SAAND.COM

Winter's deep freeze usually gets Canadians thinking about one thing: how to get out of the country.

If you're craving sandy beaches with tropical breezes, but don't want to get stuck at a resort or hotel with hordes of other Canucks, check out the rental villas at saand.com. The site, which launched in October, 2004, lists a variety of properties from across the Caribbean, Latin America and Hawaii.

Lowdown

The site, which is primarily a search engine, allows visitors to browse first by region and then by island or country. Searches can then be narrowed by selecting from pull-down menus or ticking boxes covering daily price ranges, the number of rooms required and a choice of properties with either pools or waterfronts.

A more interesting feature is found under a tab labelled "Compare Villas." It allows travellers to search from a diverse range of categories: house and location, pool and AC, indoor entertainment, phone and Internet, sports and boating, transportation and additional amenities. Clicking on "indoor entertainment," for example, lets visitors choose from options including "VCR or DVD" and "satellite or cable service."

Looking for an oceanfront villa with an outdoor pool and deck that has phone and Internet access, snorkel equipment, a barbecue and a car that is pet-friendly? No problem -- just select your requirements, hit search and choose from as many as five villas in the region.

If you're not into searching, the site does provide a limited "Featured Properties" section that highlights a few exceptional properties.

While travellers are encouraged to book on-line, the site also haspersonnel available to take telephone orders.

Navigability

With three ways to refine your search -- by map, villas and featured properties -- users should have no trouble finding the villa of their dreams.

Design

The site's clean, uncluttered look makes it easy for travellers to click around and choose the most appealing options.

High point

Unlike some search engines, saand.com seems to have relatively high standards: Staff members review many of the featured villas, which aims to provide peace of mind to customers booking on-line.

Low point

Lack of choice: With properties available only in the Caribbean, Latin America and Hawaii, the site misses the all-important European villas. As well, the only villas available in Hawaii are located on the Big Island.

Bottom line

Canadians looking for something with more privacy and character than a hotel or resort should check out this easy, breezy website.