Can anyone recommend a Mahoe Bay villa?
Mar 9th, 2007, 12:33 PM
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Can anyone recommend a Mahoe Bay villa?
I have been looking at villas on Mahoe Bay. They all seem really nice. Can anyone recommend one over the other if you have stayed there? Thanks.
Mar 9th, 2007, 01:47 PM
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The villas at Mahoe Bay are all very nice and all upscale. We stayed at Beachcomber, Beach Dreams and Caribbean Wind. All were exceptional properties and similarly furnished and maintained. The main difference in the Mahoe Bay villas are size, number of bedrooms, and location (beachfront, beach access meaning one lot back from beach and hillside). You really can't go wrong with any of the villas there, In my opinion, it just doesn't get any better than Mahoe Bay anywhere in the Caribbean.
FYI - if you don't mind being on the bluff overlooking Mahoe Bay check out the villa know as Katitche Point - it's spectacular.
FYI - if you don't mind being on the bluff overlooking Mahoe Bay check out the villa know as Katitche Point - it's spectacular.
Mar 10th, 2007, 07:47 AM
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What "Traveller" says is absolutely on the mark. I would add that if you're at all bothered by noise, you might want to exclude the highest up of the villas; they're right on the road and while there's not a whole lot of traffic, there's some. Also, if you have any trouble walking, those villas have a bit of a trek to get back up from the beach. But the views from there are terrific and there are some superb villas in that group. (Adagio is a stand-out imo.)
Mar 10th, 2007, 08:00 AM
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There are many posts on this subject on the BVI section of traveltalkonline.
http://www.traveltalkonline.com/foru...&Board=bvi
Many of the villa owners participate in that forum and can give you suggestions based on your specific requirements (how many bedrooms you need, etc.).
Carole
http://www.traveltalkonline.com/foru...&Board=bvi
Many of the villa owners participate in that forum and can give you suggestions based on your specific requirements (how many bedrooms you need, etc.).
Carole
Mar 10th, 2007, 01:17 PM
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Mahoe Bay is about as perfect a beach as you can find. It's about 1/2 mile long with light golden sand. The water is calm and gin clear. The water has a gentle slope so you can wade out about 30 to 50 feet and not have water which is over your head. There's a large snorkeling reef that runs the entire lenght of the beach that starts about 150' offshore. You can snorkel for an hour and still not see the entire reef. Off in the distance you'll have fantastic views of the torquoise Caribbean, neighboring islands and the setting sun. The beach is essentially the same in front of every villa.
As I said in the earlier post, you won't be disappointed with any of the villas on Mahoe Bay.
As I said in the earlier post, you won't be disappointed with any of the villas on Mahoe Bay.
Mar 11th, 2007, 06:21 AM
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OKay, I just have to chime in here and say how excited reading these posts is making me for my vacation in July. We'll be at Adagio for 5 nights and every time I read something about Mahoe Bay or the villas there it sounds better & better!
Carole, your trip is even sooner than mine--you must just be bursting at the seams!
Carole, your trip is even sooner than mine--you must just be bursting at the seams!
Mar 11th, 2007, 07:28 AM
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Dear flit,
We stayed at Caribbean Wind last year, and it was wonderful. You won’t be disappointed with Mahoe Bay. We’ve been to a lot of islands, and VG is our favorite. It truly is picture perfect. The waves lap so gently on the sand that it’s like you’re walking into a large pool, and the sand is very soft and easy to walk on-you can even push strollers easily on it. It was great being able to walk out the front door to our pool and beach. We had our 10 month old with us and felt safe with her playing on the beach and in the water. The villas are nestled into the mountains behind them. The sun rises over the mountains, and sets right in front of the villas. The beach never had more than 5 other people on it at any one time. Our villa was gorgeous, and well kept, as they all looked to be so in that area. There are tennis courts you can use as well for the community-no racquets are provided, so bring your own if you want to play. Hm. Now for things to do while there. Definitely the Baths. You want to get there early (like 8ish) to get there before all the day trips from neighboring islands come in. By 10am it was crowded with visitors coming ashore. The Baths are really neat, and you can hike through the large caves created by the big boulders-wear reef runners for this. We also liked Dog and Dolphin for lunch-neat little restaurant with a nice view-and it’s right down the road from the mahoe bay villlas (it’s up the hill-at the end of the dirt road). We tried Georgios for dinner, but felt it was way overpriced. Thing to note-VG ships in all their food, so there may or may not be stocked food stores while you’re there. We were there at the end of the month and all the food was sold out so we had canned food the whole week-couldn’t even find fish at the food stores! So you may want to bring some food down with you, or check with the villa owner to see when the food barge will be in. We checked out leverick bay-great for the bbq on fridays-live music, etc. And Biras Creek is neat to do too-take the ferry over. The locals on VG are wonderful-very friendly, and we felt safe the whole time. You’ll want to bring bug spray with you (as with all islands). The island overall is breathtaking, with beautiful vistas from everywhere. The terrain is much drier than you would think it would be-there are many cacti, but it’s still green. The only negative about our experience was with Air Sunshine in getting there and back. I highly recommend taking the ferry there, not Air Sunshine. It was a horrible experience with them. Anyway, you will LOVE Mahoe Bay and VG. Have a wonderful time!!!
