Divi Little Bay Beach Resort — Hotel in Saint Martin

We had a huge issue upon check-in at this resort. We stood in line for over an hour and a half trying to get a room as we requested on the first floor a week earlier, not the third floor as we received. As we were standing there waiting for check-in at this hotel there were two other people who came by and we discovered that they were here for one week and they had screwed up their reservation entirely and Divi didn't even have a room for a family of five or six people. After, hearing that fiasco, I told my wife to take the current room before we lost it all together to someone else who has messed up room issues. We requested a room on the lower level due to surgical or orthopedic necessity. The worker at the front office kindly brought all of our four bags up the stairs to the third floor of the room. The top stair tread to the room was missing a piece which was just leaning against the corner wall our entire stay. The room in the 700 area, was very nice. There is a view looking out over the water with rock barriers at the edge. I found myself sitting on the balcony relaxing while watching the cruise ships dock in the distance, the pelicans jostling each for prime rock resting spots, and iguanas moving and sun bathing on the rocks adjacent to the balcony. The balcony was equipped with a table and chairs and two lounge chairs. The room interior was made up and presented neatly. One of the bathroom areas wasn't cleaned up as well as expected with female blonde or brown hair on the floor and shower. It seemed that the housekeeping server failed to put towels in the room daily, that we had to call and ask for the service to bring them to the room. The room safe was functional and located in the top of the closet, so short people will have to stand on a chair or luggage to reach it and secure it. The room has two ways in to it via bedroom door and the front door.

We weren't given a property map, so walked the property. We located the Seabreeze Restaurant & Bar nearby, which just orders your requested food from Gizmo's Restaurant and Bar, then they walk it to your table. We located the mini market which was fairly well stocked with items that you would be able to use for a week or so, but it was pricey like shopping at a gas station instead of a supermarket. There was Ft Amsterdam Cafe which served breakfast sandwiches, pastries, and various drinks. We found the laundry room which had different prices on the machines and posted for them. I guess the cochroach shown was included for free. They have a jewelry store there, souvenir shop, clothing store, and a spa. I completed reviews separately for most of them.

We found Gizmo's Restaurant and observed a large parrot. The parrot was fairly friendly drew people around him while he was outside. This restaurant has management and worker issues as I reviewed separately. The Pureocean Beachside Dining also has issues and was reviewed separately. We tried to visit the Shack, but food was unattended on the grill for 15 to 20 minutes while we waited and asked about getting service. No one came or showed up. So we went to the Gizmo's location and watched from there. Over 32 minutes later, the female cook showed up to monitor the chicken that was on the grill this WHOLE time. This chicken was served up to someone's order. NOT SAFE...No thank you.

Overall, I didn't feel like being a property owner meant anything at this resort, nor being one for over twenty years. Our visit was cut short as we too had incorrect dates for our vacation and had to depart the resort one day earlier than we previously planned for another local resort down the road. No, upon check-in the Divi front desk worker said we can't do anything about it. Well, on our way out of the resort, a Divi front desk worker suddenly wants to find us a room, but we have already had to pay for another local resort just after Divi said you have to get out. No room for you!

This location has a lot of management issues in the front desk hotel operations and the restaurant areas, I would not recommend this location...

Before I go into too much detail, I want to say that, overall, my partner and I very much enjoyed our stay here. We would recommend it to anyone.

Here's a little piece of advice for anyone thinking of staying here. When you view the resort on a map, you'll notice that it pretty much runs from north to south on a small peninsula. The further south that your room with Divi is on the peninsula, the better the experience for you! The nicer rooms seem to be on the southern half of the resort, and the views are much nicer.

Now, here's a bit more detail of what we liked and did not like. First off, the single big reason I took a star off my review, is that the hotel smells AWFUL in some parts of the resort. We stayed in Building B on the first floor, and our room (more so the bathroom) stank pretty bad. It didn't always smell, but it did a majority of the time. The strength of the smell varied throughout the day. I'm not entirely sure what the smell was, but it most definitely was either sewage or dirty ocean water. I'm leaning towards the smell coming from dirty ocean water simply because we couldn't distinctively notice any smell of urine or feces. But again.....not quite sure on that. The smell itself was not only in our hotel room, you could also smell it throughout the B building just from walking in the halls. We noticed the smell was around on all floors of the B building and the building next to it. We're not sure if this smell was lingering around the other buildings. For the smell in our room, we were able to reduce the stink by always keeping the bathroom door closed. Also, we did buy fragrance sprays to help hide the smell.

