We are 4 adults and 4 teens who travel to the Caribbean every year. Several years, including this past November, we have stayed at South Sound Villa. While no private rental home in the tropics can ever be perfect, we have always had the closest thing to the perfect vacation at SSV . . . i can only conclude that these people from New Jersey are...(well, what would be a nice way to put it...i can't think of one...so in order to not be banned from Tripadvisor for profanity...) "vacationally challanged"
The house IS very remote ! That is the charm of it . . . an entire 2 mile wide bay ALL to yourselves ! And yes, you drive down a quaint dirt road through a rain forest where cows are grazing (I guess that qualifies as "a farm" to some), sometimes you have to get out and shoo them off the road . . . that's part of the fun of the place. Malodorous ? Oh please.
We were aware the house has no air conditioning, and it is hot in the Caribbean...duh. Between the ceiling fans in every room and the constant wind, we were fine. The windows and screens were all fine. And never in any of the three times we have been to SSV has the pool been less than immaculate. We had a problem with one toilet, instead of whining we just used the other 3 toilets on the property untill one of the staff came and fixed it. All 8 of us used the kayaks extensively, they were great - the entire bay is calmed by a barrier reef, unless you are a total woosie you'll have a ball on the kayaks. The snorkeling and diving is the best on the entire Island - stingrays, eagle rays, huge parrot fish out by the cut in the reef...but you aren't on a dive charter with everything done for you . . . getting back into the boat may be challenging for some, but teens and adults in any decent physical shape will have no problem. And the motor worked fine last November.
We bought delicious food at the store down the street, (no need to bring your own, they have Tyson frozen chicken, Nabisco cookies, etc. etc) and prepared great meals in the kitchen, ate them in the dining room, and had no more ants than at any other home we have rented in Virgin Gorda, Tortolla, St. John, St. Martin, Saba, Provo, Turneffe Island, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Cozumel, New Providence or Barbados.
My wife and I slept in the bedroom by the pool every night with the door open. No bugs bugged us. We did not see one cockroach. We did not see one rat, let alone a herd of them yanking our steaks off the grill.
It is a shame that there are no provisions within Tripadvisor to somehow screen out vacationers who are obviously not being truthful...for whatever reason. Maybe the place was "not for them". I would suggest that Traveljunkies188 pick a vacation spot that they can better relate to. Maybe Atlantic City.
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