Clean rooms. Amazing stuff.
Restaurants are expensive but the food is good- tuna was great but it would be nice to have a more selection of fish.
Plenty of shade and the launch chairs at the beach - No need to pre-reserve the spot on the beach.
Nice and quiet resort- we are happy that we selected St Barbara for our vacation and we'll come back.
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Vanessa -
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Sonesta Maho Beach: St Maarten
The hotel was in a great location. The service was excellent except for when the big rush came in Christmas week and service was a little slower. The pools were great and pool bar had great service at all times. Enjoyed the access we had at the other sonesta bay in phillsburg. The service was great there as well and we were always welcomed. Great selection of alcohol. The maid did not leave us any towels on the nights we did not leave tip. The people were very friendly.
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Sunscape Curacao Resort: could be a nice resort
We visited Curacao from Dec 4-Dec11/16. This resort was rated 4*, but it was 3* all the way.
The rooms were clean, but very average. Our room wasn't cleaned until late afternoon every day and amenities were not replaced until we called.
The food was very repetitive at the buffet (it was brought out from the kitchen just warm and I didn't see anyone checking temperatures a single time during the week to make sure food was at a safe temperature). The a la carte restaurants were very slow in s[... read more]ervice and the food did not compare to other resorts that we have been to. The idea of "no reservations required" seemed like a great idea, but you had to get in line at least 1 hour ahead of opening time to assure a table. Maybe reservations would take less of your vacation time.
The weather was fantastic and the beach was great. Many more shaded areas are needed, as the few palapas are snatched up very early in the morning (prior to 6 am). Perhaps some umbrellas by the pool would help with that.
The hotel is in great need of an update. We had rain a couple of days and the roof of the buffet restaurant was so leaky, a lot of the tables were not useable. The staff did their best to accommodate guests, but, once you got a place to sit, there was no cutlery available until the tepid food from the buffet was cold. This is not a 4 star restaurant that I would recommend.
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Sandals Royal Curacao: not a 5 star
This was the third year in a row that we were at this resort. Obviously we like it or we wouldn't have come back. However this year there were a few things that weren't up to its usual standard. There were fewer guests than before and probably because of that we were only offered one choice at a time for meals, whether breakfast, lunch or dinner. The same applied to bars, only one open at any given time. The food and quality of the drinks were very good. we had an issue with our room air conditi[... read more]oning. Every night ( up until the last night ) the temperature was set at 26 Degrees (c) and the only was to change it was to contact the front desk, who contacted engineering and set it onto manual. Very frustrating. The staff were great as usual, remembering us from past years, and the grounds and beach beautiful. The rooms were spotless and made up in good time each day. Will we go back? we have a year to decide.
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Sunscape Curacao Resort: Two Stars is too much !
Curacao is a beautiful Island, the downtown was great, the people were very friendly downtown.
As for the Sunscape Resort it was my worst experience in 40 years of travelling, I will never fly Air Canada again or stay at a Sunscape Resort if it was free. The service level was zero, the food was very poor quality if you could find something to eat, the restaurants had no reservations and they tell you there is a slight waiting period, two to two and a half hours is not a slight waiting period[... read more] in my mind. We had numerous problems with our room from the beginning to the end, safe didn't work, no phone, no television, our fridge was to be filled daily it took three days for the first time to have it filled and they only brought water the second time of seven days, we had paid extra for the members package, when we asked to be moved they said the hotel was full, I know there were empty rooms available, they tell you on your last day when you pay extra that you can stay in your room till 3:00 pm we got to stay till 1:00pm and then they were at the door to escort us out. The grounds are tired and need to be refreshed. I was very disappointed with this trip and what we had paid.
The Air Canada representative did what she could but it didn't help much, the people in the room next to us demanded there money back and left the hotel after hours of conflict with the manager of the hotel as they were staying for two weeks.
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Pet Nine -
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Sunscape Curacao Resort: Run down resort
I will start with the positive first: the snorkelling right off the beach was very nice because of the man-made wall that allowed beautiful fish to leave there and kept sharks at bay. The floating climbing raft was a lot of fun. It was nice to be able to paddle board and kayak within the protection of the wall because there were strong winds and sometimes currents that could have taken one to sea. the food at the buffet was delicious and the staff in the resort was pleasant. The excursions seeme[... read more]d fun; we had bad weather and quite a bit of rain during our stay so we could only do the Dune Buggy excursion which was a lot of fun and definitively worth the price.
