We stayed at the cottage club for a couple of days the week of thanksgiving 2005. Despite our reservations being made in early spring (February?), for a November stay, our reservation was lost... Good for us the cottage club wasn't fully booked and rooms were available. The new manager (change in management may have caused our reservation to go missing...) Aaron was most helpful and kind. He seemed ready to assist us with anything we might need.

Initially Aaron showed us to a room that we were disappointed in. They were said to be queen beds - as in two in each room, but they looked more like doubles. When we continued to inquire we were told there was one room with a bigger bed - and a better view. (The honeymoon suite, if I remember correctly.) I beleive we were in unit 2 -- and it had a nice large king bed with a beautiful 4 poster carved frame (the only room with this type of bed). The view was nice and the little porch wonderful for a sandwich and bottle of beer after a day of diving.

I had been told previously there were no king beds at the cottage club, but believe me - there is at least one. This bed was large but was not very comfortable (and I'm being kind). The sheets were clean, but the elastic was long past being effective. The sheets were off the bed in a minute and I found myself sleeping on the bare bed. (ie no matress pad etc.)

The kitchenette went unused for our trip - we did make use of the fridge to store beer and water. (We could not, however, find a bottle opener in the kitchen...) The kitchen would likely be of greater benefit if you were to stay for more than a couple of days.

If you come to Saba - be prepared for the animals - the crickets / frogs etc. chirp and such all night long (or at least until 3am or so...) As there isn't air conditioning - your windows are open and the noise can be disruptive - unless you are a very sound sleeper or are exhausted. There was a goat on our front porch the day we arrived -- we shoo'ed it away and it didn't return. There were misc. bugs here and there (inside the cottage) - the screens weren't new nor were they well fitting on the windows... There was a gecko in the fridge one day... You should expect visitors if you stay at Cottage club.

Re: saba and water - there is a huge water conservation need on Saba. You should be prepared for minimal flushing and less than luxurious showers. This isn't necessarily a cottage club issue, rather a saba issue. (just an FYI)

All in all, we enjoyed our stay in Saba. The diving is tremendous (see Lynn at Sea Saba) but the rooms were a bit sparce, simple and in need of updates and TLC.

We will be returning to Saba for more diving, but I'm not sure we'll return to the cottage club. It wasn't aweful, but it sure wasn't the marriott....