needful

My wife and I are going to St. Barts. We thought we would try a villa for this vacation.

Are there any suggestions for a villa that is reasonably priced and offers a high level of privacy for a couple wanting to not feel like spectators are hovering around?

RoamsAround

Terms like "reasonably priced" are meaningless on a Travel Forum where the potential respondants doesn't know anything about the "poster". Without some sort of budget number it's hard to make any meaningful recommendations. What s "reasonably priced" for for one person might be extravagant to another or mere "petty cash" to a third person. FYI - St. Barth's is a pricey island to begin with so that makes it even harder to know what "reasonably priced" means to you.

You can decide for yourself if rental villas on St. Barth's are "reasonably priced" by checking the descriptions and prices at: www.wimco.com

needful

Thanks for the lecture. Maybe I should have been a little more clear though.

We've been to St Barts three times before and stayed at Eden Rock twice and Manapany once. For what they are we enjoyed staying there and received a good value, but I do not consider them to be "reasonably priced."

I have spent some time searching some of the websites, including Wimco's, and it's clear to me that there are villas from about $1500 per week to $10,000 per week and above. I do not consider the upper end of the scale to be "reasonably priced." I think most people would consider that "reasonably priced" for any location (whether it's St, Barts, Aspen, or Tulsa) to be relative to the market and not to the individual traveler. What's "reasonably priced" in Aspen is obviously different from what's "reasonably priced" Appalachia. I would expect to pay more for accommodations in St Barts than Yellowstone, but the quality available is different and the experience available is different. Again, it's relative to the location, not the user.

Having said that, if anyone knows of a villa meeting the requirements of the original posting (including being "reasonably priced" for the St. Barts market), I would be interested to read their thoughts.

joan

There is a frequent poster here named Maggi who had a wonderful time in St. Barts. I'm sure she rented a villa. Right now she is posting from Curaco while on vacation, but she does post her email, so maybe you can get a suggestion from Maggi.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=5

I take it you're trying to stay under maybe $5000?

Maggi

Hi Joan! How are you? Just got back. Hi needful, gosh St. Barts is just about the best place to rent a villa. There is such a variety. We like to travel after Easter in April-May, since it is shoulder season and the prices are lower with all the same amenities.

We rented Santal through Island Hideaways. (I found Wimco to be pricier). Photos are on my blog at www.maggiwun.blogspot.com. Scroll to the bottom for my past trip reports. It has a small pool and a hot tub with a sublime view of Lorient Bay. I felt it was private from most parts of the deck. We never saw anyone else. Someone could see you from the road way down below if they had binoculars.

I think we paid about $2400 for the week - a great value, I think, for a whole two bedroom house with A/C in the bedrooms and your own pool and hot tub. We save a lot of money on food and drinks renting a villa, so that adds to the value. Feel free to ask any questions. I'll try to answer as well as I can.

Maggi

http://www.islandhideaways.com/villa...p;currency=DKK

Marigot

My husband and I have spent many amazing vacations in St Bath and the villa I highly recommend is Villa SIB CAP through Wimco. This tiny 1 bedroom romantic villa is located on St Jean Beach. It has a great outdoor kitchen which is a joy to cook in because you experience St Barth and you are not inside. You have a private walk down to one of the most famous beaches. You can walk to Nikki Beach and Eden Rock. This villa is on the other side from the airport and it is the best value we have found. This villa was like a second honeymoon every time we visited. You can go down to Gustavia early in the morning and purchase fresh fish from the fisherman to cook. Places to not miss: Le Select (the place that inspired Jimmy Buffet to write Cheeseburger in Paradise), Le Ti for dinner, Papagayo or Tanya when they perform at La Plage, Maya's or Maya's To Go, Nikki Beach for the scene and a drink with sushi, the small bakery in Gustavia across from the post office, and etc. We looked to purchase something in St Barth and it was a bit out of our budget so we started to research islands. We now own a small bedroom villa in St John in the USVI because this villa inspired us to get our own piece of heaven. Enjoy!