We stayed at Caribbean Wind last year, and it was wonderful. You won’t be disappointed with Mahoe Bay. We’ve been to a lot of islands, and VG is our favorite. It truly is picture perfect. The waves lap so gently on the sand that it’s like you’re walking into a large pool, and the sand is very soft and easy to walk on-you can even push strollers easily on it. It was great being able to walk out the front door to our pool and beach. We had our 10 month old with us and felt safe with her playing on the beach and in the water. The villas are nestled into the mountains behind them. The sun rises over the mountains, and sets right in front of the villas. The beach never had more than 5 other people on it at any one time. Our villa was gorgeous, and well kept, as they all looked to be so in that area. There are tennis courts you can use as well for the community-no racquets are provided, so bring your own if you want to play. Hm. Now for things to do while there. Definitely the Baths. You want to get there early (like 8ish) to get there before all the day trips from neighboring islands come in. By 10am it was crowded with visitors coming ashore. The Baths are really neat, and you can hike through the large caves created by the big boulders-wear reef runners for this. We also liked Dog and Dolphin for lunch-neat little restaurant with a nice view-and it’s right down the road from the mahoe bay villlas (it’s up the hill-at the end of the dirt road). We tried Georgios for dinner, but felt it was way overpriced. Thing to note-VG ships in all their food, so there may or may not be stocked food stores while you’re there. We were there at the end of the month and all the food was sold out so we had canned food the whole week-couldn’t even find fish at the food stores! So you may want to bring some food down with you, or check with the villa owner to see when the food barge will be in. We checked out leverick bay-great for the bbq on fridays-live music, etc. And Biras Creek is neat to do too-take the ferry over. The locals on VG are wonderful-very friendly, and we felt safe the whole time. You’ll want to bring bug spray with you (as with all islands). The island overall is breathtaking, with beautiful vistas from everywhere. The terrain is much drier than you would think it would be-there are many cacti, but it’s still green. The only negative about our experience was with Air Sunshine in getting there and back. I highly recommend taking the ferry there, not Air Sunshine. It was a horrible experience with them. Anyway, you will LOVE Mahoe Bay and VG. Have a wonderful time!!!
Mar 11th, 2007, 08:06 AM
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We stayed at a villa near the road . It was a little noisy when the trucks went by . But it was still great !
The beach there is wonderful and very clean as the whole island is .
There is also a spectacular beach with private villas on it near the baths .
The beach there is wonderful and very clean as the whole island is .
There is also a spectacular beach with private villas on it near the baths .
Mar 11th, 2007, 08:12 PM
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Have rented Villas on Mahoe several times...SeaFans is one of my favorite villas. We have never looked into kayaks - we were too busy diving and snorkeling - and relaxing! We're going back in Jan 08 and would be interested in any information on Kayak rentals too.
KellyBeaches: We're looking into airlines for our charter. Can you tell me about your negative experience with AirSunshine?
KellyBeaches: We're looking into airlines for our charter. Can you tell me about your negative experience with AirSunshine?
Mar 12th, 2007, 06:16 AM
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Dear ksharrell,
I too didn’t rent kayaks, although I saw people kayaking off shore-it looked like fun!
