Belmond La Samanna

Staff, rooms, view, beach and people absolutely top notch! However, you will want to AVOID the restaurant on property. Go into town. While the view is simply stunning, the food is NOT very good at all and the wine list is too expensive for even a king. They lack a trained chef that can actually cook a decent recipe. And the waiting staff want to negotiate the cost of a bottle of wine like buying a car ($495 to $8,500??? NO THANK YOU!). They need a reasonably priced wine list from $40 to $100.

Words can't express how my wife and I feel about La Samana and all it's employees!!! I want to preface this review with the fact that we only learned about this hotel right before we arrived on the island, and although we had planned on doing lunch, we were not residents of the resort. I will spare specifics but my family had a tremendous scare with our son when visiting, one that was not at all related to the resort, but thanks to the support of their wonderful team, our two year old son is completely healthy!!!! How do you thank a group of people you never met, that stayed with us untill help arrived, drove my wife and son to hospital while my other son and I were in an ambulance, picked me back up to go get my car, escorted me back to the hospital so I wouldnt get lost, called to make sure my son would be ok and all without getting anything in return. My family is at a lost for words in the gratitude we feel towards the team at La Samana.....especially their security manager!!!!! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!!! We will never forget that day as we dont know what we would have done had that happened anywhere else. We believe fate had us on that beautiful beach with beautiful caring people to help our family that day and are forever grateful!!

La Samanna was a delight. The newly refurbished room was over the top. It had a balcony with a walk up winding staircase to a rooftop where there were lounge chairs and beautiful views of the sunset. The restaurant was excellent as was the staff overall. It is on a beautiful beach and the infinity pool was very nice. Only thing is they do not have a real spa if that is a must. They had treatment rooms but no wet areas...

This stay was either our 11th or 12th. Can't remember!. We truly love LaSamanna. Yes it is expensive, yes the drinks are outrageous and the food is too expensive. On the other hand, from the time we step into the main lobby to register and see the beautiful view of the Caribbean, and the friendly faces that have been there year after year we are reminded of why we come back year after year. We were treated to an upgrade to a suite and found a nice fruit plate and chilled Champaign upon our arrival. However, we missed our check-in rum punch. We find the staff to be very accommodating and very friendly. The wine tasting was exceptional as was the Sommelier. Romel and Jean-Wel (may not have spelled that correctly) at the beach bar are wonderful as are the ladies at breakfast and the concierge. We took advantage of the spa and the massage was wonderful. We do get a rental car for the day time so we can visit Phillipsburg, Marigot, Grand Case and Orient Beach, but no longer drive at night after being stopped at the traffic circle in Marigot by the Gendarmes and held at gunpoint while we were asked over and over if we had been drinking. It was truly frightening. The cost of a taxi in to Marigot is $60 round trip. Our only complaint is that when there is a private party at the beach bar guests are not able to have a drink there and watch the sunset. That is very disappointing. If one is wanting a high-end American style hotel this is not the place to come. If one is looking for a beautiful view and a quiet and restful vacation then LaSamanna is a great choice in our opinion.

I stayed in room G15 with my wife and we loved it. We had a great time hanging out in our room or soaking up the sun at the beautiful beach area. The hotel wasn't crowded either so everything felt private and intimate. The hotel also has everything you could possibly want; restaurants, spa, bar and shopping. We will definitely be coming back!