ARRIVAL: Upon arrival at the local airport, I was told someone would be there to greet us and take us to the condo. I tried to contact Alexandra via WhatsApp and Airbnb several times, we were waiting at least 30 minutes. Then one of the baggage handlers offered to call from his local cell, he got in contact with someone and said they were on their way. Upon arrival at the condo, we were greeted by Cari, the owner's daughter/property manager. She was very sweet and offered me welcome drinks and showed us the condo. It was LARGE and as pictured from the listing. Alexandra's place was as described in the listing, only there is 1 bathroom. I believe the listing said 1.5 baths. Anyway, it was not an issue as there were only 2 of us traveling this time. Alexandra, Cari, and Dave were very accommodating. My only suggestions would be a little more attention to details of guests arrival, and some minor maintenance checks before guests arrive (light bulbs, batteries, etc). The kitchen was equipped with most everything you will need to cook. I would recommend a small blender and a strainer for pasta. They provided dish soap, garbage bags, coffee, welcome fruit basket, some beers, sprite, coke, fresh bottled water, clean towels, toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc. The place was well stocked!
LOCATION: The location was beautiful and on the quiet side of town. It was centrally located, you could get anywhere relatively quickly in a rented golf cart. There is a small tiki-bar and grill (Coco's Locos) located directly in front of the condo, connected to the swim-up pool bar that is accessible to condo owners and bar patrons. I was a little concerned traveling with my 10 year old about the bar crowd. The owner James was very welcoming, the crowd was ex-Pat retirees, and they closed around 10pm every night, so it was not an issue at all. The drinks and food were great also! We loved playing with the large Jenga game and cornhole boards right out front. The pool was cleaned every morning and there is a resident iguana that hangs out on the bar roof, we would toss him fruit. The "beachfront" you are thinking of is not a reality here. That part was a little disappointing at first but the pool makes up for it. There is a lot of sargassum (brown sea grass) on the water and it can sometimes give off a very bad smell. There is sand but not a walk-out beach here. The local beach is about a 30 min golf cart drive North and then on the West side of the island. It was wonderful! We went 2x in the week we were there.
OVERALL: We really enjoyed staying in Alexandra's condo and will be recommending it to friends and family. I would say it took me a day to get acclimated to "island time" and understanding that you are on an island and sometimes there may be water or power outages due to the remote location. Once you can relax and enjoy the natural surroundings and local community, you will not want to leave!!
Thank you Zandra! We appreciate all your hospitality!