TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Simpson bay resort

Royal Resorts confirmed last night that the resort will be closed until April 7,2018. Took about an hour, but got my February units points recovered. Now, on to American Airlines!

I sent an email to SBR a couple of days ago asking about my January weeks. No response yet. They have an hurricane "update" page but it hasn't been "updated in 8 days

Edit: SBR is still taking online bookings for my two weeks in January. Kinda lame if they won't be open

Marge, How and where did you hear this? We're booked for March.

Do they information posted somewhere about not reopening until April? They are refusing to refund 100% of my payment for my March reservation. Any information you could provide would be appreciated. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Correct. We need to see it in writing and neither SBR or Royal Resorts is cooperating. SBR most likely is being filled by workers and Island support people which is fine BUT they should be responsible like other resorts and just tell it like it is.

Emails sent to SBR and Royal reservations...still booking units

We called Interval Servicing Co (ISCO) in Florida, where we send our maintenance for Simpson Bay Resort. 1-800-550-7088
They told us that the resort would reopen 4/7/18. We then called Royal Resorts Caribbean Collection, the point system at SBR, and they took back our weeks and converted them to points.

Believe me, I know...been fighting tooth and nail with them for a week. They insist they will be up and running in a month. I called anonymously and attempted to make a rez for March, they were willing to take my reservation and credit card info!! Then called to cancel my existing March rez, they state #1, their system is not operating, can't refund the 75% they are willing to return (no computer systems working) and the fact that they will be OPEN and honoring reservations...When i stated i called to make a new rez, the agent wanted my cc info to book the new rez...they deny everything, still refuse to refund the last 25%..even though i have YET to see refund of the first 75%!!

My aunt owns 4 weeks in Feb. She hasn't paid her maintenance fee yet. I"m not sure what she should do. She dropped her RCI and II so she can't deposit those weeks.

We also own three weeks in Feb. I haven't received a maintenance fee bill yet. Hopefully Royal Resorts' Hurricane Update on Friday will provide some guidance.

She hasn't received her bill yet either. She's in the marina building. You probably know her.lol

I would think that by not paying those MF's your contracts would be deemed to be in default and you could loose all present and future use of the resort and affiliations of that resort until all back owed MF's are paid. Without those MF's the resorts are not going to be able to repair and maintain it at the level your used to. Insurance isn't going to write a blank check for all repairs so money has to come from some where. Reserve funds will pay for some along with insurance but not all. If others elect to not pay I don't think the resort could possibly continue to operate at that same level.

I totally forgot that we haven't received the AMF bill yet. Guess that will force an update

Maintenance bills are online under the "members" section.

There is now an update on the SBR website stating that they will be closed for at least six months. It gives the option of using weeks in the future or depositing them with RCI or II. Details there.

"There" is where? The "update" page has been the same for 8 days. I can't find anything on the SBR page or the members page. Link?



Edited to add: OK..found it...browser issue. Switched from Chrome to Firefox and it was there
Thanks for the heads up

Thanks for the info. I'm hoping this will give me more leverage in obtaining a full refund from them! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

If the week is deposited it cannot be used during the first 16 weeks of the year next year.

...high season of any year.. but how long is the deposit good for?

1 year according to a call I made.

One year the resort closed and my aunt got kicked out. They told her she could use that week after the resort reopened but they never had any availability.

Has the latest Update been revised? I seem to recall mention of getting an "additional week" (i.e., bonus week) should you wish to bank your fixed week. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

I swear I saw that also...not there now. Same date and time on the update though

The extra week was offered when they shut down the resort because of labor issues. They had other options at the time but chose the route that cheated many of us out of our prime time vacations and cost us thousands of dollars. (Yes, I'm still annoyed) so much for my editorializing! Anyway, I think a natural disaster of this scope is entirely different. I do think that they could offer us more time to use the weeks in the future. The island is virtually destroyed so I guess there are not many good options, especially for the residents and businesses who depend on tourist business. This is such a sad situation.

