TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Going on the Cheap?

We have stayed in the same great condo feet from the water in heart of grand case for three years. We stay 10 days.
Thinking of trying to go on the cheap this time by use air bnb. Probably three to five days in room near grand case then 3 to 5 in a cheap condo in mt Vernon. We will have a car. Go to happy Pinel and beach at grand case most days. We are beach bums. I know air fare is still sky high. How disappointed will we be.

You might have better renting by the week rather than a few days.

Check out monrevesxm. Not on water but you can't beat the price & he owns rental cars. Great place & great owner.
Love it!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />

No one can really tell you how YOU will react. How much will you actually save, versus the entire cost of your vacation?? How much time do you spend in your room? How often do you go per year? If you normally go 2 times a year and staying someplace cheaper would allow you to go 3, then that might be a big deal. To ME, it's REALLY important what my view is, and I know I personally would be really disappointed if I don't have a view. And we spend a LOT of time in our unit. And I don't want to spend my whole yearly vacation being upset that I didn't spend $400 more for a place that I love. You may be different.

We stayed with StudioSXM at Mt Vernon for 12 days last June. Once in the room, everything was great with very nice room and View. King bed, washer, and kitchen. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

The resort has seen better days but we spent our days driving to Orient. The little shop had great pizza, other meals, and espresso.

The big issue is parking and hills. You have to be able bodied. If you luck out and wedge into a tiny spot near old lobby you walk downhill to room. If not you have to walk up hill stairs. We got used to it and needed exercise.

Lots of cats, very friendly. A few stinky spots on property.

Had a very young and effective security man roaming property. We had no issues or uneasiness. But we are on alert everywhere on island.

Price was great. Would do it again in heartbeat. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Wanted to add some comments on the "resort" which is closed and the units are owned by private individuals, most French and there were lots of families with small kids on holiday having a great time.

The pool is huge and clean but shade is quickly taken up and there are no working bathrooms by the pool, so you have to trek to the unit and it is a trek you don't want To make many times a day. The owners should all chip in and volunteer to spruce up the pool area and get a toilet and urinal working.

The beach is unspoiled except by natures seaweed. A manual crew raked it several times and one day a tractor came and did it.

Coco is not very far and we went there our last day and had a great time. Now we know why we don't want Club O to have bar service at the chairs.

Big bill and hard to walk home.

We would rent from the StudioSXM brothers again without a doubt.

The whole experience was fun.

We are "going on the cheap" by using our Capitol One Venture card points to pay for the trip. Our only out of pocket expenses will be anything purchased off the Club O grounds.

We stayed at Mt. Vernon using one of the sponsors of TTOL--studiosxm. It was a great property with a perfect view. We rented a car and drove to Club O several days. We walked to Club O one day just incorporating a daily beach walk. The drawback to walking is that the beach bag can get a heavy quickly if you are carry a water bottle or two.
We are beach bums as well so we drove the Mt.Vernon/Club O circuit--maximizing beach time, plus we were able to make stops at favorites like Yellow Sub or Rancho del Sol. We enjoyed late nights on the balcony stargazing.

It was relatively cheap. To us anyway.

Cutting your costs
You want to make sure you like where you stay plus I would not want to move mid stay - eats up valuable beach time!

Do you need a car? - maybe not if staying in Orient Village
but we also always take a cab [Wilfred Brooks] our 1st and last day even when renting a car
If you want a car, then maybe location becomes more flexible. Oyster Pnd for example has several reasonable places to stay - you'll have to drive to beach it, but if a car is mandatory for you, then an option

Also to me air bnb is not always the least cost place to look

J&B

We also stay in the StudioSXM condos. For us, it is ideal. It is not the swankiest or most convenient but it is very inexpensive and the units we stay in have outstanding views. I believe we paid around 130/night in October. Last January we didn't pay much more. We like to do our own thing and don't need the red carpet rolled out for us. Rent a car and you'll have a great time. We used Kenny's last time for our vehicle and will do so from now on. [img] https://goo.gl/photos/hdYBQNpEfc3ZEJLw8. [/img] https://goo.gl/photos/PXJcRiXcs3SJeoou8

Just to be clear here, the original poster did not necessarily say they were going to stay in the Mt Vernon complex per se, but could be just somewhere in the Mt. Vernon area. And the units in the Mt. Vernon complex are all individually owned, so they are all different. Thibault and Amauary (StudioSXM) have several units there, but units owned by other owners could be much different.

If you are willing to go a little beyond Grand Case and Mt. Vernon, there are two very inexpensive places in Coralita and Oyster Pond:

Coralita Apartments

Blue Beach Studios

Rates range from $58-$63/night depending upon season. Either of these would be just a few minutes' drive from Orient.