Would highly recommend the tropical garden suite as it is by far the largest of the four units. With separate living/dining area and galley kitchen, as well as private balcony wrapping around back and side of unit, (inland view) it is the best option for a stay exceeding 1 or 2 nights. The other three units opposite this suite, have window(s) with bay view, but are much smaller (Front Suite has side balcony with spectacular view of Cruz Bay, but is not accessed from within the room). There is shared lounge/sitting area shared by all four units...wonderful views, and great for sitting in late afternoon sun; we saw several guests at times having a meal out here. Phyllis was a great hostess and was always accessible when needed. The property was within easy walking distance to Cruz Bay restaurants and shops; could be a bit noisy at times, as the windows don't close completely..but all in all, was a good value with many ammenities.

We checked in on 12/30 for a four night stay in the Front Suite at Hillcrest. We had been on St. John a few other times, so we found our way in the dark even though Phyllis offered to meet us at the ferry dock. We rented a vehicle from Dependable on St. Thomas and took it over on the car ferry. I'm glad we decided to rent a vehicle since the walk from town would be very strenuous unless you are in top physical shape. We just had so much freedom with a car. Check in was easy. Phyllis had everything ready for us. She had all of our favorite things, including Sam Adams for my husband, rum, mixers, eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, ice cream, coffee, tea, OJ, soda, bagels, muffins, candy, cream cheese, just about everything you could think of. She had coolers, beach chairs and towels for us to use, along with a DVD player and DVD's in the walkway for everyone to use. There was a small CD player so we listened to CD's from home while relaxing on the balcony. The room was larger than what we thought it would be. There was a small safe in the closet, along with a hamper and snorkeling equipment. I believe there was an iron too, but we didn't think about ironing anything on this trip.

The view from the balcony is the best part of the accommodations at Hillcrest. It's a little narrow and could use a good painting, but it's a great place to have a birds's eye view of Cruz Bay each evening while drinking pina colada's. We loved the view of Cruz Bay. We watched the ferries come and go and felt really sorry for those leaving. We were there for New Year's Eve, so the music was pretty loud in town until the wee hours. The A/C worked well and we turned it on each night to drown out the noise. The bed was pretty comfortable. It was a queen size. We're used to a king size bed (very firm) and it was fine for us. We went to St. John Ice Co. to pick up some ice for our drinks and a few gallons of water. There were ice trays in the freezer if you don't want to buy ice. We drank bottled water the whole time, so I can't comment on how the water tastes. The blender is very nice and worked great for all of our frozen drinks. We stopped by the grocery store and picked up some bread. We cooked breakfast each morning in the room. It was great. We did have to wash our own dishes and give Phyllis our soiled towels each day for some fresh ones, so that was a little bit of a pain. The only real downfall to the Front Suite is gap around the air conditioner. We noticed mosquitos and bugs in the room each evening. We were really careful to close the door quickly, but they still got in. We killed lots of bugs and wore bug spray. The no see 'ums got my husband in the early AM while he sat outside working on his computer. The view was worth the bites though. He had fast wireless Internet service with his Sprint air card, so he worked each morning while we were there. Our Sprint phones also worked well all over the island.

Phyllis was wonderful. She took care of anything we needed and got me a extra pillow when we asked her for it. She also told us about the police cracking down on people not wearing seat belts. They were giving out $125 fines left and right, so be careful. I really liked the fact that Phyllis lives on-site, so we felt safe there since everyone seems to know Phyllis. There are also some dogs (and roosters) around the area. You'll hear them frequently. I grew up on a farm and it brought back lots of childhood memories. We will definitely stay at Hillcrest again on our next visit to St. John.

We stayed at the Hillcrest for 2 nights. The view is great and it was very nice having the snacks, eggs, etc already in the room when we arrived. As its been stated in other posts Phyllis picked us up at the dock and then gave us a little tour of the city.

What really impressed us was Phyllis, the owner/manager. My wife sprained her ankle while we were hiking and Phyllis volunteered to go to the store and buy us some advil. She did so and would not accept reimbursement. I don't think you would get such service at other establishments. She also drove us to the ferry dock on our day of departure.

Since we spent more time at the guesthouse than we anticipated we were very happy with the accomondations. I would definitely recommend the Hillcrest Guesthouse.

Completed our stay November 12, 2007 and loved it! Our hostess was exceptionally gratious - we were picked up and dropped off at the Cruz Bay ferry - a relevant extra benefit since street addresses are used only loosely in St. John's. Hillcrest is a 5 minute walk from Cruz Bay - be aware that the magnificent view our room had overlooking the bay was due to the house being located on a hill. While we enjoyed walking to and from the house, the walk to and from the town is not for the faint of heart - strongly consider renting a car if you're not in good physical shape. The room itself was average, but the amenities were exceptional! A well stocked bar including, snacks, mixers and liquor - esepcially the bottle of champagne waiting for us ! - and snorkeling gear was also provided free of charge - a "must" in our case!

Overall, I'd recommend Hillcrest to any couple or family looking to take advantage of what St. John;s has to offer at a reasonable price.