The Garden Villas Near Orient Beach - St. Martin

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 2015  April E & L Couple

 We had a wonderful stay at the villa Jardin in April 2015. This was our first trip to St Maarten and we worked with Castaway to assist us on which resort to stay and, thus we made the decision to stay at Jardin for its ambiance, location, and reasonable price. First Jardin easily met our expectations. We chose Jardin first because it was a small villa and that it allowed us some escape time to be by ourselves and enjoy the pool and the Jacuzzi outside our room (Studio Rose). Our room was clean with a large king size bed, a small kitchen but we were next to the pool. I hope next time the owners will add a few English speaking stations on the TV but it was fun watching The Simpsons in French. The pool was nice sized and kept at a nice warm temperature. The pool furniture was all wicker and of high quality. At night the pool area is nicely lit and very romantic while drinking some wine. The owner, Lionel, was very nice and helpful. He made great suggestions for places to eat and to visit. Strongly recommend everyone try to have dinner at Calmos Cafe in Grand Case.

As for location, Jardin is centrally located in the French side of St Maarten and easy to get too. Its only a 5 minute drive to Orient Bay, 5 minute to the boat rides to Pinel Island and a 10 minute drive to great food in Grand Case. There is a local restaurant 2 minutes away for breakfast and a grocery store 3 minutes away. Definitely have to try the banana vanilla rum liqueur after dinner drinks.

We did go to Club Orient nudist resort for a few days and enjoyed it. What we like about villa Jardin was its was modern, great pool plus we got to escape the sand which followed us wherever we went. We also checked out Club Fantastico which had great views plus one gets breakfast and alcohol but at twice the cost the villa Jardin was a better deal.

From talking to, Lionel, he mainly gets Europeans. We met a French and Swiss couple but we mostly had the place to ourselves. Lionel added the new pool 2 years ago and it was great. Another reason was to swim in something that didn't have salt in it.  There is no night life at the villa but with all the restaurants around we just explored the island which was wonderful.  As you know St Martin is safe to travel around compared to the other nudist resorts where one is basically captive to the resort. Lionel did mention that he wants to attract more Americans to his place.

Thus if you a looking for a quaint place, nice villa atmosphere, and nice escape from Orient Bay please check it out.


 2015  February  J & C Couple

My wife and I spent five nights at the Garden Villas compound February 2015.   We occupied one of the smaller villas known as Studio Patio. Although the living area itself was rather small, it had a full wall of sliding glass doors which made it feel larger during the day. However, its real beauty was that it opened to a patio deck that was about 540 square feet with beautiful landscaping and visiting Sugar Birds. It was a truly delightful space. It had a nice dining table for four and abundant seating for lounging/sunning.

The villa was very clean. Everything was new and fresh. The plumbing worked well and there was plenty of hot water (as a frequent traveler to the Caribbean, these infrastructure issues are important). The bed was very comfortable. The kitchen included a two burner stove, microwave, coffee maker, and refrigerator. As it is a villa rental arrangement, there is no daily room cleaning service (additional cleaning was available for an additional charge).

There were three electric power outages (regional, not just the resort), so we were glad we took our flashlights. The villa is equipped with a security system which I set off by accident once, so we did not bother to use it after that. It was Wi-Fi equipped. I used my IPad extensively via the Wi-Fi, and it worked very well (there was separate Wi-Fi at the pool, but I did not have occasion to use it). If you take electrical appliances with "U.S. plugs," you will need to take an adapter to use the three-pronged European style receptacles.

Two other villas were occupied and we passed pleasantries with the guests, but we were all doing things "off campus" so we did not socialize much. Very private environment.  Very comfortable.

Restaurants: Astrolab at Esmeralda, restaurant at Le Plantation (awesome truffle risotto with scallops), And Le Cottage in Grand Case (great). Coco Beach has a small au natural section, reservations for chairs preferred.

The resort pool was beautiful with excellent seating and lounging furnishings. The water was clean and plenty warm enough. While not a lap pool, it was large enough for some modest exercise swimming. The night time lighting of the pool is spectacular. A full service grocery store was 3 minutes away by car and a deli / bakery is a short walk through the security gate (the resort is in a gated community) and down the street. Orient Beach was just a few minutes by car. We primarily used the beach at Coco Beach (at the Esmeralda Resort). The wonderful dining of Grand Case was about a ten minute excursion. One of the villa owners, Lionel, was there and was very helpful.  (His wife and co-owner, Lydia, was in France at the time).

We had a very good time and plan to return.


2014 - L & L  The Owners - Lydia & Lionel

Coming from Brittany and together for 21 years, we discovered St Martin in 2001 to practice naturism.  And since that first stay, we came back every year once or even twice a year until october 2013 and we decided to put down our luggage and to buy this villa.

We were looking for a place like here where meeting people, relaxing in a friendly atmosphere are the keywords. It was THE place to create a clothing optional resort.

Feel free to tell us if you need something during your stay, or if you want to know our tips, our favorite places : beaches, activities, restaurants,…

The villas are perfectly located:   it will take you only 5 minutes to reach Orient Bay and its beautiful beach, its restaurants, watersports and its lively nightlife.  Also 5 minutes to go to the Village of Grand Case, which offers gourmet restaurants, small "lolos" and their typical large barbecues, its colorful small bars.

Islands:  Anse Marcel and Pinel Island are very close too, for chartered yachting.

We hope you'll fall in love like us with this island that is aptly named: the « Friendly Island ».

 B.H. 2010

Restaurants in Grand Case - We love Spiga in Grand Case. We have never had a bad meal there, the food is presented with great care and service has always been good. We usually go at least twice during the week we stay there in SXM. It is well worth the visit and should be added to the list of Grand Case restaurants.

The Garden Villas Near Orient Beach - St. Martin


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