Arrival and Check-in: With much trepidation based on all the previous reviews of this resort, we arrived at the airport on time (thanks to UA) on 11 March. It only took about 5 minutes to clear immigration, but had to wait 20 minutes for all our luggage. Taxi fare was $15 from the airport at Simpsons Bay to the Divi Resort in Phillipsburg. The resort complex is the first thing that you see as you come around the mountain from Cole Bay. The resort is gated and down the driveway is the open air reception area. We were told our unit would not be ready until 4pm, so we walked around the resort to get our bearingsand visited Gizmo's Beach Bar for our first island colada. We were given our room key (Building D, Unit 318) at 4:15, but when we got to the room is hadn't even been cleaned yet. Called reception, a housekeeper showed up, and we sat and watched while she hurriedly cleaned the room. We were finally able to unpack around 5:30pm.
Resort Amenities: The property is huge. It has one restaraunt, three beach bars, three pools, an activities desk, a water sports center, tennis courts, jewelry/liquor store, gift shop, small grocery store, coffee cafe and fitness center. Of course, the resort sits on a beautiful stretch of coarse sandy beach with a snorkeling area within swimming distance.
Scuba Diving: My husband signed up with the water sports center for a 2 tank dive through Dive Safari's, which is located at Bobby's Marina in Phillipsburg. The dive shop offers no pick-up and we didn't have a rental car, so Pete took a taxi to the marina which cost $8. Dive Safari has 3 boats -- 2 dive boats and one platform boat which is used for discover scuba outings. His first dive was to a wreck called Caribe Cargo at about 70 feet. The second dive was at about 62 feet and called the Maze. He saw lots of fish - barracudas, parrot fish, etc. The boat crew loaded and unloaded the gear and in between dives, provided water, sodas and snacks.
Unit Condition: There has been much written about the poor condition of the Divi. We were in a studio unit in building D which had recently been renovated. It had a small kitchen which included: 2 burner stove, microwave, sink, small fridge/freezer, dishes and pans, toaster, drip coffee maker, can opener, and blender. We had a nice balcony that faced Little Bay and one of the resort's pools.
Divi Resort Activities: We attended the orientation on Sunday. While sipping complimentary mimosas, we were given an overview of the resort, island excursions, special events, etc. A raffle was held and several prizes were given out. Monday night was the Divi Manager's cocktail party and Lobster feast. From 6-7pm, the Gizmo bar offered complimentary beer, wine, and rum punch along with BBQ meatballs, cheese, and other snacks. The special lobster buffet included an all-you-can-eat salad bar, fresh bread, corn o the cob, baked potato or rice, and a huge half grilled lobster. For two, the bill came to only $49. The price could fluctuate since its based on market prices. Highly recommend this. We did hear one interesting tidbit, a new general manager would be arriving in several weeks, so maybe some of the lingering issues will be resolved.
Island Activities: From Divi, you can walk into Phillipsburg. It takes about 15 minutes walking slowly, as you go up and down a hill, but there is a sidewalk the entire way so the traffic is no bother. The boardwalk was recently been extended with more extensions planned. There are plenty of restaurants and shops all along from the beginning to the end near where the cruiseships dock. We rented a car one day from Thrify which has an outlet at the resort. We traveled to Marigot (best to go on Wed or Sat) for the open market. We then drove further to Grand Case and had lunch at one of the LoLo's (small open BBQ places along the beach). We ate at Talk of the Town and had ribs and shrimp with home-made banana ice cream for dessert. There are plenty of island excursions -- we chose two. The first was a boat trip to Anguilla on the Blackbeard3 catamaran. Took about 90 minutes to sail to Cove Bay on the island. Time passed quickly with rum punch being offered freely. Since there are no docks, we took turns being ferried from the boat to the beach by a small dingy. We then took a short bus tour across the island to Shoal Bay. Here we stayed for several hours -- snorkeling on the beach and eating a BBQ lunch. On the return trip back to St. Maartan, we stopped at the La Samanna beach for a quick swim. The other trip was to St. Barts on the Swaliga II, a small 65ft catamaran. The trip to Gustavia took about an hour - complimentary drinks were also offered. We had several hours free time once we docked. We walked all along the water, looking at the very exclusive and expensive shops. We had lunch at a outdoor place called Cheeseburger in Paradise. We then walked through town to Shell Beach and spent our remaining time. The entire beach is covered in all kinds of shells, hence the name. On the way back to St. Maartan, we stopped for snorkeling near Fourche Island, which has recently been given a protected marine status. We saw a 6 foot nurse shark, parrot and puffer fish. There were small turtles swimming on the surface.
Food: Next door to the Divi is the Belair Beach Hotel. It is not much to look at from the outside, but the units are all 2 bedrooms and decorated very nicely. We ate several times at their restaurant, the Gingerbread Cafe. They have a special every night -- one night we had the surf and turf (lobster and filet minon) and another night we had their lobster bisque and grilled snapper. We also ate one night at Lee's Roadside Grill right before the bridge into Simpson Bay and several restaurants in Phillipsburg.
Cruise Ships and Divi: Divi is one of the beaches that cruise passengers visit. They usually arrive at 10am daily and depart around 2pm. They are kept in a central area on the beach and can't use the pools. The beach is so big and spread out, it is really not a bother.
Departure: The airport is a mess! Be sure to allow at least two and a half hours to get checked in and go through security. Every available space inside the airport on Saturdays is filled with people. All the flights back to the US and other major capitals all depart at about the same time and the gates are only a few feet apart from one another. We did hear that a new airport (hopefully much bigger) is being built and should open next year.
