TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin SSBR and OBBR

Just returned after 6 nights at Simpson Bay Beach Resort and then spent 6 nights at Oyster Bay Beach Resort. I thought instead of a typical trip report, I would give a comparison of our experiences in the 2 resorts!

Beach - SBBR beach was clear and calm. The only disadvantage that the first few steps were a little hard to get in and out. OBBR’s beach was unusable due to the sargassum (not their fault tho!)

Pools - Both places have clean, beautiful pools. SBR has a swim-up bar and OBBR has an infinity pool.

Beach Bar - The bar food was definitely better at OBBR.

Dinner Food - Only ate once on property at SBBR. La Patrona was very good! The good thing about the location of SBBR is that so many good restaurants are close! We dined at Skip Jacks (very good), Izi (excellent), Pineapple Petes (very good), Bucanneer Beach Bar (fair), Pelican Bay (fair). We ate 4 meals at the Infinity Restaurant at OBBR and they were all very good! A couple of them were excellent! We had one meal on BBQ night at the Veranda at OBBR and it was fair.

Location - SBBR has lots more to do (water sports, casino, Red Piano, spa). It has a good variety of restaurants in the resort and many more within a very short drive. We never even cranked the car during our 5 days at OBBR. The resort had entertainment (caribbean dancers, vendors) and a spa and exercise room. But if you want to go out, it would be more of a drive.

Condo - Both condos were clean and nice. Location of your condo does matter at both places. We were fortunate to be in the F building at SBBR which is right on the beach. We had a channel view at OBBR (which also was beautiful) and we were just steps away from the pool and restaurant. Beds were good at both resorts. Both were pretty firm.

Staff - Good staff at both! We did get to know more of the staff at OBBR because of repeat dining and they were extremely attentive to us.

Housekeeping - One mid-week cleaning at SBR and daily cleaning (with an automatic $7 fee per day) at OBBR.

Beach towels - OBBR has very nice towels and we had 5 in our room at all times (2 at SBR).



Other tidbits…..

Car Rental - We used Kenny’s for the first time and our experience was excellent. Loved getting the car right at the airport!

Airport - Our Sunday arrival was pretty easy. Did not take long at all to get through immigration and to get our luggage. Departure was on a Friday and it took about 30 minutes to check luggage and get through security. We arrived 3 hours early so we had a long wait in a crowded, hot area. We were bussed to and from the plane.

Nice comparison of the 2 resorts. Surprised you didn't try Isola being so close to SBR.

Glad to hear that you Folks had a very nice vacation .

We were trying to decide between Isola and Izi. We talked to another couple who said they went to Isola and it was so hot that they had to leave. They were guessing that they were having some trouble with the AC.

Loved the comparisons. Have stayed at both many times. OBBR is quieter But Remote. Agree on restaurant evaluations. Thanks

Thanks for the report. It's funny, when you said that you didn't move the car for 5 days, as I was reading along, I was sure you were talking about when you were at SBBR, because there are so many places to eat within walking distance!! I have never been a fan of Oyster Pond area due to remoteness, and they do have an issue with sargassum, a lot of the time. Sounds like you had a nice time though. Thanks for posting!