Five friends and I have recently decided that we would like to go somewhere beachy over New Years, and were thinking that it would be fun to rent a house or villa somewhere in the Caribbean or Mexico. Specifically we are looking to be gone from 12/28 through 1/2, and would like to stay somewhere that does not take overly long to get to (direct flights from DC would be great), but otherwise have no preference on where we go. Easy beach access, a pool or hot tub, and some nearby activities would be nice. Our budget is also flexible, but ideally the cost for the villa would be no more than $200/per person per night.

I realize that we are starting to plan this kind of late, but I was wondering if anyone could recommend any rental agencies, websites or travel agents that could assist in planning something like this? I've done some searches online and am sort of overwhelmed by the number of sites that come up.