Now for some positive responses. The hotel is beautiful, you would not have guessed it was damaged by the hurricane (clearly it was...they just did a good job at rebuilding what was damaged). The room we stayed in was wonderful; clearly renovated and up to date. I usually hate staying on the first floor of any hotel, but I did not at all mind with this hotel. Our room was facing the ocean, maybe 30 to 40 feet away from the ocean at max. Absolutely breathtaking views. Besides the smell of the bathroom, the bathroom itself was incredibly nice. There is a small convenience store at the resort where you can purchase common brand sodas, snacks, and even medicine.

Besides the smell, we honestly didn't encounter many other negative experiences while staying here. The only other significant negative experience we came across while staying here was some of the customer service. At the Gizmos restaurant, we experienced rude servers, a rude bartender, and very slow service. It took us almost half an hour to receive our check after having asked for it. The servers were simply not friendly. The Gizmos bartender we had was incredibly rude when we tried to use our "free drink cards" we got while checking in to the hotel. The card clearly states "may use on one rum drink or cocktail". When we asked the bartender what the specific rum drinks and cocktails were, he asked us if we were able to read. We replied that we know what the cards say and that we were curious as to what cocktails or rum drinks he could make. He then replied that we must not know how to read, and said that the cards clearly say you may only redeem it for a fruit punch rum or some other fruity rum drink. We asked him where on the cards it says this, then he snatched our drink cards and gave us two fruit punch rum drinks without hearing our response.

P.S - I have not seen many people mentioning this, and I think it's pretty important to know. The road that goes into this hotel is a bit inconvenient. By no means is it hidden. However, if you are driving from west to east (so heading east) it is quite difficult to turn right onto the road that leads to Divi. The road to Divi is at an about 45-degree angle from the road you're traveling on. To put it into simpler terms....you'll be making a very hard turn to the right. If you're traveling from east to west (so heading west) on the road before you turn left onto Divi, then...

Arriving at the Little Bay Beach Resort, the first thing I noticed was the stunning turquoise beach—so calming and beautiful. At the front desk, we were greeted warmly, and despite our early arrival (before the 4 PM check-in time), our room was ready. We then visited the next desk for our “welcome package,” which included coupons for free items at the jewelry store. The staff also offered to plan daily activities for us, but we were there to relax and declined.

Our room was located on the first floor in a beachfront guest room. Unfortunately, it felt a bit outdated and in need of an upgrade. The phone in our room didn’t work, there were two holes in the bathroom wall, and the lighting was quite dim. We also noticed peeling paint by the sliding door, rust on the door lock, and ants in the room that got into two of our carry-ons. The pillows were very soft—stacking two together didn’t make them comfortable—and the bed was also quite soft. Additionally, there was an outlet at the side of the bed with no tables, forcing us to leave our items on the floor or bed to charge.

Despite these issues, there were many positives about the resort. The view from our room was breathtaking, and the beach was conveniently close for a swim. The beach itself is lovely, but be sure to wear beach shoes, as there are some small and large rocks to navigate before reaching the sandy area. Strong sunscreen is essential, as the sun is extremely intense. Wearing a hat and cover-up is recommended. The weather was consistently over 90°F, feeling like over 100°F, making it too hot to walk barefoot on the ground.

If you opt for the all-inclusive option, be aware that only one restaurant, Pure Ocean, offers indoor dining. On one occasion, while enjoying pizza outdoors, we got caught in the rain and struggled with the stairs, fearing we might slip. All the restaurants we tried had delicious food and amazing drinks. Note that there are no straws available, so if you need one, bring your own. The café and rooftop bar are not included in the all-inclusive package. The rooftop bar, which we didn’t visit, offers appetizers and drinks with an amazing view. Check the days and times for restaurant openings, as they vary. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. We also saw iguanas on the property—one even jumped into the pool, causing quite a stir among the guests!

Unfortunately, the infinity pool was closed for construction during our stay. However, there are two other pools—the Seabreeze pool and another near the Pure Ocean bar. We spent half our days at the beach and the other half at the pool. The resort was not crowded during our stay, except for one day when cruise ship passengers came to the beach, which made the area more crowded. A woman from the cruise simply spread her towel in front of us without renting a chair or umbrella.

There is a laundry facility on the premises with two washers and two dryers. Washing costs $1.50 (6 quarters) and takes about 30 minutes, while drying costs $1.00 (4 quarters) for 45 minutes. The convenience store does not carry liquid detergent, as most guests do not stay long enough to use it.

The complimentary Wi-Fi was extremely slow. One night, while walking from our room to the infinity pool, the Wi-Fi disconnected, showing that we had left the resort, even though we were still on the property.

A car rental service is available on-site if you want to explore the island, and taxi drivers also offer tours. Exploring the island can be done in 5-6 hours.

I would love to return, but next time, I might stay at their other...