What Anse des Cayes is really like
Anse des Cayes is a small bay on the north coast, between St-Jean and Flamands. It is residential first: houses, a road, very little passing traffic. The bay is modest and it surfs when the north swell arrives, which also means the water is not always flat there. If you want calm, wide sand, you drive; if you want shops or groceries, St-Jean is a few minutes away. Nothing here is walkable in the way a village is.
Seven bedrooms, fourteen guests, and what is inside
Seven bedrooms and fourteen sleeping places. I will not guess at the layout for you, ask me for the exact bed configuration before you book, and that matters when you are two families splitting the house. What I can list is what is there: air conditioning, wifi and high-speed internet, television, a full kitchen with oven, hob and microwave, an outside barbecue, an ironing board, and a private pool that is heated.
Travelling with children, and getting around
The house is set up for children: there is a cot, a full kitchen and a microwave, and the pool is heated, something children tend to notice before adults do. An airport shuttle is among the villa's services, and I would use it on arrival; the roads here are narrow and unfamiliar the first time. For the rest of the stay you will still want a rental car. Groceries, the beaches and Gustavia all require one, whatever the neighbourhood.
What you give up for the quiet
The honest thing to weigh is what you give up by being here. You don't step out of the door into shops and activity, if that is the picture in your head for the evenings, you would be happier based somewhere busier like St-Jean. What you get in exchange is a house you come back to that stays quiet, and for a lot of groups that is the point rather than a compromise.
Where it works is for a group, or two families sharing the house, who want a calm base and don't need the island's life on the doorstep. If you are travelling with small children it is set up for them, down to a cot and a heated pool, and there are beaches to match: Flamands for a long stretch of sand, or the shallow, calm lagoon at Grand-Cul-de-Sac. If instead you want to walk to dinner and be in the middle of things, be honest with yourself before you book, this is not that kind of spot.
What the villa has
- Suitable for children
- Full kitchen
- Air conditioning
- Airport transfer
- Wi-Fi
- High-speed internet
- TV
- Private pool
- Heated pool
Common questions
Is there a beach at Anse des Cayes?
There is a small bay, yes. I cannot tell you how the villa sits in relation to it, ask me for that, and do not assume. What I can tell you about the bay: it is small, and it surfs when the north swell runs, so it is better for a morning swim than for a full day with toddlers. For flat, shallow water people drive to Grand-Cul-de-Sac; for a long open beach, Flamands, on the same coast.
How is the sleeping arranged for fourteen people?
Seven bedrooms, fourteen guests, and that is the official capacity, I would not push past it. The two numbers tell you nothing about how the beds are actually split: doubles, twins, who shares with whom. Ask for the bed list before you divide the house between families or couples, because it changes the answer more often than people expect. A cot is available if you are bringing a baby.
Is the villa suitable for young children?
It is set up for them: a cot, a full kitchen with oven, hob and microwave for feeding small children on their own schedule, air conditioning in the house and a heated pool. The honest caveat is the bay itself, which is not a flat-water nursery beach when the north swell runs, for that you drive to Grand-Cul-de-Sac, where the reef keeps the lagoon shallow and calm.
Rates and availability
Rates depend on the season and the length of stay, so I quote them case by case rather than publishing a figure that would be wrong half the year. Tell me your dates and who is travelling, and I come back with the real number and what is still open.