Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Just back from La Samanna

My wife and I just returned from a week at La Samanna.

We typically take a couple of trips per year to the caribbean and always wanted to try La Samanna given what we have heard and read about the property. We do not mind paying up a bit for a resort (i.e. Cap Jaluca, Caneel Bay, Peter Island, etc...) but we have an upper limit of what we consider resonable and have always found the prices at La Samanna to be north of that. However, we found a very good rate on a one bedroom cliffside suite that we decided to book and check out the resort.

Overall I would sum up La Samanna by saying that the beach and pool areas are nice - on par with other Caribbean resorts - but the overall condition of the rooms and rest of the property is relatively poor. La Samanna seems to us like a resort living off its past reputation and in serious need of an update.

I've summarized out thoughts by category below.

Ease of travel: a plus
Flying from NYC, La Samanna is very easy to get to. Several direct flights from NYC, and a short ride to the resort. We were at La Samanna by 1:15. A representative from the resort meets you at the airport and puts you in a taxi (although this is not really necessary given the number of cabs available).

Lobby/common areas: on par
All well maintained and well landscaped. The main building sits up the cliffside and has great views of the bay and surrounding area. On par with other resorts we have visited.

Room: a minus
We were upgraded to a one bedroom beach front suite, which was a nice amenity. We were a mere steps from the beach which makes for a nice beach vacation. However, the rooms are in serious need of an update. We say this after putting rooms at many caribbean resorts in context (i.e. $600-800/night in season does not get you St. Regis/Ritz Carlton type rooms, but gets you a nice, comfortable room none the less). The furniture and appointments in the rooms are on par with an inexpensive motel, and the beds looked and felt like they were bought surplus from a 1970's motel liquidation sale. In short, if I was paying in season prices I would be outraged.

Bathroom: a minus
Along with the room, the bathroom left much to be desired. The fixtures and appointments were average at best. The framing around the door and mirrors was disjointed, crooked, and broken. The hot water had a nasty habit of cycling from freezing to scalding and the tub was very outdated.

Beach: average
The beach is not a white sand beach, but I did not expect it to be. Some other posters have commented that the beach is rocky, which it is, but I did not find this a problem. By rocky, what we found were large rocks in the sand leading out to the water. Certainly not such that you would need shoes or flip flops. Otherwise, the beach is very pretty and the water was clear and calm.

Beach amenities: a plus
The ease of access to the beach bar is better than some caribbean resorts and the beach furniture is nicer than many other resorts we've visited. The lounge chairs have large comfortable cushions.

Pool: a plus
The pool area is above average as far as most of the carribean resorts we have visited; however, I would put this in perspective given that at most resorts we do not spend much time at the pool, but rather, spend our time on the beach. If a pool is important though, La Samanna's pool is very nice. The pool furnitue and lounge chairs are also very comfortable and I would consider them above average versus what many other resorts offer.

Food: a plus
The quality of the food was generally on par or better than many caribbean resorts. We expected as much given the French influence. We only had breakfast one day, which is served as a buffet in the main restaurant. It was a tyical Continental breakfast. The lunch options were varied and good. We had dinner one night in the main restaurant which was very good, but we found the food options for evening dining to better off the resort. (Note that part of our plus rating for the food relates to the quality of food on the island in general in that we found very good dining off the resort relative to what we've experienced on other islands). One thing we found to be a drawback is that the only evening dining option on the resort is the main, formal, restaurant or room service. Some nights we like a more casual option and that was not availabe on the resort unless we wanted to eat in the room (which we did not).

Food and drink cost: average
One thing we were curious about was numerous comments about the price of food and beverage at La Samanna. Granted, we are used to NYC prices, but we did not find the cost of food or drinks at La Samanna to be out of line with what we have experienced at other Caribbean resorts. Dinner was a little more expensive than dinner on the resort at some other places we've stayed, but then the quality was better. The one area of costs where we felt like the resort was a bit excessive was the price of bottled water and soft drinks. While we don't mind paying $6 for a beer or $12 for a cocktail, $6 for a soft drink and $6 for a bottle of water is a bit egregious, in my opinion.

Staff: a minus
Unlike every other resort we have visisted where the staff is friendly and helpful, we found the staff at La Samanna sub par. Service was as expected - on island time, but the real issue we had with the staff was its attitude. It seemed like every interaction was an imposition on their time. Any request, no mater how ordinary was greeted with an attitude of annoyance. I am not a demanding hotel guest, and that type of service I find completely unacceptable.

Fitness center:
Equipment was nicer than many resorts we've visited. Lifecycle treadmills and all Cybex equipment. The equipment was in good shape, but along the lines of the quest rooms, the facility was general in a poor state of repair.

Spa: did not use