Great Expectations

Great Expectations, a popular St. John villa, has 4 spacious air conditioned bedrooms each with a king bed (convertible to 2 twins) located in 2 pavilions separated by a Great Room with a large living room, gourmet kitchen, and indoor/outdoor dining areas. A nearby 2 bedroom air conditioned Guest House with its own living room and kitchen, is also available for rent for larger groups. Once the main villa is rented, if it is determined that the Guest House will not be needed, it may be made available for smaller groups. Each of the 6 air conditioned bedrooms has a private bathroom with double sink lavatories and enchanting indoor/outdoor showers. Best of all, each of the villa bedrooms have patios on both the east and west sides with spectacular water views.  In addition, there is an air conditioned exercise room, The Club Room, which also can serve as a small bedroom, bringing the total number of bedrooms to 7 with 7 1/2 bathrooms. Great Expectations offers views both to the east over the romantic turquoise Caribbean Sea and gentle waves rolling over the rocks of Hart Bay, as well as to the west where sailboats moor in the calm waters of Chocolate Hole. Great Expectations, in Estate Chocolate Hole, is located on the south shore of St. John, about a 5 minute drive on paved roads to town (Cruz Bay) where the restaurants, grocery stores, and shops are located. It is also close to Northshore Road where the famous, white sand beaches of the US Virgin Islands National Park can be found. The closest beach for swimming and fabulous snorkeling is just a short 5 minute walk to Chocolate Hole: a sandy beach with calm, protected water on the west side of the villa. On the east side of the villa is Hart Bay, which is the closest beach for great beachcombing and breaking waves. Great Expectations sits about 100 feet above Hart Bay beach, which is accessible by a path from the villa (about a 5 minute walk, but not recommended for small children or the elderly). It is a very secluded beach; you cannot get to Hart Bay by car or even by boat, as the coral reef comes right up to the shore. Great Expectations was designed by the award winning, Boston architect John Sloan, whose vacation rental villas can be found elsewhere in the Caribbean and Hawaii. It was built in 1999 by Bill Osborn, one of the finest builders of vacation rental homes on St. John. The excellence of their work is reflected by the fact that both John Sloan and Bill Osborn studied earlier in their careers at the Harvard University School of Design. Thanks to them, Great Expectations is framed by the extraordinary double east/west views afforded at this remarkable site.