My family and I enjoyed our stay at this beautiful property. The house and grounds are well maintained and incredibly cozy and perfect. We enjoyed the hot tub, the refreshing pool, sitting on the porch during the day watching storms approach and pass and watching the night sky.
Highly recommend this gorgeous property.
The views are amazing! Loved that it was close to the beaches and a quick trip to vial bay. I was suprised that the property seemed much larger than I expected. Would love to visit again
This villa was very nice! Not elegant or upscale but comfortable and homey. You will not feel like you canât use the kitchen. We cooked everyday and enjoyed our meals taking in the beautiful views. What we liked the most, central to everything. Close to Coral Bay and the North shore beaches. We canât wait to come back:).
This was our 5th time staying in a VRBO house on St. John and thought this property looked good online, and we were not disappointed. The house is very spacious and private. With no other houses visible nearby and Colomboâs Smoothies visible on the knoll below, the views include Tortola, East End and Coral Bay. Maho Bay is 5-7 minutes away, with the other famous north shore beaches right there to enjoy. Cruz Bay is 15-20 minutes away using either route.
The pool is very large and a great feature not usually found on St. John. Beware that the shallow end is at least 4.5â, so kids under 5â tall will need to be supervised.
There are two bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs, which has two queen beds. Access is via outside stairs but this was not a problem. This room is very large- much larger than a hotel room, with good a/c. The upstairs bedrooms also have a/c, which we used with fans to cool the living area, since it was close to 90 degrees the week we were there.
We are glad we found this place and hope to come back.
Better than it looks online-- for the right type of guest
We had a fantastic stay at Swogjan's Dragon! The pictures on here are a bit out of date, and I'd say it has improved, especially the update to upholstery.
The views and the location are amazing and the outdoor space allows you to take advantage of those views, even from the well-maintained pool. The living space is cozy and the kitchen had everything we could want and great pots and pans and food storage containers, plus the gas stove meant that even when the power went out, we were okay to feed ourselves. The mini-splits in the upstairs bedrooms worked great (we didn't use the downstairs) and the outdoor shower off one of the bathrooms was dreamy.
I would caution that this property is well-loved and well-used and on a small tropical island. For us, this was not a problem and we were so happy with the property that we plan to return, as it's clear they are in the process of improving the property (new sliding doors, new decking). BUT, I could see how this property would fall short for other people who are expecting an immaculate property- as of when we were there, only 1 of the three sliders had screen doors, the screens on a few other external screen doors were torn and one screen door wasn't working that well. I anticipate these will be remedied soon given it's clear they are working on improving things. We didn't raise any of this to the management company while we were there, because of us it wasn't a big deal and we knew they were aware from check-in.
Disappointing stay - bugs and other signs of neglect
Our first trip to St. John was a bit of a disappointment, to say the least.
First off, the positives:
Great location close to beaches and Coral Bay
Beautiful view of Coral Bay
Stocked fridge upon arrival
Now, onto the negatives:
While I understand that this is a Caribbean island and bugs and insects are everywhere, there is an obvious insect infestation in the house. Upon arriving (and before unpacking anything), we noticed dozens of ants around one of the sinks. Upon further inspection, we found dozens more just above the oven, at the other sink, on the counters, and near the trash (open trash can with so many insects on the island is probably not the smartest idea). Again, I realize where we are, and that is why I could overlook some small bugs on the walls in the bathrooms and other places, but this is a different issue. Needless to say, we were wiping down the surfaces and washing all dishes within 5 minutes of eating and taking out the trash twice a day, and they were still everywhere. I informed property management through email immediately (It was late and I also decided that I'd rather not waste my vacation on the phone, and email was the only method we had used in our numerous prior communications). The response was slow to start, but ultimately I called the owner of St John Properties halfway through the stay (as the ants had spread throughout the entire villa), and we were moved to another villa. We did appreciate the flexibility of SJP.
Other issues with the villa:
Upon arrival, there was a big noticeable tear in the living room lamp shade.
Multiple hairs on the master bathroom wall.
Missing panel in second bedroom window.
Kitchen window levers are messed up. One window can barely open and close, while the other one can't be closed once it's open. I had to go around outside and push it closed.
The middle of the 3 sets of living room doors are difficult to open. Seems like the doors are off the tracks. I could barely close it properly.
All in all, a very disappointing stay for our 4th VRBO experience.
We loved our stay! Incredible views and the place is nicer than the pictures. The location is good - close to both Coral Bay and the Northshore beaches and the driveway is flat. The kitchen is well stocked. We had a few issues - leaking a/c and management was responsive. We hope to come back to this house again.
