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Villas and Resorts

New Yorker criticizes Maho Bay room service

You can't make this stuff up.

A guest at the Maho Bay Camps blasted the eco-resort on Yelp. 

Vasyl F. of Rego Park, New York said, "This is the worst hotel I've ever stayed in."

The Queens borough resident said the description of Maho he read on Expedia.com did not meet his expectations.

"No ocean view rooms … and no mountain view … they charge even to lock your door … tents are 30 years old and leaking, and cracks in the floors are so wide that cockroaches and lizards are flooding the dwelling. Restaurant is extremely dirty and the food is all from cans and is made in China."

As for being an 'eco-resort," Vasyl said, "They just don't repair the hotel and don't clean the territory, besides all their furniture, tables, plates, glasses and many more things are made of cheap toxic plastic which is definitely not eco-friendly."

In rebuttal, anyone who knows anything about Maho Bay also knows that Vasyl's expectations were way off the mark.  But, he may not be alone, given what The Inquiring Iguana found when he slithered to Expedia's Maho entry.

For starters, Maho describes itself as a three star "Coral Bay hotel with a private beach."  Misleading, some could say. The Expedia description of Maho is also, shall we say, 'generous.'

Maho's 'amenities' are listed (see below), suggesting the rustic resort, with accommodations from $80/night, could compete with villas. (It's the Select Comfort mattress that really caught The Iguana's attention.)

AmenitiesThe Iguana understands how Expedia wants Maho to present itself in the best light.  But, he also wonders how a smart guy from Queens could make the assumption that he was staying a a luxury-like hotel when the Expedia site reservation screen offers "tent cottage."  That's a pretty good clue to what he's going to get.

  • Vasyl F.'s review of Maho Bay on Yelp is here.
  • Maho Bay on Expedia is here.

Stay in a villa for a week … Free!

Bluetang A free week at a Catered To … Vacation Homes villa will be awarded in December to a lucky entrant in a contest sponsored by The St. John Treasure Map and Guide.

To enter, people use the guide to complete a treasure hunt by visiting various advertisers business, naturally.  When they do that, and solve a riddle, they become eligible to win.  Catered To is one of five villa companies which advertise on the Map. There was a drawing and they 'won.'  They also get a free ad on the guide next year.

Hey, play your cards right – and that free week for four might be at Blue Tang (a Catered To-managed villa).

Hurricane video shot on a boat in Cruz Bay

Earl A couple of clips of Hurricane Earl's visit to St. John showed up on YouTube this morning. Thankfully, this is all old news.

Most were posted by "walshrmgmail," who, it appears, was on a boat in Cruz Bay harbor, shooting video as the storm began.

Grande opening for Grande Bay

GrandebayCalling itself Grande Bay Resort, the condominium project bordering Cruz Bay harbor announced it's formally open-for-business on Sept. 1.

In a news release, the resort said it is 
"Nestled in the Cruz bay Quarter … near everything to see and do on the island."

In a bit of a competitive shot, Grande Bay said it will provide "a distinct departure from the Caneel Bay Resort or Westin Resort St. John and we are sure once you stay with us, we'll be your new St. John Virgin island retreat."

The rate schedule shows a winter season rate  of $475/night for a one bedroom, or $3,325/week.  The two bedroom rate is $650/night, $4,550/week.  Cleaning charges are also added on, beginning at $100 for a one bedroom unit.

Arizona couple fawns all over Caneel

David and Carol Porter, aka The Roaming Boomers, are either just having a hell of a good time in retirement or very smart business people.  Probably both, to judge from their work-in-progress travel web site.

Caneel


The latest stop on a 25th wedding anniversary Caribbean tour (aka 'romantic' trip) was Caneel Bay Resort. Their video chronicle shows off beauty of the resort, includes a bit of original video featuring Carol, and a lot of stock photo shots from Caneel's promotional library.  A credit at the end of the video offers "Thanks to our Host: Caneel Bay Resort" which hints at, perhaps, the Porters' stay was a freebie, or partially comped, in exchange for the publicity.

The Porters' Web site makes clear that they are into high-end travel spots.  And it looks like they're developing it into a new business. (They sold a previous venture in Michigan and moved to Scottsdale.)

Kudos to the Porters.  They like to run their own business, they like to travel, they're putting the two together.

Whether there is a disclaimer that should have been included in their video, there is no denying … Caneel is gorgeous and we'd agree that it's, as the Porters said, "a place you should attempt to visit at least once in your life."

  • Watch the Roaming Boomer's video of Caneel here.

Why villa rates could go up

Let's touch 'the third rail' about the cost of renting a villa.

