We stayed at the Westin for the second year in a row and I will not return until I hear they are refurbishing. In 2005 we were upgraded to a 2 bedroom townhouse (gold starwood)
member and although the room was a hike from the everything it was very large and well appointed. This year we stayed in a poolside room which was very convenient but in need of a major overhaul. I may be spoiled after our accomodations last year but this was a huge dissappointment. I agree that you have to leave the hotel (alot) to enjoy this great island and others that are close by. The bathrooms are outdated and dirty as well as the rooms. They also smell so musty that even the clothes that were not worn had to be washed when we returned as they smelled terrible when I opened my suitcase to unpack. We had to beg for handtowels everyday and then they would bring us two. The hotel restaurants are adequate for lunch but do yourself and favor and explore many of the wonderful ones the island has to offer. The town is so fun to walk around at night after dinner as well. The day trips are a great idea but bring your passport to go to the BVIs. The Kids Club is also a great idea. My son loved it and the staff is wonderful. The gym is also a bonus with the numerous amount of equipment however it needs cleaned. I don't think it was cleaned at all the entire week we were there. Please update this hotel so I don't have to go to Caneel Bay and be without a TV for a week. ( not tvs at Caneel).

I was very nervous about staying at the Westin St. John given the reviews here. I had a mixed experience at this hotel. I tried in advance to get a sense of the hotel and the activities before we went....should we rent a car? what sights should we see? what reservations did I need to make before we arrived? The people at Starwood were not at all helpful. The ideas that I got for things to do came from the reviews I read here on Trip Advisor and reading travel books.
There are some positive things about the Westin. The check-in at the airport in St. Thomas is really handy and the little ferry that takes you directly to the Westin property on St. John is also handy (but expensive $80 round trip/person). We checked in at the airport with Aaron who was really nice and helpful. He put us on the little bus to the ferry dock. The ferry was supposed to leave at 4:30. The ferry did not show up at the dock until 5:15. For us it was a small annoyance but for those families with kids (there are A TON at this hotel!) it must have been awful to have been traveling all day and then be stuck with no snack, water, etc. There was a little bar and shop at the dock but still....frustrating.
The check-in process was very smooth - they pick you up at the little dock and take you right to your room. My advice would be to keep your bags with you so that you can change into your swimming suit and head down to the pool right away! If you let them deal with your bags it will be an hour or more until you see them. (or pack your suit in your carry-on).
We decided to rent a car while on St. John (which I would recommend b.c the pool at the Westin is great, if crowded, but the beach is NOT very nice when you compare it to the likes of Trunk Bay, Lameshur, etc.) So we ambled on over to the car rental place on the Westin property. Well, they were all out. Annoying since I tried to book one with the starwood people before hand. But the concierge found us one in town. Expect to pay $60 + $10 (insurance)/day for a small little two-door jeep with no radio. You could get a nice Wrangler for about $85.
We went all over the island. I HIGHLY recommend going down the road to Haulover Bay. Stop at Vie's Snack Shack for some yummy conch fitters and coconut tart made by Vie's sister. Vie's backyard is a beautiful little beach in a small cove. For $2.50 you can get on the beach and they have beach chairs and a little kayak. One of the prettiest beaches on St. John.
The snorkeling is great on St. John. Definitely go to Trunk Bay and do the underwater sign-posted snorkel tour. Trunk Bay is a beautiful beach. The snack bar is actually really good there, although watch out for the crazed seagulls!!
The food at the Westin is not really that great. They lost our breakfast order one morning and it took an hour to come. It cost $55 dollars for an omelette and pancakes!!! One nice thing is that you will a little fridge in your room and I would visit the Starfish Market in Cruz Bay for some little snacks, etc.
Another thing that was great at the Westin was Cruz Bay Watersports. We rented a little zodiac ($145 for a full day 9 am - 4 pm) and went all over and snorkeled at all the beaches. The Cruz Bay people were really helpful and nice.
The pool at the Westin is really nice. The bugs are pretty wicked at the Westin b/c it was built not all that long ago on what was a huge swampland. The pool is pretty crowded with kids. This is not the place for a honeymoon!! There is not peace and quiet by the pool.
A couple of restaurant reviews. The Lime Inn - pretty good food but plastic chairs....don't get the pasta - get the lobster. The Fish Trap - incredible seafood chowder and conch fitters.
The Sun Dog Cafe (Lunch) - AWESOME. Upstairs at Mongoose Junction. Really yummy pizza's and sandwiches.
La Tapa - THE BEST MEAL WE HAD! Great ambiance, amazing paella, and chocolate cake.
The Westin and Caneel Bay are really the two only lux hotel on St. John and I would have to say that I would stay at Caneel next time.
Hope this helps!!

