We were delighted that we were able to exchange our timeshare week to this Gold Crown resort. We were also a bit guarded considering its proximity to the airport. This was a much facility and better experience compared to another timeshare on the Dutch side. The resort is not 5 star. It's not brand new but not dilapidated either. It's very conveniently located to the airport, several beaches, restaurants, and shops. The airport noise is not a problem. Planes do not land very late so it does not interfere with sleep. The window treatments also allow for a very dark room. The A/C kept us nice and cool during the day and night. You have to pay for WiFi which is device specific. This means if you want to access WiFi with laptop and smart phone you must pay twice. It's annoying but not the purpose of our vacation. I seriously entertained purchasing another timeshare week specifically at this location, but did not for various reasons. We are scheduled to return in December and look forward to our stay.

Traveled to St Maarten on July 30th through August 6, 2011!

We stayed in a 2 bedroom at La Tarrasse which was clean but old and in need of an update. The staff was friendly and helpful when asked. The room was quiet once you close the sliding doors and you would not know you where 150 feet from the runway, noise was not an issue. The bedrooms have widows which overlook the hallways but the curtains kept the light out and noise from other quests walking the hallway was nonexistent. The Hotel is not located on the beach, the sister resort of Royal Islander, La Plage is located on the beach. The La Plage is more modern, at least the lobby and pool areas are and the grounds are very clean. There is security inside each resort and there was never an issue with safety while in Maho Bay and/or Simpson Bay. The grounds were clean, the pool water was blue, the hot tub was warm and clean. The hotel is minutes away from Simpson Bay which has pretty much everything you will need...including the Bada Bing Club...go figure. The A/C was great, it was actually cold, and everything inside the suite was operable. The area of Maho Bay is old with a majority of the stores closed and/or for rent. The Dutch side, where Maho Bay is located, is much friendlier than the French side. The water in Maho Bay is a little on the rough side but there are many beaches nearby that offer calm blue water for swimming. The sand is clean and there is plenty of places to relax and enjoy the people of St. Maarten. The French side uses the Euro which on any given day costs between 1.40 or more. Some of the bets beaches we found were Orient Beach....stay away from the nude side...most of the people in the nude area should not be nude. The beaches on the French side are all Tops optional with many woman choosing not to wear their tops...hurray gotta love the European way! A MUST visit is Pinel Island which is locate off Orient Beach. We found it on Friday and were leaving on Saturday, I wish we could have gone back for a 2nd visit..it was that good. It is a short ferry ride ($7.00 round trip) with the ride being about 3 minutes, there were actually people swimming from St Maarten to Pinel Island. Once you arrive on Pinel Island go to Karibuni Restaurant and make a reservation for lunch, it fills up fast. Pinel Island is small and Karibuni is located to the left of the ramp where the ferry lets you off. Please take this recommendation to heart...it is a must for anyone going to St. Maarten. As for day trips, we went to St. Barths and found some nice beaches. It is most French and it is an expensive Island that we would not recommend visiting, try Anguilla! Places to eat...Toppers on the Bay, there is a Toppers on the main strip, it's the other Toppers (on the Bay) you want to go to for dinner and/or breakfast. If you are looking for a down night and fun place to eat try Lee's in Simpson Bay...great chicken and ribs and live music, all around good time. Mario's on the Bay is very nice, the food is very good, expensive but good, the only drawback is that it is located in the middle of "Hell." You can park in front of the restaurant so you are safe once you get there. The French restaurants are located in Grand Case which is again not the most desirable neighborhood. The restaurants are located on the side of the street and cars drive by blasting good (not really) old American Rap Music, there are motorcycles, scooters and quads all over the place and apparently legal as no one was stopping the craziness. Go to Grand Case to eat on 1 night and find other places like Leyla's on the French side. Great atmosphere, large portions and friendly service. Writing this is making me sad knowing I cannot walk outside and take a swim in the beautiful blue water of St. Maarten! Enjoy your vacation....it's a nice place to visit!

I didn't know what to expect as the reviews are pretty old and vary quite a bit. Also the links on the Royal Islander website did not work, I sent them an email but got no response. It would have been nice to see pictures and room specs- but went there with very little information, prepared for an "average" resort at best and was very pleasantly surprised.

We arrived around 3pm. it is litteraly 3 minutes from the airport, the lobby area is very small, simple and unimpressive but we had an extremely short wait, and were up to the room in a matter of minutes.

We had a 3 bedroom unit, and it was absolutely huge and very clean. Not brand new, but beachy decor and very well appointed.- lots of rattan furniture. It also came with an amaxing garden deck with hot tub and lounge chairs and was at least 30 by 30 feet. Fabulous ocean view and tropical plants topped it off. Much nicer than I expected.

They provide one mid week cleaning for the 1 and 2 bedroom units and 2 cleanings on the 3 bedroom units. They also provide beach towels and were strict about returns, or they charge 10 per towel at the end of your stay.

The three bedrooms were good sized and each had a bathroom. The living area was very nice with plentyy of room to sit and stare at the ocean. The kitchen was well appointed and had wonderful appliances, stainless steel fridge and icemaker, and dishwasher, everything we needed.

The pool is on the smaller end but very peaceful. A quick walk across the street takes you to the sister resort, the Royal Islander La Plage. The beach there is great and chairs were free. They did ask for a "tip" for umbrellas, but they set them up and were very pleasant. The ocean there has very calm seas, tiny waves and an amazing view of the runway and planes landing.

I had heard mixed reviews about being so close to the airport. To us it was an added plus! The rooms were quiet at night and they planes never woke us up. It was amazing watching them take off and land all day. Unlike what I had heard, there was no "jet fuel" residue on our tables or chairs and my husband and brother in law got quite a kick out of watching them.

The location was perfect with at least 10 restaurants and 2 casino's in easy walking distance. There was a grocery store on site, but the employees were so miserable we only went there once then ventured out to Grand Marche where the prices were much less anyways. They were the only unhappy people we met, the rest of the time everyone was very friendly.

Check out was the standard 10 am, and they held our bags for us so we could enjoy the facilities for a few more hours. They also have a very nice changing facility with showers and everything you need to get ready. They charge a $50.00 resort fee, internet was $50.00 for the week, and parking was another $30.00 but there were no unexpected surprises and the front desk and Mr. Green the belman were very helpful and friendly.

Overall it was a wonderful vacation experience and I would definitely be happy to return!!

We enjoyed our two weeks at this resort. The staff was friendly and helpful, and our condo was well appointed and very clean. The pool was nice, but the fact that kids were allowed to bring in multiple floats and toys made it very crowded at times. Additionally, many of the guests smoked cigars, very unpleasant for us non-smokers. I highly recommend that this resort consider having a specific area for smokers so that the majority of us, who are non-smokers, are not subjected to the secondhand and unpleasant smoke.