Hello my friends:

Wife and I are about to book this place in Grenada for a week for less than $1,500 in July, not a bad deal.

http://www.grenadavilla.com/tower/tower.htm

Just want "vet" this place with y'all, should you have any experiences or comments. I don't want this to be a lemon! But judging from the other places we inquired, the price range is similar as well as amenities.

Looking forward to the trip!

Cheers!

I don't know this particular villa, but judging from its photos I have a good idea where it is. Nice section of Lanse Aux Epines.

at www.reefviewgrenada.com, the villa owners are offering 30% off of their weekly rental rates, so the Turtleback Villa is only $1150/week, if you want to check it out. The pool area and outdoor living space at Turtleback are really, really special, not to mention spacious!

Thank ejcrowe your insight is always welcome. We will look into Turtleback as well but they have a hold on the dates we wanted....

Anyway, can you comment on crime and poverty on the island? Wife is a little concerned. You insight will be most welcome. BTW, would Anguilla be a much better experience in your mind?

I personally would like to go to Grenada because I find great value with their villas. Should Grand Anse be close, if not at par with Grace Bay, I feel that it could be a good vacation. Last, how bad are the mosquitos there? Would coils and deet suffice?

Mosquitos will vary in proportion to how much rain the island is getting. We had one year where the mosquitos were awful and three years where they were completely controllable with light application of repellent. It's just luck of the draw for weather that way. The year they were so bad for us was when a tropical depression was hovering over the region for most of our stay and getting inside was the only place to escape them, but that circumstance is unusual I should think.

I've never felt unsafe anywhere I've traveled, but Grenada happens to be the one island I ever visited solo. I would do go again in a heartbeat. Using common sense precautions that you would use at home is what I recommend: don't leave valuables in your car, lock your doors, be aware of your surroundings, etc.

Talking about poverty becomes a little trickier. Lots of families are still recovering from Hurricane Ivan back in 2005--about 90% of buildings on the island had SERIOUS structural damage, and when the nutmeg and other crops were destroyed, it destroyed the livelihood of many, many people. Recession in Grenada hit several years earlier than it did in the rest of the world, and they are still recovering. A good bit of the island could be fairly described as being third world conditions. There is a line of demarcation between the haves and the have-nots, as there is on most Caribbean islands.

And yet there has been substantial growth on Grenada since my first visit back in 2006--new hotels, marinas, luxury villas--all being built with international funds. My husband and I fell in love with it on our first visit and went back every year through 2010 for a total of 4 visits. One of the great things about staying in a villa is that you're more likely to spread your spending around to different markets and restaurants, which means you're putting money into the economy in a very real way and supporting many Grenadians--different than if you were staying in an international corporate owned hotel.

Grand Anse is the longest beach on Grenada but it will still fall far short of Grace Bay. It is very lovely, however, and great for people watching. Some other favorite beaches of mine would be Morne Rouge and the beach at La Sagesse.

Your dollar/pound/euro will definitely go further on Grenada than on Anguilla, which is the other island you asked about. What you'd pay for a very nice place on Grenada would get a pretty bare bones place, probably farther from the beach/water/view.

Gracias ejcrowe = )