bstrong29er

Hi all.

Planning our 20th this Dec. Looks like we would need to go before Dec 15th for reasonable rates.

Hoping to find something fun & romantic with a villa on the beach, great pool and great restaurants nearby. Want it to feel special but not too snotty.

Price range around $500/night?

Any suggestions in Carribean, Cabo or Cancun?

Inakauaidavidababy

We visited Turks this past year and adored our bungalow. Although it is not an a beach, everything is a short drive away. We loved the privacy, cooking in and sunsets from the lanai.

https://www.vrbo.com/649802

If it meets your fancy then deal with Pat directly to avoid the new annoying tariffs from vrbo/expedia.

RoamsAround

First, if you are going in December I'd skip anything in the Bahamas. Those islands are fairly far north and they could be on the cool side at that time of year.

Second, $500/night for a small 1 or 2 bedroom unit is on the lower end of the rental market scale for a stand alone cottage/small villa but it is doable in most places if your expectations are reasonable however you may have to give-up one or more of your requirements.

You can find plenty of 1 or 2 BR stand alone cottages in your budget range on the islands you mentioned in your subject line but they may not be beachfront or even beach access and they may not have a "great pool" or even have a pool at all. You see, beachfront property is very expensive and people who can afford the purchase prices aren't usually the type who "build small". Instead they build what turns out to be multi-million dollar villas with rents to match so finding stand alone villas on the beach that rent for $500/night is a bit of a challenge. If you are willing to be a few blocks or further from the beach your task will be much, much easier.

If you have your heart set on a beachfront property consider staying in a beachfront condo. There will be much, much more of a selection and you'll get more bang for your buck including amenities like the "great pool" you are seeking, on-site or nearby restaurants, spa facilities, work-out room, etc.

For what it is worth, there are dozens of very nice upscale "Condo Resorts" on Providenciales (in the T&C's) and Grand Cayman in your price range that will give you all the amenities of a full service resort plus the added convenience of a private condo. St. martin, too, has lots of rental condos.

Now, I suggest you first decide which island you want to visit. You see the destinations you mentioned are all very different from each other and one may suit your "travel style" and expectations better the others. Hint: Use the "Destinations link at the top of this page to read about what each island on your list has to offer. You can also do a quick google search using such topics as "Things to do on NAME OF ISLAND". The info you get will help you narrow down your search to the island that hopefully you'll enjoy the most. Once you do that, finding a rental property that fits your needs will be much easier.

Remember, it's not what the contributors here like, it's what you'll like!

suze

Cabo and Cancun are both very developed for tourists already. I don't think there are "beach bungalows" left either place. For that you'd need to look outside of each town a ways.

Whathello

We loved the Xixim hotel resort in Mexico - you sleep in an individual bungalow in front of the beach. They organize trips but you may do it yourself.

http://hotelxixim.com/en/index.php

Don't know how to reach it without a car - I guess the website says it all.