Update: July 27, 2001

I emailed a letter of complaint to Orient-Express and received the following letter from the Hotel GM. Based on their attempts to rectify the situation for future guests and the accommodation for us for next year, I would like to change my rating from not recommended to recommended. Please still review the text of my message, as I believe there is other helpful information contained. My husband and I plan to take the GM up on his offer and will return next year. Hopefully, it will merit its 5 star rating on our next visit. We enjoy St. Martin and feel that this resort has the potential to be the best on the island. Here is his note followed by my original review:

"Your note and comments sent to our reservations web address have been forwarded to me. I regret that our beach was not as you had expected. Shortly before your arrival, we experienced some beach swells that unfortunately moved a great deal of sand off of the beach. Naturally, being a beach resort, we deal with swells of some sort on a regular basis, but this seemed to be unusually strong which caused a problem. As much as we would like to we cannot seem to control the forces of nature.

Unfortunately, as the swell occurred so close to your arrival, we were not able to procure the amenities and equipment that could help our guests enjoy the water a bit more. We have since been able to ship in a supply of floats and booties that help guests circumvent the rocks a bit better.

I spoke with your husband about your experience with our Watersports Department during your visit. The employee in question has been properly reprimanded and I would not expect to see a repeat performance in the future. There is no excuse for his rude and unhelpful attitude. I was pleased that we were able to offer your husband his last dive at the $100 rate as some means of apology for this behavior.

The condition of the beach is something that is really unusual here at La Samanna. I would very much like the opportunity to welcome you back to the hotel for a future visit during a time when you could really enjoy all the beauty and comfort that our beach can provide. Toward that end, I would be pleased to offer you three complimentary nights in a hotel room or one bedroom suite during a future visit. Please contact my office directly when making reservations so that I can personally handle your reservations and requests.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to write to us and to relay your comments. I hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back once again in the future."


July 6-13, 2001

Why does one choose to pay between $300 and $1700 off-season per night to stay at a beach resort? The answer is location and service. We chose La Samanna for its reputation for romantic views, beautiful, private beach, ready access to the beach and impeccable service. What we found was a resort that missed the mark with a few minor and one very serious flaw.

A month ago, a swell eroded the sand from the shoreline, exposing only slippery rocks which made access to the ocean incredibly hazardous. One could not easily enter the ocean as there were NO patches of sand for the entire stretch. You had to carefully navigate out to an area where you didn't need to stand in order to enjoy the ocean. Additionally, there was a 3 to 6 foot drop from the beach to the ocean that you had to slide down and crawl up. From our few trials, we came home bruised and cut. Eventually, we, and many of the other guests, were forced to leave the resort and drive to one of the public beaches, which were fine. We find it unconscionable that the resort did not call any guests prior to arrival to notify them of the beach situation and offer any alternatives to this situation. There was no adjustment to rate, no upgrade in accommodations, no additional amenities (even complementary water slippers would have helped) to make up for this serious flaw. The resort was about 50-60% occupied.

Accommodations:
While the rooms and suites were ok, they alone did not justify the hotel rates. Most of the guests found the accommodations less dramatic than other 5-star properties. Their location on the private beach was the main advantage to the accommodations. They were private and quiet and had lovely views.

Standard rooms, called deluxe rooms, face the Caribbean Sea and general run $300-380 per night off-season. The first floor rooms are beach front, which means you can step directly from your patio to the sand of the beach or a garden access to the beach. Others are on second floors with a balcony overlooking the beach. Stairs are steep and sloped. Standard rooms also exist in the main building. This location is also very convenient to the Restaurant, lounge and pool area. Several deluxe rooms (really the top floor of 3 bedroom villas) also have a very large, 2 level patio (D10, C10). C10 and D10 afford a good deal of privacy. We had D10 and found the bathroom needing repair. The water pressure and temperature were fine, though. The rooms are very small -about 14x14. Every room has comfortable beds-a king bed or two twin beds, private, non air-conditioned bathroom, and large closet space. All have a writing desk and chair. They are somewhat of a letdown for the price-- Very basic. If the beach had been all it was supposed to be, the location of these rooms would have justified the cost.

The next step up are one-bedroom suites located on a cliff and with view of the Caribbean Sea, yet are a couple of minutes' walk to the beach down a steep staircase. There is a spacious accommodation inside with a large living room, kitchen with a stocked refrigerator, private bathroom and very large closet space. These suites run around $500-600 and are the first step up from the deluxe rooms.

