# Be extra cautious at La Vista & La Vista Beach Resort



## hajjah (Jul 24, 2009)

Yes, for anyone coming to La Vista or La Vista Beach, please be very careful.  We've been at La Vista Beach since last Saturday.  We found out yesterday upon our return to the resort that an elderly couple was robbed while going to their car.  We are in the same building.  A family here from NY told us about the robbery.  The resort hasn't said anything, not that they would.  I recall sending an email before our vacation asking about the security here. I was told that the security was good.  Well, I beg to differ.  I've seen two guards, but they are not walking around securing the place.  The are stationed (sitting) in a few spots and that's it.  Where the robbery took place yesterday, the guard sits near the raggedy washer/dryer.  We even opted to not do our laundry here after looking at the nasty machines.

The whole issue of the ratings on TUG for St. Maarten are way off, in our opinion.  According to the latest information in the reviews, La Vista Beach is rated the highest.  Even though the last review for this place is 2006, there is no way that this resort should have had such a high number (I think it's 8.5).  Maybe things were different here back in 2006, but in 2009, I would rate this place about a 6.5, and definately not gold crown.    I plan to write a review upon my return home tomorrow.

We had time to tour this island during our stay and also see a unit at Osyter Bay.  Now, that place should have a rating of at least 8.9.  There is no comparison to the La Vista/La Vista Beach Resort.  This place has nothing to offer other than a restaurant, two pools, ocean view units and daily change of towels.  At least our house keeper was great.  I would not return to this place.


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## deemac (Jul 24, 2009)

Did you tour the LaVista Beach units?    I was visiting there last year, I thought they were quite nice, and upkeep was great.

I have always thought LaVista managemnt kept up their properties.   Did you speak to management about your concerns?   Management there is quite responsive, and "on the ball."

I also agree that OBBR is nice, but the 2 bd units seemed small -- especially the living room and kitchen area.

btw., how was your car rental experience?


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jul 24, 2009)

hajjah said:


> The whole issue of the ratings on TUG for St. Maarten are way off, in our opinion.  According to the latest information in the reviews, La Vista Beach is rated the highest.  Even though the last review for this place is 2006, there is no way that this resort should have had such a high number (I think it's 8.5).  Maybe things were different here back in 2006, but in 2009, I would rate this place about a 6.5, and definately not gold crown.    I plan to write a review upon my return home tomorrow.
> 
> We had time to tour this island during our stay and also see a unit at Osyter Bay.  Now, that place should have a rating of at least 8.9.  There is no comparison to the La Vista/La Vista Beach Resort.  This place has nothing to offer other than a restaurant, two pools, ocean view units and daily change of towels.  At least our house keeper was great.  I would not return to this place.


Ahh, but you are presuming that numerical resort ratings have validity  

I'm certainly not willing to grant that premise.  I think the entire concept of numerical ratings is utter nonsense.  Those who are sufficiently gullible to attach some validity to resort ratings should not venture anywhere near a timeshare sales floor when they are on vacation.


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## pedro47 (Jul 24, 2009)

How you tour or seen any of these t/s resorts Divi Little Bay Beach Resort, Flamingo Beach Resort or Royal Palm Beach Resort?  Can you give us your impression of these resorts?


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## geekette (Jul 24, 2009)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> Ahh, but you are presuming that numerical resort ratings have validity
> 
> I'm certainly not willing to grant that premise.  I think the entire concept of numerical ratings is utter nonsense.  Those who are sufficiently gullible to attach some validity to resort ratings should not venture anywhere near a timeshare sales floor when they are on vacation.



While you were a tad bit harsh, I'm with you.  Everyone has their own perspective and I find narratives to be more helpful than ratings, but even then, I keep the salt shaker handy and do not rely on anything but what the resort itself represents.

That said, asking them about their security, even if it sucked rocks, I cannot imagine any representative saying so.  "We just have Larry and Darrell, they've been with us for years.  They can't even walk anymore and their eyesight is failing, but they've gone without raises for 10 years and don't complain, so they're pretty good."

Or just the facts:  We have 2 guys on site at all times.  

Doesn't say crap about their competency or willingness to stop a crime in progress.

regardless, I'm sorry about the troubles there.  Must be cowardly robbers to mess with the elderly.  Hope the woman managed to bap one of them in the face with a suitcase-sized purse filled with rocks.


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## MRSFUSSY (Jul 24, 2009)

Which island is this?


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## TomR (Jul 25, 2009)

St. Maarten.


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## hajjah (Jul 25, 2009)

Yes, the island is St. Maarten.  Sorry that I forgot to state this.  I've already checked out of the resort, just waiting for my flight around 3 PM.  I can't totally comment on Thrifty yet.  I'll see what happens when I return the car.  I wasn't that impressed with Thrifty only because the car was old.  That could be true with either of the companies.

