I enjoyed my stay at Holland House. This was my first trip to the island so I wanted an easy base for exploring - this fit the bill. Front Street is very vibrant and safe and the ferry to St Bart's is just down the boardwalk.

The hotel itself is well maintained. The included breakfast was abundant but just ok - the hollandsise on the eggs Benedict didn't quite taste like hollandsise.

The beach behind the hotel isn't really a "relaxing" beach. It's an active boardwalk and it is a working harbor so there are cruise ships parked there most of the time. If you're looking for a getaway beach type setting this is not it.

Having explored the island now I'd probably stay in Grand Case next time to be close to all the good restaurants on the French side.

Stayed for six nights at the Holland House and overall, was very pleased. Our room was clean and comfortable with a great view of the beach. Maid service was excellent. Breakfast was included in the room rate and was excellent with lots of options.

What is stopping this hotel from being excellent is the service. There seems to be a culture of indifference among most of the workers there. This includes front desk staff, bar men and women and about half the restaurant staff. While we did encounter some pleasant and helpful staff, it was more of an exception than a rule. The restaurant manager was awesome, but unfortunately his staff don't follow his lead.

That being said we still had a great time. The restaurant is expensive but the food is very good. Try it once and then find better value elsewhere. Grab a free beach chair in front of hotel, but get your drinks from one of the other establishments on the boardwalk as it is much cheaper. I paid $10 USD for 6 Heinekens, in a bucket on ice, right next to the hotel.

Spend the extra cash and get a beach view room.
Save cash by taking a filthy bus rather than taxis to see other parts of the island. It's fun and cheap. $2 gets you pretty much anywhere.

the location of Holland house is ideal on the beach front and in front street where all the duty free shopping happens.

A bit far from the airport and night life but its great for a vacationer and some one who looks for goof duty free deals.

Let me first say according to our housekeeper, Holland House is almost always sold out and overhearing people on the beach I realized many are repeat customers. However, it is not perfect and much depends on your expectations. Lovely open air lobby right on the beach is nice but not as swanky as it appears on web. The food at the restaurant (open air on beach) is excellent and our dinner service was fine (make reservations). Very nice breakfast is served in same restaurant (2 comps per room, after that $19 pp) however breakfast staff were on what we referred to as "island time". Coffee is slow, no one checks to see if you need a refill, and trying to get staff's attention is rough. Front desk staff were hit or miss. Our server on the beach (his name sounded like Roy but prob spelled differently) was very friendly and efficient. Perhaps the reviewer who had a poor experience on the beach had his sub on the one day a week Roy is off. Rooms were clean - no bedbugs because that's first thing I check in every hotel room. Only complaint was sometimes room not cleaned until late in afternoon. We did NOT have ocean view. In fact we never opened the curtains because the only time we were in room we were there to shower, change or sleep. Rooms were nice though could use some drawer space. Mini-frig, safe, coffee maker , hair dryer, iron etc. If you need ice, you have to take your bucket to the lobby bar.Was told to always put stuff in safe. Elevator slow and tiny. Use stairs. If you have someone w/ bad knees etc, request room on first floor so u only have one flight. My biggest problem with the hotel was the location. The entire town operates according to the cruise ship schedule. All the restaurants, bars, shops, boardwalk kiosks etc close down as soon as that cruise ship pulls out. The bustling streets turn into dark empty alleys. Beside the hotel restaurant (which is not cheap) there is The Hard Rock, The Greenhouse and L' Escargo which puts on dinner burlesque shows. That's it - very quiet at night. Ditto in the morning if the next cruise ship isn't due to arrive until early afternoon. There are tons of restaurants on the island as well as night life but you must take cab which is adds at least $40 to your dinner tab. As far as rental cars go, forget it, there is no parking here.