A friend just asked me for any info I might have about the Princess Heights Condos and sadly, I know nothing on a personal level. If anyone has stayed and has firsthand information - both pros and cons - I'd appreciate your sharing. Thank you in advance.

While we've never STAYED there, we have toured a couple of the units. They are extremely nice, and the ones that we looked at had lovely views out toward Dawn Beach. The property itself appears to be very well managed and and maintained and consistently gets great reviews. For ME, the location is too remote for me and while I suppose you COULD walk to the beach from there, it would be a fairly difficult walk back. One major "ding" against the property MAY no longer be applicable, but something to be checked out--one of the buildings used to not have an elevator, and the building was approximately 5 stories tall. I honestly don't know whether that is still the case. IF the unit they are looking at is in that building and there is still no elevator, I personally would not be interested in it at all.

Thank you, Carol. Hoping someone here has actually stayed there and will share their experiences, too.

I think someone here either owns a unit there or stays there a lot, so hopefully they will respond.

We've owned a property at PH in building l for the last 12 years and just love it. Once you become familiar with the property you should never have to negotiate more than 2 flights of stairs. There is ample parking on 3 different levels.

Kish, a member here, stays there on every visit to SXM and has for several years. Hopefully she will see this post and offer her comments. We have visited her at her condo and it is very nice. She is in the new building with the elevator and parking is close by. Unfortunately the other building does not have an elevator. However, if you book a condo on the first floor, it is at the parking lot level and a very easy walk to your condo.

Caribbean Scout owns a unit there as well. Perhaps she'll see this and weigh in.

Pat, as Elizabeth state we stay there twice a year. We love the comfort and views each unit offers. Friendly and helpful staff. One downside to some is that building one has no elevator so you have to be able to navigate stairs. Building two (the newest) has an elevator. To stay in the Oyster Pond area I highly recommend renting a car, sometimes PH has a special which would include a car for the length of you stay. While PH has no on-site restaurant there are Lots of good eating choices in the area and each unit has excellent kitchen facilities is you want to eat in. We drive to Orient each day for the beach which takes about 10 - 15 mins depending on traffic. If there is any specific questions your friends may have please PM me.

Thank you all so very much for your help.

I knew there was someone who either regularly stayed (Kish) or owned (SXMMD and Lotsan and Pav). The comments all sound very promising and I'm sure our young friends will be pleased.

Will pass your info on and if they have any additional questions I will reach out privately with them.

Again, my most sincere thanks to all who responded.

I wondered if that had changed, as far as the stairs. I have bad knees, so trudging up and down even one flight of stairs would not be something I would want to deal with. So I guess Pat's friends just need to see which building and floor they are looking at!

While I'm sure an elevator would be a plus for most of us, our friends are young, healthy and very active - golfers, hikers and runners to mention just a couple of their activities - so an elevator, or lack thereof, probably wouldn't be a major deterrent to either of them. It sure would be to me, and particularly if I found myself on the fifth floor..... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

Allrighty then!! Oh, to be young! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

I know! If I didn't love them both so much I could really learn not to like them very much at all.

Pat: This February will be our third stay there and absolutely love it. We take a 2BR 2Bath as our son from Rome joins us for 2 of the weeks. It is very clean, great kitchen if you want to cook, which he does for us a couple of nights with Italy specialties. However, we would never stay in bldg. # 1 without the elevator. My husband has heart problems. Highly recommend it. This year we will stay there 2 weeks and one week Orient Village. The drive at night is bothersome. Scooters are crazy there.

No elevator building one. Patio and view are fantastic. We drove to the Westin and for $35.00 got a blue sun shade bonnet that goes over two beach chairs on Dawn Beach. No problem using the large jacuzzi and Westin Pool. The Splash outside eatery at the Westin has great lunches and not expensive......

Thank you for your thoughts. I'm passing them all on to our young friends.

We love Princess Heights. We'll be there 6 weeks from today! Can't wait!!!!

I 2nd what Maureen Kish had to say. We've been staying @ PH for the past 4 yrs. and we love it! It's remote but that's yet another reason to love it. Not overrun with noise just gorgeous views! We stay in Building 2 w/elevator. The units are gorgeous and very well maintained! The staff is very friendly and accommodating. We're booked for our next trip.
The downside is you really need a car to get around. We drive to Orient daily which is a very pleasant drive.....going thru Baie Lucas in the morning is just about as pleasant as you can get! The area now has plenty of restaurants to keep us busy and the condo is well appointed for those evenings we'd prefer to chill and dine on the deck overlooking St. Barth's.
We're returning and continue to do so.

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> Contessa