Trip Report 4/26-5/3

We arrive in SXM after an uneventful flight from Boston. We go thru immigration and get our bags and are off to Triple A for our rental car. We get to Royal Palm Beach Resort where we will be staying for the week…so far so good right?......wrong! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

“We” are 2 couples in our early 60’s and this is mine and my husband’s 5th time to SXM and our travel buddies 3rd time to this beautiful island. Since the reservation is in our friends name she goes to check in and is asked to come to the back room because there is a situation. They tell her our room won’t be ready until tomorrow. WHAT? How can this be? We have a reservation that we PAID IN FULL 4 months ago. We are booked they say. Can we speak to a manager? Sorry he is not here today. Can we get another room? We have reserved a 2-bedroom but maybe you have 2-1 bedrooms or a 3-bedroom? No, sorry.

We regroup in the lobby but since we left our brains in Boston we are just staring at each other. Really what can we do? Make a scene? Yell, scream? We are tired from our flight and really just want to get a cocktail and start our vacation.
They offer us a night at the Towers at Mullet Bay and a voucher for the Taste Factory. So off we go to the Towers. We ask about the view, oh yes a nice view, and is there a convenience store here (after all we need a mixer for our drinks) oh no - just a soda machine outside.
Well, only half of the selections in the soda machine are available and our view, quite frankly, is awful. Certainly not the ocean view we were looking forward too!

We regroup with drink in hand on the balcony. Ok, when you get lemons make some lemonade. Things could be worse. We go to Soprano’s in Maho for dinner and the casino and then say night, night!

Our plan today is to get some towels, go to Mullet for the day, then get our luggage and go back to Royal Palm. Since we are not staying at the Towers they don’t give towels out, and we really don’t have the room to store your 4 suitcases. HUH?
After explaining our situation to the towel guy we get 4 towels and after explaining, again, our situation to the front desk we actually get a room to store our luggage in until we get back from the beach. Yippy, we feel victorious! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />

Mullet is truly a beautiful beach! We get front row chairs. The sand ledge is an interesting thing. If the waves don’t get you, the sand ledge will! For me Mullet is a little rough today but my husband LOVES it! All is good, we are having a wonderful time! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" />

In the afternoon we went back to check in at the Royal Palm and low and behold our room was ready. After lots of apologies we are off to our second floor room. After the Towers old and tired room, this room is lovely. We are all impressed and we especially love the view! The window in the living room slides open and along with the balcony it feels so open and airy. We loved it! We regroup with drink in hand on the balcony and we all say “AH…….”!
For the rest of the week I’m happy to report all went fabulously well! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Beaches:

Baie Rouge. Perfection! Water was so clear and calm you could have fallen asleep on it!
Mullet. We went here twice. Second time the water was still rough, husband still loved it!
Orient. We went here twice as well. First time Aloha. Friendly service. Great lunch. Water was perfect. Second time we tried Kontiki. Very nice area. Great chairs. It is so spread out we never felt crowded. Water this day had a little bit of seaweed. We ate lunch at Le String. Service was unfortunately very, very slow. There seemed to be some sort of employee issue. Burgers were good.
Beach at Royal Palm. Not our favorite. Sand is coarse, it’s a little rocky getting into water. Water had a little seaweed in it and wasn’t as clear or beautiful as Mullet or Baie Rouge but it was calm.
Dawn Beach. We took one look at the seaweed and went to Orient.

Breakfast/Lunch/Dinners:

We like breakfasts on the balcony but did go out several times.
Taste Factory was excellent! Lacks ambience when seated for breakfast.
Green Monkey was good.
SXM Yacht Club was good also and it is fun to watch the yachts coming and going.
Lunches at Aloha, Le String, subs from SubWay and Maho market. Late lunch BBB.

Dinners:

Sopranos. Good
SkipJacks. Really enjoyed our meals here. Nice view.
Lee’s. Ribs were good. Service slow. Entertainment nice.
The Green House. Had the Coconut Shrimp. Very good! Didn’t care for the dogs roaming around.
Pineapple Pete’s. Steak was very good!
Le Bateau Ivre, Marina Porto Cupecoy. Loved everything about this restaurant, except the bill. Singer was excellent. Food delicious! Setting fabulous. There was only one server and the service was good until it got crowded and of course too much for one person.

