Advertorial
Grande Bay owners were recently asked what the best part of being an owner is. Here’s what they had to say.
David, Debra and Jennifer Fuss of Plymouth, Massachusetts:
“I find it difficult to answer this question when limited to ‘the best part’. There are multiple plateaus while reaching the ‘best part’ of ownership at Grande Bay.
The island of St. John has been our favorite getaway in all of the Caribbean. Warm beaches, slow pace and friendly people make the St. John experience stay with you long after you leave.
After spending many vacations on St. John, we knew what we wanted in vacation ownership – central location, beautiful views, island luxury and no worries. Grande Bay served up our needs and then some. From stepping off the dock with a warm Grande Bay welcome, to our own Jeep waiting at the resort, our worries are left far behind.
Grande Bay’s location close to town makes for a convenient stroll along the beach and to the local restaurants and shops. We love to indulge in the weekly hospitality get togethers. Having the Residensea available, the resort’s private boat, is a nice perk that is rarely found.
The staff at Grande Bay is unpretentious and makes you feel like family. I look forward to the personal emails and updates from the staff, most times with breathtaking pictures of the Grand Bay view, all year round.
‘The best part’….all of it.
The Sedias of Pipersville, Pennsylvania:
“My family has spent the last twenty years vacationing in St. John. It is literally paradise on earth. We always rented houses from various rental companies and decided to buy an ownership at Grande Bay. Since we have purchased our unit at Grande Bay, we feel even more inclined to think of St. John as our second home.
The staff are attentive to all your needs whether it’s getting you ice for the beach, setting up excursions, or just caring about you as a person, they are our second family.
The property is always immaculate. Our unit is beyond beautiful and it strategically located so that you can walk everywhere in town. This is one of the best decisions my husband and I have ever made. Until next October…”
Cheryl and Jesse Simon of Slidell, Louisiana:
“Where do I start?! Hmmmm…. It’s a toss-up.
Well, one of the best things is that we are not only ‘guests.’ We are have a name. We are ‘The Simons’ and better yet, ‘Jesse and Cheryl.’ The personal feeling of home that we both get when we are there is very comfortable and warm. We feel as though we are visiting not only the beautiful island of St. John but also our Grande Bay friends and neighbors. And because the resort is just the right size to accommodate their owners, we don’t get lost in the shuffle. (Questions, requests, special occasions are attended to sometimes even before we ask.)
In the running is also location, location, location! Who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by the local flavor of St. John? We didn’t want to spend our time on island solely in a resort that you ‘never have to leave.’ You can do that anywhere. When we bought St. John fractional ownership, we didn’t just choose any island, we chose St. John. So we wanted to be within walking distance of the shops, restaurants, beach bars, hiking, beaches and the ferry dock (for island hopping). At other resorts, we would have to drive and try to find one of the precious few parking spaces or take a cab there and back. With Grande Bay right there in Cruz Bay, it’s a five-minute minute walk, at the most, and we’re there. What more could we have wanted! When we want to go to more remote beaches, we hop in our Jeep (Grande Bay’s Jeep Club!) and go beach hopping.
There is also no better place on island for an amazing sunset. The balconies are west-facing at Grande Bay. We couldn’t be more happy with our choice. For us, it was an easy one!’
Want to get in on the action? Click here to learn more about Grande Bay’s home ownership options.
An islanders perspective: What price paid for the owners perspective? I am not talkin about how much $$$.. I am talking about the price paid in terms of the esthetic streetscape surrounding Cruz Bay?
Nice advertisement for Grande Bay by the way….
I understand that GB is a nice complex (regardless of some people’s perspective), and that they sponsor NOSJ. However, there is a Golden Rule for buying a Timeshare (Fractional by another name…) and that is to never buy from the Developer. >99% of the time this is a mistake on many levels – just ask any knowledgeable who has purchased directly from Starwood (e.g. Westin St John) or Marriott, etc… I strongly recommend that before paying the large purchase price and agreeing to the ever increasing annual fees – google ‘TUG timeshare’ for a group of timeshare owners that can give you excellent and diverse opinions.
Disclosure: I own 2 weeks at Westin St John and love it (as well as StJ) – but I bought resale for pennies on the dollar (although the annual fees still suck…) Best, DavidnRobin (TUG – WSJ thread on Starwood Forum)
Hi Dan,
Yes, this post is an advertisement for Grande Bay, which is why it’s marked an advertorial.
-Jenn
I am glad it is marked that…and I wanted to make sure that readers understood this by having you clearly state this as a response to my post.
As you are aware, this project, in my opinion and in the opinion of many on this island, decimated the overall look of Cruz Bay, not to mention what it did to abutting property owners like Lisa Trey. It also, in my opinion, the construction dust, noise and environmental pollutants put into the air…led to the premature death of Doris Jadan whose property was right o top of the site…
I restate again: What price paid for the owners perspective? I am not talking about how much $$$.. I am talking about the price paid in terms of the esthetic streetscape surrounding Cruz Bay?…..This in addition to the environmental impact that continues to this day.
Sure…it was built and “that is that” some say to me…but it does not make it right to have these types of out of control eyesores pop up all around St. John? No…
I have to put in my 2 cents worth too! I know nothing about Grande Bay other than I think it is an intrusive eye sore on the shores of Cruz Bay. Also, when we were there in December, I am going to estimate at least a dozen times that we were stopped in Wharfside when walking by their office to try to get us to come to a sales pitch. They offered dinners, etc, etc. I repeatedly told them, no thanks I don’t care for Grande Bay. Some of them followed us down the street, I am NOT kidding. I hate this kind of sales pitch and I hate that I have to put up with that in my favorite place in the world. The kicker was this one…we were at Motu one late afternoon and had been there for 2-3 hours when Grande Bay brought in a steel drum musician and hors d’oeuvres. We were sitting on the sofa relaxing and enjoying the music and my companions had a few of the hors d’oeuvres. Along comes a sales woman with an attitude. We told her we weren’t interested and she says to us “well, you ARE eating our food”. As I said, we had been there for 2-3 hours before they got there, actually we were unaware it was Grande Bay at first. HOW RUDE, we told the bartender and left immediately. On our last day, one of the guys who had already stopped us countless times actually stopped us IN THE PARK with his spiel. THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!