OK - so this is at least the second time I have stayed at this property (maybe third?) and what a difference! The property is much cleaner, the staff seems happier and more friendly, and our room was much more suited to our party of guests. Previously, we had discussed the fact that this was such a beautiful property that it was a shame that it was not kept up well (in appearance or in service). Not so, this trip. What a difference a couple of years makes!

Overall, the pool grounds were much improved. Towels and chairs are readily available, servers were available, food was great! Tip: get the banana smoothie. You'll not regret it. You're welcome. :)

At check-in, the staff upgraded us to a larger room (at no charge) voluntarily. Our room was spacious and delightful. The staff could not have been more accommodating or genuinely interested in our relaxation. If we asked for two extra towels, we were given four. This continued the entire length of the stay. Much improved!!

Also, this is a great place to stay if you have small children (under age 10). The pool is great for them, the beach is easily accessible with rafts and water trampolines (no extra charges), and kids' crafts/activities are available. There is even (a much cleaner!) playground on sand. The iguanas (not caged) and parrots (caged) on the property are fun for them to watch as well. :)

We again rented a car from O'Connor's onsite rental location and, honestly, I wouldn't rent anywhere else. They are super nice, easy to rent, clean vehicles, and parking on-site.

My only issue this trip was with the ferry situation to the resort. We had booked a ferry passage directly to the Westin from the airport. What we were not told was that we had to sit at the dock for almost three hours (!) before the ferry departed. Of course, this was not explained when we purchased the passes (and, of course, they were not refundable). At the dock, there is a marina restaurant/bar and a grocery. That's it. Next time, I will definitely, definitely take the cab across St. Thomas to Red Hook OR ferry from Charlotte Amalie to St John. What a waste of time when you are so excited to get on the beach!

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by our stay and would definitely stay here again. I just would take different ferry transportation. :)

My wife and I visited the Westin in St. John for our anniversary in July of 2012. St. John was not particularly easy to get to, requiring a shuttle and a ferry from the airport in St. Thomas, but it's well worth the effort. There are only two resorts on the island, with the Westin being the only chain resort. We used points for our room, thus I can't comment on the value for price.

Pros: (1) The grounds are beautiful and well maintained, with a large pool with ample seating. (2) Taxis, which are really more large open-air shuttle buses, are readily available and inexpensive, and town is less than a 10-minute ride away. (3) The breakfast buffet was excellent, with open air seating right on the water. (4) The concierge was exceptional, providing great recommendations and making all accommodations in town for our entire trip in one visit. (5) Wait service at the pool was exceptional, with a large menu and excellent food. (6) Our room was unexceptional, but clean and comfortable. (7) There are a number of boats/charters that can be hired on site, and we highly recommend taking a boat tour of the BVI, particularly seeing Tortola and Jost Van Dyke. (8) Cars can be rented right on site, although we didn't find them to be necessary due to the taxi service. (9) The workout facility was large and modern, although there was sometimes a wait for equipment in the morning hours. (10) Room service was prompt and the food was very good, if basic. (11) The service and staff was universally friendly, helpful, and prompt.

Cons: (1) The grounds have a series of walkways to get from one location to another, and the walkways and roads are constantly filled with golf carts and other vehicles, making walking from one location to another a bit of an obstacle course. (2) The dining options on site are very limited. (3) The beach at the resort is relatively small. (4) There is no real gift shop on the property, requiring a 5-10 minute walk to an overpriced grocery store to buy drinks and snacks.

As noted, it takes some effort to get to St. John, but it's well worth it. The island is beautiful and isolated, and the Westin is an excellent location and property to enjoy the experience.

My family is a timeshare owner within the Starwood network (Orlando), and we had been trying to reserve a unit here for my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. We had a reservation for October 2011, but had to postpone due to my father’s cancer diagnosis.

Our time as a family was therefore precious, and with a lot of persistence, we were able to rebook for June 2012 in a two bedroom three bathroom loft unit (1650 square feet, sleeps up to 10, that’s the key to look for, some two bedroom two bathroom units sleep fewer). We had done a lot of research ahead of time, and as the time drew closer, we emailed the Westin St. John, asking for a villa close to the resort offerings, so my father would not have to walk very far. We also explained this was a belated vacation for our parents 50th wedding anniversary.

