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The hotel room was quite spacious with plenty of hot water and good air conditioning. There was a kettle in the room which was wonderful and used everyday! The bar was nice with very friendly staff and drinks were very good and reasonably priced. The resort grounds were very nice and the young palm trees will added the needed shade in a few years (hotel suffered hurricane damage). The area the hotel is located is fairly quiet with only a few dining options to walk to. There is a small well stocked grocery store and delicious bakery only 10 minutes on foot. The restaurant food was very good and located on the beach, but when we were there the wait times were incredibly long. I don't know if the hotel is short staffed or something was off, but additional bar help could have resolved a lot of the waiting for water and drinks. The hotel did offer shuttle service by an employee for $25 to airport and to Marigot. We were on the first floor and had to deal with ants in the bathroom everyday. We called the hotel before booking the room to ask about beach access and were told there was beach access, but the water in front of the hotel is a lagoon and we saw no one in the water. We went to fitness center and the paper towel/wipes to clean equipment after use was empty. Beach towels and umbrellas were sparse at the pool so get there early otherwise sit under a palm tree away from pool. On a rainy day we asked if the hotel had umbrellas to borrow and were told ”they are broken”. The hotel has arrangements with airlines to accommodate guests when airlines cancel flights and 4 out of 5 nights there was a canceled flight which then added 20+ more guests than expected and this was part of the problem with the slow food service.

I’ll start this review with the superstar of our stay. Elaina the concierge is a standout among all of our many hotel stays around the globe. What a lovely human being that also happens to excel at her role at La Playa. Thank you Elaina! La Playa has the closest Sea Front rooms to the sand (with the possible close 2nd by the property next door which seemed to be condos…not sure). Book the right room on a high floor, a direct sea view, and your deck will have privacy and you won’t have to look over a parking lot like many Orient Bay hotels. Our top floor room (3rd floor) was spacious and super nice, clean and well appointed with a kitchenette that we barely used. The restaurant with great sea views at La Playa has exceptional Sushi. The inclusive breakfast option was convenient and has great sea views as well. A tremendous location on Orient Bay in easy walking distance to the Plaza with its great restaurants (don’t miss L’Altelier). Also, easy walking distance to Coco Beach, Bikini and Wai for beach lunches. Katherine at the front desk was a complete delight…always helpful, thoughtful and gracious. Randall the bell captain was great at explaining the room’s functions ,a hard worker and just super nice! The beach guys are awesome too. Grand Case and its culinary experiences are a short taxi ride away. Just a small recommendation to the servers at the restaurant… smile. And to the beach bar… play less nostalgic music in the afternoons and more upbeat current music or at least upbeat chill or Bossa Nova covers of those classic songs and you’ll draw the international crowd from next door ( a few lounging sofas/chairs in front of the bar looking at the sea wouldn’t hurt). La Playa is hands down the best hotel choice in Orient Bay!

Me and my husband stay in the Ance Marcel Beach Resort another 10 nights and it was amazing! Well managed property, attentive and professional staff ( special thanks to Stephane and Nadia !), clean rooms( everyday cleaning ), outstanding restaurants, delicious breakfast, free private gated parking ,great service at the beach- what else can you dream of during the vacation? It’s our 3rd stay there during last 13 months and we’re not been disappointed . Every little details has been taken care by management , Stephane always available and on top of every question. Thank you! Highly recommend it!