORGEOUS.
Queen Suite Bathroom
Once we reached the top level of the east wing, we entered the Master Suite. I could fit my entire existence into just this one area of the home. Thirty foot ceilings rise over the four poster king size bed with towering windows on all sides. And, the incredible textural accents of the wall behind the bed is just stunning!
The clean lines of the staircase lead up from the sleeping and sitting areas into an amazing office space with a view that would be quite distracting in my opinion 🙂
The ultimate “corner office”
Our energetic and informative tour guide, Katie Mink, the onsite caretaker and property manager, casually mentioned a his and hers bathroom. So, I’m thinking a double sink, right? Nope….There is an entire bathroom for her. And an entire bathroom for him. And a closet for each as well in this impressive master suite!
I’m going to call this one “hers” – Because there is a massive walk-in closet just to the left of the edge of the frame!
Let me circle back to Katie for a moment here. She works for an elite travel subscription company called Inspirata. Katie is hired by the company and manages the calendar, the maintenance, the grounds, the guests…ALL of it. Basically, as the owner of this home, you would simply let them know when you would like the house available to you and they book it for the rest of the year. Katie told us that Casa Bella Luna was booked solid outside of the current owner’s requests for occupancy. It is the only home on St. John managed by this service and the new owners can continue on with it, ensuring return on your investment in this luxurious home! (AND a super upbeat and knowledgeable property manager!)
I did find out a few other fun tidbits about this premier Cruz Bay property during our tour. First, it is the main hub for Love City Community Network’s island wide internet services. Meaning that the wireless network on site is completely monitored and maintained by professional IT’s in order to ensure fluid connectivity throughout St. John! Additionally, the solar field runs along with WAPA during daylight hours to cut down on the power costs but doesn’t run at night because there is currently no battery backup installed. However, there is a diesel generator on site that kicks on the instant that power goes down. Neither owners nor guests will even realize that an outage has happened if one occurs.
Solar field in the interior garden terrace. Caretakers quarters to the right.
I hope that all of you have enjoyed getting the inside scoop on this incredible Cruz Bay Estate. I know I have wondered at it for many years, wondering what the interior might be like. For me, this tour was absolutely riveting and I’m very grateful for Dan Boudreau with Tropical Propertiesfor inviting me to come and walk through this incredible estate!!! Oh, and speaking of Dan, he is the listing agent for Casa Bella Luna. Take a look at the full listing for more details and contact Dan today to see with your own eyes the absolute splendor that is Casa Bella Luna.
Good Morning, Good Morning! To all of you out there who have been on the hunt for your perfect piece of paradise here on St. John, this is the article for you! Three incredible properties in different shapes, sizes, locations and viewpoints are all ready for you to build your dream home! You just need to take a look below and choose your perfect view…And then build your perfect home!
Good Morning, Good Morning! I feel like last week we were focused on the BVI and the Kentucky Derby and, while the stories relate to St. John, the focus has been cast to other localities. So, today, let me bring you back HOME to Love City to take a close up look at this stunning seven bedroom, seven and one half bath waterfront property which includes a five bedroom pool villa paired with a two bedroom stone cottage set on the turquoise waters of Rendezvous Bay. Monte Bay Villa just hit the market last week and, if you are on the hunt for your dream home, you should act quickly…Because I don’t imagine it will stay there for long!
Good Morning, Good Morning! I do A LOT of Real Estate write ups. Probably at least two a month. And, while ALL of the homes are stunning and with their very own pieces of island charm, every once in a great while, I am sent the link to a home that literally takes my breath away and sends me into a dreamland. Whether you are in the market for a new home or not, you do not want to miss the opportunity to take an in-depth look at this breathtaking villa in Estate Catherineberg with expansive views from Cinnamon to Francis to the British Virgin Islands.
