We loved the privacy and beauty of Maison villa set on a hillside in St. Jean. The view of St. Jean bay was breathtaking and so relaxing. The house is designed to bring the outside and inside living areas together. We enjoyed swimming and relaxing by the beautiful pool, never tiring of the amazing water view from our private paradise. The master suite is huge with a living room area and private bath. From the king bed, floor to ceiling windows provide breathtaking view of mountains and the water below. The villa is a 5 to 10 minute walk to shops, a BBQ take out, restaurants, St. Jean Beach, Eden Rock and Hotel Tom. The return walk does require a rather challenging uphill steep hike back up the driveway, which we did twice, other times, we used the car. A tip on cars: get the smallest vehicle you can, roads are very narrow, steep and winding with many blind curves. After exploring the island by car, we agreed, Shawna had found us the perfect villa in the best location, close to St. Jean Beach, but a world away from anyone. The villa is beautifully appointed, with a mix of modern and antiques. We had daily housekeeping (other than Sunday), the pool keeper came twice to clean the pool and remove any leaves, landscaping also came once to clear leaves and trim landscaping. Other visitors included a very large turtle, geekos and many butterflies. As a couple, Maison was 5 stars for us, but we gave the villa a 4 star review only because the second and third bedrooms are not on par with the master suite and this may be a factor for a larger group. The small third bedroom upstairs is okay, not great, with entry from an outside stairway, but the second bedroom in the main house is very closed in, at the back of the house with no view. I would recommend these two bedrooms only for kids or teens. If we return to St. Barths, we would stay at Maison in a minute, it was perfect!

Shawna was great, she was so responsive to my multiple e-mails and questions, I felt like I had my own travel advisor for our first trip to St. Barths. She did a great job finding us the perfect vacation getaway.