We stayed at Bayside Villa for the two weeks we were in St Lucia. The location was perfect for us to get anywhere we wanted to go around the island. It is quiet, relaxing and offers amazing views of the harbour and the city of Castries. John and Shirley are perfect hosts and were always helpful in answering our questions so we could get where we wanted to go and gave us lots of valuable information and help to make our stay more enjoyable. The apartment was perfect for us and had everything we needed for our home away from home. I would highly recommend staying at Bayside Villa, we had an amazing vacation and would not hesitate to come back should our travels bring us to St Lucia again. Thank you John, Shirley and Family!!
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We've stayed at Bayside Villa Apartments for our three trips to Saint Lucia and our stays are usually two weeks. I cannot imagine ever staying anywhere else. John and Shirley are always ready to welcome us "home". We've seen all three apartments, but have only stayed in the La Rose apartment, but met and enjoyed knowing guests from the other two apartments. Each apartment is very clean, smells nice, has nice grounds with florals, has cool a/c which is fabulous after a day's outing.(Be sure to turn it off when you leave for an outing.) The linens and towels are nice and fresh. You are furnished with a beach towel for use during your stay. There is a washing machine and drying room for your use at no extra charge. The kitchens are furnished with everything you need to make a nice meal, which makes these apartments a plus. You will also be given a cell phone for use on the island with minutes ready to use. The views from the windows and the porch/patio are truly amazing. One can see passing cruise ships coming into the harbor and often there are four at a time in port, freighters coming and going, all types of boats, Pilot boats to guide the ships in and out, as well as the ferry, and the city view of Castries is beautiful in the day or nighttime. You can see the George Charles Small Airport across the bay, but just sitting on the patio taking in all the beauty is amazing..In the distance one can see the idlans of Martinique as well as resorts and homes on the mountain side. The views are beautiful and the photos on the website are real and it is truly what one sees, plus more. There is a light house across the bay and one can drive to it for a closer look through a pleasant neighborhood. I cannot say enough about our stays on this property and each apartment has a safe to store your passports and other articles if you so desire. We feel very safe on this property in the day and night time. Another very nice feature is that the owners, John and Shirley Douglas live on the property and are very helpful and want you to have a nice vacation and see their island, but they also do not invade your privacy. Ask them questions of what you wish to do and they will direct you. I encourage you to rent a car, so you can drive around and see the island.The people on the island are nice and friendly, but we do not talk with them if we are out walking in town. If spoken to, we say hello and keep waling. Upon arrival at the apartment, you will be given a cell phone with minutes already on it and then one can add more minutes if desired at the Lime Phone Store in Rodnay Bay. While at the Lime Store, go next door to Sea Island Cotton for some pretty clothing and souvenirs, as well as some cute jewelry and other accessories-all priced reasonable. While in Rodney Bay, the beach there is large with beautiful views of boats docked in deeper water and there is a restaurant on the beach called Spinnakers. If there are cruise ships in port you might not want to go to Rodney Bay beach because the beaches will be crowded with people from the ships. Also, in Rodney Bay one can take a Segway Tour. A closer shop to the apartments is Caribelle Boutique that is up the mountain side past the college with a large balcony overlooking the entire city. It is truly a wow moment, just like what you will say when you see your apartment at Bayside. Across the road from the apartments is Sandals La Toc, which is a large property. Buy a day pass and you will be able do use all the facilities just as their over night guests do, who by the way, pays a huge amount of money for their stay and they do not have the view that the apartments do, plus you have to get dressed for meals. In your apartment at BaySide you can eat in your own kitchen in your PJ's if you want to and on your own porch/balcony while enjoying the views. Do Not forget sunscreen when you go to the beaches or to