We are heading to AC late Summer/early Fall, we are looking at Los Encantos. It's a private home rental w/beach, pool,pier,... The listing says it's a 5 minute walk north to Rendezvous House. Is it difficult to plan your day around the hand ferry? What happens if you miss the last shuttle? Or is it better to stay south of the ferry and just not deal w/it? We don't mind solitude, but only to a point. This being our first vistit and not knowing the lay of the land, we just don't want to be too far away from dinner and night life. If anyone can speak for Los Encantos please do. We are going by the small picture on-line, and that can be misleading.

Mike, You will get a lot of opinions on places to stay..Remember not any place suits everybody..That said it is better to do a search of all the places at lodging in the search engine on the home (AC) page....Staying north of the "cut" is more trouble coming & going to & from town......My personal choice is MataRocks, which is south of town ,but it is quite a long walk...But a golf cart solves that problem....No matter your choice you will have a wonderful time..I Bet.........

Like Johnboy said, many of us have a favorite places to stay, after making several trips, to determine our comfort, and pleasures.
Usually the place that strikes your fancy on the lodging page, is the best place for you for your first trip. The pictures are generally true representation of the resort/home.
Depends on your stress level back home, if you are so over stressed with work, family and traffic, then out north at a serene place is a great choice.
My first trip 10 yrs ago was at Journey's End and it worked great for us, having stressful business lives back home.
Now I prefer closer to town, cause my back home life is mostly stress free. In town, is fun, but you are on the go all the time, so much to do in a short time.
The hand ferry is not a problem during the daytime, until about 8PM. So make day trips into San Pedro.
Water taxi can be doable, just meet their schedules, or if staying late in town, make your own arangement for a boat ride back.
No matter where you stay, you will find much to enjoy and to relax, with the beautiful caribbean water everywhere, and the beautiful coral and fish underneath.