Just returned from a week at the Westin in St. John. The resort is beautiful. We stayed in Building 23, our room was outdated and the housekeeping service could of been better. Had to call to have our room cleaned on Tues, they never came to clean it on Wed, and by the time we got back from our day out (4:00p) we just wanted to take a nap, so called on Thurs morning before going out for the day, to make sure our room got cleaned. Next time we will most likely stay at Caneel Bay, which was recommended to us by a friend, who has stayed there many times and loves it.

We just returned from visiting St. Thomas & St. John in the US Virgin Islands. We rented a villa through Villa Caribe on St. Thomas and is was amazing. We would definitely rent again!!! Then we arrived on St. John-where I have been before-and had reservations at the Westin. It took us over an hour to actually get in a decent room as our reservations were completely messed up! My husband & I were traveling with our 18 year old son and his same aged friend. We reserved an ocean view room package with a spa credit and breakfast for 2. We booked a garden view room for the boys with breakfast for 2. When we checked in, the desk person stated we booked the 'Girls Spa Package'. I corrected her stating we were traveling with 2 teenage boys. She then corrected me again. I showed her our printed out confirmation receipts that no where said we booked the 'Girls Spa Package'. She then stated that we were in adjoining garden rooms. I corrected her stating we did not request adjoining rooms and she stated we did. Again, I had to show her the print out that stated we requested the rooms/buildings be close to one another, but not adjoining. Since we had already paid for an ocean view room, I told her that booking my husband & I in a garden room was a mistake. Once she got everything settled, the boys checked into their room and everything was ok. But when we got into our room, we did not have what I considered to be an ocean view room. We had a view of the basketball court, the Westin ferries, and 2 sailboats in their harbor. I called to complain that I believe they put us in the wrong room. The manager told me that this was indeed their ocean view rooms. I told them I was quite disappointed and would never book with the Westin again as their room descriptions were deceptive. She was cordial but again stated that these rooms were their ocean view rooms. She stated that if she found a better room, she would upgrade us. I told her I would appreciate it. About 15 minutes later she called and did upgrade us to a beach front room. Much better, but I would never pay the $800 they charge for the room-especially with cottage cheese ceilings (one of my pet peeves). I have to say the people working at the resort-minus the reservation workers-were so wonderful & sweet!
So, next time I go to St. John I will not be staying at the Westin, but will certainly rent through Villa Caribe, or locally on the island called McLaughlin Anderson Villas.

