A five-bedroom East End or north-shore villa with a pool over a December-to-April peak week lists at $20,000 to $48,000. Trophy estates at Peterborg, Botany Bay, and the gated East End points run $45,000 to $120,000. After the 12.5 percent USVI hotel room tax, the chef and staff lines, the in-season car rental, and the provisioning, the all-in week typically lands 24 to 38 percent above the headline. The tax line is simpler than most of the Caribbean because the territory has no separate sales tax. St. Thomas is US soil, so US citizens need no passport, and St. John is a 20-minute ferry from Red Hook. The full breakdown, line by line, with three worked examples.
St. Thomas pricing rests on three structural facts worth understanding before the bands. First, the tax is single-line. The U.S. Virgin Islands imposes a 12.5 percent hotel room tax on the gross room rate or rental, set in the Virgin Islands Code Title 33, section 54 and administered by the Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue. The gross rate includes the rental plus any energy surcharge or maintenance fee, so it applies to the full figure, and there is no separate territorial sales tax. On a $30,000 headline the tax line is $3,750. Second, the season is winter-driven. The market runs mid-December through April, with the Christmas-to-New-Year week the apex; the hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, peaking August to October. Third, provisioning is expensive because almost everything arrives by sea, which pushes the food line above a mainland equivalent even though the staffing is moderate.
The bands below were assembled from May 2026 cards on the major Caribbean villa agencies and listing platforms that manage the East End, north shore, Botany Bay, and Charlotte Amalie inventory. We rank and price at the pocket level. We do not publish a named villa rate we have not verified against a live contract. Rates here quote in US dollars, the territory's currency. All figures are weekly except line items.
Headline weekly rate before the 12.5 percent hotel room tax, the chef and staff nights, and the car and provisioning math. Winter peak is December through April, with Christmas to New Year higher still. Shoulder is May and early June. Off-season covers the June-to-November hurricane window.
| Bedrooms (with pool) | Dec–Apr peak | May & early June | Christmas–NYE | Off-season (Jun–Nov) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 BR | $15,000 to $32,000 | $10,500 to $22,000 | $26,000 to $54,000 | $8,000 to $17,000 |
| 5 BR | $20,000 to $48,000 | $14,000 to $33,000 | $34,000 to $80,000 | $10,500 to $25,000 |
| 6 BR | $26,000 to $62,000 | $18,000 to $43,000 | $44,000 to $105,000 | $13,500 to $32,000 |
| 6BR trophy (Peterborg, Botany Bay, East End points) | $45,000 to $120,000 | $32,000 to $84,000 | $78,000 to $200,000 | $24,000 to $62,000 |
| 8 BR | $38,000 to $90,000 | $27,000 to $62,000 | $64,000 to $150,000 | $20,000 to $46,000 |
| 10 BR+ estate | $62,000 to $155,000 | $44,000 to $108,000 | $105,000 to $260,000 | $32,000 to $78,000 |
| Pocket (5BR, winter peak) | Headline weekly rate | Note |
|---|---|---|
| East End (Red Hook, Nazareth, Cowpet, Vessup) | $20,000 to $50,000 | Calmest beaches, the St. John ferry, Red Hook dining |
| North shore (Peterborg, Magens Bay, Tropaco) | $24,000 to $90,000 | The trophy band above Magens Bay, biggest estates and views |
| Botany Bay (gated west end) | $30,000 to $110,000 | The privacy-first gated peninsula, resort-grade amenities |
| Charlotte Amalie hills | $16,000 to $40,000 | Harbour-view villas above town, the value end with the best sunsets |
| Water Island | $18,000 to $44,000 | The small offshore island, a short ferry, the quietest option |
Botany Bay and the north shore carry the trophy-and-privacy premium; the East End carries the beach-and-ferry-access premium. The Charlotte Amalie hills deliver the best dollar-per-bedroom and the harbour-view sunsets, with the cost being the drive to the swimming beaches.
The U.S. Virgin Islands imposes a 12.5 percent hotel room tax on the gross room rate or rental, set in the Virgin Islands Code Title 33, section 54 and administered by the Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue. The gross rate includes the rental plus any energy surcharge or maintenance fee, so it applies to the full figure rather than a stripped-down base. On a $30,000 weekly headline the tax line is $3,750; on a $120,000 trophy week it is $15,000. There is no separate territorial sales tax, which makes the St. Thomas tax position cleaner than most Caribbean islands, where a room tax stacks on top of a VAT.
