TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Booked our trip - now looking for lodging

Hi All,

We just booked our next trip for 2nd week of May 2019 for 9 days. Really excited about getting back to the island for the first time since 2014. We will probably split our stay and do 4 days in Simpson Bay area and remaining 5 days in Orient Village. Since we will be getting in late on our arrival, we will stay in SB area first to make our first night a bit easier. Would love to hear suggestions for a nice studio or 1BR for both areas. We prefer a place with a pool, small kitchen, with nearby restaurants/bars. We have stayed at Flamingo in the past and it has worked well for us. Not sure if it will be open by May 2019? Looking for same type of lodging in Orient village that is clean and affordable....100-125 per night.....c/o friendly would be a plus.

TIA!!

Vacanakey, we are looking for the same thing for 10 days in April, so i'll also be looking at your suggestions. Thanks for asking.

Flamingo won't be open until 2020. Look into atrium and Simpson bay resort for Simpson bay area.

Beachside Villas it just don't get any better !!!!!

I agree, Bill, but it is considerably above their stated price point. This didn’t sound like a deciding factor for the OP, but it also is not a clothing optional venue though it certainly does meet all their other requests. Myself, I’d go the difference but not everyone is so inclined to step outside their vacation budget.

I think they are looking for clothing optional for the second part of their stay when they are moving to the Orient Bay area. The first handful of days they want Simson Bay and I'm sure they know that area is not clothing optional since they have stayed on the island previously.

Thanks for the replies folks....much appreciated.

Couple questions regarding BSV.

Any concerns about safety with the villas located directly on beach. Is there 24 hour security on premise?

Is there a unit that is in a more favorable location than the others?

What is the best way to book or inquire....through the contact page on their website?

Can Jeannie deliver to this location prior to our arrival?

Will definitely let them know TTOL referred me.

TIA

La Vista Beach has lovely studios with everything you want. Right next to Flamingo.

LaVista was on my radar too...how do they compare with BSV?

Regarding security at Beachside, yes, they have a night time security guard. Otherwise, they also have security cameras which are monitored 24 hours. In addition, they provide 'sticks' to put in the sliding glass door, which basically if the stick is in the door, no one is getting in through that slider. The doors are hurricane proof, so they could not be broken easily. The front door to each unit is wooden, and has a deadbolt and a chain. There are no windows that any one can enter the units through. There is an electronic gate for the complex and the road dead ends at Beachside. To answer your question, I feel totally safe there.

The units themselves are exactly the same inside except each one is flipped from the next one--i.e., master bedroom on the left, then on the right. There is adequate parking for the units. I personally like to be down toward the pool end though, because you can park directly in front of your unit, thus less of a walk with those big bags of groceries and liquid supplies!! That's really the only difference at all. The pool is on one end and the other end is closer to El Zafiro, but there's really not that much going on, on that beach most any time, so the traffic on the beach is not much different at either end.

As far as booking, all bookings go through Tracy. I don't think it's possible to actually book anywhere online. Just give a call or send an email to the contact info on the website.

And certainly Jeannie can deliver to BSV and does!

Let me know if you have any other questions!

You asked about a studio; BSV units are not studios, to my knowledge. (Edited to say that I see now that you said either a studio or 1 bedroom. La Vista and La Vista beach also have one bedrooms). La Vista is located on the other side of Simpson Bay from BSV; to me it's more convenient to restaurants and such. You could actually walk to many Simpson Bay bars and restaurants if you chose to. BSV units are larger, and the beach there is better than the beach at LVB. I would still choose LVB over BSV because of the location.

La Vista is a nice resort. Only draw back is that its really not a swimable beach. Only a short walk to the Flamingo/Simpson Bay Resort beach.

On the French side checkout O’Paradis at the top end of Orient Village. There are 2 small and 2 larger bungalows with a shared small pool. We have stayed there many times. Not sure of the low season rates but I think it will be in your price range.