Here is the post from their website. For some reason the page will not update on chrome, so you get a cached version of the page. If you clear your browser history of SBR, or use another browser you will get the updated page. Regardless, Here is the text from the 5th update

*****

"Fifth update, published September 20, 12:40 pm, CST.
Dear Members,

As you are all now aware, St. Maarten suffered catastrophic damage as a result of Hurricane Irma. Practically every building on the island was damaged in some way, and power and water still only function sporadically. Other government functions have also been severely impacted by the storm. The military has taken over some police functions and a curfew has been imposed.

Even though we continue to assess the damage at Simpson Bay Resort and work to repair and reopen the resort, because of the extensive damage to the island's infrastructure, we do not believe that the island or the resort will be ready to receive tourists for at least six months. Therefore, members with fixed weeks during this period have the following choices:

First, a member may bank their week for use when the resort reopens for tourism. Members who choose to bank their week will be able to book after the resort reopens for any week except for the high season weeks of Week 51 - Week 16.

Second, our members or Royal Resorts Caribbean Club members who are also members of Interval International can exchange their weeks for vacations at other resorts in the Interval International network. Normally, an exchange requires that the member's home resort have a week to provide to Interval International in exchange for the week Interval International provides at another resort; however, we are happy to report that we have negotiated with Interval International to have this requirement waived at the present time. Our members will therefore have the ability to exchange despite the fact that it will be some time before our resort is able to reopen for tourism and provide weeks to Interval International in return for the exchanges our members receive. Exchanges and use of RRCC points at other resorts shall be subject to all terms and conditions of Interval International's exchange program.

Third, our members who are not members of Interval International and who have not previously been members of Interval International in the past can join for two years at a special rate of $89.00. This represents a substantial discount from the normal enrollment fee, and will allow the member to exchange as described above.

Note that members who wish to exchange must be up-to-date on all fees due to the resort prior to exchanging.

We are committed to doing our part to help restore our St. Maarten home. In the meantime, however, we want our members to be able to enjoy their scheduled vacations. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the Reservations Center at 1-888-721-4407.

Sincerely,

Simpson Bay Resort & Marina.

We'd like to take this opportunity to once again thank all the incredible staff of Simpson Bay Resort & Marina that took care of the guests during this crisis. They performed at the highest level and are an amazing crew that we're honored to have. As you might have seen in videos, the storm devastated the island and many of them have lost everything, including their homes. We stand beside them at this time, helping them to reorganize. For those of you that wish to help these efforts of rebuilding for the employees, we've established a Simpson Bay Resort & Marina Hurricane Relief Fund that you may find here:
www.simpsonbayresort.com/hurricane-donations.html.

My question there is what year? SBR (Formerly Known as Pelican) has gone through many changes, ownership and overall condition of the resort. Especially over the last 5 years (way too much to detail here). Consequently, past experience especially over 5 years ago will not be indicative what they will do to serve customers now.

We have been owners at Pelican/SBR for over 15 years and the changes that have occurred have been dramatic, mostly and vastly for the better.

Just taking a guess here but if you clear your cache in Chrome it will probably be there too.

Those of you who would swear they saw an additional week offered in the first Sept 20 update are right. I saw it and called on it right away. After getting a couple of transfers I asked if that meant I get 2 weeks for my one I would bank. The man said no and I asked him if the person writing the update had English as their first language? After a pause he said I guess we have to change it. I said most people will interpret as I did. I suppose I am the culprit causing the change but its better to have all facts when making a big decision. They also said we only have one year to use it.

It may have been 3 or 4 years ago.

you are absolutely right, here is the first update posted:




"Fifth update, published September 20, 12:40 pm, CST.

Dear Members,

As you are all now aware, St. Maarten suffered catastrophic damage as a result of Hurricane Irma. Practically every building on the island was damaged in some way, and power and water still only function sporadically. Other government functions have also been severely impacted by the storm. The military has taken over some police functions and a curfew has been imposed.

