Clearly, St. Martin has a wealth of accommodations. Here are our recommendations for resorts offering home-like surroundings, or those we feel qualify as hideaways.

1. Green Cay Village

One of the original villa hotels (about ten years old) on the hillside overlooking Orient Beach and set amid mature, blooming gardens. Each of its 16 one- to three-bedroom villas has a good-sized private dip pool, with extensive sun decks and panoramic views of the bay, distant islands, and the beach. Bedrooms, which are spacious, nicely furnished, and air-conditioned, as well as the airy main lounge and the small kitchen (not air-conditioned) are in satellite modules surrounding the pool. The living areas are attractively furnished, though they might benefit from updating, and include a stereo/CD player and cable TV/VCR. Decks and pools are generally private enough for achieving the total tan or skinny dipping. The beach is an easy ten-minute walk down, but an uphill trek back. You can also drive to the beach, but now that the village of Orient Beach is so built up, parking is difficult.

Winter 2002