First of all, I want to point out that I am not local to the VI, so some of my pain points might be reflective of that:
1. The owner sent detailed information well in advance of our trip including restaurants, grocery stores, taxis, shopping, etc. which was MUCH appreciated. Some of this info was also laminated and waiting in the condo for us upon arrival.
2. The condo had A LOT of bugs (pretty sure they were roaches) including in the fridge, the bed, and shower. All places where you do not want to come across a bug. We did not enjoy this during vacay but there are window air conditioners so I am sure they get in that way… still, not enjoyable. I saw one run across the couch cushion while I was sitting…eek!
3. When they say fully self-service, that means EVERYTHING. We had two rolls of toilet paper for the entire week we were there and had to buy our own after those were gone. Just a heads up to include that in your shopping when you first arrive. It didn’t occur to us.
4. Washers and dryers are very small, no big loads. Not a negative thing, just a heads up.
5. Check your sheets and pillow cases when you arrive; the master and guest bedroom both had dirty linens. Our master bedroom had a red stain that resembled a drop of blood on it. A pillowcase in the guest room had a blackish brown stain on it. We called the owner and asked him to fix and he got back to me the next day saying the cleaning crew would replace. They did but I had to put a towel down that first night to avoid the stain on the sheet… not ideal.
6. The tv’s in the bedrooms don’t work which normally wouldn’t be a big deal but it’s listed as an ‘amenity’ for the condo under their website at Stthomascondos.net, so I expected them to be operational in the master room at least. We mentioned to the owner and he picked up the cable boxes but never returned them so we didn’t have functioning TVs in either bedroom the entire trip. Only in the living room.
7. Mim’s restaurant which is directly in front of the condo… MAKE A RESERVATION. The manager was extremely rude to us when we arrived and asked for a table. And I quote, “I knew as soon as I saw you arrive that you were going to try something crazy.” Because we asked to be seated not knowing we need a reservation? Bit dramatic and rude. We ate dinner there the first night and never again.
Overall, we made the best of it but with the cost associated, I expected a clean condo with functionality.