Villa Numa

Villa Numa is a six-bedroom house in the gated Indigo Bay community on the Dutch southwest coast, built down the hillside toward the water. You arrive at a ground-level lobby with a spiral staircase and an elevator, which is a rare thing in a villa and a useful one when the bedrooms run across several levels.

The main living and kitchen area opens onto the terrace and an infinity pool that looks out over Indigo Bay, with the hillsides dropping into the sea on either side. Outside there is a second kitchen and a bar set to face the water, so cocktails and dinner happen with the view. After dark, the lights of the other villas and the passing cruise ships give the bay its own show.

The six bedrooms are all en-suite with sea views. Four open off the main lobby, and the fifth and sixth sit lower down for privacy; the sixth has its own living room and kitchenette, which works for a nanny or a couple who want their own quarters.

One thing to know: for safety reasons, given the drops and the levels, Numa does not take children between two and twelve. It is a house built for adults, couples, and older families.

Simpson Bay and Philipsburg are about ten minutes away, and Princess Juliana Airport and Marigot are around fifteen. For dinner out, we send guests to NOLA Bayou Bistro in Simpson Bay, French cooking with a New Orleans turn. Provision the kitchen, bring in a chef, or hold a table, whatever the week needs, just ask before you land. At $10,000 a week in low season for all six bedrooms, Numa is the adults-only one with the elevator and the infinity pool, and a bay that puts on its own light show once the cruise ships and villas come out after dark.