The bad part was that the building where we stayed was really run down with sliding doors that were impossible to open (I broke a nail) and decor from the 80's. My bathroom ceiling leaked as soon as the rain started and even though I repeatedly complained to the front desk and was assure it was fixed, it never was fixed (I am quite certain the roof was leaking). On the 4th day I finally talked to a supervisor of maintenance who went and checked it out and said it was the A/C leaking ( I don't believe that) other guests complained about the same problem in that building. I had paid extra to have a bigger room and I definitely find I didn't got my money's worth, my friend's room that was smaller had a much better view and a much bigger balcony and a leak free bathroom.
The service was excruciatingly slow at the A La Carte Grill and the steak came grossly undercooked and had to be sent back, it would help if there were more than 2 cooks at that grill: we waited 2 hours for our food. The food at the Italian restaurant was very bland and boring, and not really Italian...
The music that plays throughout the whole resort was really bad elevator music which appears to be sang by the same singer in exactly the same beat, it was hard to hear really good songs be massacred that way. The musical entertainment every night was more of the same elevator music.
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Sunscape Curacao Resort: Not up to standards
The staff are courteous and respectful.
Registration was prompt.
Room assigned initially had mold and mildew black spots on wall where bed was.
Sink regurgitating backup debris required service. Shower stall, leaked water onto floor requiring bath towels wipe up, maintenance alerted. Safety deposit box malfunctions. Air conditioner malfunctioned
Assigned a second room, got a double bed rather than the king we ordered. Assigned a third room by our fourth day with a King bed, cleaner s[... read more]melling, a/c malfunctioned, safety deposit box malfunctioned. Sink backed up. The toilets flush amazing..
Caribbean sea gorgeous, felt like a pool, calm, no undertoe, encased with rockery, safe for all ages...Pools were warm temperature, pleasant well maintained...
There was however, enclosure to the shoreline. So we could not 'walk the sea'...there were boundaries in both directions, to the width of the resort.
Bars, not well stocked, ran out of rum, vodka, grand marnier, cranberry juice, mango juice. Room fridges, not stocked well. one of each pop, diet coke, coke, sprite, three beer, three water. One room had one beer, we called for more, we were told to wait to the next day, no one is there at night to deliver beverages.
Toilet paper was not replenished called for more...
Not enough bathrooms on grounds. If you are in a restaurant, you need to go to the pool area for the three washroom stalls...when it is raining as it was not too comfortable to step in puddles, and get wet despite umbrella use, to go to the bathroom. Each restaurant should have a washroom.
Kitchen: did not meet allergy requirements we told them about prior to arrival, Wheat and Dairy allergies.
Buffet had same food items for breakfast, lunch and dinner, all based with milk or flour.
No desserts available gluten free. For three days, we did have gluten free pancakes. but again, ran out of pancake mix and gluten free pasta that we had twice. It took 45 minutes to wait for the gluten free items to be prepared, and we had to locate Elvis or Jose to get these made.
Hamburgers had wheat crumbs...Jose said they can prepare 100% beef patties for us...They used pork ground meat and fried the burgers ...disgusting...
They offered lobster nite theme at outdoor grill, Friday, we arrived, were told that it is $40.00 for each lobster ordered...This was not indicated on the flyer they put in our door.
Their was a 2 hour line up each night for al a carte restaurant. First come first serve, people ate, lingered and were not asked to leave past their 1.5 hour time allowance. We were getting dinner at 9 pm. as the al a carte restaurants only accommodate about 40 people. There was a reunion of 84 people from USA and they dominated the two popular restaurants. Main dining hall was wet from rain we had 5 of 7 days...huts leaked puddles of waters onto ceramic tiles, needing attention by kitchen and serving staff to mop floors...
FLIES were all over the food, no coverings at buffet ...No lighting, and no fans, very hot and muggy and wet from rain leaks...therefore majority of people resorted to al a carts, one was enclosed (Italian) the Japanese accommodated 36 people, and two sittings per night only, the grill sat 40, slow service...
No carvery stations or meat variety. Always Mahi fish, beef or chicken. On American Thanksgiving there was a turkey carvery, only day, and no on was cutting it..People pulling turkey parts and using butter knife to cut the meat portions...
WiFi in foyer use only, was intermittently working. No use of phones in rooms despite them giving us the code.
Children activities abundant.
We feel this resort, appreciating it is not in North America...requires attention in the dining facilities, (enclosed) to deter pigeons from pooping on tables and cutlery, and the flies to remain outdoors not on foods..
Poor menu selection, same items lunch and dinner (meats)
Poor attention for consistency for allergies...Soy milk was there 3 of 7 days...
Water is from the tap, no perrier water or water bottles except for three in bar fridge.
Rooms need upgrading to clean mold and mildew, fix fridges that did not cool well, maintenance called for that too.
Highlight= Caribbean Sea, water fun, and Staff...
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Sonesta Great Bay Beach & Casino: Relaxing Resort
The room was great - bit musty at time - the bathroom was tiny.