some may consider me a hotel and food snob. I agree totally. good is good and bad is bad. my experience at the westin st. john was far from bad. losing my luggage was bad- the hotel was not. b/c of so many negative reviews, i was very apprehesive about our stay (not to mention the large amt of $$$ spent on airfare out of savannah, ga). as soon as we got off the plane we were welcomed in an open air baggage claim with shouts of free shots of rum! what a welcome for someone who had been traveling for 10 hrs! after a long search and no luggage to be found we checked in the the westin lounge and waited for our taxi to the dock. everyone there was extremely helpful and kind to show me how to make a claim for my lost luggage. bars are in the baggage claim which helps w/ the stress of lost luggage. i advise any woman traveling to pack what she might need for the next 24 hrs just in case this happens to you. i had done so- therefore was not completely annoyed at this occurance. we arrived at the dock where the westin boat awaited departure and shopped at the grocery store near the dock. purchased cokes and gatorade, etc.. proved to be a waste of time b/c the deli/store at the westin had everything i needed w/out preshopping in st thomas. sat at a open air bar/ restaurant decorated w/ pirates and waited on the breeze to depart all the while drinking our first rum drinks. the time flew by and then we left for st john on the " breeze " boat provided by the westin w/ sounds of jimmy buffett and bob marley on the radio. absolutely pay the extra 90 $ for the westin ferry. they take your bags at the airport and then they appear in your room after arrival. i did have to call the front desk a couple of times in order to get what bags we did have delivered to the room b/c of a change in room numbers. john ( the belllman) was at my service asap. greeted at the hotel w/ rum drinks and colorful parrots. check- in was speedy and our room in section 10 room 1010 was the best on the grounds. steps away from the pool /jaccuzi and overlooking the bay and beach. terrace w/ teak seating and a georgous view of the water and mountains. worth losing my luggage over. first night we got a taxi into town ( do not rent car!!! taxi's are cheap, fast and easily found!!) and had reservations at morgan's mango. EXCELLENT!! highly recommend the stuffed lobster. pricey- but worth every penny. also the coconut shrimp w/ bananna dipping sauce was savage. open air - dress accordingly. a little hot where we were sitting. request a seat on the deck and not on the inside. live entertainment and 1/2 price margurita's on thurs night. the next day ( still no luggage) we booked a trip online ( saves you 20%) w/ new horizon's charter boat "breakaway." larger of their two boats. roomy and has a bathroom. recommend this boat over the new horizon 2. met at the public dock at 7:45 am. no sign of boat.... forgot that everyone here is on island time... boat arrived around 8am. trip was excellent. lots of fun for everyone. average age was 30-40yrs. only one child on board. very adult oriented. rum drinks (or whatever your vice) start as soon as you step on the boat. make sure you have your passport. will not leave dock w/out it. do not sit on the bottom level. hot and sunny as the day progresses and you will be burned beyond belief. sit on second level under the awning. you will get PLENTY of sun during the day on the excursion.good idea to bring a koozie or beer insulator b/c the ice melts very quickly in the coolers and your drink becomes hot fast. once you have a seat- you will not be able to change it. the very best seat is the bench directly behind the captain and the table.
if you are lucky, Molten wll be your tour guide. very easy on the eyes and a great story teller. lunch is a fun event on pusser's island. conch fritters and tropical/chicken queso were my favorites. did not purchase or hear of this excursion from hotel- word of mouth on trip advisor. worth every penny and not a "touristy-cheesy" thing to do for an entire day. fun from start to finish- but NOT a place for children. dinner that night was at the LIme inn. another fun and lively open air restuarant. lobster was also excellent there as well as the tuna and snapper special. the owner ( who resembles a pirate himself) spoke w/our table to make sure we were all pleased. my waitress helped me w/ my lobster ,cracking it herself w/ her bare hands so that no meat would be left behind. chocolate chip brownie w/ ice cream topped off the meal. last day at the hotel was spent laying in the sun at the pool and beach. afternoons at the pool consist of steel drums and trips to the tiki bar where every drink is a dream. the pool is spacious and not filled w/ screaming children as i was expecting from all the negative feedback. there were children- but the pool is huge- and there is plenty of room for EVERYONE. move if you are not happy! 2 of my traveling companions received deep tissue massages at the spa and reported that they were some of the best ever. lily was one of the highly praised massage therapists. my luggage arrived the second day and was sent to my room upon arrival by john. an emergency pack was used until that time ( given to me by service express). the last night on st john was spent at the most wonderful restuarant- asolare. much more formal than the others and the most beautiful view of the bay. up on a hill overlooking the sea. make sure you get the 5:30 seating or you will miss the sunset and will not get to sit on the poarch.the wine and food again met and exceeded all of our expectations. the wait staff was friendly and professional - the food was truly gourmet. would definately go back . back at the hotel for the last morning before returning to real life. breakfasts are ordinary but good at the beach front cafe. breakfast sandwiches and coffee are also served in the mango deli at a fraction of the cost of the cafe,as well as lunch food. great cold salads and pizzas. overall- the total experience of the island and the hotel left nothing to be desired. i pitty all who came and did not have the wonderful hotel and island experience we did. one last word of advice- DO NOT sit on the top level of the westin breeze on the way back to the dock. so hot and humid we wished we had seated ourselves in the lower air-condtioned deck below. do not let the beautiful scenery up top cause you discomfort for the long and sad trip back to the airport.

I actually liked the hotel very much. I thought it was very attractive, and I had no problem at all with the staff. The beach is very small but the water is calm and clear and they have a nice array of water sports on the beach.

The problem was getting there. When I booked my trip on line through one of the usual air travel website, they only book you to fly into St. Thomas the major airport island in the Virgin Islands. What the website does not explain AT ALL is that St. Johns is a ferry boat ride away. So unless you knew this you would land at the airport in St. Thomas expecting a cab to take you somewhere when you have to actually go to the ferry too. What was even worse was I already knew this because I had been there years ago. So when I booked my package and saw no sight of the connecting ferry to the island I panicked and complained on line to the travel company on how wrong it is to do this to passengers. They had no response. I was traveling alone so it was easy for me to catch the ferry but what about families with elderly people and children who would not expect to have to add on another leg to their trip?

Then I called the St. John's Westin hotel and asked the concierge if there was a ferry from the hotel to St. Thomas. A guy said "um no you have to uh go to the ferry by the airport and they'll tell you where to catch the local ferry that everyone takes but I dont uh think we have anything here." So how do you think I felt when I got to the airport, asked the lead taxi guy how to get to the Westin and he looked me in the eyes and said "take this fellow right here in this van he will take you to the ferry and they "looked" at each other knowing this was a scam, then along with me, other large family groups got into his van and spent ONE HOUR maybe more being driven all around the entire island while he had other passengers going to other hotels first, to be dropped off at the ferry on the opposite side of the island, then had to wait ONE MORE HOUR for the town ferry to take me to St. Johns, and when I finally laid on the beach at the hotel (which again, I really did like) I SAW A ST. JOHN'S WESTIN HOTEL PRIVATE FERRY PULL UP WITH PASSENGERS? I asked a waitress on the beach about it and she was so ill informed of their own service she said "Oh that is a special ferry I dont think you can take it." So the next day I went to the front desk and asked again what this ferry was and was finally told that it takes you to and from St. Thomas to a DOCK A FEW MINUTES FROM THE AIRPORT AND THEY HAVE A ST. JOHNS VAN THAT TAKES YOU FROM THE BOAT TO THE AIRPORT.

I felt this needed to be shared. Never again will I go anywhere without really finding out how to get there and not assuming that once I book something on line, that is all I need to know. I"ll be calling the actual hotel before I book my travel and ask them from the airport to their location how do I really get there!