I didn't get to tour the other resorts in the same area as La Vista, but one of my freinds stayed at the Flamingo for 3 days before we arrived.  She said that on a whole, the Flamingo was better and she's been to St. Maarten several times.  I was really surprised since La Vista had the highest rating.  I'm also in agreement about the numbers given to resorts, but up to this point, I've always checked the ratings and reviews before selecting a resort for vacation.

We did put a lot of miles on the car driving all over the island, but I can also see why some people choose to stay on property and not venture out.


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## Pat H (Jul 25, 2009)

I'm so disappointed to read this. I stayed at LaVista about 5 yrs ago and loved it. I don't understand the GC rating either but I felt very safe and the staff was super.


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## deemac (Jul 25, 2009)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> Ahh, but you are presuming that numerical resort ratings have validity
> 
> I'm certainly not willing to grant that premise.  I think the entire concept of numerical ratings is utter nonsense.  Those who are sufficiently gullible to attach some validity to resort ratings should not venture anywhere near a timeshare sales floor when they are on vacation.



I wholeheartedly agree with you re: ratings.   I have always wondered how a resort gets II and RCI's highest ratings as soon as dirt is parted.   Especially, since we are told by the exchange companies the ratings are based on *responses by visitors *to the resort, amenities at the resort, location, etc.

Back in the early, early days of TUG, we sort of all agreed that II and RCI ratings for certain resorts is suspect.   I added some of the ratings i see/saw in the "trip reports" posted here to the same suspect category.    (i.e., just because a resort bears a certain brandname, it is automatically rated 10 by some)


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## tombo (Jul 25, 2009)

I am going to St Maarten for the first time next year. I hope the robbery was an isoated event. I have read that break ins to Automobiles is a common occurrence on the Island, but this is the first robbery i have read about. 

I went to Aruba this year and felt safe everywhere I went. I have been to jamaica and didn't feel safe anywhere but the resort, and the resort made it clear that touring the Island was very dangerous. In fact they had armed guards on the beach at the resort, and the guards said that they could guarantee our safety on the property, but if we walked up the beach past the property line we were on our own. 

I hope that St maarten will not turn into a dangerous island like Jamaica because I have heard that St Maarten is beautiful and has the best food of any Island in the caribbean. I guess I will see for myself in 2010.

As far as resort ratings I like to read what each poster says and go on the majority of opinions. As someone said there are a lot of people here who rate certain chains as a 10 every time they visit a resort by an upscale developer. They all are not 10's. Then there are people who will give a resort a 3  or lower if someone at the front desk makes them mad or if it doesn't have granite counter tops, or even if they don't supply paper towels or charge for Wifi. I often read reviews where people complain about something minor like a resort not having many activites, and then they talk about how big the rooms were, how nicely it was decorated, what a good location it has, how well the resort was maintained, and how they would stay there again, but they rate it a 4. 

The ratings are so subjective you not only need to read the reviews, but you also need to think about if the things that upset them (or that they loved) would be important to you. For me when someone says it is an older resort but has a great ocean front location, all units have a great view, and the resort is well maintained but they rate it a 5 and it is Silver crown or ower rated, that is a resort that interests me. If they say that only a couple of units have a limited ocean view and the rest f the units have no ocean view, or that the resort is only a short stroll or drive from the beach, then I don't want to stay there even if they give the resort a 10 and talk about the flat screen tv's, granite counter tops, wonderful decor, and it's gold crown or 5 star status. Use the reviews to see if the resort is what you are looking for based on their descriptions, not by the number they rated it because their numeric ratings are based on their preferences, and their preferences might not be the same as yours.


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## Pit (Jul 25, 2009)

deemac said:


> I wholeheartedly agree with you re: ratings.   I have always wondered how a resort gets II and RCI's highest ratings as soon as dirt is parted.   Especially, since we are told by the exchange companies the ratings are based on *responses by visitors *to the resort, amenities at the resort, location, etc.
> 
> Back in the early, early days of TUG, we sort of all agreed that II and RCI ratings for certain resorts is suspect.   I added some of the ratings i see/saw in the "trip reports" posted here to the same suspect category.    (i.e., just because a resort bears a certain brandname, it is automatically rated 10 by some)



Just to nitpick - the OPs comment about ratings was in reference to TUG ratings, not RCI or II ratings.


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## RIMike (Jul 25, 2009)

*Robbery in St Martin*

I have been to St Martin a number of times and feel very safe.  I have also been to a number of other islands in the Caribbean and feel safe there as well. Jamaica and Haiti are the two exceptions. However that does not mean they are crime free.  Just like if you were visiting San Diego or New Orleans or Miami, you have to still be observant to people around you.

