It was not much of a contest. Starfish Market and the Pine Peace Grocery were the clear favorites of almost 350 voters in last week’s survey. Frankly, this looks like a victory for Pine Peace, given Starfish’s greater visibility and its similarity to markets on the mainland.
Pine Peace is more crowded and its inventory more limited, but for the day to day stuff like cereal, snacks, beverages and staples, it’s fine and certainly beats Starfish on prices.
A surprise to me is the poor showing by Dolphin Market – could be the location, parking can be tough – and will only get more difficult with the roundabout construction. The owners’ decision to open a location on the South Shore road, at the new shopping strip across from the Westin, is a very good move.
St. John has been voted by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine as one of the top islands in the Caribbean/Atlantic region. While first place in the 20th annual Readers Choice Awards polling went to Bermuda. St. John placed second, ahead of St.Barthelemy. In last year’s survey, Bermuda and St. John were also at the top of the list, while third place went to the British Virgin Islands.
Hopefully, Conde Nast will someday freshen its Web site’s info on St. John. The island is lumped into a Virgin Islands section. Only one island restaurant is recommended, Skinny Legs. The only nightlife in town, according to CN, is at Duffy’s Love Shack – which isn’t there anymore – but the space is for lease.
The full awards report is in the magazine’s November issue, on newstands Oct. 25th.
The Dolphin Market in Cruz Bay is planning to open a second store along the south shore. With easy parking, it will be a convenient option for the timeshares of the Westin and dozens of rental villas at Great Cruz Bay, Chocolate Hole, Rendezvous and Fish Bay, and so on. The new Dolphin will be located in the retail shopping strip being built next to Guinea Gut apartments, across the road from the main entrance to the Westin.
This week’s poll about the best airline to fly to the islands produced a lopsided victory. Among six airlines serving the Territory, American was the choice of 41%. US Airways, Delta and Continental were distant competitors with less than 20% of the 300 votes. Spirit and (surprisingly – it’s a major!) United were deep at the back of the pack.
Reading the comments, choices didn’t seem about good service. None said they’d had some. Several told awful stories about being grounded 5-6 hours on a US Airways flight in Philadelphia or stranded overnight at the San Juan airport.
The bottom line advice: get a direct flight – tough to do if you don’t live on the east coast. "Because we live in northwest Arkansas, getting to St. John in less than three hops has been our biggest challenge," said Julsdd. "Travel from Seattle is a journey," added Angie. "We left on a Saturday night red-eye to Philly … with a nonstop to STT … and just barely made the 4 p.m. ferry on Sunday."
Food and a bottle of wine in the refrigerator, Internet access, and someone to drive them home from a night on the town are enough to get most St. John visitors’ vacations off to a good start, according to comments on the Web site over the past week.
In voting over the past week, several hundred people selected from a list of options and decided having the house stocked with food and drink was the best thing they could get (31%), close behind was Internet access (29%), and in third place, that ‘designated driver’ service (14%). See the poll results here.
Some respondents said there were other things that make their stay at a rental villa comfortable.
"That welcome basket (can be) great!," said Michelle Reen. A working washer and dryer are important, too.
Making the connection to get to the house is critical, pointed out Vince. He says villa rental companies should, "Make sure ‘greeters’ are carrying a cell phone. (We) have had instances where we got in a bit later and only get an answering machine (when we call the management company)."
Heather wants a practical introduction to her rental house, hoping for a walk-through of the property. "In the past three trips, we encountered a disconnected hot water heater, closed cistern valves resulting in no water, pumps in need of priming, a tripped circuit breaker, and a broken hot tub, all discovered after the agent left the house."
James Rogers said he requires "complete privacy. Last year, his girl friend was in the shower and the villa owner "got a free (although most assuredly not intentional) peep show as the shower had a huge curtain-less window in it!!"
There is one thing more, said Debbie. "A lime squeezer … to make those rum punches and other yummy drinks with fresh lime."
There are half a dozen ways to fly to St. Thomas from the mainland. Prices can vary, and so can your experience. Some airline trips are good, some you don’t want to remember. If you were asked which is best airline to fly to the island, what would say?
A national nonprofit conservation association announced it’s bought 419 acres on St. John’s South Shore. The land includes the quarter-mile long Maho Bay beach.
(Click on the photo at left for an aerial view of the land.)
The purchase by The Trust for Public Land does not include the Maho Bay Camps, but John Garrison, a field officer for the Trust, told the Virgin Islands Daily News preliminary discussions about a deal are underway.
The land has been purchased from the grandchildren of Harvey Monroe Marsh, who died in the 1960s. Since then, the Virgin Islands National Park, at least one private buyer, and the Trust have been trying to acquire the parcel. The Trust said it now owns seven of 11 shares while the Park owns three.
Each of the Marsh family heirs is retaining six acres and has the right to build two homes.
The Trust intends to give the land to the Park after it raises $35 million for this and other purchases. TPL said it will retain 18 acres, away from the beach, and sell the land for ‘limited development’ unless funds can be raised privately to help repay a loan covering the cost of the purchase. Information about the purchase and contributing can be found on the Trust’s Web site, TPL.org.
Three out of four visitors to St. John who participated in our latest poll said they do not offer a tip to the Greeters who meet them at the ferry dock and take them to their rental villas.
"By the time I get to St. John, I’ve already given every dime I have to US Airways," said Jesse in a comment on the survey. "We do not think a greeter should get tipped unless they go out of their way to accommodate you, such as stopping for groceries," added Joe P.
Even while a majority of people say they don’t tip Greeters, more than a dozen comments came from people who do.
Let’s face it. Virtually every villa you can rent has a drop-dead view. Most have pools or spas. Cool evening breezes are a dime a dozen. But what you REALLY want is a Plasma TV and Surround Sound, right? Or maybe something else.
In this week’s poll, tell it to the judges – the rental company managers. Choose any of the items below or spell out your own.
Got another suggestion? Click here to offer your two cents. We’ll deliver the results to the Villa folks. (Initial responses said Net access was important, to I’ve added that to the list.)
It was not much of a contest. Starfish Market and the Pine Peace Grocery were the clear favorites of almost 350 voters in last week’s survey. Frankly, this looks like a victory for Pine Peace, given Starfish’s greater visibility and its similarity to markets on the mainland. 
