Happy Bay Villa | 4 BRs

Beautiful

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

Five of us spent a week at this beautiful villa perched on a hill overlooking Happy Bay in Grand Case, St Martin. We have rented many vacation villas all over the world and this one was one of the most beautiful AND comfortable. This is what we found particularly appealing about Happy Bay:
The Villa, including all furniture inside and out, linens, cooking implements, pool area, were spotless.
The furnishings were extremely comfortable, light and airy, attractive without being fussy, minimal without being cold.
We had plenty of hot water and excellent water pressure.
The television got thousands of channels and we even watched our local Connecticut channel on departure day to get an update on the weather!)
The villa was well stocked with a sufficient neccessities for our first night.
The pool area was especially well-furnished with two seating areas under cover - couches, tables, chairs and views; a large square glass-topped dining table and 10 comfortable dining chairs, under cover; and extremely comfortable loungers and 2 large umbrellas for sunning around the pool.
The villa is in a gated community and in addition, has it’s own gate. So we felt perfectly safe and were happy not to have a guard on duty 24 hours a day (as sometimes happens with luxury villas).
Loved proximity of beautiful, quiet Happy Bay beach and all the delicious restaurants, bakeries and boutiques of Grand Case.
Our excellent concierge, Cheyenne, responded immediately to any of our questions.

Excellent working with WhereToStay and Jean Drewes. We will use her for future villa rentals

Posted by Christina R

Amazing in every way!

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

Happy Bay villa was a perfect choice for our girls getaway! From the moment we walked in the front door we were delighted by the charm and beauty of this villa. The bedrooms were very private and super comfy and the outside pool and views were spectacular!! Our time in St Martin was amazing and spending time in the villa put our vacation over the top. !

Betsy was excellent!!

Posted by Donna L

Fantastic week

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

Happy Bay Villa is a jewel. Both the view and the property are five star. The pool/deck/patio area is so great we ended up spending much more time at the villa than would be typical for us on a trip like this. The bedrooms are lovely (if you are renting all four note that one of them does not have its own bathroom) and each room has its own climate control. The kitchen is very well equipped, with two refrigerators and a wine cooler.
As advertised the villa overlooks Happy Bay, and it is a 10 minute walk both there and also to Friar’s Bay. Happy Bay is gorgeous (and btw one of the island’s unofficial nude beaches) but has no facilities; bring what you need with you. Friar’s Bay has chairs, a restaurant and some water sports.

For us the location was perfect; walk to the beach, and get to Marigot, Grand Case and Orient Bay within 15 minutes (traffic permitting!!!)

WhereToStay was very easy to work with. This trip was a scramble; we were supposed to go to St. Barth but both we and our agent there realized about nine days out that there was not going to be enough clarity about entrance requirements for us to proceed. Since we were flying into St. Martin anyway we decided to see if we could still make the trip work in
the time frame we already had. As we looked at properties Happy Bay Villa pretty much jumped off the page. WhereToStay and Shawna took care of arrangements very quickly; in less than a day we were booked.

Dining out is a big part of these kinds of trips for us and Shawna’s list (plus a shorter one she prepared just for us) were very helpful.
A VERY big shout out to our on-island concierge Giovanni. He did everything from booking all our restaurants to rescuing us when we took the wrong set of villa keys and couldn’t get back in. When we couldn’t don’t quite get the location of the COVID testing site straight he even drove out there, took a picture and sent it to us! We nominate him for Concierge of the Year.

Posted by Raphael A

Amazing!!!

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

Thanks to everyone that helped make this vacation an AMAZING one. Shawna, thank you for all your advice and knowledge of Happy Bay. Thank you to Peter picking us up at the Airport and his son taking us back. All of the staff at Carimo, you all really helped make our trip to St. Martin and Happy Bay Villa so enjoyable. Happy Bay Villa is a beautiful villa. It’s location is perched on top of the hill overlooking Happy Bay Beach and off in the distance the bay at Gand Case was awesome!!! The pool and its view, the bedrooms and baths all so accommodating. From my family, Matthew & Sarah, Josh & Emily, my wife Dawn and I Thank You SOOOO Much for a wonderful place to come and relax and enjoy!!!!!!!!!

Excellent

Posted by George S

Amazing Villa - C'est Magnifique!

