The Hotel is about a 20 minutes drive from the airport. Upon arrival, you are served a fruit punch or alcoholic beverage. Check in is around 4 pm, and since we arrived early we had to wait for our 2 bedroom suite. The front staff was very polite and accommodating and did offer a temporary room for us so that we could change and go swimming. The suite was very spacious, with a fridge that could be stocked, and you could walk out the doors to the beach. A champagne bottle and cookies were in the room to welcome you. Nice gym, two small shops, and no kids play-room. Not much choice on the menus, I wish they switched up the menu more. The wait for some of the lunches did take a long time, but for supper the waits were no longer than expected.

We did have a mix-up where we were billed for breakfast when it was included, but after showing the front staff that breakfast was included, this was rectified immediately. The beach was gorgeous and the waves were wonderful. Overall, very nice and we would go back. The towns Marigot and Philipsburg were lovely and great shopping available. The only bad experience we had pertained to the rental of a car. The car rental was done on the La Samanna property, but they were not affiliated with the hotel. I had rented a car with basic insurance. After going into town one day, we returned to the car to discover that someone had jimmied the locks on both the driver and passenger doors. Thankfully we had left nothing in the car. The result was an additional $150.00 charge for replacement of the car locks. When we were checking out another couple was being charged for a stone chip on their windshield for a car that they said was mostly parked on the resort. I returned the car and found that it was better to take a cab into the towns, just arrange that with the concierge.

Overall, this resort is very tidy, the rooms and room service were excellent and the beach was gorgeous. We would definitely return to this resort and would love to see the menu switched up more often.

I have been reading some of the negative reviews here & I dont know what rooms those people got but OMG we stayed there for 3 days & it was awesome! Check in was fast & although we knew check-in was at 4 we jst went to the beach bar for lunch. We were in 12G & the villa was amazing - great bed, wonderful white linens, lots of towels, a/c worked great - espresso machine in our room, milk pods in the fridge, two flat screen tv's (one in bedroom, one in living area), although we only used them to catch up on the world news - comfy furniture outside - the couch was a little hard but we didnt sit inside much - all Apple products in the business centre - attentive staff at pool with Evian water at your beckon call - same on beach - staff finds a chair & umbrella for you.
I have to admit food was pricey but very fresh & all delicious - liquor was pricey too but all premium choices!
People that have a problem with this place can not be satisfied, no matter what!

Great location but not a 5 star hotel. Restaurants very slow, rooms outdated, poor breakfast....Be aware that you will be charge for resorts fees $70-$100 a day for use of facilities with normaly comes included in any other 5 star hotel.

La Samanna has the best location on St. Martin hands down, sitting atop Baie Longue, which looks like and is what one imagines a tropical beach to look like. I even put a picture of it taken from our room toward the end of the property as my screen saver on the cell phone so I see it every day. My wife and I were here prior to a cruise in late November 2012. The location on the beach is not only perfect, but the property is close to the airport (one wouldn't realize it while on the property) and the rest of the island is easily accessible. This was our first visit so we cannot compare the recent renovation to how it looked before, but we met a couple who come here every year and they described. The lobby bar overlooking the beach is a nice place for drinks while the sun sets. The overall feel is modern, beachy, intimate, cozy and exclusive. We were upgraded to a nicer room and provided a bottle of rum as a gift. There are some service issues as others have noted. Prices are extremely expensive but it is an island where most goods are coming from elsewhere. The higher end restaurant with intimate tables overlooking the water is a romantic spot for one dinner. We were not there for many nights, but I can see why others would recommend going off-site for dinner if one is staying for a week or more than a few nights. We did have some other issues but the hallmark of any hotel is how they handle them and in the end the management was attentive to address them promptly and to our satisfaction. Bottom line: beautiful location, fabulous beach, physical property in very nice condition, with some service issues and sticker shock at times. This was our first trip to St. Martin so we don't have other hotels to use as comparisons but La Samanna is certainly the most exclusive hotel on the island.