Thursday, September 7, 2017

Maho Bay Camps and Concordia Eco Resort

Read article : Maho Bay Camps and Concordia Eco Resort
We spent our Christmas holidays this year in St. John, and what a perfect vacation it was. We decided to stay in eco-tents, and split our 10 days between Maho Bay and Concordia, both owned by the same company/individual. The first 7 nights, we stayed on the southeast side of the island at the Concordia Resort. Our accommodations were "eco-tents" which were very sturdy stick built structures with canvas walls, built into a hillside overlooking the ocean. We had running water (albeit cold), solar showers (warm during the day), flush toilets, plentiful sleeping for the four of us, and kitchen supplies prepare meals when we chose to eat in. We had beautiful views from our deck of Salt Pond and Drunk Bay and enjoyed beautiful sunrises, cooling trade winds and warm sunshine each day. The units were clean, perfectly maintained,and situated so as to be private from one another and quiet. The staff, although few in number, were extremely friendly, helpful, enthusiastic and responsive to our every need. The last three nights we stayed at Maho Bay and were terribly disappointed. This compound is on the opposite side of the island, closer to Cruz Bay, and was built in the 1970s. The units are much, much smaller. Sleeping for the four of us meant a cot had to be put up each night that we found ourselves tripping over or having to move if one of us needed to use the community bathroom in the middle of the night. It was dirty, bug infested, rotting, and mildewy. There was no running water in the unit and refridgeration was an optional cooler. There was no private toilet or shower, and the community showers were not solar heated (cold but refreshing after a day at the beach). The units were poorly maintained with worn and tired bedding and kitchen supplies. The staff was less helpful than at Concordia. One staff even had the gall to say "That's not my job" rather than "let me call housekeeping for you."For the same price, which truly amazes me, I felt insulted by what Maho Bay provided our family for our stay. Concordia was well worth the $190/night but I don't think I'd pay more than $75 per night to stay at Maho. The land is leased and the lease is running out. The owner has truly stopped putting any money into this worn out investment, and it truly shows. I would have checked out the minute we stepped into our unit, but we had three nights remaining before our flight back home, and the rest of the island was booked for the holidays.I would never go back to Maho Bay, and I would never suggest that someone stay there.

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