We enjoyed St. Martin, but found the staff at the Sunterra Royal Palm to be completely incompetent. (Before I go any further, rest assured my family does not set unachievable standards. We aren’t the type who whines about the smallest mishap. In fact, this is the first time we’ve been driven to post our comments on a site like this.)

From check-in to check-out, the staff really let us down. Even though we arrived after the 4pm check-in time, only one of our two units was available. We were told that the rooms we were checking in to would only be available for one night and then we’d have to move. (We later learned we weren’t the only guests who experienced this same annoyance.) After much negotiating with the front desk, they found us one room we could keep for the week and one we’d have to move after the first night. Later in the week, we were approached and told we’d need to move rooms again. We were furious. The front desk manager went back on her word and we called her on it. The resort manager stepped in and we were allowed to stay in our room until check out. While we were pleased with the resolution of the problem we were annoyed to have been disturbed in the first place.

Our second complaint was the service at the pool bar. By the middle of the week, we learned to order two drinks each time because the service was so slow. You’d think during a posted happy hour, they’d staff more than one bartender. Additionally, there is no continental breakfast at the Sunterra Royal Palm. Plan on breakfast taking at least an hour; and because breakfast is served by the pool, if you have children like ours you’ll find it challenging to get them to sit and wait 30-45 minutes for a plate of pancakes. (Dinner is at least a 2 hour ordeal, even if you are the only table being served.) We will give the resort credit for the quality of the food. It was excellent, though in our opinion, not worth the wait. We cooked most of our meals in the room or dined outside the resort.

Our third complaint was the noise. While they were kind enough not to work on the rooms before 9am, from any room or common area including the pool, you can hear jack hammering all day long. While vacationing in the Caribbean, I’d prefer to hear crashing waves and steel drums over the clamor of construction

Even checking-out of the resort was an ordeal. Plan on spending at least 30 minutes with the incompetent front desk. I settled our bill with cash (exact change) and it still took forever to zero out the balance. I was told “the system is slow today.”

While the newly remodeled rooms were pleasant; we’ll never return to the Sunterra Royal Palm.

this is a great place to stay we arrived june 26 the front desk staff was very helpful and courteous. the rooms were spacious and very clean. remember to tip the housekeeping people when find out who is cleaning your room. We gave our housekeeping person a nice tip when we arrived and our room was cleaned every day! we had an excellent view of the ocean and enjoyed the outdoor pool in the morning. it is a must to have a car there. right around the hotel cappuccinos had good after hours food and zee best had the best breakfast there. we did not like the "greenhouse resturant" as we sat outside on their patio to enjoy dinner stray dogs were constantly wandering through the patio and at one point they would sit there waiting for you to give them scraps. yulk!!! the best place we found for dinner was "Paris Bistro" service was EXCELLENT and food was EXCELLENT!! it was across from Cheris restaurant. we had a wonderful time and are planning to return next year.

Our party of 10 just stayed at the Royal Palm Resort from May 24th to June 4th....We had 2 rooms for this amount of people. I also had read many reviews before going and I have to say no one really told of all the construction that is going on right at this resort...One of our rooms was on the 2nd floor and we had a huge dumpster right out side our door which all the tile and everything else that is being ripped out of the rooms was dumped into. The other room was on the bottom floor and they were jack hammering in the room right above it and busted a water pipe and our bedroom ceiling was being soaked and dripping water. And they tell you that they don't start work until 10:00 AM, that is not the truth AT ALL!! They start the work as early as 7:00 AM EVERYDAY! So if you go try your best not to be on the 1st or 2nd floor for sure! As far as the rooms, we had one of the old style and one of the updated ones...Both were very nice size and we didn't have any complaints with either room. We only recieved room service 1 time while we were there since we traded for this timeshare. I believe if you rent this room like a hotel room you will get it everyday. Its in a great location with many places to eat right across the street within walking distance. The bar up stairs is a nice place to hang out and Darren the bartender is GREAT! Over all we had a very nice time on this vacation.

I read some of the reviews prior to my 2 week stay (May 5 - 19, 2007) and again upon my return. I am a little perplexed about all the complaining - Yes, there is construction at the moment across the bay - have you ever been in a city?? It is not a problem at all. The beach is great and very safe for children. The view is spectacular with all the yachts. Restaurants across the road were great. Had a 5 pound lobster!!

The rooms were very large and comfortable. The staff was very friendly and brought us linens and flowers every day (and no, we did not pay them, we were just nice to them!!).

I can definately recommend the property.