My husband and I went for our honeymoon June 4-9. It was overall a good trip but not a trip we would do again. This trip was our first experience with the Caribbean so we didn't really know what to expect. We chose the Westin over the Sandals all inclusives because we thought it wouldn't be honeymoon central, which we were very pleased with.

Westin Rooms: need updating like nobodies business. We were informed by our travel agent that we were getting this wonderful room. Our room did have a sorta view of the ocean but the front wall of the hotel room was glass and the sun beat in all day. If we were in the room we had the curtains closed due to the heat and the privacy. The bed was heavenly but that was it. Besides the bed, it looked like the Holiday Inn Express to me. The air conditioner didn't work well either and it was VERY hot when we were there.

Westin Food: pricey, expensive, not worth it. We did have good meals but paid out the ying yang for it. The serive was fine. We weren't eager to rush so the slower island time didn't bother us. Our first night we ate at the beach restaurant and were served rolls that were HARD as rocks. The steak was good. My husband ordered it two times. Going into town is the best bet for less expensive and better food. HOWEVER, it cost $8 a person for a cab ride into town. No one in the forum has complained about how expensive the taxi's are. That was an unexpected expense.

Westin Pool: It was probably the best part of the whole vacation besides the snorkleing we did at the local beaches ($10-12 for a taxi ride from Westin to beaches both ways). The chairs were super comfortable and the umbrellas were a welcome relief from the harsh Caribbean sun. There was some loud man in the pool every time we went and it almost reuined the experience. The Pina Coladas are out of this world! I wish I would of sold my car so I could of had more! The igauna's hang out by the pool and are not afraid of hopping up in the lounge chair to eat your food. Scarey!

Local Favorites: any of the other beaches besides the fake beach at the Westin; any local food, the grocery store(get staples to hold you over), Zo Zo's(local restaurant that has condos right by that are cheaper and nicer than the Westin and have all the same amenities).

Suggestions for travelers: buy groceries at the grocery in town so you can take lunches to snorkel at the beaches and have snacks in your room. Do go on the sunset cruise at the Westin; rent a Jeep if you are able (saves money on taxi's) and don't go here on your honeymoon during June (kid central).

I need to start out by saying that I travel frequently and am a Starwood Preferred Gold member in addition to being AAdvantage Platinum and Hilton HHonors Gold. I have been completely happy with my stays at Westin hotels/ resorts over the past several years until my recent experience.

We had stayed at the Westin St John six years ago for our honeymoon and it had been a great experience. The experience this time around was completely different than before. We were not granted some basic requests for our stay and the overall treatment was the worst I have ever received at any of the Starwood properties.

> Our request for a room with double beds was denied - we had one king bed for two adults and two kids
> Our request for a second or third floor room was denied
> Our request to check in an hour earlier than 3pm was denied
> Our request to check out a couple of hours later was denied
> And the final straw was that we found two dead roaches in our room on the day of departure
> In addition, for some weird reason, they did not credit me Starwood points for my stay - I had to call up customer service a month after the stay to get that corrected
> I later found out that they had also messed up my reservation and had charged me an extra night's deposit about a month prior to the stay. I am still waiting to get a refund on that deposit

I tried to get the accommodation related issues addressed at the front desk on both days that I stayed there but to no avail. The only thing they told me was that the room I had was an upgraded pool-view room. This was after they told me that all the previous category rooms were closed for renovation (so they had to upgrade me).

On the positive side, the pool area is just awesome. The beach is pretty good as well. The restaurant food (we ate at three different restaurants) as well as the cocktails were also great.