Simpson Bay Resort and Marina

Pelican Resort was the base of our best vacation ever. Our suite was large, well furnished and had a great view, and the location was beautiful and convenient.

The beach and swimming were great. Multiple pools, grocery, casino, and spa on site. Base for many excursions including watersports, scuba and day sails.

Get a rental car and see the whole island. The Pelican is also a great place to spend a relaxing day.

We are going back next year.

March 23, 2004 Update.

Just got back from another 8 night stay at Pelican. There are improvements happening around the resort. They have re-finished and updated the Marina pool, and started on the C pool this last week. Three other pools are available too. The grounds look great.

The kids came this time, and had a great time as well. Lots of room, and we used the full kitchen and bar-b-q a couple of times.

What can I say, we're owners now. We'll obviously be back.

January 26, 2009 Update.

We now own 3 weeks at Pelican. We love the island, and Pelican is a great base for exploring St Maarten. We walk to many restaurants, bars, and the theater.

We usually pick a beach to visit each day, and we're always finding new restaurants, for us at least, to try.

Visitors at Pelican can walk over to the Marina, for some only 1 flight of stairs, and catch daily sails and ferries to Saba, St Barths, Anguilla and more.

December 2011 Update.

We continue to visit Pelican Resort, Simpson Bay Resort now, twice a year. We have been on a tour of the new Marina Residences, which are some of the nicest rooms we've seen anywhere, not just in the Caribbean. The new Marina Residences are only a few hundred yard walk to the Marina, and slightly more past the Marina building to the beach.

The new resort management has raised maintenance fees, and is collecting special assessments in an attempt to bring the resort up to the newer building's standards. We hope they succeed. While the rest of the resort is as nice as any hotel we've visited in the Caribbean, it will be nice to have the older units upgraded with newer kitchens, etc.

The resort has something for everyone. Nicer units that cost more for people who demand that type of accommodation. Some people prefer the views from the upper buildings. We like being on the beach. We own three units in the Flamboyant building, which is the only beachfront building, and it really is our favorite.

We have had very mixed impressions of Pelican over the 10 years we have owned it. First and foremost, you must know where in the resort you are staying before buying or trading or renting a unit. We have owned unit F-3 which is beach front. The unit seems wonderful - BUT - the unit continually has problems with its vacuum based toilet. It seems to break down at least twice or three times a week. Its not the toilet in the unit but the pumping system that has problems. Since this group of units is below the street level, it has also had problems with the bath tub and has backed up some grizzly water in it from time to time..

The new Marina building, which is a fractional ownership, seems to get all the attention. You will feel the anger when you talk to some of the original owners.

The new Marina building blocks many of the original units views of the Bay. So you now face either the back of the new building or its air conditioners.

KNOW where you are staying on the resort. Last July we were there for two weeks and saw some people stuck in studios that were below ground grade level and facing the back parking lot. Even worse we met a couple who faced the back of the new Marina Residneces air conditioning units, many loud units cycling on and off all day and night. As a special bonus these units also face the main entrance road leading into the resort, which has a large retaining wall and cyclone fence facing this poor couple's unit. The top of the cyclone fence has razor wire, no doubt so that you would not take a short cut to the road????? I would never have stayed in those units, if felt and looked like a prison.

On the other hand, if you can stay in the upper buildings, upper floors, which have wonderful views, it can be quite nice.

The maintenance fees have gotten so high for what you get, that we simply gave our unit back to Pelican. I would go back on a trade since I know the location of units on the resort.

Check in and Check out can be very slow and annoying. I had one run in with a very nasty towel lady, apparently someone had traded in towels and mistakenly or on purpose used our room number. The towel lady insisted that I had already traded in dirty towels and was lieing to get another set of clean ones. I really do not need this type of attitude when I am paying nearly $1000 a week maintenance.

So, if you get a good unit, up high with a view, I would happily go back. BUT, this is not a resort to go to without knowing what you are getting! Caveat Emptor!!

This resort is great. It is perfectly located on a beautiful island with fantastic views. It has so many amenities on site that you really have no reason to leave, but there is so much to do and see on the island, that you would really be missing out if you didn't. Like all resorts in the Caribbean, the resort is subject to the wear and tear that high humidity, salt air and hurricanes inflict, but the resort is constantly cleaned, maintained and upgraded to a perfectly acceptable standard.

Basically, if you are looking for the Four Seasons in Manhattan, this is not your resort. But if you are looking for a well-situated, convenient, well kept and lovely resort with lots of restaurants, entertainment and shopping on-site or a stone's throw away, you will love this place.

We just came back from two weeks at this resort and were pleased. We stayed in the same buildings as the person below. The Marina Residence for one week as well as one week at the B building for one week. The Marina Residence building is truly phenomenal. No complaints! There is no garbage area at the B building just a bin at the side/end of the parking lot. Parking itself was ample. We did have an ocean and pool view room both times not an efficiency unit as below but in three years of going to this resort we have never had tattered sheets or smelly rooms. We have used an efficiency unit as well as our ocean view and no complaints. The staff is friendly, the pools clean and fairly quiet even with the # of people staying there. There are never security issues or difficulties when needing assistance for anything. We will be going back next year!