How do you choose a villa from just pictures?

[Ophelia Edwards]

I'd appreciate any help here. We have a large family and are tired of booking multiple hotel rooms for us, the kids, the nanny, etc. We also like our cooking better than what we get at most Caribbean resorts. A villa seems ideal. How, though, when I only have two precious weeks of vacation a year, can Itake the risk of booking a bad villa? I'm picky - I'll admit. I am also sensitive to smells - particularly mold. But yet I want to be near the water. Must I rule out villa rental as an option?? Much thanks.

[bonniejoy03]

Ophelia. Hello. We rent villas and love it! My opinion to you would be first to narrow down the region of the world you want. (i.e. Caribbean.) Then find a reputable rental company in that area. (for example, Wimco has an excellent reputation in the Caribbean.) Call them direct and tell them all of your "demands". In all of my cases, they have been wonderful fulfilling my needs. Villa renting is definitely the way to go with any size group. I wouldn't necessarily start with the photos. I would call thecompany first and then let them tell you the villastheyrecommend based on your needs and THEN you can review them by the photos. I just recently looked at Vacation Rentals by Owners web site. I have never rented that way. I had posted a previous post trying to gather info about renting that way but never heard anything. Have fun! (PS- On some islands, they have chefs that will come to your villa and cook for your group....its a lot of fun!)

[paulasneed]

While it is hard to chose on the basis of a picture, it can be done with good result. We are currently at the Grande Isle Villas in Great Exuma, Bahamas. I chose it after reading the descriptions in Luxury Link. It is all that the pictures suggested. In picking villas and resorts we do several things; look at the pictures, read the descriptions and read any independent descriptors we can find. In the case of Grand Isle I could not find any independent points of view, so I had to trust Luxury link. As usual, we are very happy with what we purchased!

[kyshel]

Ophelia--welcome, and it's okay to be picky! If it really is a major issue, you'll have to require AC and certain locations should be avoided--near low-lying areas, so raised or hillside houses can be better choices than beachside.

Mold can be very prevalent in some of the carib and east coast mexico. Of course, how much can depend on the season, too. You need to do alot of research to find potential properties and then get as many opinions from previous occupants--thru websites like tripadvisor.com, etc. Consider some of the drier islands like Aruba.

Many better travel agents will book villas/private homes for commission and a good one will have excellent references. They are out there! Take a look at Perrin reports thru Conde Nast Traveler Mag and they've also had a semi-recent issue about renting villas.

Lots of folks here will add to this query. I have a travel agent friend who has rented villas in Tortola with great success and she looked for 2 months before choosing. Make the investment in time and $ and call some owners, following conversation w/email about discussion/details. Good luck and have fun--once the work is done....

[cruisinred]

I agree that I would hate to spend my precious vacation time and $ in a hotel or villa that did not meet my expectations.



A good villa rental agency that will guide you through the process of choosing a villa and then be there for you if your expectations are not met would probably be best for your needs. For example, the following villa rental agency has won awards from Conde Naste Traveler: www.islandhideaways.com

Have you looked at Mustique....possibly the most exclusive island in the Caribbean? The vacation villas of celebs like Mic Jagger are available for rent.

Before renting a villa anywhere, or staying in a hotel, I google and search the web extensively for any first hand comments. There is a web forum called Slow Travel that focuses exclusively on discussing vacation villa/apartment rentals around the world and includes numerous reviews. Although most of the discussion on the site focuses on Paris, Provence and Italy....there are villa reviews for places around the world.