We spent four nights at Samuel Cottages (cottage #1) on St. John. The cottage is about the size of a one bedroom apartment with room for parking a rental car. If you're going to be spending a lot of time in Cruz Bay, this is convenient, because you can leave your car parked at the cottage, and then walk into town. It's about a five minute walk--super easy. The view from our deck was gorgeous--it overlooks the ocean and you can see St. Thomas. Right around our cottage, we saw iguanas and hummingbirds--it was very cool! There's a kitchenette and dishes to use, complete with blender and toaster. We enjoyed breakfast on the deck in the mornings and drinks on the deck at night. Bring bug spray--we got bit something--we thought mosquitoes at first, but everyone else told us sand-fleas. If you're out on the deck at night, wear long pants or bug spray.

We had two beds in our room--I think they were full size. I wouldn't consider it the most comfortable bed I've stayed in, but it was good enough--no real complaints. "Clean" is a relative term on St. John--the cottage was "clean." We had ants in the kitchen, but we just kept food in the cupboard and fridge and it wasn't really a big deal. Staying in Samuel cottages, you just have to remember that you're essentially staying in an apartment, not a hotel, so you don't really have that kind of a maid service. It was kind of like staying in a cabin---it was cabin-clean. We didn't really spend too much time in the cottage--we were there to sleep, and hung out on the deck at night, otherwise we were out in town or at the beach. We had to close our windows at night because the roosters on St. John crow all day/night, and cottage #1 is right on the main road that goes through the island, so we did have traffic noise.

Customer service was great---Patrice called within minutes of us arriving to welcome us and ask if we needed anything--she and her husband were very helpful--great hosts!
They provide beach chairs and towels, and there were even some beach toys on our deck. They also brought us a cooler when we wanted to take one out to the beach one day. It was a convenient location, extremely well-priced, and a cottage all to ourselves in the Caribbean. We would stay here again.

St. John itself was amazing--we WILL be back. We went to Maho Bay, Trunk Bay and Waterlemon and snorkeled at all three. Try to avoid the crowds that come over from St. Thomas or the cruise ships for Trunk Bay--we got there at about 9:30 the morning we went and it was great--the beach was mostly empty until around 11:30-12:00ish. Snorkeling at Waterlemon Cay was awesome--between Maho and Waterlemon, we saw sea turtles, sting rays, a barracuda and even a manta ray! I think one of my favorite meals was at Morgan's Mango.

I recommend Samuel Cottages if you're looking for a relaxing, nice place to hunker down while on St. John. It's not a five star hotel/resort or anything, but it was good enough for us. We really enjoyed our time, and I am already looking forward to planning our next trip to St. John!

I loved these little cottages. They are small and simple but include everything you need and everything worked perfectly. These guys are very good at maintaining property. I find that most hotels are not good at that. We had zero problems with this cottage. We stayed in cottage # 1 closest to the road. The only negative was we could occasionally hear a big truck go by. I imagine the other 2 cottages have less of this since they are further from the driveway.

But the location was excellent. Very short walk down hill to town. We got there around 3pm and walked up from the ferry dock with our bags and it was hot but was glad to see that it was such a short distance. No need to cab it unless you have a lot of stuff. Dolphin market was less than 5 min walk. Cruz Bay and ferry dock 10 minutes. When it comes to vacations, it's very important to me that I have a safe walkable area. Even at night the walk is safe. We saw lots of other people walking in the area. You just have to be really cautious of the traffic. Most of the drivers are courteous and watch out for the pedestrians as they get closer to town. We stayed 4 nights and can't wait to go back. The price is right and the view is wonderful. Lots of hummingbirds in the flowers.

Loved the quaint, quiet cottage. Short walk to Cruz bay and the dolphin grocery store!!

An unbelievable value for St. John. I have visited St. John almost a dozen times, usually staying with friends who live on the Island. My girlfriend and I decided to try Samuels cottages for our most recent visit and couldn't have been happier. The aaccomodations were far from fancy but were fantastic overall. First, they are spotlessly clean and tidy, with mismatched linens and plateware, but wiith everything you could need to make dinner or go to the beach (chair, towels,small cooler, etc). The a.c worked great (to the point where we had to ask Patrice for an extra blanket.. she responded to our request graciously and quickly.. can't say enough about how friendly the owners are) The view is over cruz bay, and in march the huge porch is flooded with afternoon sun, perfect to enjoy a nice sundowner.. We rented a car to go to the beach during the day but the cottages are a quick walk to town.. no taxi or drunk driving worries after a night in town.. just a brisk ten minute walk up the hill.. I hate to let anyone esle know about these cottages for fear that we wonlt be able to book them again but the owners deserve to be complimented for their hospitality.. a great no frills spot for a vacation. One small concern is the construction of the beds... don't plan on getting too rambunctious in the sack.