Sandals. In Saint Lucia the sun is intense and a sun burn will spoil your trip. If you choose to not rent a car, John can arrange for your pick up at the airport and the driver will stop at the grocery store. The island beer is Piton. Add a little lime slice and oh my goodness how good it is and I am not big beer drinker, but the Piton Beer is really good, especially at day's end. Piton Beer or a Coke sitting on the porch cannot get much better watching all the water and air traffic. And, for a short drive around the Bay is The Coal Pot and The Brown Sugar Restaurants - both on the water and both very good. And for a day trip to the Pitons on the south end of the Island with stops along the way is the large party boat one can take at Vigie Cove which you can see from the apartments. Another place that is not far to drive is Marigot Bay, which has an uncrowded beach with tall swaying palms and a large grocery store on the way.. We highly recommend BaySide Villas for the location is handy to just about every place you want to go and they have no foot or car traffic as they are off the road yet easy to find. Remember Sandals is almost across from the street to the apartment. If you prefer to have John arrange your pick up at the airport, but want to rent a car he can also arrange for this too and the car will be brought to you. It might be best to arrange this prior to your arrival. And, if all else fails and you don't want a car, the bus is just up the little hill. or you can take a taxi. Bayside Villas have never failed to please us and we will return again this year. I almost forgot there is WiFi internet. This is your place to stay unless you want to stay in an over priced resort! Thank you John and Shirley for always making our stays so nice and pleasant! We love our home alway from home and you always make us feel like family..
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Calm, peaceful, quiet, and very private. Every morning I wake up to a beautiful sunrise . You have to see it for your self to believe it. What you see in the pictures is exactly what you get
Great location just outside Castries. Excellent views of the city! Apartment was very clean and accommodating. Hosts John and Shirley ensured that my daughter and I had a good stay. Quiet and relaxing. Close enough to public transportation for a quick ride to the city. Made several trips and also enjoyed Carnival Monday!!
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We rented the L'Ixora for a week and were very pleased with it. The little apartment has everything you need - a kitchen equipped for simple meals (stove, microwave, toaster oven, dishes, utensils), a separate bedroom, nice bathroom, and a living room with cable TV. Everything was very convenient and comfortable, except for the sleeper sofa in the living room, which was not so comfortable to sit on when watching TV. Our absolute favourite spot in St. Lucia was the porch of the apartment ... never hot because of a breeze, a beautiful view of the bay, Castries, the cruise ships going by, and very close to the fridge!! It gets dark at 6:30 pm, so it's best to go out early and to be back late afternoon. We took a public bus (mini van) to Castries, Rodney Bay, and Marigot Bay, which was easy and inexpensive to do. The apartment is close to "Sandals - La Toc", where we went to the beach a few times, but if you plan to go there,bring a cooler bag for drinks and a beach bag for your stuff. We only went for walks along the beach since we found it more convenient to use the lawn chairs at the villa. We had hired Anthony, a driver who also does the airport transportation, to go to Soufriere to see the Pitons, Diamond Falls, to use the mineral baths, and to go the drive-in volcano. It took us from 9 am to 4 pm to do that, and I had hoped to do a little hike as well, but we did not have time. Since we ended up doing what you can get on a regular tour, I would probably check into a catamaran tour instead. Anthony was very reliable and always on time, but I would suggest to always ask him about fares beforehand. If you would like to go out at night, I would probably recommend renting a car. Buses aren't really an option for the night, and we found the fare to Vigie quite expensive and opted to go out for lunch most of the time and made our own dinner. The owners of the property, Shirley and John, are very welcoming and helpful. John took us grocery shopping and showed us where to catch the bus to get back to the apartment in the future. Both Anthony and John have a lot of interesting information to share about St. Lucia. We had a very relaxing time and miss the perfect weather.
