We had an issue on the Resort Property with a local group of teenagers on bicycles and reported it to Tayib at the front desk who handled it professionally and with utmost care for the resort guests. He handled these young men with authority and concern for the guests on the resort property. 5 Stars for Tayib B. Shore Parking can be an issue Make sure that the Resort has enough Parking for the Hotel Guests. Be ware that the Hotel workers and Casino Employees park in the Guest areas. It is supposed to be for the Hotel Guests Only
We had an amazing time! All of The staff was so nice and helpful, from the front desk to the Bartenders and everyone in between! Our favorite was Harry (our shuttle driver around simpson bay) we liked him so much we would chant his name when he pulled up! Harry even took us to the airport on his day off! That is the type of service you will never forget! Thank you to everyone at Simpson Bay for making our stay fabulous! See you sooner then later Harry.l!
It was our first time staying in Sint Maarten and we were really pleased with our choice! We found all the staff to be very friendly and helpful and the prices in the shop, restaurants and bars we very reasonable. Especially happy hour at the beach bar! The "room" was pretty spectacular with a full kitchen, king size bed and a double Morphy bed that our little one loved! It was a shame we were only there for 2 nights as we were going on a cruise after. Belkys on reception was particularly helpful when we needed to print a range of documents for the cruise ship due to changes caused by Covid.
We have been coming to Simpson Bay Resort for 12 years as owners. The resort gets better each year, despite problems like Covid and Hurricane Irma. All of the restaurant spaces are full with some nice selections- continental, Mexican, Italian, a sports bar and a steakhouse. There’s also a nightclub , casino and a grocery store on site. The staff is friendly the beach is clean and the grounds are well maintained. Couldn’t be happier. My only misgiving is what will happen to the area where three hurricane ravaged buildings and one tennis court once stood. They are now eyesores on an otherwise wonderful resort.
Pros: Staff is super friendly! Hotel is close to all beaches and shops. Beautiful large pool with a happy hour bar from 3pm-5pm. Drinks are amazing and not watered down! Full kitchen with appliances, utensils, pots, pans, and plates. Hotel also has a basketball court and tennis court Cons: Rooms aren’t cleaned daily, we had ours cleaned every 3 days. Soaps and shampoos aren’t refilled daily either.
Have been staying here for over 10 years! Always clean & comfortable! Sadly, the noise from across the bay does ruin most evenings on the balcony. This has been a problem for years. Hopefully, SXM will require these bars to turn down the music someday!
Management I would say is the problem, which in itself causes lots of problems. Lets get good things out of the way first: Front desk is professional and efficient! Breakfast was very good! Shuttle service and people working there are very friendly and service itself is really good. Going into things which are not acceptable! Beach has lots of rocks and things you step on doesn’t appear to be clean, hotel next to this one was being cleaned (what’s the problem cleaning here not sure) Few times people was placed right on top of our chairs by attendants. Staff through resort not friendly at all which makes guests feel not welcomed, we not welcome here we will take our business elsewhere! This comes from management most likely under paying people who work there, and if it is not poor salaries than it’s bad training. So either way it’s on Management team. (yes I know the respond will be how sorry you are that my expectations wasn’t met, save it!)…
This was our second time here, last time being about 10 years ago. Overall the resort is nice. We stayed in a one bedroom in the B building in the 4th floor. Our balcony had a nice view and we enjoyed it during our stay. Would have been nice to have two lounge chairs on it vs one. Our unit was clean and functional. They cleaned it mid week. Beach and pool area were nice. My only issue was the staff. Some were super friendly but most were just unfriendly and not helpful. I know this isn’t a 5 star resort but a friendly smile can go a long way. They offer a shuttle service around the resort and to close by local areas (this area wasn’t explained at check in). One night we called the front desk to ask about getting the shuttle and no one answered multiple calls. The next time we tried to use it he came to get us but as we were leaving the property the driver said he couldn’t take us as far as we needed to go - just wish we had been told that. So my advice if you plan to use the shuttle is find out exactly what area they will drive to and expect that it may not be available. The whole resort just had a very different feel from when we were here last time. Overall a good stay but may look elsewhere next time…