Food was fantastic, staff were great and the weather divine. Walked to the shops on my own
when the cruise ships were in - felt completely comfortable.
The pool deck tiles were very slippery and saw several people slip. Likewise, going up and
down the main staircase in the hotel could also be trickery - saw very few women in high heels.
The entertainment was also very good - both during the day and the evenings.
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Sonesta Great Bay Beach & Casino: Needs upgrading badly
The location , beach , and overall layout of the hotel are nice but the hotel is showing it age . The air conditioning was not working for the last 4 days of the trip and as of our departure it was still not running. The other major issue that was magnified by the AC issue was the lack of concern by the hotel staff. One employee , Renee in customer service was very nice and helpful. She was the only bright spot in an otherwise dismal staff. Service at the bars was the slowest I have ever seen[... read more] in any resort.
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Sonesta Great Bay Beach & Casino: Nice Resort
Hotel was fine, close to town which was really nice. Food needs a lot of improvement. Mostly Fish and some chicken and the same menu most days. A lot of the food was over cooked.The pizza restaurant was excellent and the new sizziling grill was good. Rooms were clean but need some upgrading.
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Private -
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Sonesta Maho Beach: Fantastic vacation
Loved everything about this resort. Top notch staff, great food, beautiful grounds and great access to amenities. The Palms Grill offers a fabulous dining experience with the hot volcanic stone option. Will definitely be returning.
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Debbie123 -
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Sunscape Curacao Resort: Yet Another great stay
We like going back for the amazing snorkeling. This year we were pleased with the dining choices. The food was excellent at all the restaurant but a little slow at the Italian. We had excellent steak at the grill and amazing salmon at the Oceanside. Weather was perfect as usual. Felt like home. Only way better. Love Norma at the pool bar. They all seemed to mean "it's a pleasure to serve you". Will return.
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DMD82 -
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Palace St. Martin: 4 Star advertised as a 5 star... needs improvement
A friend and I stayed at this resort from Oct 20-Oct 27 2016. While the resort was clean and beautiful, there were definite issues during our stay.
We found the staff was dismissive of us as we spoke English and catered more to the French speaking visitors. It was evident that we were "visitors" and not so much "guests". I felt this was an obvious interaction during the entirety of our stay.
On our first full day at the resort, we visited the spa to book massages for mid week. Upon arriving [... read more]on our scheduled day for our appointments, the staff at the front desk of the spa advised that they did not have our appointments and no record of us ever being there to book massages. We were obviously upset and the male worker said there was nothing we could do but re-book for a later date. We re-booked for the end of our trip but due to their mixup, we could not even get our massages at the same time. We were very disappointed and after having a lengthy conversation with the staff, the worker finally advised he would give us 50% off if that would make us happy. We were treated like we had done something wrong and he was bending over backwards for us. It was very unprofessional and unfair. The saving grace was that the massage therapists (when we did get our massages) were very good at their jobs and very kind and attentive. After the fact, we also realized they charged me more for my massage than my friend without us knowing and we both received the same treatment. We were very unhappy about this but let it go.
The pool area was well kept but the tiles in the pool were coming off and no one was doing any type of maintenance to fix or at least keep the pool clean. The pool area had lots of chairs and umbrellas which was nice but since there was no swim up bar, there was minimal opportunity to get drinks besides walking out of the gated area to go to the small side bar. Two days out of our seven day trip, for an hour or two, a female worker travelled the area around the pool offering drinks but there were minimal options on her cart. In her defence, she was lovely and very energetic and very good at entertaining the people around her. She did a great job when she was around. By the pool, were two small individual male/female washrooms. They were poorly lit and rarely stocked with toilet paper and paper towels. There was another bathroom attached to the lunch buffet restaurant that was better maintained.
A few days into our trip, we went to the front desk to inquire about extended check out hours and the cost as our flight wasn't until late evening on the day of our departure. The staff advised us it would be $40 American to stay in our rooms for the day and to return to the front desk the day we were leaving, early in the morning, to request this extension. On our departure day, we arrived at the front desk at 8:30am and asked to pay for our extension at which time a female worker, advising she was the manager, said the cost was $90 Euro. We were both shocked and asked why it had changed. She said it was never $40 American. We advised her we were told that and she was not responsive. We had no choice but to pay the $90 Euro as we had planned our day accordingly. We were very upset and felt scammed out of our money. Further, we spoke to other visitors later who said they did not have to pay that much to extend their stay.
