TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

We are currently staying at Divi Little Bay Beach Resort after exchanging our timeshare through Interval International. We still have two days remaining in our stay, but after spending most of the week here, I wanted to share our experience so far. This is our third trip to St. Maarten, and we've experienced a few different resorts on the island. First, the setting really is beautiful. Divi sits on its own peninsula, with Little Bay on one side and Great Bay overlooking Philipsburg on the other. Our room faces Great Bay. While there isn't a beach on this side, the views across the water toward Philipsburg are absolutely stunning. The resort is a little awkward to get to by car. The entrance is only accessible from one direction, so depending on where you're coming from, you have to drive past the resort, turn around on a very busy two-lane road, and come back to enter. It's also on the opposite side from Simpson Bay, so having a rental car has been very helpful. We exchanged into a one-bedroom, two-bathroom suite with a full kitchen. This was probably our first disappointment. The photos online gave us the impression that we would be staying in one of the beautifully renovated rooms, but our unit is clearly older and fairly worn. It is clean, which we appreciate, but there is a noticeable difference between what we expected based on the photos and what we actually received. We have sheetrock/plaster peeling from some of the walls, cracked tile everywhere, and the bathtub doesn't even hold water (it had a patch in it where a hole was). Hot water was also lacking for showers. There is also quite a bit of active construction happening throughout the resort right now, so expect construction noise during the daytime. The property itself, however, is meticulously maintained. The grounds crew deserves a lot of credit because the landscaping and common areas are beautiful. We chose not to purchase the all-inclusive package because St. Maarten has so many fantastic restaurants and food options to explore, especially if you have a car. We've eaten off-property a few times, but we've also spent plenty of money on food and drinks here at the resort. On days we've stayed by the main pool, we've enjoyed the poolside food, including the fish tacos, burgers and coconut shrimp. Unfortunately, the biggest disappointment of our stay so far has been the staff and service. St. Maarten has always felt like such a welcoming island to us, which makes the attitude of so many employees at this resort particularly surprising. They're just not friendly and welcoming... at all! Smiles are rare, and we've encountered several employees who seem genuinely bothered when we try to order something. What makes this even more baffling is that we are not all-inclusive guests. Every time we order lunch, dinner, a cocktail or anything else from one of the resort's restaurants or bars, we are spending additional money. We're paying customers actively trying to give the resort our business, yet at times we've been made to feel like we're inconveniencing the staff simply by placing an order. Today's experience at Seabreeze was probably the best example. We went to the pool there and decided to have lunch. We were sitting in the lounge chairs by the pool and were told to place our food order at the bar. When my husband went up to order, the bartender visibly rolled his eyes, let out a huge sigh and made it very clear that taking our order was an inconvenience. At that point, we simply walked away. Instead of spending our money at Seabreeze, we went back to the main pool and ordered food there, where the service has been better, although still not particularly warm or welcoming. It's honestly strange to feel as though you have to find somewhere at the resort where the employees are actually willing to take your money. And this hasn't been one isolated interaction. If it were, I probably wouldn't even mention it. The lack of warmth and, at times, outright rudeness from staff has been noticeable throughout our stay. That's especially disappointing because the resort itself has so much going for it. The location is gorgeous, the grounds are beautifully maintained, the pools are enjoyable, and we've liked the food we've tried. Even the older room wouldn't necessarily keep us from returning. The service will. We don't expect anyone to bend over backwards for us. We're not looking for special treatment. A smile, a friendly greeting and simply not being made to feel like a nuisance for ordering food or drinks seems like a pretty basic expectation at a Caribbean resort. We still have two days left here, and I genuinely hope we have some more positive interactions before we leave. If Divi could improve the overall culture of customer service and hospitality among its staff, we would absolutely consider returning. But based on our experience so far, it's difficult to justify the expense of timeshare points and cash for all the food and drinks—only to repeatedly feel like the staff would rather we weren't there. It's obvious that they don't want to be there at all.

We are longtime owners at Divi and decided to take our family there for the day when we stopped on a cruise. Getting info on the day passes was not easy. No response after multiple emails and phone calls but…an extra special thanks to Sandra Rogers who after one email stayed in touch and obtained all the info we needed to make a wonderful day for our family. Divi is a beautiful resort and we love visiting but clearly they need to do better with customer service we and this starts at the top. . Special thanks to Lou the only bartender at Gizmos for amazing service! One last shout out to Rudy our taxi driver from and back to the port. Give Rudy a call if you need a taxi in St Maarten. He is our go to every year when we visit! Rudy-17215247477 Rudesxm@yahoo.com

Staff was great. Resort is very clean and always felt safe. All the restaurants/bars on site are very good. Location for perfect distance from everything. Room was always taken care of by service.

Divi Vacation Club Little Bay was especially fun, rejuvenating and relaxing. The beach is one of best in the Caribbean and the accommodations were excellent. The sightseeing tours and activities were so spectacular and I met wonderful people from all over the world. The food is excellent giving you a choice of local cuisine or French cuisine. I recommend St. Maarten highly for your next family vacation trip!

Extremely disappointing experience at Divi Little Bay. This resort fell far below the standard you would expect for the price. The food was consistently mediocre, with very limited variety and poor quality. After a couple of meals, everything started tasting the same, and there was nothing memorable about the dining experience. The biggest disappointment was the customer service. It often felt like no one cared about the guests. Staff were indifferent, unresponsive, and showed little interest in resolving issues or providing the level of hospitality you would expect from a resort. Housekeeping was completely unacceptable. Our room went several days without being cleaned. Towels were not replaced, toiletries were not restocked, and basic cleaning was simply ignored. Having to repeatedly request fresh towels and essential items is not something guests should have to do while on vacation. For the amount of money this resort charges, the level of service is simply unacceptable. A relaxing vacation quickly became frustrating because we were constantly dealing with issues that should have been handled automatically. I cannot recommend Divi Little Bay based on my experience. Management needs to seriously improve housekeeping, customer service, and food quality. There are many other resorts that provide far better value and actually make their guests feel welcome.