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Luxury Tent/cottage On Nat'l Park Pond Walking Dist. To Snorkeling & Park Trails

Luxury Tent/cottage On Nat'l Park Pond Walking Dist. To Snorkeling & Park Trails

Photo gallery for Luxury Tent/cottage On Nat'l Park Pond Walking Dist. To Snorkeling & Park Trails

living/dining area. cottage is on the point with pond on two sides
kitchen
closer look at kitchen
closet and bathroom
tent/cottage camouflaged for your privacy. east wall entrance

Overview of Luxury Tent/cottage On Nat'l Park Pond Walking Dist. To Snorkeling & Park Trails

Reviews
9.4 out of 10 Exceptional
1 bedroom1 bathroomSleeps 230 sq m

Popular amenities

  • Outdoor spaceOutdoor spaceOutdoor space
  • KitchenKitchenKitchen
  • Barbecue grillBarbecue grillBarbecue grill

Check out the area

Map
St. John
  • Popular LocationVirgin Islands National Park16 min walk
  • Popular LocationCinnamon Bay Beach24 min drive
  • Popular LocationTrunk Bay31 min drive
  • AirportSt. Thomas (STT-Cyril E. King)103 min drive

Rooms & beds

1 bedroom (sleeps 2)

Bedroom 1

1 bathroom

Bathroom 1

Toilet · Shower only

Spaces

Deck or patio
Kitchen
Dining Area

About this property

Luxury Tent/cottage On Nat'l Park Pond Walking Dist. To Snorkeling & Park Trails

Absolute privacy in the southeast corner of beautiful St. John, our tent/cottage is located on the waterfront of the largest salt pond on the island. It has a 180 degree uninterrupted view of the National Park. It is easy walking distance to Lameshur Bay, Grootpan Bay, Kiddel Bay, and Salt Pond Bay (some of the best snorkeling on island). A great half-day hike takes you to Reef Bay where you can walk through the ruins of the last remaining sugar plantation on island, see the pre-Columbian petroglyphs and the Great house where the overseer would have lived.

The Kitchen has everything you wished you had the last time you went camping: small fridge, running water, microwave, toaster, coffee maker, 2 burner Colman stove, tableware for 4. There is a small Weber grill on the deck. Bath with shower and toilet. Passive solar water tank.

Bear in mind that this is a canvas roof and when there are strong winds (called Christmas Winds) it can be noisy.

Property manager

Meredith Small

Languages

English

Amenities

Kitchen
Outdoor space
Barbecue grill
Outdoor dining
Enchanted hideaway for 2. Walk to beaches
Kitchen
Pet-friendly
Free WiFi
Barbecue grill
10.0 out of 10, (12 reviews)
Enchanted hideaway for 2. Walk to beaches

House Rules

Check in after 4:00 PM
Minimum age to rent: 12
Check out before 11:00 AM

Children

Adults only
Under twelve

Events

No events allowed

Pets

No pets allowed
Pets not allowed

Smoking

Smoking is not permitted
Non smoking only

Damage and incidentals

You will be responsible for any damage to the rental property caused by you or your party during your stay.

Important information

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
Onsite parties or group events are strictly prohibited
Host has not indicated whether there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property; consider bringing a portable detector with you on the trip
Host has not indicated whether there is a smoke detector on the property

We should mention

A car is required for transportation to and from this property

About the area

St. John

Located in St. John, this cottage is in a rural area and on the waterfront. While the natural beauty of Virgin Islands National Park and Cinnamon Bay Beach can be enjoyed by anyone, those looking for an activity can check out Tortola Cruise Ship Port. Be sure to check out the area's animals with activities such as game walks and birdwatching.
Map
St. John

What's nearby

  • Virgin Islands National Park - 16 min walk
  • Cinnamon Bay - 12 min drive
  • Maho Beach - 21 min drive
  • Cinnamon Bay Beach - 24 min drive
  • Trunk Bay - 31 min drive

Getting around

  • St. Thomas (SPB-St. Thomas Seaplane Base) - 100 min drive

Restaurants

  • Lime Out - 25 min drive
  • Tap & Still - 30 min drive
  • Skinny Legs - 8 min drive
  • The Windmill Bar - 25 min drive
  • Greengo’s - 30 min drive

Reviews

9.4

Exceptional

Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labelled.
Learn moreOpens in a new window
Rating 10 - Excellent. 20 out of 23 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 1 out of 23 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 1 out of 23 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 23 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 1 out of 23 reviews" "

