Walking down the airplane stairs to feel the cool breeze, to see the tropical trees and the blue ocean, ah, this is what we planned for. We were greeted at the luggage area by the property management representative with a sign with our name. We were escorted to a van with a very nice driver who took us to the local grocery store Eldon’s (prearranged) and then to the property management location to check-in. Once we received the home instructions, our driver promptly brought us to Keyhole Bay and helped us unload groceries at the Unit 4-3.
Unit 4-3 is a ground unit, very thank full for this as we walk everywhere and if we would have had stairs to get to your room, I would be exhausted. This home had a full kitchen with stove, oven, microwave, and refrigerator. There is a dining room that ended up holding our hats and sunblock. We ate at the counter with the two barstools or ate on the patio at the table. I was not expecting an ocean view from our patio. It was breathtaking. Each morning we ate breakfast there to watch the waves and boats.
1. Booking
Since we were looking for a home to rent for a month, we booked ~7 months in advance. We also booked the flight at the same time because we did not want to have a place and no flight to get there.
2. Food
We had a full kitchen which allowed us to cook our food. There is a small store at West Bay Mall that had rotisserie chicken and sandwiches by order. They have convenient food, such as chips, salsa, peanut butter and chocolate. No fruit or vegetables. There are many restaurants on the beach and in the West Bay Mall area. They served bar food, nachos and burger, to sit down meals for sushi and seafood. We purchased liquor from Super Islano store, which is near the airport. If you do not have a car, you can arrange for a taxi to take you and bring you back.
3. Electric
We were not inside our home much during the daytime hours. We would turn off the air conditioner during the day. The daytime outside temperature ranged from 82-87oF. We would turn it back on to 80oF at night from ~8pm-8am. We used the oven at night for roasting chickens. We would use about 21kWH a day. Because we paid for a 1 month rental, the property management has you pay for your electric use. Make sure that you understand if you are or are not paying for electricity with your rental. Because you could end up with an additional $1,000+ bill.
4. Water
We used water for cooking meals, cleaning dishes and 2 showers a day. Our average water use was 50 gallons a day.
5. Fitness Center
Since we knew many months in advance, where we were staying didn’t have a fitness center, I contacted all the resorts and asked if they had a fitness center. Of all the resorts that wrote back, only 2 had gyms. One of the 2 gyms said it would be completed by the time we arrived. It was not, therefore we picked The Pacific Oceanic Resort Gym. Click here for the review.
6. Nightlife
There are many beach restaurants that have nightly entertainment. Examples include bands, movies, fire dancing, crab races, etc. On Thursday at the Celeste there was a singer named Dawn that has a beautiful voice and sang, “House of the Rising Sun.”
7. Pool/ beach
Our home was on the East side. Therefore when our side was calm the west side would be wavy. Thus when the West side was wavy the East side was calm. Since, we had access to both East and West side, each day we would choose to be on the beach that was calm.
8. Cruise boats
We would avoid the West Bay beach on cruise days between 10am-4pm. That was because there would be busses and busses of people brought in and then all the hundreds of vendors are on the beach selling items.
Overall, I was pleased with the home and convenient location to the beaches, pools, entertainment, and restaurants. I have recommended this location to our friends and families. I trust you will do your diligence and have a wonderful time when visiting.
