We had a group consisting of myself and girlfriend, a great friend of ours who had been my college roommate and had lived in the Virgin Islands before, and my brother and my 8-year old nephew. As two of us were pretty familiar with what to expect in the USVI, it was great - we loved being on the Coral Bay side of things, which is much quieter and more neighborhoody. Steep, steep driveway, with lots of zig-zags, but it makes the view worth it. There was one corner that we could never get around smoothly, we had to three-point it on the edge of the hillside. Kind of par for the course in the USVI - these are STEEP islands!! Loved the setup of the house; Main living area had a loft with 2 twin beds. Downstairs apartment for one person or a couple. A separate cabin for another couple just a few steps away from the main house. Loved the outdoor shower! Something great about washing off the beach salt while looking at a great view! Here on the far east end of the island, it is definitely not a nightlife spot, and very little shopping. Just nature, locals, and a quiet pace of life.
The kitchen was pretty well set up, we did a lot of dinners at home, and packed a lot of lunches for the beach or boat. There are a few solid restaurants on this end of the island, and we were pleased with the grocery in Coral Bay as well, though I guess the prices were a bit high, but come on, beats driving to Cruz Bay! Skinny Legs is right at the bottom of the driveway for burgers, drinks, camaraderie, and live music. Indigo Grill had great apps, pizza, and local fish. Our favorite was Miss Lucy's - great West Indian food, a program of music (steel pan when we were there, Jazz thursdays, and a Jazz Sunday Brunch.)
Really easy reach of Mahoe Bay, the East end (Vie's Beach/Hansen Bay area was great, loved it!) We went to Lameshur Bay, which has a much better road than I remember. We didn't actually use the pool, as we were so well situated for snorkeling and beaches, and we'd rather be in that gorgeous Caribbean water!
Thanks - we enjoyed it very much, and we would definitely try to book this again if we had a similar composition of people in our group!