# Divi Little Bay, St Martin



## sfwilshire (Nov 11, 2010)

My daughter is considering this resort for her August honeymoon.

Is there any significant difference between the locations of the studios and the 1 br units? Would one or the other guarantee better views?

We've read the TUG reviews and searched for past posts in this forum. Any other words of wisdom or warnings before I book a week for her?

Is this area relatively safe for young adults?

Thanks,

Sheila


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## tombo (Nov 18, 2010)

I did not respond earlier because I have not stayed at this resort, but I have stayed next door at the Belair Beach Hotel and I can tell you that I love Little Bay. There are only 2 resorts on little bay and it is never crowded. There are 2 or 3 restaurants at the Divi and a great one next door at the Belair. You can walk to a hilltop overlooking great bay and little bay where there are remains of an old Fort. Watch cruise ships come in and out, snorkle, swim. it is a great place. You can walk to Phillipsburg but we always drove our rental. The island is not big and nowhere is far away. I would think that the Divi Little Bay would be a fantastic honeymoon location. I have walked through the Div and eaten there and seen the facilities, but never been inside a unit. They renovated them recently, I do know that. Hopefully someone will provide you with more specific info, but I would not hesitate sending my kids there for a honeymoon.


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## SRenaeP (Nov 18, 2010)

We stayed there a few weeks ago.  We had a studio unit overlooking the infinity pool.  The unit had been renovated and was nice though I didn't like the fact that internet access was expensive.  The resort was nice and it wasn't crowded this time of year.  I wasn't that fond of the onsite restaurants but St. Martin is known for good food so we ate out most of the time.  Everywhere seemed safe and we have no complaints about the island or the resort.

-Steph


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## sfwilshire (Nov 18, 2010)

Thanks for the replies. I booked her a 1-br. She's hoping for a nice view.

One big thing that put this resort ahead of others under consideration was the fact that we could reserve a Wed - Wed check-in through RCI Points. Airfare was significantly cheaper on Wednesday than on the weekends.

Hope she loves it.

Sheila


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## stmartinfan (Nov 18, 2010)

I think Divi would be a nice location for a honeymoon.  I hope they'll feel comfortable renting a car and checking out the many beaches and restaurants around the island, but they can get around with taxis or the small mini-van buses for some locations if they prefer.

The units have all been renovated recently, so they should have a good unit.  The way the resort is laid out with the buildings situated along both sides of a penninsula, almost all of the units have nice views.  On one side you'll look at Little Bay where the beach area is and an attractive small bay.  On the other side, you look out at Great Bay, where Philipsburg is located and the cruise ships dock.  We've had both views and enjoy them both - Great Bay is busier with more to watch; Little Bay is quieter and has the sunset.  The parking is all centrally located, so you walk down a small street used only by the resort carts to get to most of the resort buildings, so you don't have the issue of a parking lot view!  

There may be a couple of units that don't look out directly at one of the bays, but they have a view of a small "stream" area and the infinity pool, with the ocean out beyond that.


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## JudyS (Nov 19, 2010)

Some of the studios are right in the beach. DH & I had one of these once. Very nice!  If I had been a little more limber, I could have climbed over my patio ratio and been about 20 steps from the water.

We also stayed in a one-bedroom (same trip -- we had to move units because we couldn't get one available for all of our dates.) Much larger than the studio, but it looks out towards deep water, not the beach.


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## rifleman69 (Dec 15, 2010)

Wife and I are looking for a new trip, neither of us have been to the Caribbean.   Divi looks and sounds nice, that may be our spot to stay.

Thinking of St Maarten, Aruba, Grand Cayman, or Bahamas for the middle/late May so right before hurricane season.   Any comments about Divi or any of the above would be nice, thanks!

Anyone been to Divi recently and know about the housecleaning surcharges, kind of vague on the RCI website as to the price being daily or weekly as it does talk about additional cleaning services being additional amounts of money.   Not sure about having housecleaning twice a day???


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## stmartinfan (Dec 15, 2010)

At Divi, you will have daily service to deliver fresh towels and remove trash.  Mid-week, you'll have full service with fresh linens, etc.  I believe you can receive full service every day, if you wish to pay additional for it.  We've always been fine with the service provided.


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## tombo (Dec 16, 2010)

Rifleman with response to your choices of Islands to visit, I have not been to Grand Caymen, but out of the other 3 the top 2 are Aruba and St Martin. This is a hard choice as I love both. 

Aruba is beautiful and the high rise area is wonderful because you can walk to so many resorts, bars, restaurants, and stores without getting a cab or getting in a car. Aruba is small and it is a desert island, so not green and lush but instead covered with giant cactus like you see in the old western movies. The resort areas are gorgeous, but a lot ofthe Island is desert with no greenery except for cactus. My brother likes Aruba best because he never has to drive anywhere (although a car or cab is needed to go downtown, to the lighthouse, to Baby Beach, the donkey sanctuary, many of the best restaurants, etc). He likes to get a cab to the resort from the airport and never get in a vehicle until he goes back to the airport. If you stay in the high rise section you can easily do that.

St Martin is beautiful EVERYWHERE and my favorite. It is lush, green, and there are mountans and ocean views everywhere you look. St Martin has  more different beaches than you can visit in a week. To really enjoy St Martin you need a car. There is too much to see. The Dutch side, the French side, Simpson Bay, the lolos of Grand case, the nude orient beach, Great Bay, Little Bay, Marigot, Phillipsburg,watching planes take off and land at Sunset Beach Bar, etc, etc, etc. A friend of mine went to the Belair Beach Hotel on Little Bay for a week and left one time for a tour of the Island. He ate every other meal at the resort (Gingerbread Cafe which has really good food) or in the room, and he said it was one of his favorite vacations ever. He is going back next fall and he said he might not leave the resort at all. The Belair and Divi are the nly 2 resorts located on the entire Little Bay, so t is never crowded and a very relaxing area to lay on the beach and swim. I love staying on the beach there for a day or two, but by not leaving and exploring the Island he missed too much in my opinion, but to each his own. 

You won't go wrong with any of your choices, but the Bahamas are my least favorite. JMHO.


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## siesta (Dec 16, 2010)

nice summary tombo.  I feel the same way about bahamas, and although my two stays at the Atlantis were very nice, there are plenty of other places in the carib. I'd rather be.


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## rifleman69 (Dec 16, 2010)

Thanks guys, Divi looks like the winner!   Both of us have never been to the Caribbean, we're just familiar with the Pacific Coast of Mexico and Hawaii in terms of tropical and/or island climates.


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## rifleman69 (Dec 19, 2010)

Getting there just before hurricane season.   June 1st through the 9th (yes 8 days).   Leave on the 31st from Portland to get back east then fly in the 1st from Miami.   Should be a great time from what all I've read!


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## liwarren (Dec 19, 2010)

We booked into the Divi in a 2 bedroom unit.  I noticed that it said some units have a washer/dryer. Does anyone have any idea if we would be lucky that the 2 bedrooms all have them?


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## JRS (Dec 22, 2010)

Well, I am from a different part of the island - still on the Dutch side.  I recently gave up my Flamingo, but would not hesitate to go back there, Royal Palm or the Atrium.  Those are closer to the airport on a bay of their own.  Also right next door is LaVista and the other direction is Pelican.  Pool parties at different resorts, plenty to do.  If they have the big catamaran for the day or half day trips, I would highly recommend it, I did a snorkel trip to one of the nearby islands, would absolutely do it again ....  Hope they have a good time.


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