Even though we continue to assess the damage at Simpson Bay Resort and work to repair and reopen the resort, because of the extensive damage to the island's infrastructure, we do not believe that the island or the resort will be ready to receive tourists for at least six months. Therefore, members with fixed weeks during this period have the following choices:

First, a member may bank their week for use when the resort reopens for tourism. Members who choose to bank their week will be able to book an additional week after the resort reopens for any week except for the high season weeks of Week 51 - Week 16. All additional weeks will be booked subject to availability.

Second, our members or Royal Resorts Caribbean Club members who are also members of Interval International can exchange their weeks for vacations at other resorts in the Interval International network. Normally, an exchange requires that the member's home resort have a week to provide to Interval International in exchange for the week Interval International provides at another resort; however, we are happy to report that we have negotiated with Interval International to have this requirement waived at the present time. Our members will therefore have the ability to exchange despite the fact that it will be some time before our resort is able to reopen for tourism and provide weeks to Interval International in return for the exchanges our members receive. Exchanges and use of RRCC points at other resorts shall be subject to all terms and conditions of Interval International's exchange program.

Third, our members who are not members of Interval International and who have not previously been members of Interval International in the past can join for two years at a special rate of $89.00. This represents a substantial discount from the normal enrollment fee, and will allow the member to exchange as described above.

Note that members who wish to exchange must be up-to-date on all fees due to the resort prior to exchanging.

We are committed to doing our part to help restore our St. Maarten home. In the meantime, however, we want our members to be able to enjoy their scheduled vacations. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the Reservations Center at 1-888-721-4407.

Sincerely,

Simpson Bay Resort & Marina.

We'd like to take this opportunity to once again thank all the incredible staff of Simpson Bay Resort & Marina that took care of the guests during this crisis. They performed at the highest level and are an amazing crew that we're honored to have. As you might have seen in videos, the storm devastated the island and many of them have lost everything, including their homes. We stand beside them at this time, helping them to reorganize. For those of you that wish to help these efforts of rebuilding for the employees, we've established a Simpson Bay Resort & Marina Hurricane Relief Fund that you may find here:
www.simpsonbayresort.com/hurricane-donations.html.

Please visit this page often as we will be updating the information."

Hmmm. That does not seem like something they might have done...however someone did mention in an earlier post about the resort closing down because of a labor dispute. That is true and was very real. About 4-5 years ago the resort was in turmoil, Pelican had become insolvent and after some legal wrangling Royal Resorts ended up taking up ownership of the resort. (I am condensing greatly here..and any past history should be saved for another thread...).

During the legal wrangling, receivership and ultimate change of ownership there was a labor dispute that caused the resort to shut down for a full month. I have no idea how they handled the affected owners but it was unfortunate and the ultimate status of resort was changing on a weekly basis. Royal now is the owner and I doubt your aunt will experience the same results.

Over the years various buildings have been shut down because Royal Resorts, after taking ownership, had started a renovation project that gutted each building. We were affected by that for two years but they always put us in another part of the resort. IN the end the overall status of the resort is GREATLY improved, units, staff and management.

Now, we technically "own" in January however we have shifted to the points system they offer and never really use our "week" and we choose to use those prime points for longer stays in the non prime times. We don't plan to visit the island soon, we are new parents, however I plan to wait about a month or two before I call Royal to figure out our options. They are probably still trying to figure things out and accommodating those who are immediately affected. At that time I will make sure I get a summary of our point status.

I also expect to see a bill for annual maintenance soon, and I am dreading to see if there may be assessment, I am hoping Royal Resort has proper insurance to cover major costs, unlike Pelican of old.

Finally I do remember seeing the 2nd week offer but they must have pulled that quick. I personally thought that was very generous and problematic because they still need to create a revenue stream to keep the resort running. Offering additional weeks for effectively six months of owner weeks would be huge loss of revenue.

Thanks a bunch <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

SBR will be closed during our two February weeks, 7 and 8. We just exchanged those weeks for two weeks in July at the resort. They are calling it a “weather exchange.” We had no problem doing this. We emailed Rose Blackwell as indicated in the October letter from the resort. She is efficient and professional. We have been members there for thirty years. Thie current management has been outstanding for us.