Hello Andy and Dara,
WOW, what an unexpected adventure packed vacation!! As we were looking back at picturesr emembering our trip to Andara in September 2017 and experiencing Hurricane Irma first hand, we really felt we should post a big THANK YOU to both of you and to your beyond amazing builder. Villa Andara is truly a LUXURY FORTRESS!!
We were so excited leading up to our vacation on St John, it was our 6 th time staying on the island and our 2 nd time staying in Andara. Two of our family members were experiencing their 1 st time on St John and I was getting to celebrate my birthday in paradise. Our first two days were amazing swimming in the pool, taking our family members to the beaches and giving them a little tour of the island. On
Sunday, the news reports were saying that Hurricane Irma was turning towards the Virgin Islands and we immediately tried to make plans to evacuate, no luck, we were riding out the storm. On Monday, it was Labor Day and the island was alive with celebrations and families having fun, cook outs, a car show, etc., it was a beautiful day. Off to the store we went for last minute provisions “just in case”. Your greeter and the house keeper checked in on us a few times before the storm, they were awesome!! On Tuesday, the weather was absolutely beautiful, who would have believed a category 5 hurricane was anywhere in the vicinity, it was moving closer and due to hit on Wednesday. Things got busy around the house with the men coming by to put up hurricane shutters and securing all the outdoor furniture. We jumped in to help moving any items inside that could possibly become projectiles, tied down things, and secured things with Velcro strips. We were so thankful Andy was on the phone advising us of what was happening to prepare for the storm.
Wednesday morning we awoke to the crystal blue skies gone and a thick cloud covering, rain and heavy wind. The winds and rain were getting stronger, the power went out around 8am, but no worries, the generator kicked in seamlessly and we barely noticed the transition. The phones and internet went out a couple of hours later, no contact with the outside world. The beginning of the storm was upon us!! As
the winds were increasing, we wrapped Velcro bands around the handles of the French doors in the living room to give them extra security. We were ready. Andy, we really appreciated you being on the phone with us that morning giving us updates as you tracked the storm and telling us where to be in the house for utmost safety, etc.…..as we found out….we didn’t need to worry…the whole house was ultra-
safe, hence the new name, we now call her Andara – LUXURY FORTRESS!!! We NEVER felt unsafe throughout the storm!!! We hated it when we lost contact with you, but we rode out the storm unscathed, and not even worried as the height of the storm hit, we were in a total whiteout with the wind and rain, the noise was LOUD with the highest sustained wind speed of 185 mph. We went outside
during the eye of the storm when it was “calm” to see what we could see, and then back inside for the 2nd half of hurricane Irma and all her fury.
After the storm passed, the rain let up, the winds slowed down, and we untied the French doors again to go outside. The beautiful lush green was gone, it looked like a wildfire had ravished the island. There was very little damage to the house that we could see, and there was a mess everywhere. The island did not look the same. We rolled up our sleeves and began to clean up, Andara had protected us and now we needed to let her know how thankful we were to her, and to you Andy and Dara!!! And your builder!!
We were not able to get off the island until the following Monday. As the airport was damaged on St. Thomas, we ended up leaving by high speed water ferry, with military on board, for St. Croix. It took us another week to get off St. Croix, then home via Puerto Rico before she was struck by Hurricane Maria.
We also owe a very big THANK YOU to the people of the island, especially the people of Coral Bay and Andara’s neighbors. The people were so gracious to us and so helpful when we ventured down the treacherous roads after the storm. The people of Coral Bay were networking with one another to find out where EVERYONE was (locals and visitors) and what extent of damage they suffered. They checked all the rental villas, the boats, and even ventured over to Cruz Bay. What an amazing outpouring of love and concern and helping one another!! We ventured over to Cruz Bay on Saturday after the storm, what a ride on Centerline road, one lane of zig zagging, driving over, under, and around debris and
power lines, under downed telephone poles on a diagonal over the road, and with all the vegetation gone, it was scary to look out over the edge of the road and see nothing but straight down the sides of the hills/cliffs. The National Park service in Cruz Bay was very helpful too, and they were the ones to help us get to St. Croix via one of the high-speed ferries.
There is so much more to this story, we could write a book, we know we have already told you everything since the storm, but wanted to publically thank you both!! This also gives possible new guests a little peek into our vacation and how thankful we are for your wonderful villa. We can’t wait to be back on the island…..can’t wait to see how St. John has recovered and is blossoming anew…..and
most of all we are so excited and looking forward to staying at Andara again this spring!! What a vacation and birthday celebration!! Hurricane Irma 2017 – definitely an unforgettable adventure!
A very big THANK YOU Andy and Dara….and Andara-LUXURY FORTRESS! You all hold a very special place in our hearts.
The Kirkland’s and Key’s