TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Late Spring Trip

We are looking at a late spring 2020 trip. We are considering the following resorts as they have availability for us to make a trade through RCI: Belair, La Terrasse, Divi Little Bay. We would love to go back to La Plage but since we were there this fall, we cannot go back for 2 more years as they have a 1 in 3 clause. All 3 charge the island timeshare tax of $50.00. Midweek cleanings are included at La Terrasse and Belair. Divi appears to charge for that midweek cleaning and also has a fairly pricey utility surcharge. Not having stayed at Divi before, we are wondering if the additional $150-180 per week is worth paying? I’d probably use that extra $$$ to fund an additional dinner or 2 @ Sale Y Pepe, Moulin Fou, or a similar restaurant. Thoughts?

Can you get into Simpson Bay Resort or Atrium? Those would be much better location wise and all around. 50 timeshare tax per week is standard.

I believe at Divi it's only the mid-week that is included--full linen changes etc and daily garbage removal, replacement towels when needed. If you want daily service then there is an extra charge, not the midweek.

Maybe the rules for trades are different, but there is no cleaning charge at Divi when I am there as an owner. There's the daily resort fee and the timeshare tax of $50. Garbage removal and towel replacement are daily, as RonDon says, with a linen change midweek. If I remember correctly, the daily resort fee is $10.50/day so $123.50 per week for the resort fee and timeshare tax.

I stay at Divi for three weeks every June and positively love it. Little Bay Beach is one of the best on the island - generally very calm. I have not stayed at either Belair (next door to Divi) or LaTerrasse. All Belair units have two bedrooms although everyone says the second bedroom is quite small. LaTerrasse is in a great location if you want easy access to the French side, and there's a lot in that area within walking distance or a short drive to Jordan Village. It's true that Divi requires a drive to just about anywhere, but it's a great place for just hanging out at the resort on days you want to do that.

I'm surprised only those resorts are available. I might wait for more to be available. I do not like the location of Divi or Belair because they are a drive to anything. Otherwise, since Le Terrasse appears to be out, I would definitely take Divi over Belair because Divi is mostly (or all?) renovated and the units at Belair are a little long in the tooth.

SBR - No availability until July. Atrium - Several partial weeks available. Full weeks are available but do not match our travel dates.

Thanks. The details available on the RCI website are a bit murky at best.

Thanks! Our travel group is 2 couples so we are looking @ a 2 bedroom unit. The daily fee is a bit more for a 2 bedroom unit but the RCI website is unclear as to how much. It ranges from the $10.50 you mention for a studio to as much as $18 for a 3 br. We have stayed at Belair and it is a bit tired, but clean and in our experience everything worked. That 2nd bedroom is tiny. Barely enough room for the bed. It's certainly OK but not at the top of our list for a group of 4 adults.

Yes, if you have 4 adults, I would not choose Belair. So, looks like unless you decide to wait for other availability, your choice is made for you.

We own a 2 bed at Divi that sleeps 6 privately. It's very spacious. Sorry, I don't recall what the energy surcharge was but I can confirm there is no cleaning fee unless you request an extra cleaning. Housekeeping comes by daily to take the trash, replace towels, and restock anything you might need.

Thanks! The energy thing just bugs me. My experience may be narrow, but I have never paid it in the 19 trades we have done to other properties on the island.

It certainly looks like either Divi or La Terrasse. La Plage is the one that may be out of the running. They have waived the 1 in 3 rule for us in the past so I may give it a go & see if they will do it again. That was during mid-summer so it may be occupancy driven. Worst that can happen is that they say no. La Plage is one of our favorite places.

No horse in this race but IMHO, RILT has gotten several negative reviews from people I know who have stayed there. We stayed two weeks at RICLP last April and loved it, but for the street noise, so if it was me I’d whine and wheedle for the latter. But if all was said and done and RICLP didn’t work out, I’d then opt for Divi. It might be a bit removed but it’s also got a whole lot of good stuff going for it.