One and two bedroom suites: Buildings A and B offer accommodations that allow you to step right onto the beach directly from your room. Lower floor rooms have step-out patios, while upper floor units offer a private terrace overlooking the beach. These rooms have been recently upgraded with a large bath with a soaking tub, a separate shower with 2 heads and double sinks. These rooms are located a good 5-10 minute walk from the main hotel, restaurant, beach grill and bar and pool. These rooms cost around $900-1000 per night off-season. Someone who was staying in one of these rooms complained of uneven hot water and lack of air conditioning in the bathrooms. Other one bedroom suites are available, but have small, basic bathrooms. These are located in Buildings E and F

Villas are located directly on the beach and offer two bedrooms downstairs, and one master bedroom upstairs, which is actually a deluxe room with its own private entrance and very large patio. Each of the bedrooms has either a king-sized bed or two twin beds with "pop-up" televisions at the foot of each, and private bathrooms. The lower floor also has a large living area with sofas, lounge chairs, and a cocktail table. There is also a large outdoor dining area and furnished sunning patio with steps leading right to the beach. The hotel also sells the upper floor separately from the lower 2 bedroom floor. I & J are renovated and C and D are not. I and J are located near the main hotel. C&D are a 5 minute walk. There are also several specialty suites in the main hotel.

Room amenities: Air conditioning in bedrooms, ceiling fans in bedrooms and living rooms, satellite TV and VCR, mini bar, in-room safe, umbrellas, bathrobes and slippers, hairdryers, one 110 volt plug. There are two classes of accommodations-premium and standard. Premium accommodations are renovated, with larger bathrooms, and offer champagne and fresh fruit upon arrival.

Location: Close to the airport-but not too close. Lovely, romantic, and quiet well kept property with tennis, pool, spa and fitness center. We enjoyed the pool others said that the other facilities were excellent. Some found the resort dull. We enjoyed its peacefulness.

Services: While others complained of some serious service issues (erroneous wake-up calls, lack of concierge follow-through, being bumped from excursions, inconsistent housekeeping), our major complaints were with the water sports area. Complementary snorkeling, kayaking and water skiing were available. Our first incident was with water skiing. The boat driver grabbed the skis and swam out to the boat. We were left to fend the hazardous conditions for ourselves- slippery rocks and undertow. I am not a strong swimmer, but needed to come along as a spotter. My husband had to navigate the rocks, swim out to the driver to ask him what to do, swim back to shore, find a tube for me, a pull me out to the boat. We were very disappointed in the lack of service. Each of us were bruised and cut up as a result. We never used this service again. What a shame!! The second occurrence surrounded a paid water sport- diving. My husband set up a date convenient for us for an introductory course that would enable him to dive again during our trip-if he so desired. The first minor snafu was a call to try to change the appointment. My husband said he wanted to keep the original time and this was soon accommodated. His day of diving was excellent (Vinny is a great instructor). He then set up for a second dive and was quoted $100 for about a 1/2 hour dive. He received a call he would not be able to dive the next day for $100 as they could not find another diver; hence, the cost would increase to $200. We thought that $200 for about 1/2 hour was too much and the hotel said that he could not dive with another instructor on the island without the beginning course again. After a few discussions about his disappointment-and having to go directly to the hotel GM, the hotel agreed to pick-up the other $100. This was a very satisfactory resolution. It is a shame that there needed to be those discussions and escalation to the GM. Other couples told us of their being bumped from the sunset cruise and having to demand reinstatement. Water sports are a franchised amenity and improvements in service quality need to be made. Until then, the hotel must be prepared to make the situation as seamless as possible to the guests.

For the most part, as one would expect from a resort of this caliber, service was gracious and not at all stuffy. Other service amenities included:
 Beach amenities: ice water offered at about 11, fresh fruit a short while later and sorbet at about 1 PM, comfortable beach chairs, lounge chairs and umbrellas. There is privacy and ready access to these offerings.
 Greeting at the airport to ensure that you can find your way to the hotel by taxi or by rental car
 Greeting at the hotel with a fresh towel and fruit punch with an escort to your room
 Buffet breakfast offered as part of room charge. It was well prepared with a number of offerings in a lovely setting. We never ate dinner at the hotel and cannot review.
 Airline confirmation
 Concierge services until 4:30 PM
 Complementary bottle of rum
 A cocktail party at the pool
 Two housekeeping services. However, at other resorts, we are asked at what time we would like our room cleaned. The room was often being cleaned when we needed to use the room, always at different hours. One time it was being cleaned at 9:30 PM.
 Another helpful, but expensive service: The hotel will pick up your tickets and luggage and deliver them to the airport the day of your departure, picking up your boarding taxes and paying your departure tax. This service, including the departure tax, came to a whopping $40pp (of which $20 was the departure tax). $20 pp was a bit high for this service.

We would like to give this lovely property another chance and will return next year since the hotel offered to compensate us for this year's situation.

Tip: La Samanna is part of the AMEX Platinum service. You receive extra amenities including room upgrades if you use your card.


Recommended: Yes