I’ll apologize in advance for the book below, but hopefully it will give you some insight into our experience. Hopefully ours was just a really bad one and others have better luck.
How did you get to VG in your past visits? I hear the ferry is the way to go. Coming from Philadelphia, we flew into Puerto Rico and then took a small (8 seater) prop plane on Air Sunshine into VG. You land on a dirt runway, which actually was surprisingly smooth. The flight itself was fine-it was like taking a tour plane over the islands which was pretty cool, although if you get motion sick, you may have some issues.
Air Sunshine, or "Air Sometimes" as the locals called it, in our opinion will rip you off every chance they get and they were not friendly at all. It was pretty much a nightmare dealing with the staff. We had 2 babies with us and they wouldn't let us get on our connecting flight because they said there wasn't enough time, however they were fine with our itinerary when we booked the flight. It was a real pain b/c we flew American Air to San Juan, and AA had changed our flight time (they did this twice before our trip). Since Air Sunshine and AA aren’t affiliated, you have to pay AS $50 per ticket every time you switch your flight (okay, fair enough). We called before hand to make sure it was okay that there would be a narrow window (very narrow-like 15 minutes) between our AA flight getting in and our AS flight leaving. They said over the phone that would be no problem, especially since we were a group of 6 and basically took up the whole flight. However, when we arrived to the check in counter they had a very nasty attitude with us and said that they we needed to be there at least 2 hours prior to check in in order to make the flight. We told them we had just spoken to someone about the tight timeframe and they had said it would be okay. The people at the counter said tough, and that if we wanted to get the flight it would be another $50 per person. They said they would have to get another plane for us, which was pretty funny since we sat in the terminal for 4 HOURS with 2 tired babies while we watched our parked plane sitting outside right in front of us, with no one taking off. We kept going up and asking when the plane would be ready and they kept saying someone would come get us shortly. We must have asked them at least 4 times and no response each time. By the time we finally got into VG, the family who took the ferry ride that was on the AA flight with us (we got talking to them on our flight down) was just getting there by boat. Fortunately, our car rental company and our Mahoe Bay recipient were very understanding and friendly even though we got there 4 hours late.
Leaving VG we ran into the same problems. One couple we went with left on the flight before us, and they arrived 1 hour early. VG was going to charge them each another $50 b/c they said they should have been there 2 hours early to check in!! Now, the size of the airport on VG is literally about 10’X10’, and there were only 6 other people on their flight. After arguing with them they finally didn’t get the additional charge. We arrived about 1.5 hours ahead of time, and were also given a hard time.
I think the deal with them is they know they have you as they are the only public airline going into there, so unfortunately they take advantage of it.
Another forum mentioned this alternate airline-maybe check them out, or do the ferry.
www.seabornevacations.com
Please let us know what you decide and how it works out for you!
I too didn’t rent kayaks, although I saw people kayaking off shore-it looked like fun!
I’ll apologize in advance for the book below, but hopefully it will give you some insight into our experience. Hopefully ours was just a really bad one and others have better luck.
How did you get to VG in your past visits? I hear the ferry is the way to go. Coming from Philadelphia, we flew into Puerto Rico and then took a small (8 seater) prop plane on Air Sunshine into VG. You land on a dirt runway, which actually was surprisingly smooth. The flight itself was fine-it was like taking a tour plane over the islands which was pretty cool, although if you get motion sick, you may have some issues.
