I'm surprised by the comments above. My wife and I stayed at Sur La Plage about a year ago, and were looking into going back very soon.
Our experience was very different. Iris was absolutely charming and gave us a full tour of the houses (basement piled with linens and all) and brought us snorkeling gear, extra shampoo-- everything we needed when we asked for it.
We did some BBQ, and I remember marveling how everything we needed was handy, or in a drawer or otherwise easy to get to. I thought the floor was clean enough to eat off of and the beach-- WOW. The Beach was magnificent. Most of the time we had the entire sandy stretch to ourselves.
I would encourage you to talk with the owner and booking person. They were both more than gracious to us and even had a few honeymoon treats in the fridge on our arrival. I can't imagine things could be SO different.
Sincerely, R.Matteson
Mar 06, 2008 Rating
Sur La Plage Villa - An Anguilla Pearl by: Ellie Cunningham
Sur la Plage on Meads Bay has SPOILED me for any other beach in the Caribbean. The first time I went there as a guest at my boyfriend's sister's wedding. We stayed the first 2 nights at a hotel in St. Maarten...I thought then I was in heaven.
Well, the day came to take the ferry over to Anguilla for the wedding. When we took the cab from Blowing Point to Sur la Plage, I thought my boyfriend was craaaazy. All I could see were half-built cinder block homes, chickens and goats.
When we arrived at Sur la Plage, it felt like finding a perfect pearl in an oyster. My boyfriend walked me down the path through the grapeleaves, and when we emerged, I opened my eyes to a scene that appeared to be a postcard. Sugar-sand, turquoise water and pelicans skimming for fish. The sun was setting and it was GLORIOUS.
The beach is a mile-long crescent slice of pure HEAVEN. When we went to the villa to unpack and settle in, I was again overwhelmed at the perfection I saw. Immaculate. Perfectly decorated and felt like home.
Iris the housekeeper told us all about Anguilla, where to go and what to see. (She even helped me iron my dress for the wedding!) We had a full library of movies, snorkel gear and unending supply of fresh beach towels. That was in 1997.
I fell in love on that trip, and now we are married and have a beautiful daughter. Over the years, we have traveled extensively, to other islands, other Caribbean beaches, stayed at other villas. We have found NONE compare to the beauty that is Sur la Plage on Meads Bay.
Feb 06, 2008 Rating
Rental agent? by: Anonymous
Thank you for sharing your story! It would be useful to know how you booked this villa. If it was through a rental agent, did you solicit their help towards resolution of the problem? It might be worth warning prospective visitors to use a reputable rental agent when reserving private villas.
Reply by Nori to this comment Please see the P.S. in my comment just before this one...
Dawn booked the villa herself. See our own "caveat story" and why it is good to use a respected real estate agent to rent your villa for you...
So yes, I agree totally. Use an excellent agent. Jackie is a close personal friend and takes great care of her clients.
Feb 06, 2008 Rating
I feel bad to post this by: Nori
Honestly, I feel terrible to have to post this review about a bad Anguilla villa.
But it has been confirmed. I contacted Dawn, she gave full e-mail address and locale. She stands by every word, in fact telling me that this was only the half of it. If anything is untrue, there are liability avenues that people can take. So I'm sure Dawn is very serious in her review.
And, of course, Sur La Plage can reply here if they like.
But the reason I feel terrible is that Anguilla is a wonderful place. The people are so wonderful that my father has tears in his eyes when he talks about the wonderful men building our future home in Anguilla. My Dad judges people only by their character and he tells me that he has never met such a truly fantastic team of people who work well together, who are fun to be with, and who take great pride in their work.
You can bet that he'll have them over to the house for BBQ's after the home is built, not just before as he did recently. Anguillians are simply caring and warm people.
Everyone we have ever met in Anguilla is caring and warm. And that's not pretend for the "tourists" like you feel in some places. It's very, very real.
Anguilla is the best place I have ever been -- I feel home when I'm there. And this site is a labor of love. But if someone is letting the rest of the island down and is not giving good service to customers, then part of this villa review section is not only to give GREAT reviews but also to point out which villas to avoid.
No place in this world is perfect, of course. So it's good to know what to avoid, I think.
Best regards, Nori.
P.S. By the way, Dawn booked the villa herself. See our own "caveat story" and why it is good to use a respected real estate agent to rent your villa for you...
