We loved the layout of this property. The main house with kitchen, dining room, and living room is open and airy. It was perfect even on the one rainy day for hanging out and playing cards. The separate cottages are very close and on level ground with the main house providing privacy and ease. The downstairs bedrooms were equally comfortable for our boys. The path to the beach was a hidden gem, the pool and decks lovely.

Would definitely rebook !

Our group of 8 loved this location. The views and breezes were incredible. Falling asleep each night to the sounds of the waves was so relaxing. There is no air conditioning, but we were perfectly comfortable. Location very convenient to Cruz Bay, but also very private. Would happily go back again.

Property was amazing, view was awesome.

The property is not only beautiful and clean - its huge! Meryle met us at the ferry dock and we followed her to the house. She was wonderful and very helpful. This property is great for multiple couples or a larger family because every room/cottage has its own bathroom, balcony, and an ocean view. No one would have to settle. In the evening, you can open up the windows and shutters and have an amazing breeze from the ocean. We will definitely be staying here again!

Our group all agreed there are many positive attributes to the property! The view is breathtaking , we loved the large open living area and having separate bedroom bungalows for privacy was a plus. The property managers were helpful and friendly!! We ran into a maintenance guy who asked us what we thought the property needed to make renters stay more comfortable. Overall Rara Avis is a nice property but in desperate need of updates. We come to St. John 1-2 times a year and would consider staying there again. It would be more enticing if some updates were done such as new sliding screen doors, dyer, bathroom plumbing and furniture.

The good and then the "needs improvement": GOOD: Caribbean Villas as the rental agency -- very responsive, polite, accurate, helpful, friendly. Use these people for your rental. The property is on a private lot directly above the ocean. No noise other than the surf. And a short drive to Cruz Bay, where one can find everything, but from where one can disappear in 5 minutes back to the solitude of this place. Beautiful views. Watch the sun come up in the morning. Great breeze off the bay, flows through the main part of the house. Nice layout with two lower bedrooms and two separate cabanas. Nice to have coolers, beach chairs and beach towels in abundance. NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: Property seems to show a lack of regular owner engagement and maintenance. One sliding door does not lock; we replaced three burned out light bulbs (including two of three fairly obvious deck lights); two of four stove burners did not light without manual intervention, coffee machine broken (but promptly replaced by Caribbean villas because that WAS an emergency); DVD player had no remote, no pause, no fast forward, forcing us to enjoy endless previews before our beloved Pirates of the Caribbean; no opener to puncture a can (for that pineapple juice for pina coladas); a door handle fell off; a shower handle fell off. House furnished with a dozen island music CDs, but the CD player was broken. Get the picture? My bet is that Caribbean Villas would have responded well to much of this, but who wants repair people every day when the next thing happens or is discovered? NOTE: There is a beach below the property, accessible by a foot path. It is rocky and we saw no one swimming there -- just a few surfers on a couple of days. So -- nice to look at, but don't think of it as "beach" in the sense of, "Let's go down for a swim." The small pool is nicely shaded part of the day, but that means that the renter will need to scoop out a lot of leaves on a daily basis. Not a huge chore, but not for everyone. OVERALL: We had a good time, because we are used to home maintenance, and could shrug off the growing list of minor annoyances -- but that might not be everyone's cup of tea. We would happily rent this property again, IF the owner decided to reinvest more of the rental income for (a) renewal and (b) upkeep.

Wonderful rental in St.John , perfect for couples traveling together . We visited with two other couples and each of us had our own private spaces. One couple took the downstairs bedrooms in the main house and the other two stayed in the cabanas on each side of the main house. The house has a very beautiful ocean sunrise view with doors that open to both the main deck and courtyard area. Great court yard with tons of space . Kitchen had everything you could imagine for cooking and a gas grill to BBQ. Bedrooms have nice linens and towels and the entire home including cabanas is decorated very tastefully. We loved our stay at the Rara Avis in St. John and would definitely recommend to others.

Wonderful rental in St.John , perfect for couples traveling together . We visited with two other couples and each of us had our own private spaces. One couple took the downstairs bedrooms in the main house and the other two stayed in the cabanas on each side of the main house. The house has a very beautiful ocean sunrise view with doors that open to both the main deck and courtyard area. Great court yard with tons of space . Kitchen had everything you could imagine for cooking and a gas grill to BBQ. Bedrooms have nice linens and towels and the entire home including cabanas is decorated very tastefully. We loved our stay at the Rara Avis in St. John and would definitely recommend to others.

We were invited by frequent St John visitors to join them for a week in this lovely spot. Really nice place for a family getaway or a few couples. The main living space is open and breezy with great views of the bay. The two separate cottages are each perfect for a couple and more private. Ample space for a rental car (or two!) in a carport. Well lit at night. Comfortable beds and adequate bathrooms in each bedroom. Nice towels and beach towels, lots of beach chairs to take on your snorkeling expeditions. Service was pretty good, given this is the islands - the dishwasher was broken and the appliance repair guy, promised the next AM, never showed. But when a toilet stopped up they were there to fix it fast. Coffee maker died, too, but they do that. All in all, we loved it and would come stay again - still gets our 5 stars.

