Help please, how do we decide air conditioning or not???

[NoWorriesMom]

Hi! If we rent on Bordeaux mountain then we don't need a/c for comfortable sleeping at night, and if we rent waterfront then we'd want to hear the waves, but what about November and a villa that isn't too high up or waterfront but does have ceiling fans? Help please, we are a grouchy family if it is too hot at night but if it isn't then we really like a particular villa that doesn't have a/c

[flip-flop]

It really depends most of all on you and your travel mates. How uncomfortable do you feel when you are warm. Personally, its not worth the risk of feeling sticky for an entire week (or more) to me.

We have had A/C in every house - at least in the bedrooms - except 1. The house without a/c was on our first trip and we lucked out with location and breezes. Even depending on location it is hit or miss.

Our minimum req is a/c in the bedrooms. The rest of the house doesn't matter but there is nothing I hate more than getting out of the shower ... instantly feeling sticky and then crawling into a too warm bed! YUCK.

But that is JUST me.

[liamsaunt]

We rented a house off Hart Bay one October without ac and it was OK, not ideal, but OK. We had a house this past June at the top of Catherineberg with no AC and it was very comfortable. It really depends on where the house is. Personally, I would try to get a house with ac at least in the bedrooms.

Here is a tip: if you do end up choosing a house with no ac, the drugstore across from Starfish market sells tabletop fans for about $15. Having a breeze go across your face in addition to the ceiling fans makes for more commfortable sleeping, in my opinion.

[Diane]

I didn't realize the villa we chose last year didn't have a/c until after I put down the deposit. When I asked the rental agency and the owner, they both assured me that because of the location (high elevation above Coral Bay)the trade winds kept things "comfortable". Comfortable was not the word I would use to describe the one night there were no trade winds. There were plenty of ceiling fans, but those don't make a difference in the humidity. Maybe humidity in November is not as high as June?
Air-conditioning is one of the first things I look for when considering a villa.

[RickG]

AC needs depend on your comfort zones. In our usual group we have one couple that likes the room to be well chilled. I prefer to put the ceiling fan on and open the windows. Lowest common denominator is a/c for us.

But, it does depend on location and time of year. When we stay at the Inn at Tamarind Court in town a/c is definately needed. On the South Shore in October/November the constant breeze makes a/c unnecessary. On Bordeaux Mountain bring a sweater. Facing West, it depends on the weather.

Cheers, RickG

[JT]

We didn't have ac the first couple of trips to STJ, but it was never a factor in May staying at the top of Ajax Peak. Even if the villa had ac we wouldn't have used it, as we preferred the island sounds. However last year we went for 3 weeks in late May to mid June, stayed around Calabash Boom and for the first week or so there were no tradewinds. AC wasn't a factor when we rented the villa, but the bedrooms had ac and we were real happy to use it at night. The last week the winds were back to normal and we didn't use it.

[trptman]

We rented a villa fairly high up on Maria Bluff this past June that faced southwest. Although it had AC in the bedrooms, we never used it - we kept all the sliding doors opened (with the screens closed of course ) and enjoyed the wonderful sounds of the tree frogs and insects at night. It was warm but never uncomfortable.

[NoWorriesMom]

Thanks everybody!