Vacation House With Staff ( Housekeeper, Cook, Driver, Gardener)
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Anonymous
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I've recently been looking into taking a vacation with my family. There will be 5 of us....Me, my mom, DH, 2 yo DS, and 4 mo old DS.
Instead of doing an all inclusive resort I've been looking into renting a whole vacation home with 3+ bedrooms so that we can all spread out and have some space. I noticed that some of these housee come with staff i.e driver to pick you up from airpoirt, cook who makes breakfast, lunch, and dinner, housekeeper who makes the bed and does laundry. Has anyone ever vacationed at a place like this? How does the cooking thing work? Do you have to buy the food and they cook it for free? Or do they buy the food and cook it since it's covered by the cost of renting the home? Also, I'm assuming that you would tip the staff? How does the tipping work? At the end when you check out? and how much? Please share your experiences with staying in a vacation house that comes with staff. Thanks! |
Anonymous
| Jamaica |
Anonymous
| We've done this many times. It's wonderful. Check with the agent that's renting the house; they'll let you know what's expected. |
Anonymous
| can you tell me where you are looking to do this? i'd love to go with my family as well. thanks! links please... |
Anonymous
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We did this in France. If you choose the cook option (which we did not because it was an all adult group and we love to cook) the cook would do all the shopping and give you a negotiable price during the booking process. The negotiating was based on how many people at each meal and how high-end you want to go at some of the dinners.
The housekeeper came daily in the morning, and anyone who did not want his or her room cleaned just left the bedroom door closed. There was a husband and wife caretaker team on the property and they were available for all troubleshooting, advice, recommendations, etc. We gave the caretakers and the housekeeper large tips on our last day. |
Anonymous
Exactly. We did this at Tryall in Jamaica when I was 10. That was a very long time ago. But I understand they still do it. |
Anonymous
| Both Tryall and Round Hill in Jamaica have fully-staffed villas. We've been to both in the past 5 years. If your kids are older, I'd pick Tryall because it's a bigger resort area, but if your kids are younger, I'd go for Round Hill because the resort is smaller and the beach is very calm. |
Anonymous
Which one has better snorkeling? |
Anonymous
| I have heard jamaica too. |
Anonymous
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Second the Round Hill idea. We have stayed in a villa on the resort and at one of the private villas just off the resort property but with resort privileges. Those villas are a bit better value and may allow for better connection between adult and kid rooms.
With the private villa we discussed menus with the cooks at the beginning of the week (after giving a few guidelines for what we might want for the first meal ahead of time) and then he presented a ledger with receipts at the end. The labor was included in the rental fee. With the RH resort villa, breakfast (including cost of food) was included, and you could have the staff cook other meals--we didn't do it (since it was our first time there, we didn't know better) but on the last day the cook said she could have done other meals for us. You can ask RH whether you would have to supply food or whether you could ask staff to do the shopping too. We tipped everyone at the end of the stay. |
Anonymous
| Half Moon in Jamaica has villas with staff as well. They are fabulous and there's a commissary on the grounds where the cook can go and pick up groceries. You can get a variety of sizes; the biggest have 7 bedrooms and usually a staff of 3. Each villa comes with golf carts to ride around the resort and there are also bikes available for the kids. Great tennis facilities, gym, and even a nurse on site. |
Anonymous
Neither was great actually, although if I had to pick between the two, I'd pick Round Hill just because the water is calmer. If you're looking for snorkeling, I'd stick with the VI. |
Anonymous
| not OP, but btw, where are the websites for this? Sounds awesome and I've never heard of it, although i've imagined it in Italy. |
Anonymous
| Just vacation with your own butler, why use someone elses? |
Anonymous
| Can you give price ranges? |