Rara Avis was a very interesting property, and we are glad we stayed there. We loved the closeness to Cruz Bay (ferry, shops, restaurants) and the beaches on the North Shore. We had considered a couple of places near Coral Bay -- we ruled them out because we were arriving early evening. With being new to driving on the left, we didn't want to have to drive from the ferry dock in Cruz Bay to Coral Bay in the dark, on the left... Later in our trip we went to Coral Bay, with it being off-season, there wasn't much open over there. We are so glad we chose Rara Avis and Cruz Bay off-season! Rara Avis has wide open spaces. The front of the home facing Hart Bay has huge sliders, the rear has large folding wooden doors and a large window in the kitchen. When we were "home" we kept these open all the time to let in the sea breeze, and the occasional bird and lizard. It was very warm when we were there, and there is no air flow nor ceiling fans in the bedrooms in the lower level of the main house. There were only 4 of us so we used the Cabanas detached from the main house for our sleeping quarters. The pods had ceiling fans and large doors in the front, windows in the back for air flow. It was still warm at times trying to sleep. No A/C in the main home nor the cabanas...that's OK, we opened everything up and let nature in -- literally! We would snorkel during the day at the many beautiful beaches or hike the park, come back to Rara Avis, take a swim in the pool, get cleaned up and pick a Cruz Bay restaurant for dinner. Then we would come home and sit on the beautiful, spacious deck of the main house with adult beverages and watch the moon rise and stargaze. There are lots of deck options, and patio seating areas to choose from (private or group spaces), lots of hidden nooks. There are two outdoor showers, a nice bar-b-q grill, and a very well appointed kitchen. There were beach chairs and coolers available for our use, a washer and dryer, beach towels...The pool could use some maintenance, the tile coping was missing in places, and the furniture in the living room could use some updating. It worked fine for our needs, and is a nice place, but elegant and fancy it isn't!DO NOT Rent Rara because there is a beach and water access, that is not the draw for this property. The beach area wasn't merely rocky, it was piles of coral, not even good for walking much less swimming. We were a little disappointed on that front. We would stay here again.

Rara Avis was a very interesting property, and we are glad we stayed there. We loved the closeness to Cruz Bay (ferry, shops, restaurants) and the beaches on the North Shore. We had considered a couple of places near Coral Bay -- we ruled them out because we were arriving early evening. With being new to driving on the left, we didn't want to have to drive from the ferry dock in Cruz Bay to Coral Bay in the dark, on the left... Later in our trip we went to Coral Bay, with it being off-season, there wasn't much open over there. We are so glad we chose Rara Avis and Cruz Bay off-season! Rara Avis has wide open spaces. The front of the home facing Hart Bay has huge sliders, the rear has large folding wooden doors and a large window in the kitchen. When we were "home" we kept these open all the time to let in the sea breeze, and the occasional bird and lizard. It was very warm when we were there, and there is no air flow nor ceiling fans in the bedrooms in the lower level of the main house. There were only 4 of us so we used the Cabanas detached from the main house for our sleeping quarters. The pods had ceiling fans and large doors in the front, windows in the back for air flow. It was still warm at times trying to sleep. No A/C in the main home nor the cabanas...that's OK, we opened everything up and let nature in -- literally! We would snorkel during the day at the many beautiful beaches or hike the park, come back to Rara Avis, take a swim in the pool, get cleaned up and pick a Cruz Bay restaurant for dinner. Then we would come home and sit on the beautiful, spacious deck of the main house with adult beverages and watch the moon rise and stargaze. There are lots of deck options, and patio seating areas to choose from (private or group spaces), lots of hidden nooks. There are two outdoor showers, a nice bar-b-q grill, and a very well appointed kitchen. There were beach chairs and coolers available for our use, a washer and dryer, beach towels... The pool could use some maintenance, the tile coping was missing in places, and the furniture in the living room could use some updating. It worked fine for our needs, and is a nice place, but elegant and fancy it isn't! DO NOT Rent Rara because there is a beach and water access, that is not the draw for this property. The beach area wasn't merely rocky, it was piles of coral, not even good for walking much less swimming. We were a little disappointed on that front. We would stay here again.

This was our second time at Rara Avis. In 2013 we brought a good friend who had cancer and it was a trip of a lifetime for him. This time, we brought three other friends and had a wonderful time too. The constant white noise of the waves in Hart Bay are a blessing to my ears and I forgot that I have tinnitus. The privacy of the lovely courtyard makes it a wonderful place to sit and watch the stars. Rara Avis is a comfortable villa with nice beds and amazing sunrise views over Ditliff Point. The two cabanas offer another level of privacy for couples that is wonderful. The pool has gradual steps that make it easy to get in slowly. The kitchen is well stocked with dishes and utensils and the gas grill was a nice bonus. Rara is also an amazingly nice spot to view the many flowering plants and fauna. St. John is a peaceful spot to go for rejuvenation from a stressful job.

Rara Avis is truly a hidden gem. I have been staying at Rara for about 15 years, both with my family and now as an annual trip with my friends. The house is spacious enough to sleep 8 people comfortably. There are 2 private villa bedrooms that provide privacy. The open kitchen/living/dining room all look out onto a breath-taking ocean view. The house is situated overlooking Hart Bay which provides for exceptional views. The porch off the living room is perfect for lying out with coffee or a cocktail and reading while listening to the waves. You truly could not find a more beautiful place to vacation. You can also walk down the trail from the house to the private beach below. You will feel as if you are the only person on Hart Bay. If you want to be in the action of town it is only a 10 minute drive away. On top of the the price is unbelievable! You cannot find a better price on St.John-- believe me, I have looked! Anyone who is lucky enough to stay at Rara, I know it won't be your last time.