Ah, the great Cruz Bay vs. Coral Bay question. As a honeymooner and subsequent repeat visitor to St. John, I will give you my two cents. I can't offer any specifics on the the villas you mention but I can on location.

We like the north shore/cruz bay area because of the access to the beaches (Hawksnest, Trunk, Maho, Francis) and town. We like to go out at night and a location closer to Cruz Bay works better for us.

Now - I know Coral Bay isn't that much farther but we both travel for work and spending extra time back and forth from the beach and then again at night eats into our relaxation time.

We have friends that love Coral Bay because they tend to stay put at the villa/pool and don't do a lot of running into town.

I would recommend contacting two or three rental agents and let them narrow the search for you. We had good success with Catered To. I found them to be honest in terms of describing villas and very quick to answer my countless questions. Viva was also helpful although we didn't rent through them.

Hi, I, too, can't give advice on your particular villa choices. I can say that there are places between the two towns which don't get a lot of mention: Namely, Mamey Peak, the Northern slope of Bordeaux, and the western section of Ajax Peak. All are close to the intersections of the Northshore road, Centerline Road and Bordeaux Mountain Road (near the painted, permanent delivery van/icecream stop which sells Ben and Jerry's). This makes them convenient to both Coral Bay, Cruz Bay, and you can get to the north shore beaches quickly without having to go through town. They also tend to have some altitude which, although the roads can be challenging, means they have nice breezes and are cooler temperature-wise than lower elevations.

Just in general, the villas you listed are as follows: Fish Bay is 15-20 minutes to CB. Chocolate Hole is 10-15 minutes to CB. Frank Bay is just around the corner and potentially an uphill climb on the way home from town if you're walking. The other 2 are apparently right in town somewhere, but I'm unsure of where....which means they might also be an uphill hike if you're walking. As the rental agencies. They want repeat business, so they tend to be very honest.

What exactly are you looking for? Are you wanting to go out to dinner every night? If so, you should know that the place pretty much closes down at 10. Do you envision long, lazy days at your villa? Do you want to rent a jeep and explore all day?

One thing we find, and we are old foggies now, I suppose, as we are in our early 40's, is that we tend to wake up pretty early when we are down there (not like at home, don't know why). Then, after a day of snorkeling, sunning and exploring, we have an early dinner either in our villa or in town (seriously early, like 6:00), followed by a night on the deck checking out the milkyway and shooting stars, of which there are so many down there, you won't even believe it.)

And about the milky way, I'm a city girl, and St. John is the only place I've ever been, except on charter around there, that I've EVER been able to see the milkyway!!!! It's awesome and romantic. The first few nights, we thought they were clouds until we realized they were the SAME clouds every night. Very cool.

And truly, Coral bay isn't the nowheresville it used ot be. It now has several good restaurants to its credit, and I sort of think of it as the sailor, artsy fartsy, hippie side of the island...and I mean that in the best possible way. I feel there like I used to feel on the west end- ....like I'm on a tropical, slightly wild, friendly island.

Go to Caribbeanvilla.com. They do a good job with last minute specials that may allow you to hit your $175.00 a night requirement (there's a house on Cinnamon Ridge named Anole that fits the rest of your requirements but it is out of that range).