Air Sunshine, or "Air Sometimes" as the locals called it, in our opinion will rip you off every chance they get and they were not friendly at all. It was pretty much a nightmare dealing with the staff. We had 2 babies with us and they wouldn't let us get on our connecting flight because they said there wasn't enough time, however they were fine with our itinerary when we booked the flight. It was a real pain b/c we flew American Air to San Juan, and AA had changed our flight time (they did this twice before our trip). Since Air Sunshine and AA aren’t affiliated, you have to pay AS $50 per ticket every time you switch your flight (okay, fair enough). We called before hand to make sure it was okay that there would be a narrow window (very narrow-like 15 minutes) between our AA flight getting in and our AS flight leaving. They said over the phone that would be no problem, especially since we were a group of 6 and basically took up the whole flight. However, when we arrived to the check in counter they had a very nasty attitude with us and said that they we needed to be there at least 2 hours prior to check in in order to make the flight. We told them we had just spoken to someone about the tight timeframe and they had said it would be okay. The people at the counter said tough, and that if we wanted to get the flight it would be another $50 per person. They said they would have to get another plane for us, which was pretty funny since we sat in the terminal for 4 HOURS with 2 tired babies while we watched our parked plane sitting outside right in front of us, with no one taking off. We kept going up and asking when the plane would be ready and they kept saying someone would come get us shortly. We must have asked them at least 4 times and no response each time. By the time we finally got into VG, the family who took the ferry ride that was on the AA flight with us (we got talking to them on our flight down) was just getting there by boat. Fortunately, our car rental company and our Mahoe Bay recipient were very understanding and friendly even though we got there 4 hours late.
Leaving VG we ran into the same problems. One couple we went with left on the flight before us, and they arrived 1 hour early. VG was going to charge them each another $50 b/c they said they should have been there 2 hours early to check in!! Now, the size of the airport on VG is literally about 10’X10’, and there were only 6 other people on their flight. After arguing with them they finally didn’t get the additional charge. We arrived about 1.5 hours ahead of time, and were also given a hard time.
I think the deal with them is they know they have you as they are the only public airline going into there, so unfortunately they take advantage of it.
Another forum mentioned this alternate airline-maybe check them out, or do the ferry.
www.seabornevacations.com
Please let us know what you decide and how it works out for you!
Mar 12th, 2007, 09:47 AM
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We've stayed at Bellamare with a large group (3 families) and it worked out well. It was close to the road but don't think we were bothered by the noise. The views and the patio/pool area were fabulous. Its a 2 minute walk to the beach.
Mar 16th, 2007, 05:54 AM
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Hi flit,
From what I’ve heard the ferry is a good route to go (at least from what the family who stayed next door to us said). Anyway, below is a link to some of our pictures from our VG trip I thought you might be interested in seeing –it really is a gorgeous island and I do hope you make it. There are a lot as I’m sort of a picture junkie! You’ll have to give us your trip report when you get back!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slidesho...37rbu&Ux=0
From what I’ve heard the ferry is a good route to go (at least from what the family who stayed next door to us said). Anyway, below is a link to some of our pictures from our VG trip I thought you might be interested in seeing –it really is a gorgeous island and I do hope you make it. There are a lot as I’m sort of a picture junkie! You’ll have to give us your trip report when you get back!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slidesho...37rbu&Ux=0
Mar 17th, 2007, 08:59 AM
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I don’t think you can go wrong with anywhere you stay on VG. With that being said, Saba Rock and Bitter End I would recommend more for yachters. The only way to get to both is by the ferry from the mainland of VG. I’d image it would get old very quickly having to take the ferry every time you wanted to explore the mainland. It seemed to be mostly yachters who stayed there. It was very nice and well kept, with nice beaches (although the beach on Mahoe Bay is way nicer, larger, and more private), a couple shops, and hobie cats. However I’m not sure how they arrange it for having a car to explore the island, which is a must. Bitter End Yacht Club is on the opposite end of the Baths. I loved our location on Mahoe Bay because we were located on the center of the island so it was the same distance (about a 15 minute drive) for us to see the Baths as it was Bitter End. Leverick Bay was nice too and still on the mainland-it’s close to Bitter End too. I just think if you stayed at Bitter End without a boat, you would end up missing out on what the island has to offer. That’s just my thought, but I could be wrong as we only did a day trip there. Maybe someone else can comment who has stayed there. Let us know what you end up deciding!
Mar 24th, 2007, 08:31 AM
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Just returned from family visit staying at Loblolly on Mahoe. Nicely furnished, good location altho I had my doubts at first since it wasn't directly ON the beach - my preference - the walk back and forth was not an issue at all. The beach is great altho not much shade other than under a few sea grapes in the afternoon. Even tho the beach had quite a few visitors, not an issue since everyone was spread out. Might want to check for sand/beach chairs as the ones we had were quite uncomfortable after awhile(unadjustable low canvas) for those who are a real beach potato. Good location but rental vehicle a good ting for exploring (beach time at Savannah Bay, the Baths, Spring Bay, Devil's Bay, a ride over to Gunn Creek for lauch to Brias - lunch at Fat Virgin or higher end dining at Brias, launch to Bitter End for their meals and a look see - and great for sailing/lessons/etc - think there is a launch to Saba Rock too but not sure.)