Overall comments on resort: Divi is beautifully landscaped and it appears management is working hard to improve the overall appearance of the property. There are still several buildings that have not been renovated. If you happen to get assigned one of them, you probably won't be too happy. There appears to be problems with housekeeping - not enough staff or something. One day we didn't get any towels left in our room (although they took the dirty ones out). We had to call the front desk twice over a period of several hours before someone dropped off some clean towels.
The island is wonderful and offers lots of activities or just great beaches to lounge around on. If Divi gets to the point of offering a consistent high level of service, it could be a four or five star resort.
Resort Amenities: The property is huge. It has one restaraunt, three beach bars, three pools, an activities desk, a water sports center, tennis courts, jewelry/liquor store, gift shop, small grocery store, coffee cafe and fitness center. Of course, the resort sits on a beautiful stretch of coarse sandy beach with a snorkeling area within swimming distance.
Scuba Diving: My husband signed up with the water sports center for a 2 tank dive through Dive Safari's, which is located at Bobby's Marina in Phillipsburg. The dive shop offers no pick-up and we didn't have a rental car, so Pete took a taxi to the marina which cost $8. Dive Safari has 3 boats -- 2 dive boats and one platform boat which is used for discover scuba outings. His first dive was to a wreck called Caribe Cargo at about 70 feet. The second dive was at about 62 feet and called the Maze. He saw lots of fish - barracudas, parrot fish, etc. The boat crew loaded and unloaded the gear and in between dives, provided water, sodas and snacks.
Unit Condition: There has been much written about the poor condition of the Divi. We were in a studio unit in building D which had recently been renovated. It had a small kitchen which included: 2 burner stove, microwave, sink, small fridge/freezer, dishes and pans, toaster, drip coffee maker, can opener, and blender. We had a nice balcony that faced Little Bay and one of the resort's pools.
Divi Resort Activities: We attended the orientation on Sunday. While sipping complimentary mimosas, we were given an overview of the resort, island excursions, special events, etc. A raffle was held and several prizes were given out. Monday night was the Divi Manager's cocktail party and Lobster feast. From 6-7pm, the Gizmo bar offered complimentary beer, wine, and rum punch along with BBQ meatballs, cheese, and other snacks. The special lobster buffet included an all-you-can-eat salad bar, fresh bread, corn o the cob, baked potato or rice, and a huge half grilled lobster. For two, the bill came to only $49. The price could fluctuate since its based on market prices. Highly recommend this. We did hear one interesting tidbit, a new general manager would be arriving in several weeks, so maybe some of the lingering issues will be resolved.
Island Activities: From Divi, you can walk into Phillipsburg. It takes about 15 minutes walking slowly, as you go up and down a hill, but there is a sidewalk the entire way so the traffic is no bother. The boardwalk was recently been extended with more extensions planned. There are plenty of restaurants and shops all along from the beginning to the end near where the cruiseships dock. We rented a car one day from Thrify which has an outlet at the resort. We traveled to Marigot (best to go on Wed or Sat) for the open market. We then drove further to Grand Case and had lunch at one of the LoLo's (small open BBQ places along the beach). We ate at Talk of the Town and had ribs and shrimp with home-made banana ice cream for dessert. There are plenty of island excursions -- we chose two. The first was a boat trip to Anguilla on the Blackbeard3 catamaran. Took about 90 minutes to sail to Cove Bay on the island. Time passed quickly with rum punch being offered freely. Since there are no docks, we took turns being ferried from the boat to the beach by a small dingy. We then took a short bus tour across the island to Shoal Bay. Here we stayed for several hours -- snorkeling on the beach and eating a BBQ lunch. On the return trip back to St. Maartan, we stopped at the La Samanna beach for a quick swim. The other trip was to St. Barts on the Swaliga II, a small 65ft catamaran. The trip to Gustavia took about an hour - complimentary drinks were also offered. We had several hours free time once we docked. We walked all along the water, looking at the very exclusive and expensive shops. We had lunch at a outdoor place called Cheeseburger in Paradise. We then walked through town to Shell Beach and spent our remaining time. The entire beach is covered in all kinds of shells, hence the name. On the way back to St. Maartan, we stopped for snorkeling near Fourche Island, which has recently been given a protected marine status. We saw a 6 foot nurse shark, parrot and puffer fish. There were small turtles swimming on the surface.
Food: Next door to the Divi is the Belair Beach Hotel. It is not much to look at from the outside, but the units are all 2 bedrooms and decorated very nicely. We ate several times at their restaurant, the Gingerbread Cafe. They have a special every night -- one night we had the surf and turf (lobster and filet minon) and another night we had their lobster bisque and grilled snapper. We also ate one night at Lee's Roadside Grill right before the bridge into Simpson Bay and several restaurants in Phillipsburg.
Cruise Ships and Divi: Divi is one of the beaches that cruise passengers visit. They usually arrive at 10am daily and depart around 2pm. They are kept in a central area on the beach and can't use the pools. The beach is so big and spread out, it is really not a bother.
Departure: The airport is a mess! Be sure to allow at least two and a half hours to get checked in and go through security. Every available space inside the airport on Saturdays is filled with people. All the flights back to the US and other major capitals all depart at about the same time and the gates are only a few feet apart from one another. We did hear that a new airport (hopefully much bigger) is being built and should open next year.
Overall comments on resort: Divi is beautifully landscaped and it appears management is working hard to improve the overall appearance of the property. There are still several buildings that have not been renovated. If you happen to get assigned one of them, you probably won't be too happy. There appears to be problems with housekeeping - not enough staff or something. One day we didn't get any towels left in our room (although they took the dirty ones out). We had to call the front desk twice over a period of several hours before someone dropped off some clean towels.
The island is wonderful and offers lots of activities or just great beaches to lounge around on. If Divi gets to the point of offering a consistent high level of service, it could be a four or five star resort.
