Hello everyone, and happy Monday! I hope you all had a nice holiday weekend! Dalton and I spent ours up in Connecticut, and it was lovely; however it was 27 degrees when we left JFK Saturday morning. Brr! So needless to say, I’m happy to be home and back in the sun!
Our friends over at the Windmill Bar have been working hard to redesign the upper bar for the past couple of months, and it is finally complete. I stopped in on Monday with tour guests, and it looks fantastic! A large bar with plenty of seating has replaced the original bar. They’re calling it the Sky Bar, which I love! The deck in that area has been expanded, and a few new tables and barstools have been added. Check it out!
Amazing views at the Sky Bar!Plenty of seating on the new upper deckThat view!Another new bar on the lower levelUpgraded seating too!
The Windmill also launched a brand new happy hour on Monday! The Windmill is now offering happy hour specials from noon to 3 p.m. every day. You can get $4 Trulys, $4 Carib beers and $6 Blue Chair Bay Rum Windmill Breezes. Cheers to that!
The Windmill is open daily from 11 a.m. until they close, which is a few hours after sunset. Sunset today is happening at 5:41pm AST. We are one hour ahead of NYC time at the moment, so keep that in mind if you want to check out their webcam during sunset. You can see that webcam, plus more than two dozen others at www.explorestj.com/webcams.
Want to visit the Windmill with me? I would love to take you on an island tour! I bring guests there almost daily, and I would love to bring you too! Feel free to email me at jenn@explorestj.com or visit www.explorestj.com/tour for more information.
This is a Black Friday flash sale! All Trunk Bay puzzles are $5 off today until 5 p.m. EST. No additional shipping fees! All orders made today by 5pm will ship tomorrow! Save some cash & bring a little Trunk Bay home with you today!
We’ve got a name, and we’ve got a menu. It looks like Karma is coming to St. John!
I woke up Wednesday morning to several text messages with links to a new website – karmastj.com. For the past several months, I have been told that Karma would be the name of the new restaurant that is set to open in the former Joe’s Rum Hut spot in Wharfside Village. Well, it’s official. Karma will be a high-end sushi restaurant just like we have heard and told you all last month.
(The website was taken down after we posted this story.)
Here is the new restaurant’s description straight from its website:
Karma STJ is a world elite seaside restaurant for Mediterranean-inspired cuisine, fresh fish and seafood, top-notch sushi, as well as premium beef cuts. All born from a desire to create impeccable tastes and emotions for a prestigious clientele. An elevated quest for excellence.
According to its website, Karma will be open for brunch, lunch and dinner. The restaurant will feature a Cigar Beach Lounge and a Beach Club. I reached out to get an estimated opening date via the website this morning. I will update you all as soon as I hear back.
If you want to see more of what Karma plans to offer, check out their website at www.karmastj.com. Have a great day everyone!
Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!
See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
Villa Circe is a beautiful villa that is up for bid.
Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park is currently holdings its annual Villas in the Park fundraiser. There are currently 35 villas, condos and suites that have generously donated stays. The auction continues through November 29th. All proceeds will support Friends of the Virgin Islands Park and their efforts to preserve and protect the natural and cultural resources in the Virgin Islands National Park.
Here are a list of vacation rentals that are currently up for auction:
A villa with a pool on the beach… yes, please! Welcome to Shangri-La.
Vacationing in St. John isn’t always the easiest., You have to book a place to stay. You have to find car rental. Perhaps you want to book a boat trip too. You finally arrive at the airport, and you decide you’d rather not cram into a taxi filled with people, but you don’t know who to call. Well you’re in luck, because one company takes care of all of this St. John vacation planning and more – St. John Resort Villas.
St. John Resort Villas has nine villas to choose from, including several that are directly on a sandy beach! For those of you who are familiar with St. John, you know that’s a rarity! They also have a fleet of vehicle rentals to choose from, as well as a 36-foot luxury Aquila that you can book for a day in the USVI or an excursion over in the British Virgin Islands.
