Hi everyone, we just started our trip to St. John at the WSJ so I thought I would start a trip report thread. It will be difficult to keep up with but I'll do my best. Also, others have done much more thorough and more interesting trip reports (I know I'm not as clever or funny as DavidnRobin!) so I'll try to slant it from the perspective of a new visitor (none in our party have ever been here) and someone traveling with kids.
We (my wife Jennifer, 9-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter) left from LAX on Sat night - took the red eye on American Airlines to Puerto Rico. Jen and kids sleep fine on a plane but if I ever do the red eye again I'm going to invest in those expensive Bose Quiet Comfort headphones I keep reading about. Crying (screaming actually) baby started at about 1 am and continued every half hour or so. At first I felt sorry for the kid and his parents then I started getting angry - why on earth isn't anyone getting up to walk the baby and try to comfort him - just let him scream his head off... Anyway, after about 5th screaming episode the flight attendant (he too was probably sick of the screaming) came over and encouraged the father to walk the baby, which of course put him right to sleep...until the next episode. Anyway, after a 1.5 hour layover in the Puerto Rico airport, we took the American Eagle to St Thomas - less than 1/2 hour from PR to STT.
We originally planned to save some $ and not take the Westin Ferry, but when we arrived at the STT airport they said that the ferry would be leaving at 12:45 and it was already 12:25 so we figured it was meant to be. Ferry ride was nice although no drinks were given or offered. We were concerned because Jen gets seasick very easily but the dramamine did the trick.
Our real stay starts on Fri 7/30 in a 3 bedroom Bay Vista Villa, however, we added 5 nights prior to our stay in the hotel using starpoints. Regular room would have been 12,000 SP per night but we chose a ocean view for 13,500 SPs. 54,000 for the five nights - stay 4 nights and 5th is free. They first put us in a nice room but it did not have a balcony so we asked for one with a balcony so we traded the 2 double beds for one with a king and balcony. Very nice room even though we can't wait for the comfort of a villa.
The grounds here are great. Very beautiful (that is an understatement), spacious and well maintained. The hotel rooms are beginning to show their age and could use some touching up, however, don't believe some of the negative reports that you read on Tripadvisor. When we got here on Sunday we figured we would just get acquainted with the resort so we ate at on-site at Snorkels. Food was fine - nothing fancy but fine. $50 for the four of us. We then swam in the pool and then the beach and went to sleep early to catch up.
Today (Monday) we took the 2 hour tour of the island that is offered by Westin. $75 for the 4 of us ($25 for adults and $12.50 kids 7 and up). Driver was very friendly and knowledgeable. He is a retired cop from St. Thomas who moved to St. John after retiring. The trip was probably expensive for what we did but it helped get us oriented to the island and see where things are. If you have never been to a small island (which we have not), you don't really realize how small it is until you're here. You can't really get lost here if you are on a road - there are really only 5 paved roads. If you do get lost you just keep going and will hit either the ocean or an identifiable marker that can be found on any decent map that you pick up at WSJ or at airport. The tour takes you from WSJ through the north shore road and then down to center line road through the middle of the island. Keep in mind that when you are in the center of the island you can still see water (as long as there aren't any hills between you and the ocean. It turned out to be more than 2 hours - about 2.5.
After the tour we came back to our room for a while and then went into town (Cruz Bay). We walked into Cruz Bay which is about a 20 minute walk from WSJ. Very hilly once you pass the St. John Market but not a terrible walk. The only scary part is that the cars come so close to the side of the road (there aren't sidewalks for most of the hilly portion of the walk) so we had to stop and move as close to the side as possible. If you are coming with kids don't try to walk to Cruz Bay if your kids are very young or not athletic (our kids are very active in sports year-round so they could easily handle the walking). We were going to eat at The Fish Trap but it is closed on Mondays - I was craving seafood, oh well. We walked around checking out the town and wound up eating at JJ's. We don't recommend this place - food was adequate, although Jen did like her fish sandwich, but the wait for the food was ridiculous. The waittress did apologize a few times so we are thinking that the wait is unusual but still. We won't need to go back there. $75 for the four of us. Took a taxi back to Westin - $20 for taxi back to WSJ.
