wekewoody

I am starting to plan another trip to the Caribbean and would like to try something new. St. Barths was suggested and I am starting to do some research. Generally, we stay at villa rentals or apartments when we travel and would like to do that here.

I know St. Barths is a small island, so I am not really sure how important location is, but I found this rental that ticks all the boxes for us and would like some feeback as to its location.
http://www.vrbo.com/430939?from-date...te=2014-02-20#

It says it is in Marigot, a short walk from the beach. What is this area like? What is the nearby beach like? From the map it looks like one would need to drive to restaurants and shopping.

Are there better areas in which to stay on St. Barths?

Thanks for the help.

RoamsAround

There's not a lot of St. Barth's experts on this forum. Try posting your question on www.sbhonline.com - you'll find plenty of friendly help contributors who are very familiar with the island there.

TPAYT

We haven't stayed on St. Bart's but we have been there 3 times on a sailboat, rented a car and driven all over the island.

If I remember correctly, Marigot Beach is rocky, maybe good for snorkeling.

From your villa you should be able to drive to a few resort restaurants easily. We stopped at a resort in the area for a diet coke at the bar. The view was pretty but not good enough for $20 for 2 cans of coke. The area was a bit remote for us.

The island is very hilly. The driving is easy and not crowded except in Gustavia and near the airport.

We always said that if we stayed there we would stay near St. Jean. It's a smaller town than Gustavia and has many cute shops and restaurants.

The beaches we liked were:

St. Jean---soft sand, lively, good people watching, and fun to watch the planes come in. We had a lobster clubhouse sandwich at Eden Rock's beach restaurant for $75+$15 for a drink, each. Expensive, but fun anyway.

Governuers Beach---easy parking, soft sand, quiet, and calm water. I think our favorite.

Flammands---nice sand, waves, and I remember an excellent French Bakery there--yummm!

In Gustavia---"Le Select" (cheeseburgers in paradise) is great for lunch and for dinner you can't go wrong with "The Wall House."

I know I haven't answered all of your questions, but I hope I've helped some.

We travel to France every fall so we like the French influence of St. Bart's. It's not for everyone though and of all the 20+ islands we've been to, St. Bart's was the most expensive. Just sayin'!

BTW, have you been to Anguilla? Similar--very upscale, absolutely gorgeous beaches, and outstanding restaurants. No shopping though.

Florida1

About three years ago we stayed at Lorient for a week. We actually spent most of our beach time at Gouverneur and Salines with a few visits to the other main beaches. Colombier is beautiful too, but you have to hike to it. We had very good snorkeling there and at Gouverneur. St. Barth's is not big and we just zipped around wherever we wanted in our little jeep. I don't really remember Marigot, but it isn't far from Lorient. Nowhere is really inconvenient. Unless you stay in town in Gustavia or near the Eden Roc in St. Jean, you'll need to drive to restaurants and shopping.

If you have a kitchen, you can control food costs. However, I had some really great meals out there. La Marine, Le Ti, Eddy's. As TPAYT said, Le Select is fun for lunch. O'Corail is great for a beachside lunch.

It is my favorite Caribbean island.

wekewoody

Thanks for all the great information. It is beginning to sound better and better.

Thibault

OK, this may be a late reply, but for anyone else interested in this villa, I would add the following to the conversation:
- the villas has great design and used to belong to French interior designer Christian Liaigre
- it is located right on Marigot Bay, with great views on the sea. However, there is a road right behind it and guests may hear cars passing by during the day.
- you must rent a car in St Barts. Yes, you could walk to the Guanahani and Sereno hotels to find a a nearby restaurant, but you need a car to get around.

Gayle

And that villa does not get afternoon sun.

wekewoody

Thanks Thibault and Gayle for the extra information.

My current favorites are:

http://www.vrbo.com/3534269ha#

http://www.stbarth.com/Villas/blued.shtm

http://www.wimco.com/villas/villa.as...CWRTV#fullDesc

Gayle

Villa ACE is a great house. It's exactly as the pics look. New, fresh, spotless.

I don't know Blue Diamond but it looks very nice. If it's in Vitet you will have morning sun and it will continue until about 2-3 depending on the time of year. I always love the Vitet views.

BBE is teensy and very closed in. The pool is not really a pool, but more like an unheated jacuzzi - very small and tucked against a wall. Not fond of this villa at all.