We never made it to Grand Case or Philipsburg. We enjoyed drinks at the SkyBar Lounge in Maho. Watched some planes take off and land at the Sunset Beach Bar. We did not have an issue with mosquitos, although we talked with a couple that said they were getting bit a lot. Felt safe. Did see a lot of security. Traffic was on the heavy side. The new causeway makes it a breeze to get to the Princess Casino. I got a straight flush (40-1) at the 3-card poker table so I was a happy vacationer! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />

Weather was as good as it gets! Flight home was almost uneventful. Delayed in Philly until 11:00pm. Next time direct flights only!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />

Wow, what a BAD start to the trip! Did you book RP as a hotel room, not an exchange? If so, maybe you can get some satisfaction or money back from whoever you booked through? Bizarre..

The rest of the trip sounds lovely though! What are the hours for that SkyBar in Maho? I thought they were only open late at night? Congrats on the straight flush!!

Too bad for your start, but it seems everything was cool for the balance of the trip....thanks for the report..

_________________________________

We” are 2 couples in our early 60’s and this is mine and my husband’s 5th time to SXM and our travel buddies 3rd time to this beautiful island. Since the reservation is in our friends name she goes to check in and is asked to come to the back room because there is a situation. They tell her our room won’t be ready until tomorrow. WHAT? How can this be? We have a reservation that we PAID IN FULL 4 months ago. We are booked they say. Can we speak to a manager? Sorry he is not here today. Can we get another room? We have reserved a 2-bedroom but maybe you have 2-1 bedrooms or a 3-bedroom? No, sorry.

They offer us a night at the Towers at Mullet Bay and a voucher for the Taste Factory. So off we go to the Towers. ______________________________________

The same happened to us in January this year for 2 of of 3 weeks at RP then got the 3rd weak which was booked with all 3 weeks in March of 2014.

Paid $7,200 from ________________ for all 3 weeks confirmed in March by RP.

Total dollars lost was $5,000 from RP spent.

The 2 places we got had to stay in about $2,200.

Ask me who the seller of our 3 weeks was !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't really follow your post thoughts. Not sure what your trying to say. Confusing post.

I don't understand it either.

That makes three of us.

Curious to know what the original post problem was with checking in at RP. We recently got an email from Diamond resorts that lead us to believe that all reservations are now handled off island, in Las Vegas. Hope things are going to get complicated and local people are losing their jobs!

Hope you forgot to put a "not" in that statement. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

Twice

Sorry to hear about the unfortunate beginning to your trip, but it seems that the remainder was enjoyable. You just never know what surprises you may encounter while travelling today. Hopefully you will be reimbursed for your inconvenience.

Boy what a terrible start!
(It happened to us in London many years ago.)

But it sure got better---a CALM day at Baie Rouge!!!
And a straight Flush!!

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/circle.gif" alt="" />

That line cracked me up. So sorry for your troubles, but glad all turned out well and you had a good week.

Fortunate they found a space to put you. Towers has rooms they seem to be using as hotel rooms for air crews, changing rooms, casino opening overflow...lower level studios generally, and not the nicer upper level that are still owned by timeshare guests. I've noticed that timeshare units are nicer than changing rooms.

Reasons such as this are why I go Old School and carry printouts of all travel details. I can whip it out and prove my case with dates, times, etc. that I DO have a confirmed reservation or exchange.

Carol,
We booked it as a Interval Getaway.
Do not know hours of the Skybar Lounge.
We went around 7:30 but maybe that is why no one was there,
it wasn't open! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Sorry, I'm stupid, Interval is for timeshare owners, right? Have you contacted them since you've been home?

You got into the Skybar when it wasn't open? I've never been up there, didn't realize you could access the area when it isn't open.

I'm from the Boston area, too, and know a thing or two about leaving our brains at home. You are funny! I would love to stay at Royal Palm someday if I can ever be lucky enough to get a one bedroom. Are the rooms a good size and beds comfortable? How was parking...looks tight to me? It is so convenient to all the restaurants! Thanks, Linlar, for sharing.

Are you trying to trade in or rent from a t/s owner? Since there are so few of the one bedroom units, I see the two bedrooms for rent from other t/s owners for not much more than the one bedrooms. And the 2 BRS have 2 full baths, which is nice if you have guests come by, or just for you, so you don't have to go through the bedroom to get to the bathroom. The units are all a very nice size, yes.

Individual parking spaces at RP are kind of small, yes, but other than during Regatta, it seems like there is usually plenty of parking, as there is a lot of parking there. Just make sure you get an egg beater car, not some big car, as I would hate to park a large car there.