The Westin St. John was wonderful, and put us in building 24 in the Upper Hillside Buildings. (This area is different from the Hillside Villas, which are across the street.) This location has a side walkway that offers more direct access to the Westin Workout Room, the Mango Deli, and the O’Connor Car Rental place and parking.

A fruit basket and bottle of cider greeted us upon arrival, wishing my parents a happy anniversary, which was a very thoughtful gesture.

The Loft unit was very spacious for 5 of us. If you look at the floorplan on the Westin website, you might be confused (as we were) by the description of a “kitchen” area on the second floor in between the two bedrooms. I’m not sure why they called it that, there is no kitchen on the second floor, just a simple chair and desk area, which was perfect for us with laptops.

We had one or two issues with the Villa (Air conditioning, and trying to use the DVD player). Each time, Leroy came up promptly, and was very personable and resolved the issue instantly.

We made use of the free paddleboards the Westin offered down at the dock at the bay. Also enjoyed the floating rafts anchored out in the bay. Westin offers free use of floating mats for the pool or the bay, but important to note: you MUST return the same mat you checked out (identifiable by number). If you leave it behind and someone else picks it up, you run into an awkward situation where you have to ask a stranger to give you your mat back.

We rented a car and beach chairs at O’Conner car rental for the week and visited Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay. Get there as early as you can to find parking spaces, prime spots on the beach, and to avoid the influx of beach crowds from cruise ships.

We utilized the ferry option Westin provided to St. John. Yes, it’s expensive, but to us, it was worth it. The service at the Westin desk at the airport is slow, so be prepared, but they greeted everyone who got off the ferry at the Westin with a cup of rum punch.

All in all, it was a great family vacation that was one of the last we shared as a family. Special thanks to Shamir Joseph in Guest Relations who did everything to make sure we had a special time at the Westin St. John.

I visited the Westin St John in September for a site visit and again in October for my actual wedding. The resort grounds are very well kept. The pool is really nice. The food was pretty good but very limited and pricey. The location is isolated without a rental car and parking is hard to find if you drive in town. The taxi's are $5.00 pp so it can get expensive. The restaurant at the hotel above the lobby was not open due and the other options closed fairly early. No night life activities. The staff were nice but we were continually charged more for our room and had to go tohe front desk 3 different times to get account credited even though the room was booked on the starwoods website. We paid $218 a night in advance with the 4th night free but our room was charged over $479.00 per night and we had to print the email from the lobby computer and printer to prove our rate and confirmation. What a headache! I booked a spa appointment for a massage, pedicure and a facial but booked it separate due to scheduling. When I went in for the facial, my room was charged $80.00 for the already paid for facial. When told about it at the front desk, I was told I had to deal with it at the spa. When I went to the spa, I was told a manager had to credit it back but he was not there and she left a message for him to call the spa back. All of this was the night before we ere to check out so we wanted to get it taken care of. An hour later we received a call saying that the charge would be removed. I married during my stay there and had been assigned 3 different wedding coordinators. The coordinator called me 2 days before my arrival while I was at work because the extra tier of the cake and an extra flower order had not been paid for. $60.00. I advised Michelle that I would be there in 2 days and she said she had to have payment that day although my contract said I had 4 more days for the additional $60.00. This after I had already paid over $2700.00. Once I arrived, 5 days before the wedding. I was not contacted until the day before the wedding although I had issues with the building assignment at checkin. The afternoon before the wedding, while I was at the spa, I was informed my room was reassigned to be closer to the gazebo but I had to have everything out by 430pm and it was 330pm. And we had the sunset cruise booked for 5pm. I had to call my maid of honor while I was in the spa to have her find my fiance' and help pack and move my things. The wedding was absolutely beautiful due to the location and the photographer Louis Lucas. The cake tasted great. But I felt like very little time, effort and attention was paid to my small wedding because of a larger one. I was told the building 10 beside the gazebo was closed due to renovation but after being moved to building 11, we noticed that building 10 was not closed and actually had people in it for the larger wedding the same afternoon. We did do a timeshare presentation and the timeshare villas are nice but a far and hilly walk from the amenities and much more pricey than redweek.com or other purchases or weekly rentals. We plan on returning to St John for our first anniversary but will stay at Gallows Point since it is much more accessible and in walking distance of all the restaurants and shopping areas in town. The local beaches are far more beautiful than the Westin Beach. And the boats are not parked all over the water there.