Welcome to the Chronicles of
~ the St John Adventures ~
How this Happened!
It is the week before Memorial Day weekend, Tuesday night, actually. Carol and I went out to dinner, and I told her my thoughts about being able to swing a last minute trip to St John. Who was she to object to such a brilliant plan? Of course, part of my scheme was to stay in a less expensive condo, something she had some reservations about. Now, when I say less expensive, I am talking about $800 a week or so, which in St John terms is absolutely dirt cheap! She had visions of a dirty place, no a/c, no pool, and no view. Well, the place I found had a view, a shared pool (10 units in this condo place), and from what I read on the online forums, while it was not a first class place, it shouldn't have been too bad. So, she agreed - but wanted to do a bit more research into our options. So, on Wednesday, I arranged for airfare (got a good deal out of Bradley, too!) and a car - a Jeep actually (4WD is pretty much a requirement on St John). We did a little more online research on places to stay. In the end, we decided that the one I saw originally was the way to go. I should mention a little about what our research found. First, you can divide accomodations on the island into 3 general categories. First, you have the hotels/resorts. There are exactly 2. First, you have the Westin. That is the low brow way to go (comparatively speaking). The comments that you find on the forums is that it is an okay place to go, but not as good as you would expect from the Westin brand. The second resort id Caneel Bay - the high brow option, with a pricetag to go with it. We have snorkeled in the bay that the hotel is located on - it is gorgeous. So, not an option of our trip this time! Second, you have the condos. There are a number of them, and many are really nice. At almost their worst, they are nicer than the Westin, at least that is the impression you get. There are big condominiums and little ones, and its a question of how many people you want to share the pool with, what additional amenities you want, and exactly where is it located. This category includes people who built an apartment to rent out to the tourists - some which are *really* nice. This was the direction we were going. Lastly, you have the villas. Basically, someone built a house, and rents it out. There are simple places - bordering on a shack on the beach (there is one like that, too) - to elaborate mansions. These tend to be the more expensive places on the island, but if you go with a larger group, they can be quite economical. Pricewise, obviously, you get what you pay for. There seems to be something of a dividing line around $2000 per bedroom per week. At $2000, you get a nice place, pool, view, & internet. Above that, you get a spectacular place, below that, you generally start giving up things. Hence why Carol was concerned with my $800 per week special. The shack I mentioned earlier goes for $600 a week (but that is not a lasst minute special, like what I had found). So, Thursday, I booked our little 1 bedroom condo. They email me the paperwork that I need to fax them back with the credit card info, etc. Now Friday morning I forget to get Carol to sign the paperwork, so I can't send it in. I call them Saturday to see if anyone is in the office (I am not going to fax credit card info to an empty office), and they are closed. I leave a message, saying if someone comes in, call me (they are supposed to have someone available 24 hours in case people have issues at their rental), otherwise I will send the info on Tuesday (it is, after all, Memorial Day weekend). Don't you know that at 9:15am Tuesday, I get an email from them cancelling the reservation! No call, nothing! Now, I am not overly worried, since we are talking about a reservation on the week of our trip, and being off season (yes, their season is December to April), I know there are quite a few vacancies, so I am not thinking someone is going to snag this place from under us. But I am annoyed. So, Tuesday night, Carol and I are looking for alternatives that come close to this place pricewise. I found a condo that is in a brand new building, so I call (its like 8pm). I start talking to a girl named Kristen (I am amazed a live person answered the phone), who needs to check if the unit I want is available for the whole 2 weeks, so she will call the owner, and call me back. 30 minutes later, we find out that the unit is not available for the entire trip (I am trying to not need to move, mid-trip). Since they rep a bunch of places, and since their website doesn't have availability calendars associated with their properties (I like those availability calendars, even if they might not always be accurate!), does she have anything else that might work for us. Most of their places are rather nice (read pricey). She is going thru the listings, and comes up with one - a 5 bedroom villa owned by none other than Peter Max (whose paintings we own - well, the mixed medias, anyway!). The place is stunning, and listed (for 2 people) at $5200 per week. She mentiones that she could probably do it for half price. I am laughing, thinking no friggin' way that is going to happen. Then we are talking, and she says to let her see if the owner (Peter Max) would do the rental for $3000 for the whole 2 weeks! Now, that is out of our intended budget, but how could you say no to this gorgeous place? Besides, what are the odds that we are going to get the nod? She says she'll let us know. The next afternoon, Wednesday (remember, we are flying out Saturday morning at Oh-Dark-Fifteen), I get the call from Kristen. They wouldn't do it for $3000. But how about $3600, everything included (there are taxes to be paid, after all!)? Now, what you have to remember is that the tax rate is 8% on rooms, so we were pretty much half way to $3600 when the rate was $3000 - so we took it! So, that is the story of how we got this fabulous place, at a ridiculous price. We may have to try to make this an annual trip...! Who needs Priceline? Keep Smiling!!!
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All Images and Accounts of this Adventure are strictly the doings of the Author, and have Nothing to do with the Official Positions or Opinions of Timethief Photography, its affiliated divisions, or anyone associated with the company. If you have any issues with the accounts, how people or places are portrayed, or with any statements of fact, take it up with him! Of course, he'll probably be off on another adventure!
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