We really loved our stay at the Chalets. It was the perfect choice for our family of four. We stayed in the family bungalow. I'll detail the outstanding points below:
Kitchen: equipped with fridge, stove, toaster. We brought our own dry goods, which included: boxes of Kraft macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, jelly, granola bars, snack mixes. The Chalets provide you with 1 carton of milk, 1 loaf of bread, and 1 liter of water.
Bathroom: our bathroom included 2 toilets on opposite ends, a shower in the middle, and two sinks on opposite ends. A small round soap is provided for washing hands, a bar of soap is provided for the shower, and 1 body wash and 1 shampoo are provided in the shower. Note: the shampoo is EXTREMELY small (sample size - not even travel-size - so bring your favorite. No hair conditioner is provided.) Bathrooms towels were replaced once during our six-night stay.
Bedrooms: the bathroom connects the bedrooms. A wooden drying rack is located in the closet for you to pull out and use. Note: it probably is best to use the drying rack in the bungalow versus outdoors if you ever hope for your clothing/swimwear to dry.
Layout: Excellent for our family of four. Open family area with couch and chairs melds into the dining table area . Breakfast bar with open kitchen. No TV, but so glad there wasn't! (Also, wish that there wasn't any WIFI, but sadly there is - and it's reliable as well - again, sadly!)
Office: the office has an extensive selection of novels in a variety of languages with a very respectable amount of English-language books. We also borrowed a pair of swim fins during our stay.
Convenience store: mainly for water, soft drinks, beer, potato chips and that's about it! Good luck finding bread around Takamaka. Larger stores we went to were either down to their last loaf or "finished" or didn't receive a delivery for the day.
Car rental: We did NOT rent a car during our stay and never regretted that decision. We did have the Chalets arrange our airport pick-up, but after that, we simply rode the bus. There's a close bus stop near the Chalets, but also another one closer to the Doubletree Hilton and convenience store. We got everywhere we needed to go - dive shops, church in Anse Royale, Victoria, Surfers restaurant, Bel Ombre - simply using the five-rupee-per-ride bus. Fabulous!
Pick-ups - A dive shop on the west end of the island will pick you up from the Chalets, as will Le Reduit restaurant
Travelling with kids: You may want to consider packing snorkels and masks, a frisbee, inflatable beach balls, inflatable swim rings to maximize your fun
Additional notes: Probably the only thing I wish we had better access to would be trash bins so we could throw away our own garbage, instead of waiting for the daily housekeeping. ANYTHING left out is an immediate ant magnet. (I feel itchy just writing this!)
Beach: One of the best reasons for staying at these self-catering accommodations. We went to Beau Vallon and Anse Major, and the beach at the Chalets was our hands-down favorite -- great for snorkeling, swimming, or just bobbing about! Really wonderful snorkeling: saw squid, sea slugs, sea cucumbers, sea snakes, gigantic angel fish, sting ray and more! There is a significant amount of seaweed, and depending on the current, sometimes floating, but nothing to impact your fun Areas closer to shore had much, much less. Lovely sky colors at sunrise and sunset from the beach.
We were very pleased with our stay - I am pretty particular and rarely leave "excellent" ratings unless I really, truly mean it! This met our expectations!