Chill Out in Chocolate Hole: Family-Friendly Retreat with A/C, Private Pool, & a solar power battery backup system! Reviews, Deals & Photos 2025

Q: Is Chill Out in Chocolate Hole: Family-Friendly Retreat with A/C, Private Pool, & a solar power battery backup system! pet-friendly?

No, pets are not allowed at this property.

Q: Where is Chill Out in Chocolate Hole: Family-Friendly Retreat with A/C, Private Pool, & a solar power battery backup system! located?

Situated on the waterfront, this villa is steps from Chocolate Hole and 1.8 mi (2.9 km) from Virgin Islands National Park. Great Cruz Bay and Chocolate Hole Beach are also within 1 mi (2 km).

This review was submitted before 2018 and has not been verified.

10/10 Excellent

Jay S.

Nov 18, 2016

Absolutely Perfect!

We have a family of 4 and it was absolutely perfect and had everything we look for. We rent through VRBO often and this house was our favorite ever. Super Clean , Awesome Views , perfectly located, great pool and the people from the management company were awesome and helpful. I would highly recommend this to anyone!

This review was submitted before 2018 and has not been verified.

10/10 Excellent

Aug 26, 2015

exceeded our expectations

The pictures do not do it justice! The location is awesome! The home is clean, well cared for! Kitchen is great! Pool is clean and feels new, great deck, walk down to ocean! We shared it with another family, we will be back for sure!!!

10/10 Excellent

Jennifer M.

Jul 16, 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great stay

We had family stay here that came in for my daughters wedding. The house is very spacious. Nice pool and good snorkeling in chocolate hole. Little beach area below villa.. watch out for the sea urchins entering from villa. Saw a huge lobster! Overall they enjoyed their stay. The great room does not have ac, but there are lots of doors to open that will let in the breeze from the ocean. Close to town and stores, not walking distance.

Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2022

2/10 Terrible

Paula C.

Feb 8, 2022

Disliked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Wonderful!

Perfect house for our group of eight adults! Loved the location and all that the house and property had to offer.

Stayed 10 nights in Jan 2022

10/10 Excellent

Megan C.

Aug 17, 2021

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Quiet Comfortable Home

Ciellodonna is a quiet property close to Cruz Bay. What can I say. . .amazing deck and pool views . . .large, comfortable living areas. . .lovely air-conditioned bedrooms. Snorkeling from the property is awesome. . .tangs, stingrays, turtles etc, but getting in and out is challenging (boulders and sea urchins abound). If not up to the challenge you can drive to the sandy area for easier access. The management company were great about answering questions.

Stayed 7 nights in Aug 2021

10/10 Excellent

Lines J.

Aug 19, 2020

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Beautiful and convenient location.

My overall impression is highly positive, the pool, however, is a little sketchy.

Stayed 8 nights in Aug 2020

This review was submitted before 2018 and has not been verified.

8/10 Good

John K., Ashburn

May 22, 2017

A great hideaway

The property was wonderful, especially the deck and pool area. The bedrooms were nice and my sons didn't have to fight over who got the nicest. Easy walk to the water (for snorkeling, walk along the path to the south and enter the bay in the area intended for snorkeling, not directly in front of the house). The downside this week was the mosquitoes. Very severe. There were a lot of them in the house when we first arrived and we gradually got rid of all of them. But late afternoon and early evening on the deck was virtually intolerable, even with bug spray. We loved the house, the location, and the proximity to Cruz Bay.

This review was submitted before 2018 and has not been verified.

10/10 Excellent

Cheryl A.

Oct 2, 2016

6 stars

Excellent choice for 4 couples !! Plenty of space for everyone, well equipped kitchen, very clean , awesome views. Would definitely go back again. Is even better in person than in the pictures even if that is hard to believe!!!

This review was submitted before 2018 and has not been verified.

10/10 Excellent

Chad R.

Jun 21, 2016

Amazing location!

