We just returned from our honeymoon and week long stay at the Cuisinart Hotel and (Under construction) Spa. Let me summarize the positives:

* Beach- beautiful view
* Food- Good overall quality (especially off the hotel site)
* Ate at Veya- awesome, as was Cap Jaluca and Pimms. Expensive but beautiful and great tasting.
* Room was clean and spacious overall (We stayed in an 1800 sq/ft junior suite.)
* Spa people were nice and gave good massages.

Now, on to the negatives:
* Overall trip to get to the island was awful and nerve racking. We were hasseled for tips and there was an hour delay once we got to the boat doc's for the Funtime Ferry, which was lucky b/c it took about 25 minutes for them to process/look at our passports and stamp them etc. The ferry which was $70/ea. for 1 way on a rap/reggae ripcurrent ride through some very sketchy areas. As one woman on our boat quoted "This is no ferry!", the ride was rough and windy.

* Overall island, people and appearance-We thought the island area would be more developed and nicer that what we saw around the St. Maarten airport and our ferry ride. Wow, were we wrong. Very rough and shady and overall dirty/dingy area. On our taxi ride we rode though the littered, poverty of the island. Very sad to see the poorly kept and vastly unfinished homes and the vast amounts of litter on the sides of the road on the way to the hotel. Overall this island is very very poor which explains why the people there were not that friendly to a new honeymoon couple spending $1000/day at one of the few upscale resorts on the island. We rented a car on the trip and drove around the island (no road signs anywhere), poorly kept roads/potholes etc. I'm glad we did b/c we forgot any books and there were no books or magazines available at our hotel (and were told no books/magazines on the entire island). We were able to find some used magazines ($4ea.) and a small selection of books at the local wholesale market.

* Other island travel notes:
Tried to rip me off when buying gas (3 guys surrounded our rental car and tried to charge me $35 for about 2 gallons of gasoline). I gave them $12 (said that was all I had) and got in the car and left. It felt like they were literally trying to shake me down for what I had in my wallet and this was in the middle of the day!

Found a subway on the island (lunch is $40+ dollars at the hotel). Subway had no chips, drinks, ice or cookies. Also, same order was $11 one day and $9 the next day so they literally were charging what they wanted to. Also, they acted as if we were putting them out by ordering food.

People- I had heard so much about the people being so nice. There definitely were some that were nice, but overall I would not want to be out anywhere but the hotel as the island is very poverty stricken and the people outside the resort were very unfriendly (especially in town etc.).

* Hotel- Nice entrance, big fountain (not working or even turned on). Our room was very clean and nice (although we found a large roach or water bug crawling up a wall in our room one night). Fountain in front of our room was also not working and was rusted out. We tried the nature walk/trail and found that lead to nowhere as it is not kept up and parts of the trail have entirely overrun with weeds and brush, making it impossible to follow the map or even run/walk the trail.

Room- The screen doors to our balcony were both broken, they indicated they would be fixed and were not fixed until the last day (after we finally complained to the manager). Furniture on the website looks cheap and cheesy but honestly it doesn't do it justice. Also, the TV's are from the 80's and were so far from our bed that I could literally hardly see if I wanted to.

* Construction- The spa (as is the entire island) is still in mid construction, not even close to being done. We stayed in villa #10 on the other end of the island from the bar (which we could hear the bass from our room at night), there is a MAJOR construction project right next door. This is another entire hotel and will be under construction for a long time to come. Luckily we didn't hear the construction in the morning in our room, just saw and heard every morning went to the beach (and while we were on the beach next to our room).

* Service- By far the worst part of the trip. Our breakfast service asked us for a time to deliver with 15 minute intervals. I guess this was a relative idea b/c one day it was 30 minutes early and the other days it was at least 30 minutes after the desired time so we were left wondering if it would be there at all and had to call the front desk several times. When delivered, they routinley messed up our order on at least 3 occasions. The service in the restaurant (Medaterrano) was awful. Very very slow, had to ask for check 1/2 of the time, as well as approach them for refills of drinks etc. since no one was checking on us. Our remote went out one night, called at 6pm, called back again at 9 when returned to our room, didn't arrive until 9:45. Turndown service was done the first night and not again the rest of the trip, although we did get a pleasant call at 10:15 pm one night to ask if we wanted turndown service (what a joke).