This apartment is charming, nice and sparkling clean. It has everything you need to make your stay perfect and the owners, John and Shirley live on the property will greet you upon arrival and will make sure your stay goes well.The couch is comfortable and the bed in comfy too. There is A/C and wireless high speed internet in all the apartments and the La Rose has a washing machine in it. I think the other apartments share a washer in a separate laundry room. Everything you need to make your stay comfortable is there for you. They have a lovely dog named Reds, who is sweet and knows he can't come down to the apartments, but if he does, please don't pet him for his owners do not want him spoiled. We were there for two weeks and never heard him bark and he will not bother you either. The apartments are off the main road so there is no thru traffic, no noise, nor people walking by, just beautiful relaxing views from the covered porch with soft breezes and lounge chairs to sit and enjoy your favorite beverage while you watch the cruise ships pass directly in front of you, as well as other boats and the city of Castries. The lights at night twinkle across the bays and kept me up late looking at them-just too pretty to miss. Be sure to bring your good camera as well as a pocket camera for you do not want to miss out on views from this magnificent affordable property, as well as elsewhere on the island.We really enjoyed watching the moon come up over the city from the porch and kitchen window-it was beyond pretty!. There are large windows so you won't miss out on viewing the beauty from inside either, the light house across the bay, the city during the day and the lights by night and on most days the island of Martinique is visible.They have a trusted driver who will pick you up at the airport, if you don't rent a car there. The driver, Anthony will makes stop along the way and will stop at a grocery store and even help you find things if need be. You can also hire him to take you places and he will wait for you. He took us to the Jump Up in Gros Islet, which is a street party with loud music, rum, beer stands and food vendors. Locals go later in the night, but there are large crowds with happy tourists from early to late!The grocery stores have most everything you can find back home, but also island foods, like Banana Ketchup, which is wonderful.We put it on everything and even brought some back home with us. Prices are very fair in the grocery stores. And, all stores take US currency and converting any currency to Eastern Caribbean is no problem. We recommend small bills if using American Dollars. You will find a fully equipped kitchen for you will want to cook in the apartment as that eating out is very expensive. We ate out two times, once in a tourist restaurant which was very pricy and then once in a place where only locals goes, which was very reasonable and tasted better. By eating in the apartment, we could enjoy the activities in the Harbor and the pretty landscape of the lawn-oh so relaxing.You will be given a cell phone with $10.00 worth of minutes on it when you get there and then you can add more minutes if you want to. This was useful to call and inquire about tours. We did two tours with The Tour Store in Rodney Bay-the Segway and the Boat Trip to the Pitons. Segways was easy to do and we loved riding them. Our favorite beach was Marigot Bay, which was nice and quiet with private boats as well as tour boats coming and going. John and Shirley recommended this as their favorite family beach. We went there several times as well as other beaches. During your stay in Saint Lucia, you will be approached by a few locals who will want to shake your hand and then want to sell you something or ask you for a little money, just say, "No thank you" and that's it. I didn't shake hands. After we arrived on Thursday, we decided to rent a car and John arranged for one to be brought directly to the apartment on Saturday and all the paper work was taken care of right there-no problem at all. Be sure to call your credit card company back home and let them know you will be in Saint Lucia so you can use your credit cards while on the Island. Discover is not widely accepted, but Visa and Mastercard are and American Express in some places. John and Shirley can tell you where to shop for some beautiful things-they know where my favorite store was. Just ask them and they are very willing to help you with anything they can-just the nicest people one could ever meet. The people in Saint Lucia are very nice, very mannerly and we know you will have a great time there and at Bayside Apartments. We saw all three apartments and all are very nice.. We always felt safe there and as a woman, I could go back alone and feel safe in the apartment and else where. Oh yes, there is a safe in each apartment and you set your own combination. During outings, I just took some money, etc in a little cloth tote bag I carried over my shoulder. I never take a purse when I travel. My husband always take another wallet for his front pocket with only what he needs. We had such a wonderful time and coming back to the apartment each day and turning on the A/C and relaxing was what we wanted and got exactly that and more. We are going back next November 2014 and stay here again for we fell in love with the island and now have great friends in John and Shirley. I think it will be hard to find another apartment as nice and handy as this with the beautiful views -Thank You John and Shirley for our wonderful stay and thank you for letting me pat your sweet dog Reds just one time. By the way, if you can, try and stay two weeks for one week is just not enough to really see it all and have time to relax.
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