We were a group of 4 adults and 3 kids. Ciellodonna suited our needs perfectly. The two bedrooms/loft upstairs and two bedrooms downstairs provided separate areas for members of our group. As several other reviewers have mentioned, the pictures of this place do no do it justice. The view out over Chocolate Hole was amazing and the inside of the house was nicely furnished with a great kitchen and living area. There are TV's in all of the rooms and WiFi throughout (not that we really needed it). All of the bathrooms were very large and worked perfectly for our large group. The house is also convenient to Cruz Bay and the nearby Westin resort. While Chocolate Hole provides an amazing view for those staying at Ciellodonna, it is not a great beach for swimming. The shore near the house is quite rocky and even the "sandy" part of the beach is not necessarily recommended for swimming. With that said, this should absolutely not b a reason to avoid this house as there are few if any places on swimmable beaches at this price point. Overall, the best part about Ciellodonna is the amazing 2-level deck. The upper deck provides a nice outdoor dining area and views out across Chocolate Hole and toward St. Croix in the distance (on a clear day). The lower deck offers a pool, grill, bar, and shade for just hanging out after a long day at the beach. Not only was the house fantastic, but Caribbean Villas, the property manager was great to work with. They answered all of our questions and were extremely responsive to any requests. I can't recommend this place highly enough. We would absolutely stay at Ciellodonna again.

This review was submitted before 2018 and has not been verified.

10/10 Excellent

Jul 22, 2015

Great House on a Great Island - Highly reccommend

This was our first trip to St. John and the house was a great way to enjoy the island for our family of 4 (two boys 12 & 14). We were promptly met by the island greeter at the car ferry who took us to the house and showed us around and provided us with helpful hints about the island. The house was amazing. I was curious what the front/entrance to the house looked like as there were not any photos. The entrance is beautiful, charming and private down a long driveway. There is an out door shower right at the entrance which allowed us to wash sand off out feet upon returning from one of the island's many beaches. However, once you enter the villa you realize why they do not bother with photographs of the entrance. The house is stunning. The pictures do not do it justice. The stone walls and marble floors offer a classic touch. But the real beauty comes from the 5 sliding glass doors on the back wall of the living room which offer views of a long deck and the harbor below and beyond. The kitchen is fully functional, refrigerator/freezer with an ice maker, gas stove, blender, dishwasher, etc. Plus there is a gas grill on the lower pool deck. We chose to make breakfast, pack beach lunches and go out to dinner every night. However, you could prepare dinners right at the house as there is a grocery store right down the street. Since we only had four people we only utilized the upstairs bedrooms. The bedrooms were very roomy and each had its own full bath with gorgeous huge stone showers. There were 4 TVs but we probably used them less than 1/2 hour the whole week as there was a lot to do. The multiple decks provided a different view and atmosphere. The top one offered higher views of course but it also offered a nice quiet spot if the kids were in the pool at night. The bottom deck is gigantic with 10 - 12 lounge chairs which surround a surprisingly deep pool (about 5 feet). The water in chocolate hole harbor below is less than a 2 minute walk. We snorkeled there the first day right from the bottom of the trail from the house. It is rocky and there were several large sea urchins in there. If you are careful and pretty agile you can get in there and if offers some pretty good snorkeling. However, once we ventured out to the other beaches you do not need to utilize that water other than the views. The house was a perfect base to venture from and explore the island and a great place to come back to and relax. We definitely plan to rent this villa on our next trip.

This review was submitted before 2018 and has not been verified.

10/10 Excellent

May 9, 2014

Highly recommended

We have rented several nice houses on St. John. This is our favorite so far. The location is perfect. The snorkeling and swimming in Chocolate Hole are sheltered enough for young children but interesting enough for adults. Cruz BAy is close for food and shopping. Travelling with multiple families can be tough because someone always gets the "kid room". Not here. All four rooms are really nice. The photos don't do them justice. That said, the pool and deck were the highlight. Most of the pools you see advertised with these rentals are tiny. This pool is bigger than we expected from the pictures. The deck is HUGE and the view is great day and night. We all spent a lot of time sitting outside, either for morning coffee or for evening drinks. This our second time with this management company and they have been great both times. I am happy to give this home a 5 star rating and will certainly look into renting it on our next St. John trip.