I vote for atrium in SB there studios are very spacious and reasonably priced also walking distance to more than 10 to 15 restaurants,and bars just stayed there and enjoyed it very much,they do have a pool

vacanakey--regarding a comparison of BSV versus LaVista Beach, they are very different. LVB is a timeshare, which with LaVista included has, what? I don't know, 50 units?? So it's a much larger property and they have two pools and there is an onsite restaurant at LaVista, as well as a full time office. The area where LaVista is, is much more congested than BSV and there are some places you can walk to from there, although there is a quite a hill on Billy Folly Road, to get to most of the places you can walk to, from LaVista. Whenever we stayed at LaVista, I always drove most everywhere, because of that hill (and because I'm lazy!! ) LaVista does (or did, anyway!) have a self service laundry. If you want laundry done at BSV, just talk to your maid (there is daily maid service at BSV, which I don't know at LaVista whether there would be or not). Your maid will take your stuff and bring it back a day later, all clean and pressed. It runs around $10 a load. There is no usable beach at LaVista, although the property is right on the ocean. The area in front of the resort is very rocky. There are only 14 units at Beachside Villas. Each unit is much larger than the units at LaVista (except for the 2 bedroom units at LVB, which again, are still smaller than BSV, I think). Each unit at BSV is basically your own condo, with your own private large patio, your own grill, and stairs down to what I think is the most glorious beach on the island! There is a full kitchen, living and dining room in every unit, along with two bathrooms and two bedrooms (one bedroom is locked off if you elect to book only one bedroom). The entire unit at BSV is now air conditioned, with a separate a/c unit for the living room area and for the bedrooms. There is NO dishwasher at BSV. I honestly don't know if there is one at LVB or not. BSV does NOT have ice and water through the door of the fridge, but there are lots of ice cube trays. I much prefer the area where BSV is, to LVB, but there is almost nothing to walk to from there, except El Zafiro, which I personally don't care for. You can walk to Karakter or to Sunset from BSV during the DAY, but I do not consider walking the beach after night to be safe. I LOVE watching the planes at BSV, as do most people who stay there, but some might not enjoy them.

Best wishes making your choice!

La Vista does have dishwashers in the La Vista Beach units.

OK, I thought maybe they did, but weren't sure.

We have also stayed at both BSV and La Vista Beach and think you'll do well and be happy at either one. Be aware that La Vista Resort is divided into two separate sections, though part of the same resort. There are the units on the beach, which include studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units with a front door on the road side and sliding glass doors on the beach side. This is a 3-story unit and the time shares are often hard to come by. Across the street from the beach units, are the hillside units. They also include studios, one- and two-bedrooms units, as well as small cottages which are adorable. While not right on the beach, they all have a lovely high view of the beach, are closer to the on-site restaurant, and have a lovely pool of their own. The beachside units have a separate pool -- you can use either one, of course. We've stayed in both places and they both have their own charm.

We mostly travel to other beaches during the day regardless of where we stay, so the rocky beach at LVB doesn't bother us in the least. It's a beautiful view, nonetheless, and the pool at LVB is right next to the ocean, as it is at BSV. The on-site restaurant at LVB, called the Hideaway, is wonderful, and the staff at both places are dedicated and caring. As noted above, there are several restaurants within walking distance from La Vista besides the Hideaway, including Buccaneer Beach Bar and the Greenhouse, both nice places. Yes, there is THAT hill...lol...and we usually drive it (we're seniors and lazy), but it's only a 15 second drive from your unit. The Peli Deli is also just down the block for quick provisions when needed.

As far as difference in size between the two places, it's negligible, especially in the 2-bedroom units. Both places are fully air-conditioned, have a full kitchen, eating area, and living room. Plenty of room. BSV's have the outdoor patio and LVB have a balcony right off the living room. Both places have daily maid service. We often just get clean towels and forego the daily cleaning if it's not too messy. As Carol said, there is a barbecue grill at BSV, if you're into that - - we're not. I don't like cooking (except for breakfast at times) while on vacation, but that's just us. It's nice to walk out your sliding door and be right on the beach at BSV, but the planes CAN be loud. They don't bother us at all, but we have friends that disliked the noise immensely the one time we stayed there with them; so when we travel with them, we stay at LVB. This November, with just the two of us, we will be staying at BSV.

I'd say it's basically a toss-up. Both very nice places with terrific staff. Maybe go with the best price? I don't think you can go wrong either way.

Good Afternoon. My first question to you would be---Is it your intention to rent a car for the whole time? The reason I am asking is that Carol's comparison of the two properties was pretty spot on.

In my opinion, if you have a car it really doesn't matter where of the two you are staying. Beachside Villas are on a great beach. La Vista doesn't have one. The hill that Carol referenced is indeed very high and steep and I wouldn't want to walk it either. Having said that, if you are not renting a car La Vista is in the better place because of the proximity of restaurants as opposed to BSV which is not.


I have not stayed at either place as we have a condo here so I would rely on Carol and GaKaye's assessments of the two properties as they stay at their respective places all the time.


