Thank God that we stay there with friend only one night. Room looks like from 80s style. That was quite clean from first sighn, but it doesnt smelt wery well. Bad was not comfortable and bathroom not nice.
The wirst was service. Reception looks like entry in emergency hospital - really and after first communication with night reception clerk we wanted to leave this place. Day receptuon clerk was not so much better - really unpolite, not friendly.
One positive point was beach. That is quite big, clean and has nice atmosphere. Wecwanted to stay ratter on beach, than in room. If you dobt neet to stay there, dont do it.

This is our third years on st Maarten at the Royal Palm. The weather is wonderful, the resort is lovely. GREAT LOCATION! Within walking distance of many fine restaurants in addition there is a restaurant on site serving B L D. Swim up bar at the pool. Activities include water aerobics, volleyball, tennis at their sister resort... All rooms have a water view as well as a great view of the draw bridge through which many amazing yachts pass. Most of the units are 2 bedroom 2 bath units. Best value is renting through a time share owner. Access to free Internet now available in unit. A gym is also on site. Use is free.

We stayed at Royal Palm Beach Resort between Dec. 23 and Jan. 1st. at a 2 bedroom apartment. The weather was perfect, but the water was extremely cold (not sure if it is like that during the rest of the year, since it was our first time in St. Maarten). A serious and disgusting problem on all the beaches was that many people took their dogs to the ocean, even at beaches with signs saying that dogs were not allowed. It seems that all the apartments have ocean view, which is really beautiful, and we could not stop admiring it. The staff was just OK, but the "entertainers" at the pool area were very funny and nice. The housekeepers were nice too, but they cleaned the apartment only once during our 9 day stay, and it would have been much better if they could have come every 2 or 3 days. Our kids had lots of fun, got tired and slept comfortably. We loved the food all over the island, especially the sea and creole food. Note that most of the restaurants already charge 15 percent service on your bill. Restaurants and supermarkets are very expensive, so be sure you will pay much much much more for everything than in the US. One thing that really disappointed us at this hotel was that almost all the time all the palapas were reserved and the guests just disappeared for hours. There were signs on the tables or umbrellas saying that after one hour their pesonal items would be taken by the staff (which would be fair), but as the staff actually never did that, people ignored the signs and reserved the chairs and umbrellas during all day, everyday. The location of the hotel is great, you can walk to a lot of good restaurants or take a bus ($ 1.50 per person) to Phillipsburg to shop. We rented a car for only 3 days to visit other beaches (I recommend Mullet Bay and Friars for calm waters and Baie Rouge for a gorgeous view) and it was good enough for us.

The location of this resort is great if you want to walk to restaurants, bars, yacht club. The resort itself is a little old, the sliding door on my terrace fell of its tracks, the cheese grater had crusty cheese and I was missing a bottle opener in my room. I am on West coast time, so, the fact that the restaurant was closed when I got there was a bummer. It is a resort, so, drinks/food are both expensive. A little grocery store is at the base for basic items - go the market though if you need something and do not want to pay an exorbitant amount for basic items.
There is a laundry room at the resort and they have detergent and dryer sheets for $0.75; the laundry is not in your room though, so, bring something to carry your clothes to the laundry room. When I asked the front desk for some change, they said sorry - go to the bar to get some change. That took forever, and, remember you're on island time now.
I did have the stuffed Grouper at the beach cabana bar one night; the nice lady guided me in placing my order and I subbed fetuccini with white sauce for the rice, not bad, not overwhelmingly great. Overall, this place was fine, spacious 2 bed room, easy walk-able location. After my bad car rental experience, I doubt I'll get a car next time. Oh! Go to Carita's down the street if you need a mani/pedi.