Querols

My family and I are going to St. Martin in January. We find a lot of websites offering good houses or apartments. The photos are spectacular and the description too. They have service, like a hotel, and you can stay with your family in a wonderfull house with pool just a few steps of the beach.
My doubt is: is that a good idea? Is it safe?
I've never rentend a house in Caribbean before. I've travelled to Caribbean a lot of times and I used to stay in hotes. Now I think with a big family it's interesting to stay in house instead a hotel.
Have anybody been in those houses before? Can you tell me if it's a good idea?
Thanks,
Querols.

BellaClaire

Hi...I rented a villa on Dawn Beach - it was called Suzanne and was really fabulous...granite in the kitchen - high end everything..... If I stayed in this area again, I would stay in villa Dophin (dutch spelling I can't remember)....it had this great patio area right near the ocean.... This was a gated (with a guard) community - at night we'd lock ourselves in. The location was good - you could walk down a path to Dawn Beach where the Westin hotel is located. Depending on the ocean tide - depends on whether you can walk to Mr. Busby's beach bar...even if you don't stay in this area - it's a must!....the grocery stores are close by...What I didn't like is the beach faces east - so great for sunrises - but no sunsets...

I also rented a condo on Simpson Beach - which I LOVED. it was also gated - it was in a 3 story condo called Las Arenas - we had the 1st floor walk-out called Unforgettable - there was NOTHING I disliked about this condo -also higher end appliances, furntiture, etc... it also had a guard with a guard dog walk around the property once per hour during the overnight hours. and we'd also lock ourselves in each evening.... The location of Unforgettable is great...it's right on Simpson beach - which is very nice -you could walk down to Mary's Boon or a beach bar/restaurant called Karacter.... the condo is close to Simpson Bay restaurants, Maho area, 20-30 minutes to Phillipsburg...- grocery store very close by

Both properties had daily (except Sunday) cleaning service.

I felt very safe at both properties. If you have other questions, please let me know. Now that I've done it twice, I'd most likely always book a condo/villa when visiting St. Maarten.

kellybeaches

Hi Querols,
Villa rentals are a great option for families. We do it yearly with ours (actually we're going to Provo in 3 weeks and renting a villa!) Anyway, we've rented villas on the French side of St. Martin twice now. The first time on Baie Rouge beach, and then again last May on Happy Bay. We loved it and felt safe both times, although like with any vacation you need to keep your wits about you, ie, lock the doors at night or if you leave the property, etc. Here's my trip report from St. Martin last year. I highly recommend it-we love it there!

http://www.fodors.com/community/cari...-7-15-long.cfm

RoamsAround

We've rented villas numerous times throughout the Caribbean (including St. Martin0. As the other posters said - great idea when you are traveling with families - all the comforts of home with the convenience and (in many cases) all the amenities of a resort.

Yes, we always felt safe.

The great thing about villas is they come in all sizes and price ranges and are available on almost ever major island. There are lots to choose from on St. Martin.

Querols

Wow!! Thank you very much for all answers! It's wonderfull sharing information like that! Kellybeaches, I also love planning my trips. I spend a lot of hours doing that and I loved your stories.

My parents would like to stay in french side because they really love french culture.

Can anybody recommend a good beach with calm water in french side for my family and I?

We'll rent a car to explore the island, but my grandmother and my mother-in-law like to walk every morning and spend more time at home relaxing. Because of that I think that is a good idea stay in a house near to a great beach for spending more time there than exploring the island.

I plan rent a house through a website. That's fine, isn't it?

RoamsAround

Baie Rouge and Baie Plum are both calm water beaches with numerous rental villa either on the beach or nearby.

Yes, renting a villa through a website is fine - it's the way 90%+ of the villas are rented. Do a google search for "Villa Rentals, St. Martin" (or similar topics) and you'll scores of listing. FYI - you'll find many Villa rental companies on the web and you'll see they "handle" some of the same villas. Think of it as a Multiple Listing Service" for villa owners.

kellybeaches

Querols,
Glad you enjoyed my report! I'm not sure what your budget is, but this villa right on Grand Case Beach Club's beach (which is actually a public beach but no on is ever on it) is gorgeous (but $$$). Plus it's walking distance to all of the wonderful restaurants in Grand Case.
http://www.islandhideaways.com/stmar...petit-plage-4/

There are a lot of nice villas on the French side in the Terras Basses area as well, and are reasonably priced. Here's a map of them with the names and links to each:
http://www.gobeach.com/villamap_lowlands.htm

We stayed at La Mission on Baie Rouge:
http://www.gobeach.com/pc/mission.htm

Baie Rouge beach was nice, but the waves were rough and there were rocks where the water broke so we had to wear reef runners. Also the sand was yellow and very course-rather difficult to walk in. Although we were at the end of the beach so the other side might not be so rocky. I'll dig up the link to my photos from that villa for you and post.

I also have to fix the photo link in my trip report to the second half of our trip-I accidentally removed it! I'll try to get it reposted so you can see those photos.

Jimmie

"but this villa right on Grand Case Beach Club's beach (which is actually a public beach but no on is ever on it) is gorgeous (but $$$). Plus it's walking distance to all of the wonderful restaurants in Grand Case.
http://www.islandhideaways.com/stmartin/villas/petit-plage-4/"

I thought this was a great deal until I realized the rate was NIGHTLY not weekly. Yikes.

kellybeaches

Jimmie-yeah, hence the $$$ part We usually travel with 1 or 2 other couples which helps split the cost.

Querols

We are travelling with my family and we would like a great house but not so expensive ! I saw all websites and a lot of houses in the beaches that you've recommended. Thank you very much!
I dreamed last night with my house in Caribbean! I'm so exciting!
In this weekend I'll meet my family and we'll choose our house! I hope we find a house for a good price in front of the beach! That is my wish!
I live in country full of gourgeous beaches but I've never rented a house in front of those beaches...
If you think to travel to Brasil let me know!