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

This is our second time staying at Happy Bay Villa and we absolutely love it! The set up is perfect for a couple families or a few couples. We have 2 younger boys and the last two bedrooms are at one end of the home and are separated with a door to the main hallway. It is like having your own private suite within a home with a lot of privacy. The kitchen is well equipped and we enjoyed cooking in a couple evenings while overlooking the beautiful ocean and pool. There is a bedroom off from the kitchen which was perfect for our teenager traveling with us. Really there is no bad bedroom as all have views overlooking the pool and ocean. Since visiting last time they have also added a great work out room - clean air conditioned and with a bathroom. The neighborhood is very quiet and up on the hill are amazing views. We liked the proximity to Grand Case where we ate most nights as the drive is short. The grocery store is very close too. Happy Bay Beach is about a 10 minute walk down a hiking path. Be on the look out of iguanas and roaming cows! When we were there the waves were perfect. Big enough to entertain our 17 and 11 year old but not too strong that I was afraid our 6 yr old would be swept away. Wifi was good in the main areas of the villa but not a strong signal at the far end. There is one tv in the main tv area but that was fine with us as we were not there to watch tv…the only time was for the SuperBowl (: We would not hesitate to book again and always enjoy working with Shawna and WhereToStay.

Posted by Tanya K

Amazing Villa!

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

Happy Bay Villa is just gorgeous. The photos on the web sites don’t do it justice. As soon as we pulled through the gate and saw this beautiful villa in the wonderfully manicured yard bursting with tropical flowers, we all couldn’t get out of the car fast enough. This villa has an open area living/kitchen and dining area which can be closed off by sliders but we left it open 90% of the time. The indoor living area spilled onto the huge outdoor dining/sitting area and pool deck. As soon as you walk into the door you see the infinity pool, then the beach, palms and boats of Happy Bay below and Anguilla in the distance. We saw many amazing sunsets and even some sunrises. There is also a great gazebo where we spent much of our time. All of the rooms and decor were very tasteful and upscale. And each bedroom opened right onto the pool deck. There were only a few very minor issues….sporadically working ice maker, issue with the pool light and powder room lights. Nothing to detract from our enjoyment of the villa.

Happy Bay was a 10 minute hike from our villa. Not a bad hike at all. The worst parts were getting through the barbed wire fence and then the steep trek up the paved road on the way back. The 5 year olds did it numerous times with no problems! Cows everywhere too. This is a very pretty beach lined with Palms and Sea Grapes.

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It was amazing and I simply did not want to leave.

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

The Happy Bay Villa exceeded our expectations on every level.  Like many Caribbean vacations, the drive from the airport is always a little, well, nerve-wracking.  As we approached our villa, our guide said, “Do not worry, when you get there…..you are going to love it.” He was so right! 

We were greeted by a personal concierge who showed us around, and we chose our three of the four bedrooms. They were all equally wonderful, but since we were all in the family, we chose to stay on one side of the villa. 

The kids immediately jumped in the pool, and we drank the beer and sodas and ate every crumb of the french bread and crackers that were there for us!  Our flight was late and unfortunately, the grocery stores had all closed (at 8 p.m.). So, as a note, if you are traveling with your family, I would go ahead and let Shawna line up having a few groceries there for you. It would have been well worth the service fee if we had only known we were going to be that late! 

Anyway, it all worked out because less than a mile from the villa was a place called “the Bounty” that had great pizza and it worked for us that night.  The next morning I found my way to the “US Market”, which was very “French”. However, they had wonderful fresh baked goods and fresh meats/fish. It worked out perfectly. 

We had to make ourselves leave the villa to explore the island, but even our five-year-old would ask, “Can we just go back to our wonderful home here?” 

The view was like a different painting each morning (sounds so cliche, but so true!). The house was so comfortable.

We had way too many clothes. I suggest you pack light, because sweet Elsa (added bonus) was there for four hours every day and always washed everything for us while we were at the beach or pool. 

The actual “Happy Bay” was the favorite, but I was not prepared for all the nudity. It was a bit of a cultural experience for the four kids.  The walk down was no biggie. However, the walk up -  I never wanted to do it twice in one day. 

In short, it was perfect. We can’t wait to return.

Posted by Dee J

This was a great villa.

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

Happy Bay Villa was beautiful. My husband and I and our two sons and daughter in-law spent eight days seven nights here in February.

The views were spectacular, and the villa itself was beautiful. We loved the convenient location. Our housekeeper Elsa was very sweet, and Ekaterina (concierge) stayed in touch with us either by e-mail or telephone and was very helpful.

We all agreed that this was one of our best vacations. Happy Bay Villa exceeded all expectations. We loved it!

Posted by Amanda S

This was an excellent villa that surpassed our expectations.

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

Happy Bay Villa was exactly as it appears in the photographs provided by the web site. The house was immaculate, and the housekeeper/maid was sweet and unobtrusive. We asked that she come less than daily to minimize villa activity and this was easily accomplished. 

The villa was fully air-conditioned and the units worked well! The kitchen had everything one could ask for, and all the appliances were in working order.
In addition, there was wireless Internet and a computer.

The pool was clean and beautiful, and the views were amazing! The villa was gated and secure, although one needn’t have concerns for safety. Enjoy!

