Our niece is considering SXM as a honeymoon destination. She was looking for an oceanfront property with a private pool and came across a property at the Sapphire. It says it is privately owned and just underwent a 300K renovation a couple of years ago. The pictures on VRBO look beautiful. We think she would love the Cupecoy area as much as we do but we had concerns about booking a place at the Sapphire in general as well as booking one a year in advance. Does anyone know if she would be affected by the general mess at the Sapphire (ie loss of services, security, etc...) and does anyone have any first hand knowledge of the private villas there. There aren't too many options for her in her price range that are oceanfront and have a private pool so we do not want to steer her away if this is really a nice place to stay. Any information would be appreciated.

Sapphire has such a horrible reputation in general, even if the particular unit is nice, I would be very wary. She has a long time to look forward to it and if she does any research on Sapphire in general, she will see only bad reviews. She has enough stress, looking forward to the wedding, to have her book someplace that she worries about the whole time, doesn't make sense to me.

There is that whole complex just down past Ocean Club (Shore Point???), that I think they have private pools? Although those are probably quite a bit more money? Not sure what her budget is? Ocean Club villas on the ocean don't have private pools, as far as I know. If they are not hooked into Cupecoy, there is a very nice little complex in Pelican area called Pelican Cove that each unit has a private pool. I've seen a couple of those and they are very comfortable. Right on the ocean, although it's very rocky there, so you can't get into the ocean there. I think they are a good value, for someplace with a private pool, on the ocean.

I agree with Carol. DO NOT BOOK the Sapphire! Too many uncertainties there regardless of how nice the place looks. If she wants a nice beachfront property the new villas on Cupecoy Beach called Shore Point would be a good choice.

Thank you both for your comments. They mirror our thoughts. She is not set on the Cupecoy area. She just stumbled on this place on VRBO. We stay at the Cliff and the owner of the condo we rent lives in Shore Pointe. We visited him a few weeks ago when we were on island. We thought of those units too but think they might be above her price range but we will definitely recommend them as well as Carol's suggestion. She is open to anywhere on the island so if anyone has any other suggestions please let us know.

There are also a couple of villas on Burgeaux (sp!!!) Bay that have private pools that I have seen. Can't remember the names right now, but if she does a search for Burgeaux Bay they should come up.

We looked at Villa Canoua at Haapy Bay. It would make a great honeymoon spot if they want some privacy.

What about the Ocean Club? One of the penthouse units is privately owed and available through VRBO. I've stayed there and it's very, very nice. https://www.vrbo.com/238969

Unless I missed it, no private pool there?

Thank you all for your replies. We will pass on all the information to our niece.