9.6/10

Cleanliness

10/10

Amenities

8.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

10/10

Eco-friendliness

10/10

Check-in

10/10

Communication

9.8/10

Location

9.2/10

Listing accuracy

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Paul

Liked: Cleanliness, communication
I wouldn’t want to experience St. John any other way. This is on a very quiet area of the island. Far from the tourists. I am a camper/ backpacker. I seek remote areas to be close to nature. This was perfect. This is not a hotel. It’s also not camping. You have some luxuries that are certainly appreciated. St. John is an expensive trip and this fit my budget. The owners are so sweet and helpful. They offered so much insight into the areas we wanted to explore. Without question, the most helpful hosts I’ve ever had in my travels. If I find my way back to St. John again, I will most definitely stay here again!
Stayed 9 nights in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Henry

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities, communication
We were fortunate to have stayed here for 9 nights…can’t think of a better place for our trip! Meredith and Bill are consummate hosts…quick to fulfill a need, wealth of knowledge when asked…they obviously love this island and sharing what it has to offer! They provide reference materials about the island as well as maps for snorkeling. If you are looking for a resort feel…lounging by the pool deck, having to choose which restaurant to walk to - this is not the place. However, if you are looking to be a part of nature, sleeping with sounds of frogs and night herons, waking to birds enjoying fruit on cactuses outside your screened porch, looking down on the bird activity on a salt pond (we even had 6 flamingos arrive!) or walking a short distance to snorkel in choice of 2 bays…this is definitely for you. There is an awesome market 3 miles from here…they make their own hummus and desserts and will even season the fresh fish you purchase if asked. Would we stay again…most definitely!
Stayed 9 nights in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Douglas H.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Virgin Islands Cottage hosted by Bill and Meredith Small
Location was very close to various beaches for swimming and snorkeling. Also nice hikes. Small town Atmosphere. Only down side was the bugs. My wife and I are used to wilderness camping so this was just a medium inconvenience. Our hosts exceeded our expectations.
Stayed 11 nights in Jan 2023

2/10 Terrible

Ann E.

Liked: Check-in, communication
Disliked: Cleanliness, listing accuracy
Luxury Tent - NOT!
Luxury Tent? NOT! Don’t be fooled or enticed by the low price and remote location. This so-called “luxury tent” was a nightmare. It was heavily infested with no-see-ums that gave us multiple bites despite our frequent deet applications. There were ants and lizards that came in easily through cracks in the side screens and the flooring and the "sun heated" shower was a cold trickle. But the worst was the thunderously loud flapping of the double top of canvas and tarp in the nightly gusty winds, which awakened us multiple times each night. Fortunately, we found alternative housing once we realized that the challenges could not be overlooked or overcome.
Stayed 9 nights in Mar 2022

10/10 Excellent

Elizabeth H.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
LOVED IT SO MUCH
My fiancé and I had a wonderful time staying here! Meredith and Bill were incredible and welcoming hosts. They had lots of great recommendations for hikes and snorkeling. We loved starting our days drinking coffee on the the little patio and watching all the birds in the salt pond and then finishing our days with star gazing. The location is perfect and within walking distance to hikes, beaches and the bus stop. The beds were comfortable and there is even a ceiling fan! We would definitely recommend staying here and we hope to return again soon!
Stayed 5 nights in Feb 2022

About the host

Hosted by Meredith Small

Host profile image
We quit our jobs at age 52, moved to St. John and bought a cement mixer. We have spent the intervening years building our house. (pink roof in the photos). In 2016 we decided to share this wonderful spot and built this tent/cottage. We were inspired by years of camping at Maho Bay Camps and served as staff there from 1997-2000 while getting the house habitable. We are living the dream. We hike and snorkel whenever we want.
When you are our age all your friends can afford airfare! So we have lots of visitors.

Why they chose this property

We chose this location because it is both remote and accessible. We can walk to so many of the places we fell in love with so many years ago. While camping at Maho Bay, Bill would often go on an "around the island" snorkel tour and come back raving about a fabulous spot. Later we found out it was Kiddel Bay. It is a 5 minute walk from us! How lucky we are!

What makes this property unique

It was hard to get used to the idea that the weather here comes from the east - in Maine it comes from the west. The beauty of that is that the early morning sprinkles bring out the most beautiful rainbows over the pond. Such a lovely thing to enjoy over morning coffee.

Languages:

English
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