Posted by Marc E

This is the best view on the island.

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

We stayed at Happy Bay Villa Feb. 5-12 2009 with one other couple. We had the time of our lives.

It was very beautiful with a great view. It was better than the pictures on the net.  We had great dinners in Grand Case, and made the rounds to most of the beaches. 

We will come back for more sun and fun next year.

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It was perfect!

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

My husband and I spent a wonderful week at Happy Bay!

The home was lovely, had everything we needed, and the owner was very gracious.

The views, and the privacy were perfect, and the short hike/walk down to Happy Bay or Friars Beach was enjoyable.

We are currently planning our return trip.

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Happy Bay Villa is simply the best!

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

We arrived in Happy Bay after long months of hard work, and were immediately restored by the exceptionnal view. We’ve traveled in the Caribbean renting villas in Anguilla, Tortola, St. Lucia, Antigua, etc., and Happy Bay is the best value.

Living areas were spacious and very well appointed. With a TV room (flat screen, dishnetwork and lots of DVDs and books for rainy days), a computer station and Wireless Internet, it was easy to stay in touch with family.

The rooms were all tastefully decorated with extraodinary tasteful boathrooms (lots of space in the bathtub and large travertin showers).

Also, the kitchen was fully loaded with great appliances (Bosche and Gaggeneau s’il vous plait).

The pool area was spectacular, and we have to admit we did little visiting. We just simply bathed in the great pool, sipped margaritas and sunbathed. The gazebo area was delightful, and gave us views of beautiful sunsets.

Another big plus was the massage table in the Master bedroom that came in very handy. The housekeeping lady was just a marvel.

The beach at Happy Bay was a five-minute walk down (a little more up!), and was most of the time it was totally empty!

After a couple of days, we met some people who had been in other villas in Lowlands and the Happy Bay area, and they came to visit and are trying to change their booking to Happy Bay Villa. They said that in the Happy Bay area, Happy Bay Villa was the best.

Overall, it was simply the best!

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This is an incredible house.

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

I stayed at Happy Bay Villa with four friends.

We were looking for relaxation, and indeed, we found it at an incredible house. It offered us everything for getting the most out of it for our relaxation. Futhermore, incredible views and an outstanding beach were close at hand.

Posted by Gonzalo F

It was absolutely beautiful!

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

We had such a wonderful time at Happy Bay Villa.

The villa was everything we expected - and more. They even had a pool alarm for children - which was great for our three-year-old. 

It was very tastefully appointed, with great appliances (Bosch dishwasher), and a wonderfully stocked kitchen (with three chefs in our family - always a plus!!). They also had a computer monitor with Internet connection, a washer/dryer on the property, and books and a few DVDs to utilize. 

Julia, our housekeeper, was there every day, and rarely did we find sand inside. 

The walk down to the beach needed some attention, though. My husband and I are very fit and do a lot of hiking. However, unless you have a good pair of shoes (no flip flops) some areas are a bit slippery/rocky, especially after a rain. Plus, it was very overgrown, and needed to be cut back - but it’s really no man’s land so no one is responsible. The best (least overgrown) way to get down to the beach is that once on the trail, at the first two forks in the trail, take the right path.

We were so pleased with everything, and definitely plan to return! It was A+++!

Posted by Tanya K

We enjoyed this beautiful villa!

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

There were eight of us in our party, and we could not have picked a more perfect villa.  We were met at the airport by a greeter, and we were escorted to the villa. He explained in detail everything we needed to know (how to lock up, use of the plantation shutters, the alarm system, TV, internet, etc.).

The villa was very secure, having the alarm system and a gate that could be latched from inside. There was also plenty of parking in front. 

A pool man and gardner came once a week; and the maid, Julia, came each day (except Sunday). She completly cleaned all the rooms and changed the bedding. She was wonderful - cheerful, helpful, and thorough. The villa was spotless upon arrival, and Julia kept it that way the entire week. 

The bedrooms were all nicely appointed with very comfortable beds and fine linens. All four opened up to the pool deck, and had great views of the ocean.

The kitchen was very modern with new appliances, a large refrigerator/freezer and shutters that opened up the bar to the pool deck. It was equipped with anything you would need. A large welcome basket of fresh fruit was on the table, and the refrigerator was stocked with some beer, wine, and juices, plus assorted other snacks were left for us. 

The bathrooms (there was one in each bedroom, plus a half bath) were modern and spotless, with great showers. We had one minor problem. The water pressure was not good (only one person could shower at a time). After a couple of days, there was no water at all. We called the owners, and within ten minutes (literally), a plumber was at our door to change the filter to the water system, and problem solved! It was great service!

The living areas were spacious with both an indoor dining table and an outdoor table on the pool deck - where we spent most of our time. 

