Have been traveling to St John for more than 28 years and Oceana is by far the nicest villa we have ever stayed in. Spacious, private, close to town, easy access, and very comfortable. All the bedrooms are separated in a way to offer privacy to each guest, very well furnished with plush bedding and a/c in every room. Fantastic views and sunsets. Nice dipping pool to cool off in after a day in the sun. Lisa Durgin does a fantastic job coordinating travel from the airport and to take care of any needs that might come up during your stay. I would absolutely rent from Vacation Vistas again, and would not hesitate to request Oceana as my first choice. Five stars!”
We enjoyed a wonderful week with friends at Oceana in January. The house perfectly designed and thoughtfully and thoroughly furnished, sited overlooking Great Cruz Bay and St Thomas beyond. Every detail was considered to provide the perfect island vacation. The house accommodated 9 of us providing both privacy with individual decks and a shared terrace for gathering and dining. And St Johns perfect beaches are moments away, though many of us were perfectly happy on the terrace. We hope to return often and when we do, we will look forward to returning to the Oceana. Thanks to our hosts for creating this retreat. The pictures don’t do it justice.”
What a wonderful stay we had at Oceana. Everything was beautiful and wonderful and clean. The house was so warm and inviting and decorated so wonderfully. Loved the kitchen too. Thank you for making our trip so wonderful. We will recommend Oceana to others and hope to return there someday.”
Everything about this Villa is AMAZING!!! We had just as much fun spending time out on the patio, or in the pool, or exploring all the different plants on the grounds as we did exploring the rest of the island. The a/c in all the rooms was more than adequate. The driveway was more than large enough to fit both our rental vehicles, and to get them turned around. The views from the patio of the bay, and the sun setting over St. Thomas were absolutely gorgeous. Even with eleven of us the Villa didn’t feel crowded, and none of us wanted to leave. When we decide to return to St. John we will definitely be staying at Oceana again. THANK YOU LISA!!”
So now that we are back in cold, snowy Boston… I wanted to shoot you a quick email to tell you how much we enjoyed Oceana. I don’t think there was anything we could have wanted that had not already been thought of. As I’m sure you know, the house is amazing. Despite the very nice kitchen/living area, we hardly used it ~ we were outside on the terrace whenever possible. We even slept with the windows open the last three nights as the breeze and temps were so comfortable. Working with you on the rental was a real pleasure ~ your prompt replies to emails and phone calls is very much appreciated and the sign of a professional. We are already thinking ahead to 2012 and would be interested in renting Oceana again, possibly for 10 days this time.
We also plan to do a sailing/snorkeling trip next year ~ the one thing we seemed to run out of time for this year (another reason we would like to have 10 days!). Just as far as our experiences this year, our favorites for dinner were Waterfront Bistro, La Plancha del Mar and Sweet Plaintains (a new one for us this year). We also love Skinny Legs for lunch! We also liked Spyglass (great location) and Cactus on the Blue. We also love the beach bar at Caneel Bay for a drink and/or lunch. We did some hiking for the first time this year which was fun. We did the easy walk up to Peace Hill, and later in the week we hiked the Johnny Horn & Brown Bay trails to Brown Bay (NO ONE was there except us!). Love St. John, loved the trip. Already had someone ask who we used for our rental so I passed along your website. Was truly a pleasure working with you.”
We can not say enough about the amazing time we had at Oceana Villa, in July! From the moment we arrived, we knew we had selected the perfect spot for our family to gather for a week of relaxation. The setting is magical, with the sailboats at their moorings in the aqua waters of Great Cruz Bay and the lights of St Thomas in the distance, each evening. We loved that Oceana is set among hibiscus, numerous palms, miniature pineapples, and other tropical plants high on the hillside. An electronic security gate gives the property a feeling of security. It is obvious that great care and creativity has been put into the design and the selection of the materials used. The use of exotic woods for all ceilings, cabinetry, woodwork and arched doors, lends an old world feel to this house, while the modern conveniences are state of the art. The villa evokes British West Indies, Balinese, and African design throughout. We were amazed by the use of coral flooring inside and out, which is easy to live with, as well as beautiful. Each bath has a unique design: four of the showers have stone, sea shell, and terra cotta encrusted walls, giving them a feeling close to nature. Others have lovely, creative tile work, and all are unique and beautiful. The kitchen is well-appointed with exotic wood cabinetry, state of the art appliances and a wonderful, open floor plan. All furnishings throughout the villa are stylish but extremely comfortable.
We were delighted that there were so many spaces for our family to congregate, but also lots of privacy for relaxing alone. The pool is ideally situated for gathering, which we did most mornings and evenings, and the covered areas close by provided shade for our two infant grandchildren. The house is so soundly built that each room maintained a feeling of peace and tranquility. We can’t imagine a better spot to gather with family or friends and hope to return to Oceana before long.”
Oceana is a wonderful villa for an extended family vacation. The downstairs “media room” provided play space for young grandchildren (they didn’t know there was a DVD player but that might be attractive to other families). Our family included grandparents (safely tucked into the bedroom closest to the pool) and three adult couples with children. Each family had a great deal of privacy and space to get away from the crowd.
The kitchen, great room and outdoor verandas were terrific gathering spots. Great access to hill walking and close enough to town to make shopping easy. We also found Lisa Durgin, the manager of Vacation Vistas, to be very accessible and extremely helpful. The pool is somewhat small for a large group but the younger generation voted the spa as one of their favorite features.”
Our party of 9 was extremely comfortable and all loved this extraordinary villa. Everything is first class, and I felt like royalty staying there. The view is wonderful, and the bathrooms are all so unbelievable. The flooring was a perfect choice for the island lifestyle. We’d come back anytime.”
We had a wonderful stay at the Oceana last week. We’re wowed by all the amenities of the villa, epecially the nothing-was-spared kitchen, and the beautiful showers. The family of 6 in our group took the entire lower level which worked very well for them. Us others, after sailing a week in the BVI, were spoiled just having washer and dryer. Insect bites were a problem so be sure to bring bug spray and benydril. Another plus was the the close location to Cruz Bay, easy for nights out to dinner and shopping. Renting a car to see this beautiful island is a must. We enjoyed all the extra details at the Oceana, the red wines were a very nice welcome. We hope to return!”
The house was fabulous and we had a great time. We are already talking about our next trip back to the same house!”
Nice new villa with view of the Westin (below and to the right) and Great Cruz Bay. Amenities are very nice – i.e., kitchen, laundry, hot tub. The pool is very small but has a lovely view. We rented through Lisa Durgin at VacationVistas for the third time. Lisa was very helpful and I would use them again. The three upstairs rooms all lock up separately, the downstairs, with three bedrooms locks up. Apparently there have been no break-ins in this area and we slept with the door open to capture the breezes. We were not able to completely lock up the living room area because one of the wooden shutters had expanded and could not be closed. (I think that’s being fixed.) **Done** Each bedroom has separate a/c but the kitchen and living room area relies on ceiling fans and open air. This was a blessing for my wife and I since we enjoy the Caribbean air and the kids like it cold.
Two of the downstairs rooms are adjoining and they also do not have outside windows. The three kids who slept there really enjoyed having a dark (and quiet) place to sleep. Two of the remaining four bedrooms were very much sought after for their extra room and “outdoor” showers. (Not really outdoor but each has windows to the outdoors). Each of the rooms was spacious, comfortable and far enough away from the areas where people congregated to give enough separation and privacy.”