We're not sure about tomorrow - maybe take taxi to Cinnamon Bay or perhaps take a kayak or dinghy (non motorized - kayaks, peddle bikes, etc are free for guests) here on site.
We (my wife Jennifer, 9-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter) left from LAX on Sat night - took the red eye on American Airlines to Puerto Rico. Jen and kids sleep fine on a plane but if I ever do the red eye again I'm going to invest in those expensive Bose Quiet Comfort headphones I keep reading about. Crying (screaming actually) baby started at about 1 am and continued every half hour or so. At first I felt sorry for the kid and his parents then I started getting angry - why on earth isn't anyone getting up to walk the baby and try to comfort him - just let him scream his head off... Anyway, after about 5th screaming episode the flight attendant (he too was probably sick of the screaming) came over and encouraged the father to walk the baby, which of course put him right to sleep...until the next episode. Anyway, after a 1.5 hour layover in the Puerto Rico airport, we took the American Eagle to St Thomas - less than 1/2 hour from PR to STT.
We originally planned to save some $ and not take the Westin Ferry, but when we arrived at the STT airport they said that the ferry would be leaving at 12:45 and it was already 12:25 so we figured it was meant to be. Ferry ride was nice although no drinks were given or offered. We were concerned because Jen gets seasick very easily but the dramamine did the trick.
Our real stay starts on Fri 7/30 in a 3 bedroom Bay Vista Villa, however, we added 5 nights prior to our stay in the hotel using starpoints. Regular room would have been 12,000 SP per night but we chose a ocean view for 13,500 SPs. 54,000 for the five nights - stay 4 nights and 5th is free. They first put us in a nice room but it did not have a balcony so we asked for one with a balcony so we traded the 2 double beds for one with a king and balcony. Very nice room even though we can't wait for the comfort of a villa.
The grounds here are great. Very beautiful (that is an understatement), spacious and well maintained. The hotel rooms are beginning to show their age and could use some touching up, however, don't believe some of the negative reports that you read on Tripadvisor. When we got here on Sunday we figured we would just get acquainted with the resort so we ate at on-site at Snorkels. Food was fine - nothing fancy but fine. $50 for the four of us. We then swam in the pool and then the beach and went to sleep early to catch up.
Today (Monday) we took the 2 hour tour of the island that is offered by Westin. $75 for the 4 of us ($25 for adults and $12.50 kids 7 and up). Driver was very friendly and knowledgeable. He is a retired cop from St. Thomas who moved to St. John after retiring. The trip was probably expensive for what we did but it helped get us oriented to the island and see where things are. If you have never been to a small island (which we have not), you don't really realize how small it is until you're here. You can't really get lost here if you are on a road - there are really only 5 paved roads. If you do get lost you just keep going and will hit either the ocean or an identifiable marker that can be found on any decent map that you pick up at WSJ or at airport. The tour takes you from WSJ through the north shore road and then down to center line road through the middle of the island. Keep in mind that when you are in the center of the island you can still see water (as long as there aren't any hills between you and the ocean. It turned out to be more than 2 hours - about 2.5.
After the tour we came back to our room for a while and then went into town (Cruz Bay). We walked into Cruz Bay which is about a 20 minute walk from WSJ. Very hilly once you pass the St. John Market but not a terrible walk. The only scary part is that the cars come so close to the side of the road (there aren't sidewalks for most of the hilly portion of the walk) so we had to stop and move as close to the side as possible. If you are coming with kids don't try to walk to Cruz Bay if your kids are very young or not athletic (our kids are very active in sports year-round so they could easily handle the walking). We were going to eat at The Fish Trap but it is closed on Mondays - I was craving seafood, oh well. We walked around checking out the town and wound up eating at JJ's. We don't recommend this place - food was adequate, although Jen did like her fish sandwich, but the wait for the food was ridiculous. The waittress did apologize a few times so we are thinking that the wait is unusual but still. We won't need to go back there. $75 for the four of us. Took a taxi back to Westin - $20 for taxi back to WSJ.
We're not sure about tomorrow - maybe take taxi to Cinnamon Bay or perhaps take a kayak or dinghy (non motorized - kayaks, peddle bikes, etc are free for guests) here on site.
:hysterical: Well, of course I MEANT Jennifer is welcome to be there too. 
