Hi, we are looking to do a luxury villa rental sometime in the fall, minimum 3 bed/bath suite type place, with pool and beach, preferably private. We are looking at around the $1000/night range, and desperately need real feedback from people who have done this before. We have looked at places on the web (all look good of course) in St. Martin, Turks&Caicos, Virgin Gorda, and others. Joie De Vivre looked very promising however that is based on the ad! Please help us! We will have max 3 couples with no kids, want peaceful and pampered, maybe even the possibility of a cook. Also need to know if Fall (August, September) timeframe is good for that region - storm season? Thanks in advance!

You should have no trouble finding something in your price range. Check out www.wimco.com. They are brokers for rental villas all over the Caribbean. Their website is quite extensive with very accurate photos and descriptions of the villas and their amenities. We've used them numerous times with excellent results. You can also do a google search with such topics as "Rental Villas - Caribbean" - you'll find plenty of links. You should know that many villas are listed with several different brokers (similar to MLS) so you will find the same villas on different sites - prices are usually the same.

The best way to approach your mission is to first select the island you want to visit then you can research all the rental villas on that island to find the one that's right for you. FYI - some villas will come with a cook others charge extra for that service - the management company will gladly arrange for the staffing level you require - just tell them what you want and they will give you the cost.

Keep in mind that hurricane season throughout the Caribbean runs from June 1 through November 30 with the peak time being September 1 through October 15 (last year there were several major storms in August) so you'd be wise to purchase trip insurance (with hurricane coverage) if you are traveling August or September.

hey motor city, sept-nov are great months in the carib. the biggest prob is that the sun sets earlier (time change). if you do go during hurricane season pick an island further south to avoid issues.
best advice is to pick the island you like the sounds of, then search for a house - otherwise you will make yourself crazy.
you said 1000/night. does this include air, food, rental car, outings?
do you want diving/snorkeling, shopping, gambling/nightclub scene, beach sports, cultural(ruins?) or just peace and quiet?
i have stayed in a couple villas on t&c so if you choose provo i could suggest several companies and some specific villas.
always hear good reports about wimco

You Might consider Beachcourt villa in Anguilla. Brand new on Shoal Bay East. Really looks nice. www.beachcourtvilla.com. Also check out www.news.ai and click on villas in the header. For Provo check out www.wheretostay.com. They have some villa listings. Prestigeous properties has some nice beachfront villas. You really want to stay on Grace bay Beach.

Hi evetyone,

Thanks for your feedback!! To answer a question by Virginia, the $1000/night is just for accomodations, do you have recommendations for T&Cs? Any more feedback is welcome.

Thanks

NOPE I disagree and have been renting in the Caribbean since many of you have been born. Yes you do have a selection of islands in mind and do narrow that scope but research all of your picks for possible villa selections. You may find one terrific villa on one island you didn't really think the top then suddenly its the top, and so on.

There are scads of villa rentals throughout out the islands, there's really no real one resource. As Sunnyboy recommends Wimco, which I've used before and very satisfied, but they only represent a sliver of what's available and generally their prices are quite high.

Best thing to do is figure out your islands then your local contacts. As an example, you're considering Turks and Caicos, then you would contact:
www.tcsafari.tc

I have many other local contacts on various islands if you like I can share, just let me know which islands. Avoid huge villa companies with glossy brochures, you'll pay more...best is to reach the local agents if not the owner's themselves for best rates.
Happy travels.

Traveler, since you have so much experience in the Caribbean, what has been your favorite rental so far, and which island has been your favorite and why?

We have stayed at Las Brisas on Virgin Gorda twice. It is incredible, and right at the top of The Baths. Check out their website at lasbrisasbvi.com.

Detroiter-I can highly recommend Vida De Mar, a gorgeous villa on St. John. We just stayed there at the end of March and it was fabulous. I think you can find it several ways, but www.cateredto.com has it on their website. It overlooks a pebble beach on Devers Bay, but is close to town and not a far drive from the beautiful north shore beaches. Enjoy!