On the VINow forum, a person wanted to know if St. John villas charged an 'energy fee,' as she has paid at resorts in the Bahamas and Antigua.

Anita Davis, a long time VI resident, replied she was unaware of the practice generally.  "But, since our energy costs from 50-cents/kwh, it would be great if our visitors did not open doors and/or windows with air conditioning blasting or let water run unnecessarily."  To which, the Inquiring Iguana says 'Amen."

Toes in the Sand said, "We have never had a villa with a specific fee for energy usage. There is usually a provision in the contract for a fee if excessive energy or water usage occurs, but never a fee for normal usage. I would love to see a villa rate plan that allows credit for low utility and water usage."

Cruising Gal said she's found a villa that does have such fees,"The one we want to rent."  There is a $250 cleaning fee and a $19 per day energy surcharge.

Linda J passed along the news that Caneel Bay has a 10% charge which can be attributed to energy. (Can anyone confirm this?)  "Others, the Westin I believe, have a daily activities fee.  It all adds up to the same thing. (They) do not want to raise their published daily rates," she said.

How do you feel about villas trying to manage and monitor guests' water and energy use through quotas and charges for overage?

Caneel conspiracy on Yelp?

Over the weekend, The Inquiring Iguana was mousing around Yelp, the Web site that's a resource for reviews of US businesses. including hotels, and restaurants.

There was a blurb indicating a new review had been posted for Caneel Bay Resort. Unusual, since until recently only two had been written; one in December, the other in April.  Both were positive. Here's a screen shot.

 

Reviews

But the new review, not so good.


Larryl

When the Iguana clicked on it, there was no 'there' there.  No review.  Whatever Larry L said, well you'll never know.

Then Monday morning, The Iguana again tried to find the review.  No dice.  Larry L had been shut down by the Yelp police.
Closed

Anything suspicious going on here?  Probably not, although some have accused Yelp ad sales people of heavy-handed tactics, i.e. 'extortion'.  Conspiracy theorists might wonder that if Caneel was an advertiser on Yelp, negative reviews of the resort might be suppressed. 

But anyone who's spent a week, a weekend, or an afternoon at Caneel is certain to tell you the place is luxurious and magnificent.  You do get what you pay for.

And, most likely, Larry L IS a phony.

Thursday’s St. John headlines

Tropical
Wave Conditions Remain Present in the Virgin Islands

US Virgin Islands Launches
National TV Ad Campaign Looking For Visitors

Rare
Coral Sanctuary Discovered in US Virgin Islands

Caneel: Lttle
Known Tropical Get-A-Way

Generous
Donation Made to Virgin Islands National Park

Westin permit approved, on island time

At least three yeares ago, owners of the Westin Resort applied to renew a Coastal Zone Management permit for its beachfront 180-foot dock.  

The dock is used by the Westin's ferry, charter boats, sunset cruisers and other water activities.  Last week, the VI Senate's environmental committee voted OK and now it's up to the full Senate.

Just sayin', you gotta be patient in the islands.

The Virgin Islands Daily News report about the permit says the Westin also got approval to dredge sand from around the dock to bring the water depth to eight feet.  Does this mean the resort wants to bring in some larger boats, maybe host mega-yachts? More likely, that since the dock went in, sand has shifted and the depth has decreased.

BTW, the annual fee for the permit was $7,400. Now it's $28,000/year.

  • Read the Daily News story here.

Spirit strike barely a speed bump for villa rentals

A sample of three villa management companies on St. John indicates the pilots strike against Spirit Airlines has had little impact.  Only one company, Catered To, said one of its guests was unable to leave the island Saturday.

"Fortunately the villa that they rented did not have guests coming in for the next few days," said Tyler Anderson, the Catered To general manager. "The owner generously offered them the opportunity to stay at the house free of charge." Neither Vacation Vistas nor Seaview Homes said they had guests affected by the strike.

The Inquiring Iguana's analysis is that Spirit customers are not likely to be villa renters.  Spirit's made its reputation on cheap air fares.  There are cheaper ways to stay on the island than renting a home.

One family's vacation has, however, been wrecked, or at least delayed.  JJ Shaw posted at Virgin-Islands-On-Line that she's making new plans to after the strike canceled her flight.

"I hate we will not be able to make this trip…but at least I get to plan all over again..:)", she wrote. "I hate the disappointment on the kids faces not to mention my Mom is already here (She drove four hrs to come and go with us.). At least we are eventually gonna get there…I think."

News reports say the pilots and Spirit plan to resume negotiations Tuesday, but the airline has canceled flights through Wednesday.  The airline has only one daily flight to St. Thomas.