What I can actually rent you here
The stock in Lorient is thin, and I would rather say so up front. Right now I list one house, LA PLAGE, on the beach side of the village, and it has seven bedrooms. So the choice here is binary: either that house is free on your dates and it fits your group, or Lorient is not your address this trip. If your dates are fixed and you want several properties to compare, look at the north coast more widely. Seven bedrooms also means this is a house for a large party — an extended family, or two or three families travelling together. A couple would be renting far more space than they need. Lorient itself is a village people live in year round, with a school, a church and a shop, which suits travellers who swim in the morning, cook at the house, and do not mind a short drive to the busier parts of the island.
What you accept by choosing this address
Two things to accept. The first is the water, and it matters more here than usual because the house is on the beach side. A reef runs along the beach, so one end stays calm while the other picks up surf when the swell comes in from the north. That changes from week to week. If you want flat, shallow water every single day, Grand-Cul-de-Sac is the honest answer, not here. The second is the car. Lorient covers everyday shopping, but the port, dining and larger stores are all a drive away. The road that crosses the village is narrow. Nothing on this island is far; it is simply that you drive to reach most of it — and with a group large enough to fill seven bedrooms, that means more than one vehicle.
Common questions
How many villas do you list in Lorient, and how big are they?
One, and it has seven bedrooms. That is the whole inventory for this village, so there is no smaller or larger option from me here. If your group is small, or if you want to compare two or three houses before deciding, you will do better looking at St-Jean or elsewhere on the north coast.
Lorient or St-Jean — how do I choose?
St-Jean is the centre of activity: shops, the airport runway along the bay, people on the sand all day. Lorient is a few minutes east and quieter, a village where the beach is used mainly by residents. If you want to walk to shops and be in the middle of things, take St-Jean. If you would rather hear the village than the bay, take Lorient. Both put you on the north coast, and the drive between them is short.
We are travelling with young children. Lorient or Grand-Cul-de-Sac?
Grand-Cul-de-Sac, if calm water is the deciding factor. The lagoon there is closed by a reef, shallow and flat, and it stays that way. Lorient's beach is reef-protected at one end and works with children on most days, but the other end takes surf when the swell rises, so conditions shift through the season. Lorient gives you a village around you. Grand-Cul-de-Sac gives you predictable water and glide sports. Ask yourself which of the two you would miss more.
Do I need a car if I stay in Lorient?
Yes. I say that for every address on the island except Gustavia, and Lorient is no exception. Part of the village is walkable and the beach is close, but the port, most dining and the airport are a drive. The roads are narrow and parking is limited in places. With a seven-bedroom house you should plan on at least two vehicles, since a group that size rarely moves as one.
Tell me your dates
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. Send me your dates and who is travelling, and I come back with what is actually open in Lorient.