Spike,

It was very nice of you to take the time to respond and to clear the record. With all the rest of your points, I agree whole-heartedly. And re: the island time verses visitors wind-down time - there's no way most of us will ever get over that so once I again, I hear you and I agree completely!! Again, thanks for the response.

pat

My husband and I also own at Sapphire and just returned on June 3rd. During our stay we spoke with Jan (I think that's her name) about the resort and she told us that they have already ordered new fabric for drapes, furniture and bedspreads, and that the furniture has already started to be repainted from building 1 which is where they are starting. We didn't have any problems in our unit in bldg 2, but I agree with the beds. Ouch my hips still hurt. I was told there is a slight possibility of them being replaced. Our unit really needs to be refurbished and I also suggested some color on the walls and the response was thats a possiblity. Who knows, just have to wait till next year to see whats done.

Is there any way that the resort can be held accountable for the expenditure of the maintenance fees? Isn't that the way it is supposed to work?

I am looking at renting a place this November/December and have been in contact with a company that owns some units at teh Sapphire Club. After reading your responses, now I'm wondering if I really want to go there. Is it really as bad as you are making it out?

I have been visiting St Maarten and Sapphire since 1994. Sapphire has changed, and not for the better. Having paid thousands in maintenance fees I expect the resort to be kept up in a manner promised to the owners by sales. That promise included ongoing maintenance, replacement of kitchen supplies and furniture as well as communication with owners....none of the promises have been kept.

Sapphire was rated by RCI as Gold Crown...until 2004. They lost their Gold Crown rating....RCI does not take away ratings for no reason. Is it the worst place on the island, no. It has deteriorated and not the place long time owners are accustomed to. The frustrating part is that management does not appear to care.

I hear what you are saying, but is it really bad or with you being an owner are you expecting more? Would you recommend that I look elsewhere - I really don't won't to be disappointed?

I expect that after paying 14K or more in maintenance fees that I will have working lights, sheets that fit the bed, working appliances in the kitchen, working AC and a working hot tub (a big selling point when I purchased there). I am not saying that the place should be torn down but it needs to be kept up.

You mentioned renting, if you are dealing with a private owner you may find that the unit has been kept up by the owner. If the unit is a timeshare or one used by Wyndham as a "hotel" room, it is really the luck of the draw on what building you will be in and how old the unit is...there are three buildings in the main tower. If you have a unit number, I might be able to tell you what building you will be in....If I have seen the unit, or know someone who has I would be happy to provide any details.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/2006 05:17PM by maryann.

Hi Maryanne,

You have given me alot of information so for....the company or web site that I have been dealing with is www.stmartinblue.com and they advertise luxury suites? They say that the oceanview studio that they have for rent is on the eighth floor.

Sharon

Some of the units on the 8th floor in buildings 2 and 3 are privately owned. If the photos on the web site you are dealing with are the actual units they are renting, I would guess they are representing private owners. I noticed the home page of St Martin Blue says they are a division of KJR Properties. I never heard of either of them but the web site for KJR Properties is no longer working....you may want to check them out further before giving them any money.

The photos on St Martin Blue for the Deluxe 8th floor studio show a balcony view of some roof tops. Those are the roofs of a resort next to Sapphire, called the Ocean Club. From the color of the buildings and roofs, I can tell you the pictures were taken a few years ago. Most of the roofs have been recovered and the buildings were repainted a differernt color is the last year or two....from the angle of the photo I am guessing the 8th floor unit is in Building 3. The interior colors are also consistent with building 3.

i just booked an exchange on RCI for this september in unit 283 (a studio). i didn't have much to choose from, and all these negative reviews are making me very nervous.

i've never been outside the US before, so the whole tropical vacation thing is new for me, but does anyone know any details about how the rooms are numbered or how that part of the hotel is? i know from the web site that it is the 2nd building on the 8th floor. i called the hotel briefly to ask if the room was ocean view or not and the guy who answered sounded unsure for a moment, then said yes. but after reading all the reviews i'm not so sure i should trust that.

either way i'm stuck with sapphire, but it'd be nice to know what i'm getting myself into. the reason i picked sapphire was for the hot tub, but it sounds like i'll be lucky to get one that works and isn't full of grime.

thank you in advance for your feedback and advice.

I can understand your concerns about the Sapphire Beach Club, but I wouldn't cancel. The unit you were assigned is in the 2nd Bldg (2) on the 8th flr (8-actually the 9th, they don't count lobby level) unit # 3 (3). It is just below the penthouse and overlooking the pool area. You will have a fantastic oceanview of Saba and the unit will have a jacuzzi on the terrace.
They have a great restaurant on site and a small superette below the lobby with an internet room. There is also a spa/salon on site. They have a secured parking garage below.
Overall the resort is very nice and we've never have had any major problems and the ones we did have were taken care of quickly. We've tipped the maids in advance and we've gotten very good service. Remember a smile goes a long way. We own 2 wks in Dec and have been going to Sapphire for over 10 years. We've even had friends buy a week from them and they are happy with it.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Gloria

thank you for your feedback, gloria, it was very helpful. (:

Pat, that clause in your contract that holds maintenance fees down (I'm not sure if it is tied to the cost of living or not) is valuable but it can be gotten around. I own a timeshare in Edinburgh, the Edinburgh Residence. I bought it in 1999, when the miantenance fees were around 200 sterling (and sterling was around $1.40-$1.45 to the dollar). I specifically asked about what governs maintenance fees and was shown a clause in the constitution/contract that held maintenance fee increases to the cost of living in the U.K. This was the main reason that I bought there (besides liking the resort and Edinburgh). In 2001, the resort went into bankruptsy. It emerged in 2004 from bankruptsy without the clause and a maintence fee of 500 sterling (with the pound at around $.84 to the dollar, this cost me around $920 for 2006). They efectively made my timeshare there worthless. No one will buy a unit with maintenance fees that high. If I were you, I would check local laws and see under what circumstances the owner of the Towers can get around that clause. Concerning Sapphire, where I own 3 weeks, they could be better maintained and staff could be better at communicating but the maintenance fees are not yet out of line and that is my major concern with owning timeshares at the present time.

Dean,

The trouble with timesharing is that almost anything can be gotten around if the desire is strong enough on managements part, but so far, the Towers management has been relatively decent to us and they do manage to maintain the place in a decent state and they continue to hold the fees well under those of most of the other places I've compared with.

Too bad about the situation you were faced with but trust me, at any time we could be in exactly the same spot on St. Maarten. Someday perhaps the government will build some protections into the timesharing sales but to date it's still just idle talk, unfortunately.

pat

About the only absolute rule in timesharing is, in the event of a bankruptsy, your ownership of the timeshare will be protected, and nothing else. In my cae, that meant that they made the timeshare too expensive to own (or sell). There is a Timshare Association of developers on St. Maarten. It would be nice if there was an association of individual owners, to balance the influence that developers have on the government.