Maggi,
Too many favorite rentals, but off the top of my head ones that come to mind first would be Cap Pavillon on St. Lucia, Azzurra Castle on Grenada and Villa Stonecrest on Provo.

For favorite island, I like best a place that is unspoiled by the heavy foot of tourism, I enjoy history, culture, beautiful scenery, friendly people. Based on that criteria my favorite island is Malta & Gozo in the Med. For the Caribbean, its Tobago. A great rental on Tobago, and I have not rented it yet, is Villa Petras. I hope this helps.
Happy travels.

hello motor city, sorry it took me so long to post again. yes i do have several specific provo recommendations.
i'll start with travelers suggestion of Villa Stonecrest. it is one of 7 or 8 villas owned by one man clustered on a penisula on the south side of provo. the houses are fabulous and all have pools and very nice docks. the beaches NEAR them are taylor bay and sopidilla bay. taylor Very shallow, sopadilla fairly shallow. 15 min or so drive so grace bay and all restaurants. i too have stayed here and enjoyed it. see them at: www.oceanpointvillas.com
also, on sopidilla bay beach is a very cool house called La Koubba. has a pool and is right on the beach. sort of spanish looking, good privacy. 7000/wk see at www.tcivillas.com
there are 2 houses that i have longed to rent on grace bay beach near turtle cove marina. (they are too large for my usual travel group) both are ON the beach and next to smiths bay reef, which is, in my opinion the best beach snorkeling on island. they are Sandstone at 7800/wk(w/pool) and Turtle Beach House at 6500/wk(w/out pool). these are both very well located and private. they are away from the resort area, but you would find several restaurants at the marina. see Sandstone at www.tcivillas.com and Turtle Beach House at www.prestigiousproperties.com or www.caribbeanway.com for different photos.
also there is as gorgeous place called Channel House on the northeast end for 5500/wk again no pool but this is a very unique house. it has a more or less private beach and is very private. see at www.caribbeanway.com
last is a slightly smaller, but 4br house called Bella Sur Mer just next to my favorite rental (windows ala mar, which is only 2br) it is also near turtle cove marina. has pool and is about a 10 min walk to smith reef snorkeling or to restaurants.
i know ocean point villas have cooks avail. and it would be my guess that all the others offer this service also.
you are in hurricane season so i would think about vaca insurance.

Virginia,
Great info, I just did want to correct the villa website you gave, www.tcsafari.tc and www.tcivillas.tc are the same just two names it is not .com

Detroiter,
Another item I failed to mention. You are looking for a minimum of 3 bedrooms, quite often larger villas throughout the Caribbean have special rates for using fewer bedrooms or it can be by person...you may have already seen this on some of the price lists. In one case on Bonaire, it was a 4 bedroom property but prices per person, so technically if you had 4 people who wanted to use all 4 bedrooms they could do so at about half the cost as 8 people using all 4 bedrooms. That was kind of an unusual case, typically its by bedroom. Again good luck with it and if I can help further don't hesitate to ask. Happy travels.

Traveler863, Virginia, et al..

Thank you for all the great advice, it is much appreciated!!! Traveler, i would love local contacts if you would be willing to share, I promise not to abuse the trust. We are really keen on T&Cs, primarily for the following reasons: looks less congested - not the most popular tourist site (plus), we want a more lux place - turks seems to cater to that, do not want to be in a villa complex, want 3 bed/bath suite (all with large beds-no twins), private pool, really close to beaches that are not congested.. bottom line we are long since out of college, don;t care about the nightlife, plan to spend our time at the villa, and no snobbery intended but we do not want to slum it.

Based on these (admittedly somewhat shallow!) criteria can you please confirm or correct my T&Cs assessment, and if I am way off the ball please let me know where you would go, keeping in mind my objectives. We have recently been conversing with the Ocean Pearl Villa, which looks really good. Do you know anything about this place? Perhaps a local contact can give the the honest truth about it.

I want to thank all of you again very much for the time you have taken to reply to my questions, 6 people are eternally grateful!!!