St. John will once again take center stage on television screens across the world as House Hunters International debuts a new island episode tonight.
The crew from HGTV’s House Hunters International spent three days in Coral Bay last June filming an episode with Re/Max Island Paradise Realty’s Diana Beam. The show followed Florida couple Joe and Heather Kelley as they searched for the perfect vacation home for their family.
The show will feature three Coral Bay villas – Fun and Contentment, Spyglass and Starlite Escape. Many of you guessed back in June which home the Kelleys chose, but you’ll have to tune in tonight to know for sure.
Here are the three villas the Kelleys had to choose from:
Fun and Contentment:
Spyglass:
Starlite Escape:
So why did the Kelleys choose St. John?
“For us it was all about the pure island nature of St. John,” Joe said. “The focus on the natural aspects of the islands, hiking, the beaches, etc. and the focus on conservation were really key.”
This latest House Hunters episode was filmed during a pretty rainy week, according to the Kelleys, so it will be interesting to see how it’s edited.
“The weather was a serious factor and required us to improvise some of the scenes,” Joe said. “And filming the unloading of the truck with our furniture took a creative approach when the truck could not make it up the hill to the villa.”
Another interesting thing about the shoot, in our opinion, is that the episode was filmed several months after the Kelleys had already purchased their home. Ah, the magic of television. You gotta love it.
Here’s what HGTV wrote about the episode titled “There’s No Place Like a Vacation Home” on its website:
After asking their daughter Caila to move 5 times by age 11 for their corporate careers, Joe and Heather Kelley seek some semblance of stability for her in an island vacation home on St John, US Virgin Islands. And while Heather only wants a small family villa with a view, Joe has higher demands for return on their investment with a larger and more profitable rental property. Real estate agent Diana Beam gives them every island option in and outside their budget, but ultimately it comes down to Caila’s comfort.
The episode premiers tonight, January 14, at 10:30 p.m. eastern standard time on HGTV. For folks on the island, you can catch it at 11:30 p.m.
Click here to read our original story about the filming.
Nice to see the house that Starbo built as one of the choices. For over five years we built that little by little as we got money and time. He would come home from a full day of work and work some more. Then the next two owners put their love and attention into it to make it what it is here.