So I went on R&R back in October of 09, and headed down to St.Maarten. I call it St. Maarten because that's the Dutch side. The French side of the island is St. Martin. And frankly, St. Maarten just somehow sounds more exotic, or something. Say it now, "Saint Mahhh-ten". See? See how it sounds sexier? Anyways, I looked around for a bunch of places to stay, and ended up doing something I've never done before. I rented a Villa. Someones vacation home. A real one.
And here's what I learned, good and bad.
The bad: You have to make your own bed, and there's no room service.
The good: Everything else.
Seriously. The place we stayed was about 140 a night for 7 nights, or less than half the cost of a decent hotel. And it was probably 800sq ft, at least. NOT including the sun decks, the private pool (seen in pic above), the private landscaped entry garden, the free internet, the free cable/sat TV, free local calls, free private parking, gated community etc etc.
We had our own real kitchen with a full size stove and fridge and washer dryer and a huge bedroom, with ceiling fans galore, a high ceilinged living/family room, two bathrooms with showers, one of which had multiple showerheads, private pool service, maid service, landscaping service and so on. More windows than you can shake a stick at. You could easily light up the whole house during the day with just the windows!
Basically a true house, on the side of a hill, overlooking Oyster Pond and a couple of resorts on the Dutch/East side of the Island.
I mean, consider the advantages: You have a real home base without much risk of things getting stolen (and yes there was even a safe for jewlery and the like), you get up in the morning, turn the coffeepot on and have some cereal or some eggs and throw the dishes in the dishwasher before you head out. You are out and about during the day exploring the Island or snorkling, wave riding, whatever, you come home near dusk to YOUR HOME, picking up some french bread, wine and soft cheeses/sausages on the way, chill out for a few hours on the deck or cooling off in the pool, and head out for dinner.
Honestly, if I can afford it, I will be doing the villa thing as much as I can from now on. More space, a better/quieter/more relaxed atmosphere, no hoteliness with strange noises coming from other rooms or the clunky ice machine/elevator next door and impersonal service. The maid, gardner and pool guy all know YOUR name, and are very nice people to boot.
Regards,
-Bouncer-
2 comments:
As I recall,
you had stated the cost of the villa or one like it was close to $3,000.00 for the week that you & your Mrs. stayed at.
"Things that make you go, hmm"
J.B
Absolutely correct I did. But that included business class airfare, a rental car (full size), activities (wave riding etc).
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