Tweet
After a week of spotting, being buzzed by 747s & 757s, snorkeling, driving the island, a side trip to Anguilla, and relaxation, it was time to head home. Our stay in St. Maarten was incredible, most of the people were wonderful & the island's really enjoyable.
I would recommend a visit to this island for anyone....just make sure you watch where you stay. The reason I'm venting the following (before the actual report) is because no one deserves to deal with the crap we took from the staff of our hotel. Here's why:
$400 in cash was stolen from the safe in our hotel room at the Caravanserai Beach Resort. When we asked the night manager for help in contacting the police & help in general, he blew us off & refused to give us directions to a police station, citing that the telephone service was dead & that they weren't going to let us use their cell phones in assistance. At this point, we were stuck with $41 between the three of us (myself, brother, mom). Knowing that the departure tax would be a factor, we then dashed to get money, only to have no luck at 5 ATMs in the Maho/Airport/Simpson Bay area.
The next morning, the day manager accused my 12 year old brother & I (I'm 17) of stealing $400 of our own money & blowing it all at the bar (Sunset Beach Bar) the night before, which wasn't true because if we had downed $400 worth of alcohol, we'd probably be dead. My mom then went to the main police station in Philipsburg, where one member of the Police force was very helpful, saying that we deserved compensation. helping her file a police report. In the meantime, the day manager came to our room & scanned the keyslot to see who all had entered the room using keys. He came back & said that we were the only ones who had, with the exception of the maid. I asked nicely if I could see at what time that was (he had shown me all the instances where we came in), at which point he threateningly snapped back "I will not show you that until you can tell me when you last remember seeing the money." No reason or explanation given as to why he couldn't. When my mom got back & went to the front desk, another member of the Caravanserai's staff gave us a cold reception, mad because she had gone to the police trying to get help & that she would now have to file a police report of her own. We were able to get $200 from an ATM & they compensated us only $75 for the phone & water problems that the hotel had over the week.
Therefore, despite the nice accomodations at the Caravanserai & the great facility they offer, I would not recommend a stay here to anyone because of the severe disrespect, lack of courtesy & concern for myself, my family & our situation from the management & select members of the staff during the last part of our trip. The stay at the resort itself was great, however, the staff wasn't. At least the tour organizer was nice. With that said...
______________________
US Airways 878 SXM-CLT
Boeing 757-200 N605AU
November 29, 2004
[photoid=336675]
We returned the car & got to SXM at around 1:30 for our flight. We had checked our bags in earlier, and had returned to the Airport Information desk where we had stopped by earlier. They had heard our story earlier & had me write down a list of the things the hotel staff had done for submission to some Tourism official. To cool off a bit, we went to the Soualiga Lounge & sat around until our flight was ready to board. We took the bus to the remote stand & boarded at the 2L door.
From the lounge:
From our plane:
We pushed back slightly late, taxied to the runway & took off runway 9. Our climb was quick & shortly after takeoff, the trailer for "Around the World in 80 Days" was shown, followed by the movie itself. Snacks were distributed...Turkey & Cheese sandwich, Plantain Chips & an Oatmeal cookie. Not too bad.
Climbout:
End of the day...:
I flipped through the music options & heard the "Cha-Cha Slide" playing, which I was surprised by & got a laugh out of. I would hear it another 3 times on the flight, at which point, it got annoying. The movie ended & "Friends", "Wheel of Fortune" & "Growing Up Gotti" were shown on the IFE. During "Gotti", customs information was given, as well as instructions on what to do when we deplaned. Finally, after 3 hours & 50 minutes, we landed at CLT & taxied to gate D10. We cleared customs quickly & then had to dash to gate D2, barely making our connecting flight:
US 1450 CLT-CMH
A319 N725US
[photoid=210956]
We boarded & I took seat 10D. My brother was staring out the window at the A330 (his favorite plane...because of the PTVs), wishing he were on board. We pushed back & soon after, were airborne. We had a drink service & 59 minutes later, landed & taxied to A4....where we started from 6 days before.
Overall, it was an amazing trip that was scarred by the problems in the last few hours. The Dutch side was really nice, I didn't find as much appeal on the French side & Anguilla seemed nice from what I saw of it. Most of the people are amazing there...big thanks go out to them for helping make the trip enjoyable. We do plan on making a return trip- I look forward to going back next year!