My husband and I stayed at the Simpson Bay Resort for a week, specifically in the Villas so I can't speak to the rest of the rooms. Not entirely sure where to start so maybe I'll list out the pros first and then go into the cons. Pros - the location is great, the views from our balcony were awesome. sunsets every night, mountains, bay, etc. just absolutely beautiful. The rooms on the Villa side were "updated" recently and were very nice taking into consideration that you're on an island on the Caribbean. I know I saw some reviews about the resort rooms lacking in the decor department, but that's not something that bothers me, so I didn't find it a huge problem that it wasn't reflecting a luxury resort. It was also one of the cheapest options that we could find that had beach access, a pool, a view and a kitchen. The wifi was fine, not as fast as your home internet speeds, but again I think some people need to level set their expectations, being in the Caribbean and all . Cons - and there are quite a few. 1- the Roxxy beach club (outdoor club) is located in Simpson bay. They did not list their hours on their website when we stayed so we were very frustrated when we found out our first night their that they are open and blasting club music until 4 am. Our room was at the far end of the building, closest to the club, so the next day I went to the front desk to ask to switch rooms to somewhere further from this club. They did end up finding us another room further away, but had to fight for it when the front desk staff said to me "If you can't beat em, join em". Not acceptable for me, someone that doesn't go out partying until 4 am and actually needs to sleep at night. I know, crazy that other people might want something like that. 2- when we moved to the new room several things were broken. Three of the light fixtures in the bedroom were not working, the lock on the slider door from the living room to the balcony was not working, the batteries were missing from one of the remotes, some drawers were off their hinges, etc. Not huge deals, but also rather annoying. 3- There is only one place to get/exchange/return beach towels and they only have specific hours. Sometimes the people aren't even in the booth. The front desk staff also doesn't tell you where anything is when checking in. Not very helpful. 4- they CHARGE FOR THE GYM. Nowhere on their website do they mention that the fitness center is extra. It's $6 per person per day or $10 per day for a couple. My husband and I exercise daily and I picked this place because they had a fitness center (as well as the other reasons I mentioned above). I would not have picked this place had I known that they charge for the gym. 5- If you lose one of your key cards or don't return one at the end of your stay, you're charged $35. What! That blew my mind. Don't lose your room keys. 6- We were checking out on a Saturday, our flight was at 4 pm so I figured it couldn't hurt to ask about a late check out. I went to the front desk on Tuesday, said "I'm checking out this Saturday, could we get a late check out?" The staff member said "you need to come back the day before to see if we can accommodate, so come back on Friday and we'll see if we can give you a late check out". Friday comes around, at noon I go to the front desk to ask about a late check out for the next day and the staff member says "you'll need to come back later this evening to ask, come after 8 PM". SO I leave in the middle of dinner on our last night to go to the front desk to ask for a 3rd time about late check out. This staff member tells me that it is hotel policy that they do not offer late check out on Saturday. If the front desk had told me on Tuesday that they could not offer late check out on a Saturday I would not have cared. I know they're a resort, they need to get the rooms cleaned, etc. But to literally LEAD ME ON for days saying to come back other days to see about a late check out, on a day that supposedly is hotel policy that they don't allow late check out, is unacceptable. The staff member that told me it was hotel policy also said that the manager that needs to approve late check outs doesn't even work in the evenings, so why was I on a wild goose chase if everyone knew all along I couldn't get a late check out?? 6- We went to Aqua Mania for a couple of excursions. For the most part, they were fine. There were some scheduling issues, but nothing that we weren't able to work around. However, one of the days my husband was in there looking for a rash guard because he was getting rather burnt in the sun. As we were looking through shirts a staff member was fixing folded shirts next to us. My husband was looking for a size medium and didn't know if there were more somewhere else. So, as you normally would, he asked the staff member if there were any more mediums. She responded "obviously all the mediums were purchased. so no we don't have any more mediums". We took our business elsewhere. 7- kind of stemming off the 'friendliness' thing, about half the staff that we encountered at Simpson bay were nice and the other half was VERY rude (like not making eye contact when trying to speak to them, etc). Not something we were expecting, but could be because they might not be getting paid enough. I noticed that the staff that was nice to us was the staff that was getting tipped. 8- The resort itself is kind of run down. We weren't expecting it to be a luxury place and we think that it was sort of worth the lower price. If you take a stroll over to the resort that shares a beach with Simpson bay you will quickly realize why this resort isn't as expensive. Overall, I would not stay at this resort again, if we do ever even go back to St Maarten again. It was not a positive experience, the staff was not the friendliest and the resort could use some adjustments. Hopefully this helps! I apparently have more insight into resort policies than the majority of the staff so that's something at least.…
To be fair, we are far from the target audience…a couple staying one night only, close to the airport while transiting through SXM. That said, we were really astonished by this resort, especially the rooms. It was a hark-back to Miami hotels of the 1980’s. Zero style. Everything brown. Dark. Functional. Next to no electricity sockets. Not so much as a bottle of water. Now, it was cheap. So may be just the thing for families, longer stays. There are a number of restaurants and other attractions on-site. For future travellers to better judge, attached a few updated images of our “Deluxe Two bedroom suite with fully fitted kitchen”. 😉
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