The villa norm is a daily housekeeper, often included in the rate, with a chef added for the dinners you want cooked in. The top north-shore and Botany Bay estates run a fuller staff with a property manager and sometimes a butler. The standard East End villa is housekeeper-served and self-catering. Confirm exactly what the daily staff covers in the contract, because the included housekeeping and the added chef are separate lines.
A private chef runs $300 to $600 per service plus food at cost for ten. Food cost lands at $90 to $200 per person, high because almost everything is imported by sea, with Caribbean lobster, mahi-mahi, and the local fish the anchors. Many villas include daily breakfast and a few staffed services at the top tier. A typical week books three or four chef nights and runs the rest at the Red Hook and Frenchtown restaurants. The Christmas and New Year lead time runs eight to twelve weeks.
Cyril E. King Airport (STT) sits on the south-west side, with direct US mainland service and a heavy winter schedule. Because the territory is US soil, US citizens need no passport. A taxi or private transfer to the East End runs 35 to 50 minutes and $60 to $120; to the north shore 25 to 40 minutes. Many groups fly into STT and ferry across to a St. John villa, or base on St. Thomas and day-trip to St. John from Red Hook.
An in-season rental runs $90 to $160 per day, and the island quirk that surprises first-timers is that driving is on the left even though the cars are US left-hand-drive. A second vehicle for a large group runs $600 to $1,000 for the week. A north-shore or East End villa with a private beach can run on one car plus taxis, but a vehicle is close to essential for a week given the hilly terrain and the spread-out beaches.
The Red Hook to Cruz Bay passenger ferry runs roughly every hour and crosses in about 20 minutes; a car barge runs the same route for those taking a vehicle across. A round-trip passenger fare runs $16 to $24 per person. The St. John day-trip, for the national-park beaches at Trunk Bay and Maho Bay, is the signature outing from an East End base and the reason many St. Thomas weeks skip a beach club in favour of the ferry.
Arrival provisioning runs $1,000 to $1,500 for a family of six and $1,600 to $2,400 for a group of twelve, high because of the import cost. The full-size groceries are near town and the East End. Dinner at a top Red Hook or Frenchtown restaurant runs $90 to $180 per head before wine; the upscale resort rooms run $140 to $220. A family of eight with wine lands between $1,200 and $1,900 at the better rooms.
A cash gratuity on departure of $200 to $500 per regular service provider (housekeeper, chef, property manager where applicable) is the island practice. For a week that runs a daily housekeeper, a part-time chef, and a manager, plan for $700 to $1,600 in cash gratuities. The chef tip is typically 18 to 20 percent of the service fee, handled on the night.
Three trip configurations we priced for clients in 2024 and 2025, with numbers checked against the source contracts. The takeaway: the line items add 24 to 38 percent on top of the headline, with the import-driven food line, not the tax, the biggest swing factor on a St. Thomas week.
Headline: $16,000 / wk (Nazareth Bay, pool, daily housekeeper, beach a walk away).
Hotel room tax (12.5%) $2,000. Three chef dinners ($380 each) $1,140 plus food $1,300. Provisioning $1,100. Car rental for the week $840. STT transfer round trip $180. St. John ferry day for four $90. Two Red Hook dinners for four $760. Gratuities $620.
All-in: $24,030 for the week.
Premium over headline: 50%.
Headline: $58,000 / wk (Peterborg, Magens Bay views, full daily staff).
Hotel room tax (12.5%) $7,250. Four chef dinners ($520 each) $2,080 plus food $3,600. Provisioning $2,000. Two cars for the week $1,680. STT transfers round trip $260. St. John ferry day for 10 $220. Three restaurant nights for 10 $4,200. Gratuities $1,600.
All-in: $80,890 for the week.
Premium over headline: 39%.
Headline: $120,000 / wk (Botany Bay, gated, butler and property manager included).
