Just came back from our stay at Garden by the Sea (GBTS) B&B, and wanted to post an excellent review while things are fresh on our mind. If you're searching for like nice, laid back, cozy, adult-only accommodations that are distant enough to be away from the bustle, but close enough so that you can hoof it to town (in this case, Cruz Bay), this place will be perfect for you! Within easy walking distance to all of Cruz Bay's restaurants, bars, water sports vendors, the Virgin Islands National Park HQ, the GBTS is a wonderful little place with three guest rooms, all with private baths. We stayed in the only upstairs room, the Terrace View Room.

POSITIVES:

The hosts, Karen and Ibro, are friendly and terrific! They've mastered the B&B operator art of being helpful and available without going overboard and crowding the guests. They're very knowledgeable about Saint John, and are a wealth of info. The owners (John and Nancy) are very cool as well, and were even so kind as to invite us to their stunning villa for a large Thanksgiving gathering and dinner!

The common room and deck are wonderful. In the common room you'll find a table with oodles of information on St. John-- maps, binders with brochures and a wealth of info, and a book in which other guests have left logs that are helpful for getting hints on where to go and what to do. Adjoining is the kitchen, which has a very affordable honor bar ($2 any alcohol-based drink, $1 for non-booze drinks), and a fridge in which each room is assigned a shelf (not to mention lots of stuff available to any guest, including ice and frozen water bottles). They even have a bin with lots of useful stuff like bug spray, after sun lotion, etc. Breakfast is served, weather permitting, on the spacious and attractive deck. With greenery and flowers all around, and accompanied by bananaquits, hummingbirds, and other birdies, it's a great place to start the day!

Location, location, location! The B&B is at a quieter edge of Cruz Bay, away from the traffic, hustle and bustle. It is easy walking distance via the "jungle path" or back roads (ASK about the back way, and avoid the mega-hill above the B&B!!!) to "downtown" Cruz Bay, and to the Starfish and Dolphin Markets, where you can grab some good food and skip a night or two of expensive meals (food is somewhat costly on Saint John, particularly at the larger sit-down restaurants). We still recommed renting a jeep on St. John, however, as it gives you much greater freedom to explore the island, and means you won't have to wait for taxis or the Vitran bus.

Reasonable rates! You can stay at GBTS for half the cost or less of the few resorts on the island, and much less than it would typically cost two people to rent a villa. The B&B is even more of a bargain given it's excellent location and all the perqs-- the previously mentioned honor bar, fridge use, and the free coolers, beach chairs and towels, and other gear available for guest use.

NEGATIVES:

Very few negatives to report! The bed in the Terrace View Room was far too soft and a bit too squeaky for our tastes, but still gave us a good night's sleep after our very active days of snorkeling and touring the island. Like most small places on the island, the B&B is concerned with water conservation, so they ask guests to make a few minor accommodations. No big deal to us, however. The shower was a tad cool at times, with the amount of hot water dependent upon when you showered versus other guests' showers.

BOTTOM LINE:

We'd rate GBTS a 4.5, rounding the rating up to excellent overall. It's very likely that we'll be coming back some day, and if it's just the two of us we wouldn't bother looking for anywhere else to stay. Look for our other Saint John-related posts for additional information and hints.

My husband and I stayed in the terrace view room from July 5-9. We both felt that Garden by the Sea truly enhanced our experience in St. John. We loved the B&B - the rooms looked just like they do in the online photos and the location of the property is very convenient. I don't want to be too repetitive in regards to comments made by previous guests - it seems like most have similar opinions. Breakfast is superb, Karen and Ibro are fabulous hosts and (our only negative) . . . the beds are not very comfortable. I might bring my own pillow from home if you don't like firm pillows. If you are looking to lay on the beach at a property somewhere and not venture out much, this is not the place for you. There is waaaaay to much fun stuff in St. John to do anyway. We had so much fun hiking the reef bay trail, snorkeling in Waterlemon, and chartering a boat to the Baths and the Indians. We are also very ecologically conscious, so we appreciated not wasting the energy to clean our sheets and towels daily. You also want to make sure you bring your own toiletries. Soap, shampoo, and a hairdryer are provided, but no conditioner, lotion, etc. This is not by any means a place where you feel like you are "roughing it" - we had all the amenities we needed. If you are on the fence - do it! You will have no regrets. We kept talking all week about what a great deal we felt it was.

We stayed at GBTS for a week in June for our honeymoon and it was better than we expected. We felt comfortable and relaxed. Besides breakfast in the morning (which were fantastic) we rarely ran into the other guests. The rooms were seperated enough that you couldn't hear anyone. Privacy was not a problem. We really enjoyed not having to deal with all the hustle and bustle of staying at a resort. We came and wen't as we pleased with no disturbance. The hosts were friendly and pleasant and very knowledgeable about island activities. We stayed in the Garden suite and everything looked just like in the pictures posted on their sites. We are pleased with our stay my only dissapointment about the B & B was that the sheets weren't changed during the week.

My husband and I were at GBTS at the same time the 2 previous reviewers were. First of all I have to say we couldn't have been in better company. We had never stayed at a B&B, so I was a little worried that my husband wouldn't like it, but Ibro and Karen put us at ease as soon as we arrived and we soon felt right at home. They were very helpful and accomodating and we enjoyed talking to them and the other guests very much.

We stayed in the Terrace View room 5 nights. This room was a good choice for us. We enjoyed the terrace & having the extra privacy by being upstairs. The AC & fans kept the room at a very comfortable temp. The bedroom and bathroom was furnished nicely and was very clean, but was a little on the small side and the bed and pillows were not very comfortable, but overall we were very pleased. I especially enjoyed the bathrobe.

The breakfast each morning was to die for along with the fruit smoothies and the best bananas I've ever eaten picked fresh from the trees. My favorite breakfast was the apple pancake. It was scrumptious!

GBTS is a quaint and intimate B&B nestled on a hillside among lots of palm and banana trees. It was like being in the middle of a bird sanctuary...very peaceful and serene. I loved walking on the little path by the salt pond with all the lizards running around and at night with our little flashlights. We didn't rent a car, so we got lots of exercise walking to and from town to catch taxis and to dine, but it was an easy walk.

I thought about booking our stay at Estate Lindholm, but was immediately turned off by the TV on the wall. We definitely made the right choice and would stay at GBTS again.