This review was submitted before 2018 and has not been verified.

10/10 Excellent

Mar 29, 2014

Excellent Villa and Beautiful Views

We were a bit wary of the villa given that we could not find any recent reviews. I could not have been more pleasantly surprised! We were met promptly by Caribbean Villa's and Resort management representative at the dock in Cruz bay and were taken to our rental vehicles and then led to the villa. The Villa kitchen/living room is open and spacious with comfortable furniture and nice stone accents. When the windows are open the breeze is constant and the temperature is pleasant. The house gets a great balance of sunlight and shade. All of the bedrooms are spacious and come with plenty of places to put away your luggage. All bathrooms came with soap and towels. We hire through the villa rental company a housekeeper for the week, Ada, and she was excellent. She changed all of the beds daily, washed sheets and towels, cleaned the floors and kitchen, and took out the garbage. The view from the villa is amazing and is a perfect way to spend the day by the pool watching the yachts and sailboats drift by. A/C units, fans, and TV's worked in all rooms so sleeping was easy and comfortable. Water was good though the upstairs bathroom pressure was low but the least of our worries. The outdoor tables, chairs and bar area were great for hanging out and having lunch and drinks. Beach chairs and 3 coolers were provided for excursions to the beach which was nice. If I was going to find any fault with the villa it would be the driveway. Parking 2 cars was a bit challenging as the one parking space has a large dip from a drainage trench. Also, unless you are a very skilled driver, it was best to pull the cars in and then turn them around to exit the driveway forward as backing out would be challenging. If the owners are allowed I would recommend a mirror at the top so you can see any cars as when the car is at the top of the driveway the driver cannot see the road anymore and need to rely on oncoming cars to stop, not that there is really any road traffic but it was a little unnerving the first time. All in all we had a fantastic stay and I would definitely recommend the villa to anyone going to St. John that wants space, privacy, and excellent amenities.

This review was submitted before 2018 and has not been verified.

10/10 Excellent

Rennie D., Maine

Mar 20, 2014

Incredible outdoor spaces

We were 4 couples, aged 45-62 from Maine and North Carolina. In this most brutal of winters, a vacation on St. John was a dream come true. A relative had worked with their management company before, Caribbean Villas & Resorts, so we were confident using them and taking their advice on villa. One of my requirements was for waterfront, and after whittling the 4-bedroom options to a handful, Ciellodonna was the one recommended for our group. The published photos are totally accurate. We loved the open, spacious great room and the privacy of the far-separated bedroom suites. This is a four-bedroom with sleeping loft, not five-bedroom. We found the villa perfect for four couples. I'd think twice about having small children here because of the stairs between decks and the easy access to the pool. Because there is not central air, I would not recommend the sleeping loft for anyone uncomfortable with the heat, but otherwise it would be a fine sleeping area (but not private.) The decks are Ciellodonna's most outstanding feature. The curved architectural design allows for expanse of deck that's hard to imagine. Step out of either upper bedroom or the great room to upper deck. We spent hours up here watching the stars move across the sky and counting shooting stars. The lower deck is even larger, with a wonderful pool and wet bar. We were able to get out of the sun when we wanted by sitting at the back, shaded by the upper deck. Very high quality bedsheets and towels, comfortable mattresses. Bars of soap in baths was a nice touch. Gorgeous dining table in great room easily seats 10 and there are also wonderful dining areas on upper and lower decks. (We loved passing food out the kitchen window to table there.) Kitchen is only adequate. There is a high counter separating kitchen from great room, but no stools for seating there. We only ate out twice the whole week and while a true chef's kitchen would've made Ciellodonna beyond perfect, we couldn't find her other wonderful features without moving to a much higher price point. I definitely recommend, keeping points listed in mind, and we will certainly return.

Chill Out in Chocolate Hole: Family-Friendly Retreat with A/C, Private Pool, & a solar power battery backup system!

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