Hope you have a great vacation whichever unit you choose.

I'm laughing a bit here since the last thing that would be a factor to me on a vacation destination decision would be the absence or presence of a dishwasher, considering our in-unit cooking at our timeshare usually consists of coffee and pastry or reheated left-overs from some of the great island eateries, but that's just me. And I do realize this wasn't your concern but something that was mentioned, none the less.

I have no personal knowledge of LaVista or LaVista Beach but knowing some of the people who own there I'm sure it is a very nice place to stay.

We have a dishwasher at the Towers and I can never come up with enough dirty dishes to justify running it. If, however, this was of major importance to you and you were considering BSV and the dishwasher is important, rest assured, the maids will do dishes if you leave them in the sink. We were running late for an appointment one morning and I left two coffee mugs, two juice glasses, two sandwich plates and two spoons in the sink along with the empty coffee pot and when we returned, they were washed, dried and put away for us. The maids are very nice and very thorough.

The thing my DH likes most about BSV is he can sleep as late as he chooses, not that he often does, and he knows I won't pester him to get up and get ready to go to the beach since we're already there. Well, that and the fact he can watch the planes come and go all day long from our front doorstep or from the pool deck and if he's of a mind, he can walk down to the observation deck and watch them from there. He really does love watching the planes come and go and we always request a room on that end of the property to have benefit of the unobstructed runway views.

BSV really is a great place to stay in that you can park yourself there and never leave if that's your idea of a perfect vacation, but at the same time, I'm sure all the other suggestions are equally good and none would be a disappointment. I hope you thoroughly enjoy your vacation wherever you end up spending it.

Oh, and there is security walking the grounds and the beach all night; Jeannie can and does deliver there; We always send Tracy an email and book that way; We always ask to stay on the pool end up the property since it's easy and convenient plane viewing but if you don't feel like being social, you probably would not want to stay in the much coveted unit #14 since we always find people tend to want to say good day and chat en-route to or from the pool. We enjoy it but some might not or might find it obtrusive. Again, we enjoy it.

And don't forget Isola. Just a very short walk from LaVista. Marco who was at Izi's manages Isola and has really turned it around both in menu and service. Outstanding.

Love La vista. quaint and close to everything. where as beachside is close to maho, but not much going on these days... More to offer in LaVista location. but both nice in there won way...

Right! I did forget to mention them. Nice place.

They were not there in February. Are they recent?

I was told by some owner friends they had them in their 2 bed Beach unit.

I agree totally. I bring my dishwasher with me and she always has a seat right next to me on the flight down.

I don't do dishes, either at home or on vacation. Eric does the dishes or the maid does them. Some people refuse to go grocery shopping on vacation, as they don't like it. I LOATHE dishwashing, so I do not do it on vacation. Ever..

Way to go Carol!!

That’s funny, Carol. Point well taken. So if we should EVER vacation together, YOU do the grocery shopping and I’LL do the dishes and we’ll both be cool.

Wow, there are some really strong opinions about doing dishes. Paper plates and plastic utensils for all.

There a few Queens and Princesses amongst this group. LOL

Wow! Dish washing has NEVER been a main concern of ANYWHERE we have traveled..it is the LEAST issue that we deal with..Absolutely no biggie....none....nada....group effort works..

My response was tongue-in-cheek. In my household, I gladly do the dishes every evening because my Carol is a much better cook and we eat in every night.

To answer the original op’s comment, I think you can’t go wrong with any recommendations.

Oh, h*ll no!! Also have to have glass wine glasses!

Pat--that's a deal!!

Yes. That is a given. Stemmed for sure but my wife likes the stemless so we keep those in our on island storage box.

I don't care for the stemless glasses. I feel like I'm drinking out a jelly jar!

Great info everyone, thanks so much for your replies. We aren't real picky, so I'm sure we would be happy at either place. It may very well come down to price. I will let you all know what we decide.

Pat, I'm with you! I'd do dishes all night if I could get out of going grocery shopping...lol.

Thanks again!

Checked with BSV and asked them if they would be offering low season prices in May 2019 as they did in May 2018 and they would not. Said low season prices in 2019 would probably start in June.

LaVista did not have a room for our dates.

Now looking at SBR and see they have Villa units and Marina units at a very good price. Are these located near BBB and Flamingo? Any experience staying at SBR, both good and bad? Are some of the units in a better location than others?

TIA

That's odd. Low season rates have always started in April before. Sorry about that. High season rates are a big difference.