Hotel room tax (12.5%) $15,000. Five chef dinners ($560 each) $2,800 plus food $6,200. Provisioning $2,400. Two SUVs for the week $1,900. STT Sprinter transfers round trip $480. New Year dinner out and restaurant nights for 14 $5,600. St. John charter-boat day $1,800. Gratuities $2,800.
All-in: $158,980 for the week.
Premium over headline: 32%.
Dollar figures as quoted. Example I carries the highest percentage premium because the food and car lines are large relative to a modest May headline. Example III lands at 32 percent despite the holiday rate because the butler and manager are already inside the headline.
Five levers move the all-in figure on a St. Thomas week.
Move to May. The headline drops 25 to 45 percent from the winter peak, the water is warm year-round, and the trade winds still moderate the heat. The first three weeks of May sit on the calm edge of the hurricane season.
Take the Charlotte Amalie hills. Same island, 30 to 40 percent cheaper at matched bedroom count, with the best harbour-view sunsets. The cost is the drive to the swimming beaches; the gain is the dollar-per-bedroom.
Provision smart. The food line is the biggest swing on this island because of the import cost. A careful arrival stock and a few cook-in nights beat eating out every night, and a single bulk provisioning run saves over daily top-ups.
Day-trip St. John instead of a beach club. The 20-minute ferry from Red Hook reaches the national-park beaches for the price of a fare. It is the highest-value outing on the island and replaces a paid beach day.
Avoid the Christmas and New Year week. Early December and mid-January through March deliver the same winter weather at 30 to 45 percent below the holiday rate, without the seven-night minimum and the year-out booking race.
For a five-bedroom East End or north-shore villa with a pool over a December-to-April peak week, the headline rate runs $20,000 to $48,000. Trophy estates at Peterborg, Botany Bay, and the gated East End points run $45,000 to $120,000. After the 12.5 percent USVI hotel room tax, the chef and staff lines, the in-season car rental, and the provisioning, the all-in week typically lands 24 to 38 percent above the headline.
The U.S. Virgin Islands imposes a hotel room tax of 12.5 percent on the gross room rate or rental, set in the Virgin Islands Code Title 33, section 54 and administered by the Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue. The gross rate includes the rental plus any energy surcharge or maintenance fee. There is no separate territorial sales tax. On a $30,000 weekly headline the tax line is $3,750.
The season runs mid-December through April, the apex, with the Christmas-to-New-Year week the highest of the year and seven-night minimums standard. Temperatures sit at 26 to 30 degrees Celsius year-round. May and early June are the shoulder, often the best value-to-weather window. The hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, peaking August to October.
The East End (Red Hook, Nazareth, Cowpet, and Vessup bays) is the standard pick, with the calmest beaches, the St. John ferry, and the Red Hook dining. The north shore (Peterborg, Magens Bay, Tropaco) holds the trophy estates above the famous bay. Botany Bay, the gated west-end peninsula, is the privacy-first enclave. The Charlotte Amalie hills hold the harbour-view villas. For a beach-and-ferry week, the East End is the first recommendation.
By air into Cyril E. King Airport (STT) on the south-west side, with direct US mainland service. US citizens need no passport, since the territory is US soil. A taxi or private transfer to the East End runs 35 to 50 minutes and $60 to $120; to the north shore 25 to 40 minutes. St. John is a 20-minute ferry from Red Hook, so many groups base on St. Thomas and day-trip across.
The villa norm is a daily housekeeper, often included, with a private chef added for the dinners you want cooked in. A private chef runs $300 to $600 per service plus food at cost for ten. Food cost lands at $90 to $200 per person, high because most provisioning is imported by sea. The Christmas and New Year lead time runs eight to twelve weeks for the established chefs.
Yes, for most trips. Headline rates in May and early June run 25 to 45 percent below the December-to-April peak, the water is warm year-round, and the trade winds still moderate the heat. The trade-off is that the hurricane season opens June 1, so a late-spring week sits just inside the calm edge of it. For settled weather at a discount, the first three weeks of May are the sharpest window.
The 20-page PDF with line-item math for the East End, the north shore, Botany Bay, and the Charlotte Amalie hills; the chefs we have used by name; the St. John ferry and charter options; the Red Hook and Frenchtown restaurants worth a reservation; and the agencies that hold the trophy estates. Free. We trade it for an email.
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