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Villas on Great Bay #101408
06/27/2016 08:07 AM
06/27/2016 08:07 AM
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 4
K
Kathryn Offline OP
Member
Kathryn  Offline OP
Member
K
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 4
This is my first time posting to this site but I have been reading all of the great reviews for some time. We stayed at Ocean Point for 2 weeks in April and decided we we were coming back but staying in a villa. We checked out the Villas of Great Bay and are planning on staying there next year. Is there anything I should be aware of or be asking prior to booking? I have read some comments on this site about fees but I am not really sure what they mean. On the web site for the villas they list the cost and the tax only (no additional fees) as well as the owners name. I want to book sooner than later as the Canadian $ keeps dropping <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> thanks for all of your help on this site we are planning on bringing most of our food including frozen meats.

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Re: Villas on Great Bay [Re: Kathryn] #101409
06/27/2016 08:39 AM
06/27/2016 08:39 AM
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 146
DougK37614 Offline
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DougK37614  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 146
I have been an owner there for six years and am on their board and am currently treasurer. There are no fees except for Villa #1 who charges a cleaning fee when you leave. In the other villas you pay for maid service if you require it while you are there. The only other cost I am aware is to do laundry in the common washers and dryers in the laundry which I believe is $5 for one load.

Re: Villas on Great Bay [Re: Kathryn] #101410
06/27/2016 09:07 AM
06/27/2016 09:07 AM
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,635
Brookfield, CT.
pat Offline
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pat  Offline
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,635
Brookfield, CT.
Kathryn,

I can't speak specifically to the VIllas on Great Bay but we know someone who used to stay there and loved the place.

Regarding bringing your own food - you might want to rethink that IF you have to pay extra for shipping luggage. I would not hesitate to bring frozen meat in a good carry-on cooler, but groceries are readily available in major groceries similar to those from home, and there is also a condo-apartment provisioning service, Shop and Drop SXM, whom many of us use. The owner, Jeannie, does a great job and her site is very easy to navigate. Can't tell you how nice it is to arrive at your place, drop your luggage and go straight to the fridge for a cold libation of your choice. She is listed on this website under the advertiser heading above and you might want to check out her ad and service.

Enjoy your time however you decide to manage the food thing. SXM is an incredible island well worth exploring. Renting a car is a huge asset even if only for part of your trip, but remember NOT to leave anything you value in it, not even locked in the trunk. Explore and enjoy, and as in visiting anywhere as a relative island newbie, keep your head about you and have an awesome good trip.


Respectfully,

pat



"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat
them."
Re: Villas on Great Bay [Re: DougK37614] #101411
06/27/2016 09:38 AM
06/27/2016 09:38 AM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,474
Central Florida!
Carol_Hill Offline
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Carol_Hill  Offline
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,474
Central Florida!
I think perhaps the original poster was asking about VBRO fees? Just a guess, as I don't know whether it is a VBRO rental or not.


Carol Hill
Re: Villas on Great Bay [Re: Carol_Hill] #101412
06/27/2016 11:04 AM
06/27/2016 11:04 AM
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 13,141
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
islandgem Offline
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islandgem  Offline
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 13,141
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Apparently if you e-mail the owner directly from the VRBO site, there are no VRBO fees. However, if you reserve directly through VRBO and they contact the owner for confirmation and pay directly through them, there are fees. They claim they are guaranteeing the confirmation so are charging fees for that. Some VRBO owners advertise there, but do not participate and you contact the owner directly by e-mail to avoid any extra fees.It really depends on the route the owner has chosen for contact.




Re: Villas on Great Bay [Re: islandgem] #101413
06/27/2016 11:22 AM
06/27/2016 11:22 AM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,474
Central Florida!
Carol_Hill Offline
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Carol_Hill  Offline
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Posts: 82,474
Central Florida!
OK, the whole VBRO thing seems very confusing to me. Not sure how others feel but right now, I would be leery to even look at VBRO because I would be worried about a bunch of extra fees popping up at the last minute.


Carol Hill
Re: Villas on Great Bay [Re: Carol_Hill] #101414
06/27/2016 12:17 PM
06/27/2016 12:17 PM
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,864
Portland, OR
jazzgal Offline
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jazzgal  Offline
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Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,864
Portland, OR
I reserved at Blue Marine for November via VRBO. I did pay the newly instituted fee, but it was clearly spelled out before I made my payment. I could have cancelled at that point but really wanted to stay at that unit so paid the fee.


[Linked Image]
Re: Villas on Great Bay [Re: jazzgal] #101415
06/27/2016 03:57 PM
06/27/2016 03:57 PM
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,294
J
january Offline
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january  Offline
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J
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,294
OP:
One thing you have to consider is the definition of "villa". On SXM it can mean anything the person writing the description wants it to mean. I can be anything from a Trump mansion to a studio apartment. I would think that any one in the U.S. would call the Great Bay units condos.

Re: Villas on Great Bay [Re: january] #101416
06/27/2016 04:15 PM
06/27/2016 04:15 PM
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 4
K
Kathryn Offline OP
Member
Kathryn  Offline OP
Member
K
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 4
Thanks everyone for your advice. We went and visited the villas when we went to St. Martin in April and knew this was exactly where we wanted to stay. I am just trying to now coordinate the flight with the villa dates.

Re: Villas on Great Bay [Re: Carol_Hill] #101417
06/27/2016 10:23 PM
06/27/2016 10:23 PM
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 13,141
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
islandgem Offline
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islandgem  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 13,141
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
No extra fees at the last minute as any fees charged by VRBO are listed BEFORE you pay.If you are not happy with the amount quoted, you just don't pay through them.Many villas and condos are requesting you deal directly through them and avoid the extra fees. I have always only done business directly with the owners so I will continue to do that through e-mail or phone calls. Beachside Villas are now listing on VRBO which seems to be something new for them.




Re: Villas on Great Bay [Re: islandgem] #101418
06/28/2016 01:06 AM
06/28/2016 01:06 AM
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 27
Vian, Oklahoma
oceangirl Offline
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oceangirl  Offline
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Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 27
Vian, Oklahoma
We just got back from staying 2 weeks at the Villas on Great Bay. This is the second time we have stayed there. We love it . We just email their web site and they emailed us back with the amount. We paid, by credit card, half of the amount , then the other half when we got there.Never had a problem.Very easy to deal with. The only extra charge we had was for 2 extra people which was 25.oo per person, per day. There is a property manager on site who is very helpful with anything u might need. Also, at night, they have a security guard. We've stayed at villas 2 and 4 and loved them both. They also have a wine, cheese, and cracker welcome basket waiting for you. smile

Re: Villas on Great Bay [Re: islandgem] #101419
06/28/2016 06:48 AM
06/28/2016 06:48 AM
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,081
Massachusetts
boucharda Offline
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boucharda  Offline
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,081
Massachusetts
Quote
.Many villas and condos are requesting you deal directly through them and avoid the extra fees. I have always only done business directly with the owners so I will continue to do that through e-mail or phone calls.


This works (we also rent this way) with KNOWN rentals. For first time trips you are again defeating the protection that Homeaway/VRBO site booking affords.

If I was renting a new place i would use the booking site and then transition to direct bookings.

Phone is available but email contact is blocked with the new procedure. Email only through the booking site.


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