St. John Resort Villas also owns Utopia, a beautiful vacation villa in Upper Peter Bay that’s available to rent.
St. John Resort Villas is owned by Al and MaryKae Scott, who are truthfully two of the kindest people I have ever met. Al and MaryKae began vacationing on St. John in 2011 and soon decided to purchase their own place after renting a variety of villas around the island.
“After many frequent trips to the island, we decided that it’s time to buy our own place; somewhere we can call home and that would encompass what we loved about our frequent stays,” Al said. “Waterfront, directly on the water was what we both loved and that was our number one criterion when searching. We saw Lime in de Coconut Villa advertised and immediately fell in love with it and bought it right then.”
“Since that time, we’ve done extensive renovations to make it a tropical paradise with lots of palm trees and beautiful tropical landscaping,” MaryKae added. “All of our family love the island and at our family gatherings, there’s always a great story or fabulous memory shared. It’s everyone’s favorite place to vacation!”
I’ve seen several of the St. John Resort Villas properties myself, so I can tell you first-hand that they truly are top-notch. Here is a quick rundown of their offerings:
Lime in de Coconut – Five bedroom home located directly on the waters of Chocolate Hole Bay.
Coconut Cottage – A cute, one bedroom cottage located on Chocolate Hole Bay.
Shangri-La Villa – A five-bedroom home located directly on the sand at Chocolate Hole.
Palms Villa North – A three-bedroom home located directly on the sand at Chocolate Hole.
Palms Villa South – A three-bedroom home located directly on the sand at Chocolate Hole.
Beach Oasis – A six-bedroom home located directly on the sand in Chocolate Hole.
Poseidon’s Retreat – A three-bedroom home located on the sand in Chocolate Hole.
Neptune’s Retreat – A three-bedroom home with water access in Chocolate Hole.
And last, but certainly not least is Utopia Peter Bay. – A spectacular seven-bedroom home located in St. John’s prestigious Upper Peter Bay neighborhood.
Utopia Villa overlooks Peter Bay and has views of Cinnamon Bay, Francis Bay, the British Virgin Islands and beyond.That view!!Utopia is a great villa for family & friend gatherings. It is a great home for entertaining.Sunset views from Utopia Villa
Book a 7-night stay and get a free rental car! (Based upon availability.) Offer ends/booking must be made before Dec. 15, 2024. *Subject to availability.Spend the day on St. John Resort Villa’s Aquila!
And even better, Al and MaryKae are offering one heck of a deal for Explore STJ readers! If you book one week at any of their properties by Dec. 15, 2024, you will get a one-week vehicle rental for FREE!* (This is subject to availability.) In order to claim this offer, you need to make your booking before Dec. 15, 2024. You can book online at www.stjohnresortvillas.com and simply type FREECAR next in the Discount Code section.
For those of you driving through Coral Bay in the upcoming days or weeks, you will see that the old, severely hurricane-damaged Island Blues building is finally being torn down. It’s about darn time.
Island Blues was a funky little waterfront restaurant that was located across the street from where Johnny Lime is today. I loved hanging out on its deck, sipping on a cold drink while listening to the waves slowly hit the shore. Sadly, Island Blues closed permanently back in 2014 after the owner could not successfully sell the place. Her last asking price was only $35,000. How times have changed!
A very old pic of Island Blues
The building (the opposite side of Island Blues) was the home of Tall Ships Trading, a screen printing business owned by Elliot, a well-known Coral Bay resident, when Hurricane Irma destroyed it back in 2017. The building has remained in shambles and relatively untouched since.
Random hurricane fact – the storm blew the front door off of what was the Island Blues bathroom, yet the toilet paper remained on the holder after the storm. How crazy is that! I know I have a picture of it somewhere. If I find it, I will share it with you all because it is completely bonkers.
Progess was being made yesterday when I drove by.The building should be completely torn down in a matter of days.
This property is said to be part of the Coral Bay marina project that has been going on for more than a decade. That marina has yet to get the official go-ahead by all government agencies, but it is still very much in play. I will provide an update on that in the near future.
See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
