My family and I just returned from a wonderful week at Palm Retreat. The home is lovely with an open plan and large windows highlighting the magnificent views of John’s Folly Bay and the British Virgins. There is a small deck by the front door and a very large deck off the master bedroom with comfortable furniture for relaxing, eating and star gazing. We ate all our lunches out there and found the food tasted better while looking at the incredible shades of the blue water.
There’s a gas grill just outside the kitchen with a table and chairs for dining if you can stand to be outside without a view (we couldn’t). The spacious kitchen is well equipped, and with three different fruit infused bottles of rum and 4 bottles of balsamic vinegar what more could one ask for? The furnishings and accessories are perfect for the setting and create a feeling of relaxation and comfort. The living room sofa is about as comfortable a sofa as I have experienced. Both bedrooms have air conditioning, but we never turned either unit on. (The daytime temperature was in the low to mid 80s, and it was not much cooler at night.) The house has several fans, which, combined with the breezes from the water, kept us very comfortable day and night.
We arrived after the sun had set, so Marc suggested we meet him at his lovely restaurant in Coral Bay, Aqua Bistro (Be sure to have at least one dinner there). He escorted us to the house, helped carry our luggage up the stairs and showed us around. He was very helpful and available and told us to call him any time for anything. I had a number of emails back and forth with Carrie before the trip, and I found her to be accommodating and cordial, and she answered all my questions promptly.
The location is perfect. Salt Pond Bay, with a great beach and wonderful snorkeling, is a short walk or ride from the house. It’s a fifteen minute drive to Hurricane Hole with its incredible snorkeling in the mangroves of Otter Creek …the highlight of our week. (See Arawak Expeditions kayaking/ snorkeling Hurricane Hole trip.) It's not a long drive to the other incredible St. John beaches from Maho Bay to Trunk Bay with its underwater snorkeling trail.
The icing on the cake is the daily hermit crab show. Marc will show you where to place the used coffee filter and grounds. Then sit back and wait, and you will be treated to an experience worth putting up on social media. The party is not complete until the crabs are at least two deep.