Our third visit to Guadeloupe in the last year (we are smitten!) and third villa rental. Villa Desiree's location just north of Deshaies is perfect for visiting our favorite beaches (La Perle, Grand Anse, Leroux, Amandiers) and bakery - Artisan Boulangerie/Patissier - near Ferry. An easy drive from the airport, the villa is easy to find in the compound near Hotel Fort Royal, whose beach is a short walk away. The grounds are lush with flowering and aromatic plantings, and we were sad to have missed the mango season.
Beds are comfortable; the kitchen well-equipped; the pool, the best we've encountered. The gas grill is trouble-free. Owner Valerie supplied four beach chairs for us (thank you!) and was a pleasure to work with. The English version of the "house book" is very helpful and informative and hopefully will soon include English instructions for the washer and dryer, which were mysteries to us, even armed with rudimentary French, the French language manuals and Google Translate! Also recommended for avid readers like us: brighter interior lighting; the sun sets (spectacularly!) around 6 pm.
There were four of us sharing the villa, and larger groups should be aware that the third queen-sized bed is up a rather steep staircase on a loft open to the living room, and that the one WC is in a room of its own.
Villa renting often means meeting the local caretaker at a prescribed time, which, given "island time", might not be too precise! Valerie was extremely helpful when we could not contact Fabrice (a fisherman who will have fresh-caught fish to sell), who had the keys. We also experienced a lengthy wait at another villa rental.
Hurricane Marie grazed Basse Terre and the effects in the Deshaies area in late November seemed minimal. In the national park, however, several of the trails we had hoped to hike were closed and the forests were quite damaged. Visit the park HQ in St. Claude (or their web site) for updates on trail openings. Also, late November is a very tranquil time in Deshaies. Neither the tourist info office nor the Wednesday market was not open and many of the restaurants were shuttered. We enjoy stopping by Paradise Kafe for a drink and chat with Jean Michele and had two good meals at La Madra (one of Catherine's restaurants in "Death in Paradise").
One more note: Villa Desiree is perfect for folks who find access to some hillside villas more suited to mountain goats!