The Good: location, house layout, full functioning kitchen. each room with bathroom. top deck, outdoor area w grill, outdoor view, light cleaning service ( more to share on this).
The Bad: Parking( too narrow),Directions to house, pool smaller than anticipated. Olive ( housekeeper, intrusive. Would just show up and walk in. should have the option to schedule cleaning. Even the last day she walked in at 9am due to another check in occurring that day. Beach front is covered with large rocks. Not as smooth as shown in pictures. French door knobs and stove take some getting used to. Owners did not provide a list of local spots, activities, etc. Deposit held the maximum time.
Recommended excursions:
- toppers rhum distillary tour.
-Eagle tours eco catamaran tour- best excursion
-Buccaneer beach bar- ask for Christian
-breakfast at Juliette's- walking distance- outstanding
-fabulous feast - chef cook at the villa- great experience
-Grand Case Beach- french beach- boutique hotel next to Rainbow cafe. great breakfast at Rainbow also.
-Anse Marcel Beach resort
- flying dutchman
- DIVI little bay beach resort.
-TIJON perfume tour- pretty cool thing to do.
- go to the seafood market across from police station on Saturday's and get a whole Red Snapper to cook on the grill.
- If looking for jewerly, hit Diamond international- ask for Rakesh and Jay.
- would not recommend fishing tour out of Bobby's marina.
- Pelican food store next to Julliettes is a quick stop for many items vs the grocery store next to Burger King.
- other items to note:
use caution with SAX car rental. Covid testing at airport for departure is a smooth process. Service charges added to most restaurant checks. when picking chairs at beaches, some chair vendors do not allow the "hat ladies" to approach you. This may be a benefit to you!
All is all, St. Maarten wasn't our favorite island but still has alot to offer is very nice and would be worthy of a second visitThe reviews, descriptions, and pictures of the villa set our expectations high and were not met. Olive's intrusiveness , size of pool, and inaccurate beach front pics, lowered the overall score to a 4.