If you like hilly terrain and not-crowded beaches, then the east end of St. John is for you. If you like night life, shopping, restaurants, and a broad selection of groceries.... not so much. This little cottage on a very steep hill is a wonderful get-away in the midst of the Caribbean madness. Just two rooms (bedroom and great room, containing a small dining table and kitchette) plus a 3/4 bath, it is great for a couple. Any more than that (even one kid) would be TOO MUCH. Clean, tidy, and comes with pretty much everything you need other than groceries: full fridge, double sink, dishwasher, microwave, stovetop, toaster-oven (in lieu of a real oven, so no frozen pizzas, no baking). Utensils, knives, openers, paper owls, dishes etc. linens, towels (including beach towels), and you can borrow their beach chairs and snorkel equipment.

It is as far away from population centers as you can get, so no dealing with the crowds of St. Thomas or Cruz Bay. But that means a 25-minute winding drive to the nearest mini-mart or mediocre restaurant (Vie's Snack Shack closed up, so no food for sale on the far east end of St. John anymore). The very pretty beach right across the road is never completely empty of people, but also never crowded, and you can rent water-sports equipment there. Great snorkeling right in that beach, a 3-minute walk from your door. Other nice beaches a mile or so away, and many others within a 40-minute winding-hilly drive. You will absolutely need to rent a jeep to stay in this place, as there is no other reliable transportation to get you to or from there.

The cottage itself is fairly new, so it is in great condition. Balcony on 2 sides lets you watch the beach in the morning and the sunset at night. Jay and Athena are great and very interesting people, who will let you completely alone if you want, or will spend all the time you need talking with you on any topic whatsoever. They are wonderful hosts and wonderful people.

Jay collects and treats his own water, so the tap water is fantastic (no need to buy bottled water, except for excursions to the beach). He has also put the whole place on Solar power, so when the power goes out (which it did every day but one of our stay), you generally don't suffer, because your power is from his solar (not from the grid). ONE exception is A/C: that's from the grid. So if you need cool nights to sleep, be warned that the A/C might be iffy at night. We would definitely return.