USVI-On-Line

As I start the Great Villa Hunt of 2008, I know that several folks here have spreadsheets that they use to keep track of all the villas they see, and then they have a resource they can use from year to year.

I am not so handy with Excel, but as I prepare to sit down tonight and really hone the list to some places that meet our needs, I thought it might be handy to put all the info there so I don't lose my villa again (Still haven't found it, btw.)

Could people tell me what types of categories folks use for their villas. I'm thinking location, price, number of bedrooms, max occupants, number of bathrooms, internet access, pool or hot tub... What am I forgetting?

privicy

I'm with waterguy...privacy...and a pool and a view. If I have those 3, I'm there!

Air conditioning (if it is important you).

And I always have a column for odds and ends like if someone said it was a great villa for sunsets, or if the kitchen was extra nice, or if the drive requires 4WD, etc.

I just checked one of the Word docs that I had put together. In addition to all that has been mentioned, I found the following to be helpful. I had planned to move it to Excel, but never quite got there.

Bed types might be helpful (King/twins, queen, sofa, etc).

Price per person, including tax and fees. (assuming you know who's coming)

Beach access

BTW, when are you going? Will you be there during SOTB II?

Ours is categorized by villa name, location, price, number of bedrooms, yes or no pool, yes or no ac, and villa agency.

I just keep a set of bookmarks that I can open all at once in tabs in Firefox.

What I look for are:

1) # of bedrooms

2) Privacy

3) Pool on same level as kitchen

4) View - Sunset, Sunrise, which begs Location

5) Location

6) Types of bedding - king/queen/etc.

For the sweaty

7) A/C

For the less mobile

8.) Accessibility

For the very young

9) Indoor access to bedrooms?

10) Securibility of pool access?

11) Spiral staircase?

Cheers, Rick

I have an "outstanding feature" column for things like "infinity pool - serms to float in space", "master set on corner with excellent views", "staircase down to the water", "complimentary rum bar" ( ) - things that set one villa apart from others with similar amenities. And I have a "KIM" column - "Keep in Mind" for not necessarily negative things but features that, say, might make it a better villa for certain travel configurations than others, things like "third bedroom is loft, no a/c" - stuff like that. And I have a column for "power lines in view" because I am a hopeless snob and can't stand those.

Margy - love your ticker!

One other thing that might be helpful is a column with the url so that you can go directly from the spreadsheet; it will be helpful if you are sending the doc to others.

I love this thread because most of my friends think I'm nuts with the planning, so I'm glad I'm not the only one who does this!

I used a map in PowerPoint where I tracked the locations of the villas I was interested in, by number; the numbers related to the detailed information I had on each villa.

Include a column in your spreadsheet for the URL link for each villa. Then one click brings you to the page with all the pictures, because as you know they all start to blend after awhile.

You guys are great! I KNEW you'd know the answers. I can't wait to make my spreadsheet. (And I HATE being organized, but this trip requires more spreadsheets that I ever imagined!)

It looks like we will be there Nov. 9-16. Woohoo. It'll probably depend a little on villas and whether we want to not stay at Ivan's overnight (or take a private boat to do it) or whether we want to miss Sunday Jazz.

How about a column for whether or not they allow children??

One thing we always consider: is the villa right off the main road, or is it at the end of a mile long steep, rutted dirt road? Coming and going three or four times a day, that becomes an issue - for us anyways.

I created a spreadsheet about 6 months ago to help in finding a villa for our trip this May as we had very specific requirements. And let's face it - we wanted it ALL!!! The search for the perfect villa!

My list included:
# BR's, # Baths, A/C coverage, Pool, Jacuzzi, walk to Beach, Wifi, Children, Views, Price, Location

I also wanted to identify the management company, what forms of payment the accept, and embed a link to a website for each villa. Didn't get this far though.

My spreadsheet has ~250 villas (some duplicates, and villas that have changed names)

Is there a way to share this type of information with anyone who's interested or develop 'one spreadsheet to serve us all' so we're not all of recreating the wheel?

I'm willing to email my list to anyone who wants it. Just send me a private message with your email address.

Ooops, found a later version of the spreadsheet that had over 400 villas. How many are there? How can we be expected to find the perfect one when there are so many?