For 3-4 nights, don't even think about trying this over Christmas/New Years. For the remainder of high season, you may run into minimum stay requirements. For the least expensive hotels, look at the Sunset in Gustavia, Hotel Le Village (aka Village St Jean) in St Jean, perhaps the Tropical in St Jean, and Tom Beach or Émeraude Plage in St Jean. Gustavia has more restaurants, St Jean is one of the main beach areas. Neither are more than 20 Minutes from anywhere else on the island.

For a short-stay villa, reach out to one of the mainstream agencies, either WIMCO in Newport, RI, or St Barth Properties in Franklin, MA. You will run into minimum-stay requirements, but they may be able to slot you into an available opening between two longer stays.

All of the above hotels and agencies can be found on the Internet. The two agencies can help with booking hotels as well as villas.