The food was average and well made. The staff advised since it was their "off season" that some things would only be available certain days which we understood and planned for accordingly. The a la carte restaurants were first come first serve but were poorly managed. People would show up at 6pm waiting for a 6:30pm seating only to find out it was full. They said they didn't take reservations in the "off season" but somehow the a la carte's were always full. We managed to get in to the Krystal restaurant but the food was bland and not well prepared. We ended up going back to the buffet afterwards and every other night we were there. A bit more attention could have been paid to the availability of plates, forks, spoons etc as I found it hard some days to get my hands on a spoon for ice cream. It was obvious that all the restaurants were under staffed and I felt for the workers as they tried their best to make each experience worthwhile.
Our rooms were clean and well kept but needed updates. Bar fridge did not work, we were missing blankets, tiles were falling off the tub surround and lights were burnt out. We did call to get more blankets which came after 3 calls to the front desk and about an hour and a half wait time. The cleaning staff did a great job of cleaning the room daily. It was always done by 3-4pm and towels, soaps and toilet paper were restocked regularly.
The beach was nice but small. It was well kept and there were a good amount of chairs. Though we only spent one day our beach, there were no complaints in that area. Very nice and the water was warm.
Overall, I would say this resort was a 4 star at best on its way to becoming a 5 star. I am a regular visitor of Riu hotels and it definitely was not up to par with the others I have visited in the past. (Jamaica, Costa Rica) I would not charge such a high cost for this resort as it still has a lot of upgrading that needs to be done. I would not recommend it to others wishing to visit this island until it gets the maintenance and love it so needs.
St Martin is a beautiful island and I would definitely visit again but maybe next time, I would stay on the Dutch side and explore its options.
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Sonesta Great Bay Beach & Casino: Paradise at Sonesta
Another amazing week at Great Bay Resort in St. Maarten!! Beautiful views, good food selections with a unique Lava Rock cooking experience! Rent a car to see all angles of this incredibly beautiful island!The carefree experience started with Sandy at Trip Central who will be sure to see that your vacation is all that you want!
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Private -
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Sunscape Curacao Resort: Nice and Hot
Place was well kept and the location was good. I would recommend this place.
Food was average nothing to write home about. The steak house restaurant on the beach was my favorite and ribs were great. They did have on a few days barbecue's which was nice for a change. The water was exceptional for snorkeling and swimming. and the staff was friendly, the only thing I didn't appreciate was them trying to sell time shares and the only restaurant that had air conditioning was for the time sharing s[... read more]taff to sell time shares instead of the customers.
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Ros and MAB -
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Sonesta Great Bay Beach & Casino: Great Resort in Saint Martin
We have visited this hotel many times and will return again. The oceanview rooms are worth the price of the upgrade. It is an intimate, friendly hotel.
The food is good, service is good and close to all those wonderful jewelry stores in Phillipsburg. The hotel is an easy walk to Phillipsburg and has 3 wonderful pools and a great swim up bar.
If you get tired sunning, swimming and shopping then take a high speed boat tour to beautiful Anguilla with Billy Bones Tour. It was an awesome day of sn[... read more]orkeling, swimming and seeing a beautiful location.
Buffet dining area needs fans!! Grill had good food with great view of beach. Grounds nicely kept. Snorkelling amazing. Rooms tired but clean. All staff very friendly. Maid didn't always put beer in bar fridge in room even when note left. Gym adequate all equipment worked pretty good. Good value for money paid.
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Kukica -
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Kunuku Aqua Resort: Dushi
My wife and me we had a really good time from OCT 27 to NOV 04 at the Kunuku Aqua Resort
Great in-land resort for families, kids and friends. You will have a chance to sit, enjoy and share stories with your family members, friends…
Very clean and neat. Rooms as well as the resort premises. High level of accommodation
Dining was good. You do not have to wait for food. If anything was missing, just let them know and it was done.
Great service. Smiley faces. Dushi
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Private -
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Renaissance Curacao: Amazing resort
My husband and I went to Curacao for our anniversary from Oct. 27- Nov.4, 2016 and we stayed at the Renaissance Curacao. From the moment we arrived we were greeted with such kind and courteous staff. The rooms were great! This is the first time I stayed at a resort that I can say the rooms were exactly like I saw on the internet picture. They were clean and even though we didn't have all inclusive we had water bottles in our room everyday and the little complimentary shampoo and conditioner bott[... read more]les were always replenished for us. The Renaissance has 3 restaurants and Starbucks which were all very good. They had just about any type of drinks you asked for from soft drinks, beer, wine and liquors. I have to say that I was very pleased with my stay at the Renaissance and I would definitely go back.
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Liam&Dolores -
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Sonesta Maho Beach: Lovely Resort - Good Value
We love the hotel and location. However, this past visit we were disappointed with the lack of variety in the food and room cleanliness. (Pests)
We are hoping this review will help change the resort back to the way it was with higher quality food and cleaning.