DeltaRules
I would recommend a visit to this island for anyone....just make sure you watch where you stay. The reason I'm venting the following (before the actual report) is because no one deserves to deal with the crap we took from the staff of our hotel. Here's why:
$400 in cash was stolen from the safe in our hotel room at the Caravanserai Beach Resort. When we asked the night manager for help in contacting the police & help in general, he blew us off & refused to give us directions to a police station, citing that the telephone service was dead & that they weren't going to let us use their cell phones in assistance. At this point, we were stuck with $41 between the three of us (myself, brother, mom). Knowing that the departure tax would be a factor, we then dashed to get money, only to have no luck at 5 ATMs in the Maho/Airport/Simpson Bay area.
The next morning, the day manager accused my 12 year old brother & I (I'm 17) of stealing $400 of our own money & blowing it all at the bar (Sunset Beach Bar) the night before, which wasn't true because if we had downed $400 worth of alcohol, we'd probably be dead. My mom then went to the main police station in Philipsburg, where one member of the Police force was very helpful, saying that we deserved compensation. helping her file a police report. In the meantime, the day manager came to our room & scanned the keyslot to see who all had entered the room using keys. He came back & said that we were the only ones who had, with the exception of the maid. I asked nicely if I could see at what time that was (he had shown me all the instances where we came in), at which point he threateningly snapped back "I will not show you that until you can tell me when you last remember seeing the money." No reason or explanation given as to why he couldn't. When my mom got back & went to the front desk, another member of the Caravanserai's staff gave us a cold reception, mad because she had gone to the police trying to get help & that she would now have to file a police report of her own. We were able to get $200 from an ATM & they compensated us only $75 for the phone & water problems that the hotel had over the week.
Therefore, despite the nice accomodations at the Caravanserai & the great facility they offer, I would not recommend a stay here to anyone because of the severe disrespect, lack of courtesy & concern for myself, my family & our situation from the management & select members of the staff during the last part of our trip. The stay at the resort itself was great, however, the staff wasn't. At least the tour organizer was nice. With that said...
______________________
US Airways 878 SXM-CLT
Boeing 757-200 N605AU
November 29, 2004
[photoid=336675]
We returned the car & got to SXM at around 1:30 for our flight. We had checked our bags in earlier, and had returned to the Airport Information desk where we had stopped by earlier. They had heard our story earlier & had me write down a list of the things the hotel staff had done for submission to some Tourism official. To cool off a bit, we went to the Soualiga Lounge & sat around until our flight was ready to board. We took the bus to the remote stand & boarded at the 2L door.
From the lounge:
From our plane:
We pushed back slightly late, taxied to the runway & took off runway 9. Our climb was quick & shortly after takeoff, the trailer for "Around the World in 80 Days" was shown, followed by the movie itself. Snacks were distributed...Turkey & Cheese sandwich, Plantain Chips & an Oatmeal cookie. Not too bad.
Climbout:
End of the day...:
I flipped through the music options & heard the "Cha-Cha Slide" playing, which I was surprised by & got a laugh out of. I would hear it another 3 times on the flight, at which point, it got annoying. The movie ended & "Friends", "Wheel of Fortune" & "Growing Up Gotti" were shown on the IFE. During "Gotti", customs information was given, as well as instructions on what to do when we deplaned. Finally, after 3 hours & 50 minutes, we landed at CLT & taxied to gate D10. We cleared customs quickly & then had to dash to gate D2, barely making our connecting flight:
US 1450 CLT-CMH
A319 N725US
[photoid=210956]
We boarded & I took seat 10D. My brother was staring out the window at the A330 (his favorite plane...because of the PTVs), wishing he were on board. We pushed back & soon after, were airborne. We had a drink service & 59 minutes later, landed & taxied to A4....where we started from 6 days before.
Overall, it was an amazing trip that was scarred by the problems in the last few hours. The Dutch side was really nice, I didn't find as much appeal on the French side & Anguilla seemed nice from what I saw of it. Most of the people are amazing there...big thanks go out to them for helping make the trip enjoyable. We do plan on making a return trip- I look forward to going back next year!
DeltaRules
And the maid sucks, I also think she shared her loot to get the f*cken manager off her own back. For me this makes -two persons who would be fired and altogether handed over for investigation and a liberal number of others who would have faced a disciplinary council.
Comment