loyola

Apologies-this messge should have had St Barths in the title<BR>I am taking my wife,10 year old daughter and energetic 69 year old mother to SBH for one week from 19th October.<BR>I have rented a villa before but would like to stay in a hotel this time.<BR>I want somewhere there will be at least a few people in the bar in the evening-my wife and I are in our early 40s and would like to watch the beautiful people at play!<BR>My daughter will swim all day and I think she would love a beachside property.<BR>I know we are going out of season but we would still like to find somewhere as lively as possible .<BR>I dont want to have to drive after dark if I can avoid it.<BR>I am prepared to pay a little extra for somewhere special but my budget is $5000 max.I would prefer to spend no more than $3000 if possible.<BR>A two bedroom suite would be ideal.<BR>Any advice would be much appreciated

BillK

Eden Rock should be one of the busier places in of season and close to a lot of activity.

liz

Hi,<BR>I think St B is just reopening in October, not sure everything is open until Nov. My husband and I loved the place but doubt that you can do the Eden Roc on that budget. There are other places, that is one of the most expensive. St. Jean Villas or something close to that offers affordable family accomodation. Agree you will need to be in St. Jean or Gustavia not to have total emptiness. My suggestion is call hotels directly to negotiate a good rate since this is off-off season. Maybe you could swing Eden Roc if you don't have a middleman. That is how we did it in July last year, direct with our property.

Patty

Village St. Jean has 2 bedrooms in the off season for about $300 a night.

Mary

Look at stbarthbeachhotel.com -- It has everything you want for the right price. We usually stay at Village St. Jean (which we love) but I don't think it matches up with what you want (steep hill to beach; drive to any restaurant but theirs; not much of a bar). The St. Barth has 2 bedrooms suites; good price; on a lovely beach.

Mary

Oops - www.saintbarthbeachhotel.com

sean

Thanks for all your help.<BR>Village St Jean has a great offer available-surely it is downhill to the beach from there.<BR>How far is it to the beach/shops and are there places to eat/drink in walking distance?

Kris

While we loved staying at Village St. Jean, the hike up the hill is a bit much, especially after a long day at the beach. But it's definitely walkable. There is a nice restaurant on the property, but it hardly qualifies as a bar-hangout. There are several restaurants and bars on St Jean beach and in the little town not too far away. The beach restaurants are walkable from there. The driving after dark is really not bad at all.

Mary

We've stayed at Village St. Jean several times & just love it. However, ask about the configuration of the 2 bedroom cottage -- the one we stayed in (adjacent to the pool) was lovely but the bathroom was at one end of the villa & the person staying in the second bedroom had to tramp thru ours to get to it. Not much privacy (but a fabulous balcony & view!)

sean

PLease help me choose-<BR><BR>Village St Jean-<BR>2 bed cottage with car $2200<BR><BR>Eden Rock-<BR><BR>Harbour House $5600<BR>Suite $4150<BR><BR>St Barth Beach Hotel<BR>2 bed beachfront villa with car $2700<BR><BR>Isle de France<BR><BR>2 bed suite on the beach with car $5580<BR>2 bed cottage with car $4050<BR><BR>Is the Harbour House worth the extra bucks?Is St Barths beach hotel too far out of the way at this time of year?<BR>What would you do?<BR>Thanks again

Gayle

IMHO, Isle de France is by far the nicest property from your list on a gorgeous beach. The staff are great. There are two pools, one right on the ocean, the other in between the garden bungalows which is always quiet and a nice place to read. We stayed in a garden bungalow last November and it was really beautiful. Eden Rock is also a lovely property but we prefer Flamands Beach.

Anon

If you must stay on a beach and with the criteria you have given, I would choose Eden Rock. While Isle de France is very elegant it's probably not the place to take your Mother and 10 year old daughter (IMHO, I would save that for a trip with just yourself and your wife!). Also, the Flammands beach area doesn't have a lot of "action". In fact we have often gone to Flammand's beach and been the only ones there. Also, Flammand's beach itself is quite often rough for swimming, especially for children. <BR><BR>Eden Rock is located in much busier St. Jean which has many shops, restaurants and places to make merry. St. Jean beach is much better for swimming.<BR><BR>If you decide that staying on the beach isn't as important and you want to spend less, Village St. Jean hotel is a great choice. Of course it's not as nice as Eden Rock but it's a great deal for the $$. <BR><BR>No matter where you stay, you'll need a car and you can drive most anywhere in a matter of 10 or so minutes. <BR><BR>I feel compelled to tell you that St. Bart's is not the place to go if you're looking for Cancun, Jamaica or even St. Martin. The island tends to be very laid back no matter where you stay.