VILLA JOELLE SXM

Review #5913684 "Villa Joelle, Anse Marcel, St. Martin, F.W.I."

We rented Villa Joelle in St. Martin for 10 days from January 31, to February 10, 2013. From the moment we arrived to the moment we left, we kept telling ourselves how lucky we were to have found this gem of a house. We were greeted upon arrival by the owner, Joelle, who greeted us as if we were old friends. She toured the house with us and asked us to pick our rooms from the 8 bedrooms available exclusively for us. We were with 2 other couples and everyone found a room to suit their particular needs. The house is designed so that you live outside but you are always able to find shelter from the sun or the occasional flash rain storm. We ate all our breakfasts at the outdoor dining area with a beautiful view of Anse Marcel, the ocean,and the marina. The covered outdoor living room was our go to place after breakfast, before dinner for drinks as well as after dinner for long conversations or Internet time. The house was well maintained throughout our stay. Joelle introduced us to Jennifer who is a trained Chef from Marseilles and Jennifer came by every day to insure that we had everything we needed. We hired her to cook three meals for us and it was fabulous to stay "at home" and enjoy a wonderful gourmet meal. Jennifer also gave me the recipe of my favourite meal that she cooked for us. There are also many good restaurants in the little towns close to the villa in Marigot and Grande Casse which we sampled on other days. After a leisurely breakfast, we would walk down to the ocean for a few hours of reading and relaxation. The house is on a hill overlooking the water so the 10 minute walk to and from the ocean was a great little exercise each day. We also went on a long hike from the Villa to another deserted beach, went snorkelling and sailing. We are seasoned travellers who have been all over the world and have rented a number of times through VRBO. This house is the first time we felt compelled to write about the wonderful experience. A true gem. We will be back.