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USVI-On-Line: St. Croix Hotel, Resort & Villa Reviews:


Villa des Great Chefs 07/31/2005
Reviewers Rating: Fair
Villa des Great Chefs - Negative Review

Villa des Great Chefs -- Nasty Aftertaste, Big thumbs down
A thoroughly negative experience, especially the follow-up in dealing with the owners and in trying to get our damage deposit back. Fortunately, we used a great reservation company who reimbursed us because the owners complaint (excess electricity use!) was unreasonable, and, in retrospect, comletely laughable. Whether they know it or not, the owners of VDGC (the experience of the place was like the acronymn sounds) are in the hospitality industry, and the overall experience was far less than hospitable. Like a bad meal at a cheap restaurant, the nasty aftertaste of VDGC just keeps coming back.
The only reason we even chose VDGC was that we waited too long to make reservations elsewhere. It was, unfortunately, a choice of last resort, and one that we regret making. It was one of the only places available, and now I understand why it has the vacancy rate that it does.
A considerable concern is that the owners of VDGC said they relied on a neighbor to monitor elecricity use outside and inside (!) the villa "24/7", raising serious concerns about privacy that were quite unnerving. VDGC advertised the utmost in privacy, but one wonders how private VDGC is when someone is observing 24 hours a day, all week long.
Other disappointments included the heavily touted Weber grills, which were filthy and corroded. One was totally out of propane, and we had to almost immediately have the propane tank of another refilled in town at our expense. Hardly what I would expect from a place that calls itself the Villa des Great Chefs. To their credit, the owners acknowledged the poor state of the grills four months after the fact, but there was no compensation for this. In addition, we had to respond to a request from the owners of VDGC to have surveyors use the property for a few hours one morning while we were paying $450 a day. The request was actually made after the surveyors showed up unannounced early one morning.
Additional negative aspects include that the villa has cheap plastic blinds on the sliding glass doors that clatter like wild at night (we kept the doors open to get a breeze because the A/C in the bedroom wasn't working). Also, the pool has an almond tree right next to it that kept shedding almonds and leaves right into the pool -- this was a job unto itself to try to keep the pool reasonably clean, which we tried to do but eventually gave up on. Potential renters should also consider that VDGC is located on a steeply sloped north-facing hillside. This means that the sun hits the pool for only a couple hours, and the water was quite cold in the winter. Polar bears only, please!
There are other beautiful villas for rent on the island of St. Croix, which is stunning and lovely.

Michael Sweda
(Review edited at discretion of USVI-On-Line.com)
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