TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Just a couple of questions about Beachside Villas

It's been about 12 years since we've stayed at BSV. Although we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there, we prefer a/c throughout the unit. Not that they've done that, we are very much looking forward to our reserved stay in November. As my memory isn't as young as it used to be, and as things might have changed in the interim, I have a few questions:

For those of you who have stayed there as just a couple, have you rented only the one-bedroom, or do you prefer two bedrooms for extra room? (We've rented a one-bedroom, as I recall the unit is pretty roomy.)

Do they supply umbrellas for the beach chairs or should we rent from Craig? (Carol, I think I remember you mentioned no umbrellas in one of your recent trip reports).

Do they have beach towels or should we bring our own? How often is housekeeping provided? Is the pool freshwater or salt water?

I'm assuming the kitchen has all the usual perks: microwave, toaster, blender, ice trays?

Thanks in advance! I just like to know what I might need to bring (or rent) ahead of time.

Thanks so much for the info, Pat! Our reservations aren't until November 27. Rats, we always seem to just miss each other.

As for A/C the entire unit is now Air Conditioned all the Atriums are now enclosed with A/C
There room is plenty large enough since the Atriums have now been enclosed ,only difference is if you want to use the 2nd bedroom or not.
The beach towels are very large and heavy weight .
Can't wait we will be there 11/4-11/20

Bill and Pat answered your questions well. Regarding room, the only part of the unit you don't have use of if you rent one bedroom only, is the actual other bedroom. The unit itself is huge, plenty of room for a couple. Regarding umbrellas, there were a couple really small umbrellas in the pool building when we were there in June. Looked to be left behind by other guests. They were nothing like Craig's umbrellas, which are heavy and sturdy. There is a microwave, yes, everything you need. As Bill said, the pool towels are GORGEOUS. There is now maid service every day. There are also coolers in the pool room, but they were much too large for us to carry to the beach, as they were full sized coolers. We rent a cooler also from Craig, a small, flat top one. Otherwise, Beachside provides basically anything you could want.

Thank you all for your responses, very helpful! Good to know that we can get both a cooler and umbrellas from Craig (won't need the chairs). How do we contact Craig? I thought he was a sponsor, but don't see him on the list.

Carol, I'm assuming the 2nd bathroom is not included in the one-bedroom rental, as it is part of the second bedroom? Not a big deal, just curious. One bathroom is fine for us. We've learned how to share.

Actually, the second bathroom is available for use even if you only rent one bedroom. We use the second bathroom all the time during the day when we are at the villa, as it's easier than going all the way through the master bedroom. The second bathroom has a door into the atrium and also a door into the second bedroom. So if someone is in the second bedroom, they can lock the door to the atrium and have private use of that bathroom. The second bathroom has a true stand-up shower, which we often use to shower in also. The master has a short sided tub (maybe 10 inches tall??) so sometimes it's easier to just use the second bathroom to shower in.

Ah, good to know. Makes life a bit easier. Thanks, Carol!

Yes, like Carol we used the 2nd bathroom because of the shower. We even told the maid she didn't have to clean the tub off the master bedroom because we used only the other one.

Robin and all,

I had completely forgotten the second bathroom being available and I hadn’t really thought about using the shower there but good to know it’s okay for future reference.

It sounds like we will be sharing a couple of days with Wild Bill and Pat and I’m sorry that once again we will miss seeing you and Ed, Robin. One of these trips it will work out, I’m sure.

One day it will indeed, Pat!

That’s what I love about this forum. It’s so helpful in so many ways; we’re always learning new things, even after coming to the island for years.

Thanks to all of you who responded. I emailed Craig and he’s already gotten back to us about our umbrella and cooler rental, which he will bring to the villa. What a great service!

Craig/Bob lives nearby and does provide a great service. We have only had to rent chairs/snorkel equipment from him once but he was awesome. Some friends have rented his villa and others have seen him entertain at local spots. He is a great guy!

Agreed, Craig does a great job and provides excellent on-time service!

We've watched Bob entertain several times -- always a fun time!