Lot's of changes on VG since my last visit a few years ago but found it still remote and fantastic!
We did provision - actually I thought that we were only doing a few days and then doing a food run as needed or wanted but others had provisioned for the week and it was nice to have tings ready and available upon arrivial.
Without question the best eating was the nite the chef got us fresh Anegada lobster which we grilled altho we had been told that it was not possible to get the lobsters 'cause it was too rough for the boats to go out by others! He came thru for us!! Absolutely wonderful!
I chose to fly into STT and ferry from Red Hook on the Sunday ferry (ferry runs direct only limited days) but others chose Air Sunshine which I have done other times. Ferry leaves late for return to STT (3pm) so may mean an overnite on STT for flight out unless you go thru Tortola.
Air Sunshine is very casual - flights take off if they are full and I remember one many years ago, they just forgot to pick 4 of us up! But they did send a charter to do the deed after a bit of apprehension but am sure that with the increased numbers (there were 3 8am planes departing on Saturday!) that's no longer an issue. Seaplane service is supposed to start end of April/May (or thereabouts - not sure!) into North Sound. That's a great way to go! Air Sunshine luggage weight is 40 lbs and overweight charges can add up quickly. Also think that in SJU you pick up your luggage and take it to AS desk - not sure who they have an agreement with if at all - which means going outside of security in most cases.
There were kyacks on the beach and people using them but have no details. Ask consierge for info.
Great that they have their own generators too in the event of power failure!!!!
We did not do Georgio's so no comment as we get lots of Italian here and I prefer more local specialities. The coconut/curry lobster at Chez Bamboo was excellent!
Everyone else got stuck in SJU or other spots coming home 'cause of the snowstorm! I was sure glad that I had planned to stay to catch the ferry on Sunday and missed the whole mess coming home from STT on Wed!!! Nothing like enjoying tropical heat (and it was prefectly hot!) when others are chipping at ice and snow!
Have fun ...
Lot's of changes on VG since my last visit a few years ago but found it still remote and fantastic!
We did provision - actually I thought that we were only doing a few days and then doing a food run as needed or wanted but others had provisioned for the week and it was nice to have tings ready and available upon arrivial.
Without question the best eating was the nite the chef got us fresh Anegada lobster which we grilled altho we had been told that it was not possible to get the lobsters 'cause it was too rough for the boats to go out by others! He came thru for us!! Absolutely wonderful!
I chose to fly into STT and ferry from Red Hook on the Sunday ferry (ferry runs direct only limited days) but others chose Air Sunshine which I have done other times. Ferry leaves late for return to STT (3pm) so may mean an overnite on STT for flight out unless you go thru Tortola.
Air Sunshine is very casual - flights take off if they are full and I remember one many years ago, they just forgot to pick 4 of us up! But they did send a charter to do the deed after a bit of apprehension but am sure that with the increased numbers (there were 3 8am planes departing on Saturday!) that's no longer an issue. Seaplane service is supposed to start end of April/May (or thereabouts - not sure!) into North Sound. That's a great way to go! Air Sunshine luggage weight is 40 lbs and overweight charges can add up quickly. Also think that in SJU you pick up your luggage and take it to AS desk - not sure who they have an agreement with if at all - which means going outside of security in most cases.
There were kyacks on the beach and people using them but have no details. Ask consierge for info.
Great that they have their own generators too in the event of power failure!!!!
We did not do Georgio's so no comment as we get lots of Italian here and I prefer more local specialities. The coconut/curry lobster at Chez Bamboo was excellent!
Everyone else got stuck in SJU or other spots coming home 'cause of the snowstorm! I was sure glad that I had planned to stay to catch the ferry on Sunday and missed the whole mess coming home from STT on Wed!!! Nothing like enjoying tropical heat (and it was prefectly hot!) when others are chipping at ice and snow!
Have fun ...
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