* Workout room- Crammed into a small room with no windows/view of the outside at all and literally 5 or 6 treadmills stacked on top of each other.

We made the mistake of going to Cap Jaluca to see what we were missing. That place was beautiful. We got a tour of a Jr. suite and actually tried to switch hotels in mid stay and pay a penalty but the entire hotel was booked. Beach was much better, room was much much better (furniture, flat screen TV, double tub and nicer furniture/
hardwood etc.). Overall, I would not recommend the island, but if you went, Cap Jaluca is absolutely the way to go.

The accomodations were great, a large suite on the ground floor that opened up to the beach. The bathroom had a large tub big enough for two, and a large shower. There was a large walk-in closet, and comfortable chairs and sofa. The king size bed was very comfortable.

So why only average? Things began great. We took the Funtime ferry to Anguilla, where we were met by a Cuisinart rep, who put us in a taxi to the resort. On arrival, our bags were taken and we were led to a lounge to relax (with beverage) while we were checked in. Things went downhill the next day when our room went unserviced all day, followed by lack of turndown service at night despite communicating with the staff when we would be out of our room. When we complained about it the next day, all they did was ask when we would like it made up (they did follow through), but I never felt any real regret, despite having a 15% charge added to everything.

The meals at the poolside restaurant were just ok, we liked Tasty's much better (but a $16 cab ride each way). We had one meal in Santorini which was good. Overall, the service at the restaurants and bar was mixed. Some of the staff were extremely friendly and truly eager to please, but others just couldn't be bothered.

We met a few other couples who were at Cap Juluca who seemed to have been much happier with their choice than we were, and I think we'll try that next.

Just got back from the Cuisinart last week. First time at the island and (of course) the resort). It was incredible, Definitely a place I would go back to.

First, getting to the island. We flew into St. Marteen and took the Funtime Shuttle. It was very convenient, just a minute or 2 from the airport and 5 minutes from the hotel when we arrived. The only problem with the shuttle was that the boat we took to AXA was not enclosed (so very very windy) and it was very bumpy and rough (It was a different boat on the return trip (enclosed and a smoother ride) so it may be luck of the draw). Even with the wind, it was worth the expense to avoid the trip across St. Marteen for the regular ferry.

The resort itself was incredible. Large room, a couch, comfortable chairs, and a coffee table. The bathroom was large, with a double sink with lots of counterspace. Seperate shower (very large) from the tub and a seperate room for the toilet.

Spent the days either at the beach (a little cooler, but it got too windy on some days) or the pool. At both, the service was incredible. No issue on the number of towels you wanted, they had chairs at the beach, and no one was going out at 6:00 in the morning to get the best chairs. We generally went outside around 9:30-10:00 and there was a large selection of chairs available at the beach or pool.

The BEST part of the day was the cold water (free bottles brought to you all day long) and the 3:00 sorbet with biscotti. In fact, my only complaint was that they had mango sorbet most of the days and only had strawberry once.

The service at the rest of the hotel was similarly exceptional. The staff was very friendly, always willing to talk and remembered your name. This is the only hotel where I have seen the manager just walk around and talk to people (and not because they are having an issue).

The food at the hotel was mixed. The continental breakfast included fruit (fantastic) and pastries (just ok). WIth lunch, they generally included a salad which was incredible. Because of the hydroponic farm, veges were never more then a day old as they harvest everyday or everyother day). We went to dinner once at Santorini, it was ok. We did not do the lobster fest, but we took a look at it and the lobsters did look dry (many reviews commented on this).

I am not sure what there is to do at AXA, as we never left the resort during the day. It was just perfect at the hotel, so why go elsewhere. We did the tour of the hyrdoponic farm, which was worth the hour, and had several spa treatments, which were very good.

We were very impressed with the food on the island. We did not have a bad meal, and we really enjoyed Bananas by the sea, Blanchards, and the restaurant at the Mali.

This is defintely a place for a romantic trip/honeymoon. I can't wait until I return

No..No...No....Oh how I wished we had stayed at Cap Juluca! What a mistake! No one ever smiled. It was not one of our best vacations!