Once we got over the very steep roads to get to the home, we were able to settle in for a week of visiting St. John. We were unaware that the roads and downtown were challenging to drive and park here. In fact, it made a difference for where we went to dinner and shopped due to unavailability of parking but the locations we did stop at were great. Nice that everywhere we went were “open air” locations. But for the Meritage Great House, there were many pluses from the air conditioned bedrooms, stocked kitchen, and patio space to hang out. In fact, most of our afternoons were spent on the patio (bring bug spray) since the great room space was unusable. It was just so hot, even with windows open, especially when we cooked in. They really should consider an a/c unit in that great space for comfort. The pool was nice to relax in at the end of the day but we couldn’t get the temperature controlled on the hot tub. It didn’t matter much since the heat was prohibitive anyway. Bedrooms and beds very comfortable and use of laundry equipment was very welcomed. Lots of towels and beach chairs provided with an ice chest but be sure to rent snorkel gear in town. The master bath downstairs was great with the outdoor shower but be aware that this meant the bathroom was not air conditioned and was very hot to use. We realize it was August, but it was uncomfortable. Also, the upstairs bedroom had an issue with mosquitoes that we couldn’t fix. Overall, a positive experience with a very nice home base for our stay. The sunsets weren’t as lovely as on islands such as Maui, but the views were very nice. A very nice home away from home for our family of 6.