St Maarten/St Martin is unique in that it is a divided island and the two sides do not always work together well.  From conversations I have had the French side is much more likely to have the crime. I have been encouraged to be more careful at night in Marigot than anywhere else on the island.

I will be going back this winter and will give up an update on both Oyster Bay Beach Resort and St Maarten.


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## RIMike (Jul 25, 2009)

*P.S.: On the Ratings*

While one may disagree with a rating for any given resort, I find them to be very helpful for the most part.  I appreciate the time it takes for someone to write a review of the ts they have stayed in on vacation. I read them and use them for the basis of both where I would buy and where I would exchange into.  So far I have had little complaints about where I have either bought or stayed...the lone exception was Calypso Cay in Orlando...and it had to do with service not the quality of the TS facilities.


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## hajjah (Jul 26, 2009)

I'm back home, but tired from delayed flights.  The rental with Thrifty was ok.  I had no problems returning the car.  The car was just too old for my liking, but that's the Caribbean.  I will say that the road leading to the Pelican, Flamingo, La Vista, etc. is awful.  There's a lot of construction going on all over the island.

I mentioned in another post that I changed my resort from the Towers at Mullet Bay to La Vista Beach due to the reports I read about the stray cats.  I met a couple who stayed at the Towers and verified that cats were a concern on a daily basis.  That would have ruined my trip.  There was only one resident cat at the La Vista.  I was able to deal with it.  

We received the local newspaper at our unit daily.  We did read about the growing crime on St. Maarten.  There was a drive-by shooting while we were there in another area and a visitor from St. Kitts was car jacked, but not harmed.  This only shows that we must continue to keep our guards up while on vacation just as we do at home.

I'll write a review after I get some rest.


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## Larry (Jul 26, 2009)

hajjah said:


> We received the local newspaper at our unit daily.  We did read about the growing crime on St. Maarten.  There was a drive-by shooting while we were there in another area and a visitor from St. Kitts was car jacked, but not harmed.  This only shows that we must continue to keep our guards up while on vacation just as we do at home.
> 
> I'll write a review after I get some rest.



Thanks for the update. I have also seen several incidence of crime in St. Maarten including a car break in in the Pelican parking lot just behind the casino at around 10:00 PM one evening the last time I was there. There were two guys working together with one breaking into the car and the other was the lookout. They both saw me and gave me a very scary look so I turned around and went back to my room and called security. I don't know if they did anything but based on that incident, the out of control increases in maintenance fees as well as the horrendous traffic , we have decided not to return to St. Maarteen and have given back almost all of our weeks including family members weeks to Pelican. 

I  have one week left and will be selling it through Pelican. It's too bad but even though  St. Maarten is a beautiful island it is doing very little to stop these crimes and has no consumer protection for timeshare owners making it an undesirable destination to own timeshare.

There are several lawsuits by timeshare owners in St, Maarten as well as owners groups being formed to try and stop the vicious spiral of deceit and out of control raising of maintenance fees and special assessments with little if any transparency by timeshare management companies such as Diamond resorts ( Flamingo and Royal Palm) Royal resorts ( Pelican and Pelican Marina Residence, Yes the famous Royal Resorts of Cancun that have such high TUG Ratings) Festiva Resorts ( Atrium) Mary's Boon town (sold and no consideration towards existing timeshare owners) and probably the worst Caravensari Resorts who tore down their old buildings and is building new units and telling prior owners their buildings no longer exist so they can get a credit toward their new purchase in the new buildings ( with their new exorbitant developer costs) or forfeit there ownership. 

Some timeshare owners who bought at Caravenasari have never been able to use there units during the demo and construction but could now loose everything they paid at high developer prices without ever getting any use out of their purchase price. The worst part is that the government of St. Maarten is still doing nothing about these abuses by timeshare developers.


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## hajjah (Jul 26, 2009)

I was amazed/shocked to see the condition of the roads and housing in St. Maarten.  Tourism may be alive and well there, but the people don't seem to be reaping much of the benefits, at least in my opinion.  One thing I did wrong was to compare Aruba to St. Maarten.  I was advised by my friends to stop trying to make comparisons.  The beaches are more beautiful in St. Maarten, but driving on those bad roads and passing abandoned buildings and garbage was a bit much for me.  I learned to live with it during my stay so that I could enjoy the vacation. 

Yes, crime seems to have become a real issue on the island.  I really didn't see too much policing of certain areas.  We were warned to not leave anything in the car and be extra cautious of our surroundings on or off the property.  If I were to return to St. Maarten, I would only stay at Oyster Bay or the Westin.  We didn't tour the Westin, but we did ride past.  I'm told that the new units at the Divi and Pelican are good also.


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