The pool was large with an infinity edge - great for viewing Happy Bay Beach and the sea beyond. The pool area was very private.
The gazebo became our favorite gathering place, especially for the killer sunsets!

Happy Bay Beach was beautiful, quiet, and calm. It became our favorite beach. It was a bit of a hike down the path, but this 60-year- old made it several times!  There were no facilities on Happy Bay, but it was a short hike over to Friars for lunch. 

Grand Case for morning pastries and fabulous dinners was just a five-minute drive, and Orient Bay was only ten minutes away. It was a perfect location!

All in all, we would rent this villa again in a heartbeat. It actually exceeded our expectations. I really can’t think of a bad thing to say about it. 

If you are looking for a private and modern villa on St. Martin, you won’t be sorry if you choose Happy Bay Villa!

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Happy Bay Villa was drop dead gorgeous.

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

The photos were very accurate. The villa was beautiful with its minimalist decor—you could not want more from a villa on an island where the beaches are king.

The bedrooms were spacious, and the beds comfortable. The bathrooms were great. The tub in the master bath fit two (or a whole bunch of little kids). The showers were large enough for a couple.

The kitchen was well equipped, and the outdoor seating areas had upscale, comfortable furniture. The gazebo was great for viewing Happy Bay (below);  Friars Bay; part of Grand Case Bay; and all of the south shore of Anguilla.

Sitting at the outdoor table, or just looking out from the doors to the deck, the view was absolutely gorgeous. We enjoyed watching sailboats and ferries passing below, swaying palm trees and rainbows most mornings, great sunsets and twinkling lights on Anguilla and Grand Case Bay at night.

We did have direct access to the trail to Happy Bay from a set of stone stairs down a paved road in the neighborhood. This route could be taken by adults in good physical shape, teenagers or kids with parents, but it was a pretty steep climb back up. Some of our party walked, while the others drove two minutes down the hill, parked the car in a grassy area, climbed over a very low (two ft) wall and walked in along a level graded concerte and grass path—about a five-minute safe walk.

The villa would work well for adults of all ages- a very romantic place. I would say this villa was handicapped accessible. It would also be great for families with children, as all but one bedroom was accessible from inside the house and two of the bedrooms could be opened as adjoining bedrooms.

There were plenty of grassy and deck areas for kids to let off steam. The pool was huge. There was a neat little TV room with a large screen TV and an adjoining computer workstation and computer. You can use a laptop almost anywhere inside and at the outdoor table on the deck.

Happy Bay Villa was about a two-minute drive from Friars Bay Beach and the Friars Bay Beach Cafe. It was less than five minutes from Grand Case, with a supermarket, a gourmet market and a grocery store that carried US brand foods.

It was about ten minutes from Orient Beach, and about a half hour from Dawn Beach and the new Westin Hotel and Casino. It was just a ten minute drive to Marigot, where you can board the ferries to both Anguilla and St. Barts.

We were a group of adults in our 50s, and have rented upscale villas throughout the Caribbean—St Thomas, St John, Turks and Caicos, Barbados and St Lucia, Tortola and Vigin Gorda.

We all agree that Happy Bay is at least one of the finest, if not the finest, villa we have rented. It is an exceptional value for the money, especially in high season.

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Happy Bay was spiritual bliss for us.

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

The villa was just what we asked for. We have had three kids in five years - I know, a lot in a short time! But we are blessed. This was the honeymoon get away we were praying for.

It was in a great spot on the island - quiet, serene, and breathtaking views. We just soaked in the calm.

For all you party people, this is also a great place go with eight people and have a blast. They had everything in this place, and it was a short ride to any beach or bar.

You can use this villa for whatever your needs are. You can stay home and enjoy the peace, turn it into a party, or go out. This was the perfect spot!

Posted by Celia J

Our stay

Happy Bay Villa, St. Martin villa review

Happy Bay Villa is very beautiful. The gardening and landscaping are perfect, the maintenance of the house is great. The housekeeper is super friendly. It has a nice layout.

The walk to the beach part is not a real way to say it, and so I give 3 stars because not everyone can walk to the beach. My husband is very fit, but this downhill, viney and rocky path should be termed a “hike”, and while it is a beautiful beach there is nothing there. So folks would want to also try and carry towels and drinks, and it is a challenge that was too big for our family to do. The other beach has a nice restaurant, but I do not either see a practical way to walk/hike there. The road is dusty, and it is very buggy in the grasses.

Also, the pool does not have a shallow end for children. But it was a bench seat down to the deeper water, so still not a shallow “swim area”.

The breeze from the outer gazebo area is very pleasant, the kitchen is super well equipped, and for grownups the pool is great. And, again, a picture could be taken anywhere outside on the property as it is beautifully kept.

The Smits Family
Rotterdam, NL

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