Very convenient location, however along with this comes some noise from the road to be aware of. Easy access driveway, spectacular views and well suited kitchen for all cooking needs.
Swogjan's Dragon is an awesome location, just a stones throw away fro.m Columbo's smoothies. The property is centrally located to Cruz Bay, Coral Bay and all of the beaches on both sides of the island. Having stayed on the island before, this was an appreciated bonus and allowed for a midday reset in the villa. The view of Coral Bay is stunning and enjoyed from the pool, deck and most of the living area. Sitting on the shaded deck watching the view, or dipping in the pool made this site a gem!
The kitchen has all of the necessary accompaniments, and there were plenty of towels to make our trip comfortable.
In short, we look forward to an opportunity to return.
Hopefully before we return the mattresses see an update and a few of the broken and worn out items on the property see an update. It won't make us hesitate on rebooking, but would change our rating from a 4 to a 5.
Our plane was delayed, lost luggage. Bianca was great, managed to even get our car rental office to stay open after closing so that we would not have to return to Cruz Bay the next day. Drove us to the property in the dark and checked us in. Pool was great, views unbeatable. Wifi, iffy.
This house is even prettier in person! The pool is great and the breeze on the deck/covered porch is wonderful. We loved being âout of townâ and close to Maho and toward East End - while still having Cruz Bay nearby (about 15 min). I definitely recommend and would stay here again. We were traveling with teens and one older person. I would not recommend this house for people with very small children because of the depth of the pool (great for swimmers) and the stairs to the lower level. Really great place. Thank you!
This was our 4th trip to st. John and this house did not disappoint. The location was the best we have had. A few minutes to the best beaches and the best view imaginable. Would definately stay there again.
A wonderful two weeks with friends and family. The home, pool and hot tub were clean and comfortable. The views from the deck were spectacular. St. John Properties couldn't of been more accommodating to anything extra we needed, which wasn't much. Aqua Blue car rental was a great recommendation, also. Thank you for taking such good care of us. We will be back!
Arriving late at night, all we could confirm was that there was beer/wine in the fridge,chips and salsa, the hot tub worked well, the pool looked great,the burros out by the road seemed nothing more than curious,and it was warm. Hours later the sun came up over Coral Bay (the quieter side of the island) and the place looked even better. Sit and read on the deck, soak in the tub,sway in the hammock, slip into the pool,exchange your coffee cup for a cocktail. There's a (under utilized) stone patio off the front of the house that says "take a nap here". Several great beaches (like something out a travel brochure great) and Coral Bay food/drink are 5-10 winding minutes away. Go 15 minutes the other way to Cruz Bay, the not as quiet end of the island. Luxury is where you find it, I could spend a long time here.
We just spent two incredible weeks with family and friends in this beautiful home. Not a new building but charming and welcoming with its own personality (think dragons). Facing east overlooking Coral Bay provides stunning sunrises on a daily basis. A large deck, comfortable chairs, a little black strap rum - who could ask for anything more. Add in an outdoor shower (there are two indoor showers as well) and a good size pool. A car (preferably a jeep) is a must as SD is about 7 miles east (and about a thousand feet above) Cruz Bay. The drive takes about 20 minutes but you're on vacation so take your time and watch for the donkeys. Coral Bay is closer (about 3 miles), much smaller and quieter, but wonderful in its own special way. If you've been to STJ you already know about the beaches, one grander than the other.
This is a unique property that you will never forget, as is the prompt, professional service we received from the gracious staff at St. John Properties. They are the best.
I was very pleased with our stay at this property. It is in a great location to some of the best beaches on the island. The home was in good shape, and well maintained while we were there. There was a great breeze the whole time, and the fact that the property does not have AC, was not an issue. The pool and the view were awesome! I would definitely stay there again!
If your visiting STJ for the first time put this on your top places to stay list!! This was our 9th trip to the Island and the central location of this villa is always what I look for first. 15 Minnutes to Cruze , 5 to Coral and just a few to two of my favorite beaches; Francis & Maho. The cool breaze and elevated location kept the temp in the lower 80's during the day while dropping it to a comfortable sleeping temp of 66 at night! We had a great time and would defenitly stay here again! If you want a relaxing vacation do not hesitate to book!
Seth M.
Qui vous reçoit ?
Vous ĂȘtes reçu par Andretti
The owners, from Massachusetts, are a bit shy... but don't let our personal shyness deter you from enjoying our beautiful home. Our property manager can answer all of your questions.
Location, location, location. The property is so close to Centerline Road and the North Shore turnoff to the VI National Park beaches, yet it feels worlds away. The views are simply breathtaking. Visit just once and you'll understand why no other property can match this location!