Hello everyone, and happy Friday! There are so many great villas here in St. John, so I’ve decided to share some of my favorites with you. Remember last month’s power outages that were happening way too often? I hit my breaking point one day – let’s be honest, all of our nerves were completely frazzled by it – and I was lucky enough to receive an offer from a friend to spend the weekend at a beautiful villa that happened to have solar power and backup batteries. It look me all of five seconds to accept the offer, and I quickly started packing an overnight bag! So with that, I would like to formally introduce you to Cay Syrah villa.
Cay Syrah is a stunning six-bedroom villa that can easily sleep 12 people comfortably. The vacation rental is set up perfectly for multi-generational family and multi-family vacations, or single-family vacations. Cay Syrah is quite large – the home has four levels – but it is also amazingly comfortable.
Cay Syrah is located in Cruz Bay and has amazing views of Pillsbury Sound, the Caribbean Sea, St. Thomas and the surrounding cays. Entry to the house is off a wide driveway, which has ample space to park four cars and includes a turnaround spot for easy maneuvering. Two additional cars can park on the street directly in front of the house. The site has been beautifully landscaped and includes several fruit-beating trees like bananas, mangoes, papayas, limes, and starfruit. You are more than welcome to help yourself to any when they are ripe to pick. Yum!
Even the front door at Cay Syrah is cool. The beautiful stained-glass door was once the entry to a gallery on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, CA. How neat is that?!
The Space
The air conditioned top level of Cay Syrah includes an open floor plan with great room, dining room and chef’s kitchen. A full 12-foot wide pocketing sliding door system brings the indoor and outdoor living spaces together with separate comfortable seating and dining areas on the covered outdoor deck.
The chef’s kitchen features custom mahogany cabinets, granite counter tops, a separate full-sized refrigerator and full-sized freezer, a double oven, five burner gas cooktop, and two full-sized dishwashers. This house is designed as a space to have fun. It can also accommodate a small wedding or other such party if prior approval has been granted.
The upstairs master has a king bed, large under-bed safe, and en-suite bathroom with a large, no-curb shower and double sink vanity. The bathroom is wheelchair accessible and includes several well positioned grab bars and a full seat in the shower.
A uniquely designed interior stairway, covered exterior stairs from the deck, and a graciously sloped exterior ramp all lead to the mid-level which has three more en-suite bedrooms, pool, outdoor kitchen/café, and laundry room. Two of these bedrooms are set up with king-sized beds with the third set up with two twins which can be converted to a king as needed. Each bathroom has a no-curb shower, again for ease of entry should additional guests require handicap accessibility. The outdoor kitchen has an outdoor television for viewing – even while in the saltwater pool. The pool also has gates installed, so that the pool can be made off limits for younger guests.
The lower level of the house, the garden apartment, is not handicap accessible. Access to this level is by exterior stairs either from the driveway or the pool deck. The garden level apartment has one king bedroom with a small bunk room, a great room, full kitchen, and one bathroom. One bedroom is set up with a king-sized bed and the other, smaller bedroom, has a twin bunk bed, which is great for children. This level also boasts a Tiki Hut bar with cover seating and a lawn for yard games.
Accessibility
Cay Syrah is perfect for a multi-generational vacation as it is a handicap accessible house with a grand, and gracious ramp connecting the top two levels. The villa was designed to accommodate the mobility challenged, and features accessible bathrooms with easy entry no-curb showers that also have seats, grab bars, and both a fixed head and hand-held shower, comfort height toilets, and 36” entry doors to all rooms. While not fully ADA compliant, very few villas (if any) on St. John can compare with Cay Syrah’s accessibility.
Available for use while renting:
- Wheelchair
- Walker
- Stand-alone toilet safety rail
Rates & How to Book
Rates for Cay Syrah villa start at $749 a night and vary based on the time of year and number of guests. Please contact Caribbean Soul Vacations at www.caribbeansoulvacations.com to learn more.
Thank You!
I would like to thank Dave and Julie, owners of Caribbean Soul Vacations, for giving my family a little reprieve during last month’s outages. You two are the best!