Sibarth- NEVER AGAIN

[LongIslander]

Our trip isn’t over yet (thankfully) and will post some general obvservations and memories from this turn under the sun when I return home but had to put the warning out about just how awful Sibarth has been.

We have rented villas from various agencies over the years although usually have been loyal to St Barth Properties until this year when we decided to go with Sibarth based on villa availability. What a nightmare!

When we arrived at the house it was a mess, the landscaping/outdoor area and pool looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in over a month. The hot tub was completely broken. After alerting the local concierge who brought us to the house while he was still with us, he assured us someone would come by and fix everything. (Clearly no one had done a walkthrough of the property before turning it over.) It took 3 days to get the pool cleaned of sludge and debris and the chemicals balanced, the hot tub still isn’t working after a week and a half. Every follow-up, if even responded to, has been met with sly disdain from their staff.

To make matters worse, they failed to confirm one of the high ticket reservations they claimed was confirmed so showed up to the restaurant only to find out we were out of luck during the busiest week of the year. Will not make the mistake of straying again. Curious if anyone else has had similar experiences?

 

[PeterLynn]

Ugh. Sounds like they really dropped the ball. We've been using SiBarth for the past ten years and have never had any problems. We mostly stay in the same villa and have the concierge make the initial reservations. All our visits have been in the low season, so maybe the busier season has something to do with it. No excuse though.

 

[TR561]

I've looked at their properties and website many times. I never passed the smell test. I continue to use the Happy Villas crew and they bend over backwards to make every minute of the trip perfect. From waiting at the airport for you to the minute you depart, pure class.

 

[Saline Man]

I had some villa issues a few years ago from a different rental agency. When I was back in the US I asked for a partial credit because of the issues. After many emails exchanged, they did issue a credit 4x higher than the number I had in mind.

 

[amyb]

Good advice, Saline Man. Give it a shot Long Islander. You never will know if you don’t try.

 

[Sibarth]

Dear LongIslander,

We take good note of your public post. The situation is somewhat more complex than portrayed and we will be reaching out to you separately. The general atmosphere with restaurants on the island, and at this time of the year, is a very sensitive topic and difficult terrain to navigate but I can assure you that we always have our guests’ best interest at heart.
We’ve chosen to remain a local, family-owned business in the midst of island businesses rapidly slipping away into the hands of corporate, international groups. We care for our environment, our local community, and our guests and hope to share with them what to us is the essence or True Spirit of St. Barth.

 

[cec1]

Dear LongIslander,

We take good note of your public post. The situation is somewhat more complex than portrayed and we will be reaching out to you separately. The general atmosphere with restaurants on the island, and at this time of the year, is a very sensitive topic and difficult terrain to navigate but I can assure you that we always have our guests’ best interest at heart.
We’ve chosen to remain a local, family-owned business in the midst of island businesses rapidly slipping away into the hands of corporate, international groups. We care for our environment, our local community, and our guests and hope to share with them what to us is the essence or True Spirit of St. Barth.

. . . taking note of Longislander's message and the reply of Sibarth, I'm writing to say that I have had a relationship of 40+ years with Sibarth. As a client, renting from the agency . . . and as an owner for which Sibarth occasionally provides guests for my rental villa . . . my experience with the company has been, without exception, positive -- even enjoyable. I expect, thus, that further conversation will show that "there's always at least two sides to every story" and am hopeful that Longislander's feelings can be mitigated, at least.

 

[LongIslander]

Firstly, I’m glad others haven’t shared similar experiences, but given some of the comments, I’d appreciate the opportunity to share some additional context.

We would welcome a frank conversation with SiBarth and transparently no one had reached out proactively via email, called, or stopped by the villa from the company or attempted any even minimal offering of goodwill as these issues have been going on over the past week and a half and I think that says it all. We may not be the biggest fish in terms of their clients but we’re still renting a 3br villa for almost two weeks during festive season and I would hope all clients are treated similarly regardless. I’ve genuinely learned so much from this forum since joining that I only thought it fair to share my experience as a heads up to folks who were entertaining new villa rentals. (Many of the restaurants we’ve come to love have been due to recommendations by members here.)

The issues themselves are pretty black and white however, and I don’t see how they could be more complex or there could be another side to the story. If there is an explanation to the contrary, I would advise sharing it. Pools are either clean or they’re not. Hot tubs either work or they don’t. Reservations are either confirmed or they aren’t. I don’t want to sound like a jerk because I realize Sibarth doesn’t own the villa or restaurants but the service fees on this island are fairly commoditized, and the market is getting more competitive, and I don’t see how failing to take responsibility to ensure the house and services meet these basic standards justifies their role, at least on our particular trip. We were polite in all of our followups throughout the week but the lack of proactivity on their end and the reservation issue being icing on the cake was the reason for this post.

If there was frustration showing in my original post, I would ask how many of you have showed up to a restaurant you filled out a voucher for over a month in advance and were told was confirmed multiple times, with a group of family and friends to be told you didn’t have a reservation and to be asked to wait off to the side for 30 minutes as they fumble to find proof of your reservation with your concierge as a line of people file past you for the last seating of the night on one of the 4 busiest days of the year. (I hope none of you) Even though we try not to sweat material things, it’s downright humiliating, plain and simple. We also now won’t get to visit one of our favorites on this trip because of it.

Over the last decade of visiting this island, I’ve taken friends, family, and loved ones and steered countless others towards this slice of paradise. One such couple recently got married here and another got engaged here just a few weeks ago. Many shop owners, restaurant managers, and even returning seasonal employees have become friends. We don’t come here to abuse the island, stumble around drunk, dance on tables, and leave as if St Barts was our private playground. I can assure you we have come to learn of, enjoy, and embrace the true spirit of St Barts and I hope nothing to the contrary was being inferred. I would almost always choose to patronize a local business over a multinational chain, and based on my comments in previous posts, I hope it is clear I lament the signs of a similar transition to that of the harborfront in Saint-Tropez (if you’re familiar with the restaurant groups this makes sense, even if some of them are great, fun, and tasty within moderation.)

As an aside, the on-ground concierge did rebook us another restaurant after the reservation fiasco and upon arriving literally 10 minutes later, we had to wait about 15 minutes for the table. We were just glad to be squeezed in and this wait seemed entirely acceptable. Regardless, the manager sent over a comp’d round of apps as an apology for making us wait even that long…. Customer service and a little bit of goodwill goes so far. Even the reply by SiBarth in this form referring to “taking good note of my public post” is disconcerting. I hope everyone uses this or their own experiences to make educated decisions. Overall, as frustrating as this has been, there’s no way to ruin a healthy trip to St Barts and the house aside from the issues has been a pleasant surprise. Now on to a happy new year!

 

[dadto6]

Always have exemplary service from Happy Villa Rentals (Corcoran) over the past decade. Guillaume and Olivia have stepped up multiple times assuring our family vacation is most memorable.

 

[LongIslander]

Always have exemplary service from Happy Villa Rentals (Corcoran) over the past decade. Guillaume and Olivia have stepped up multiple times assuring our family vacation is most memorable.

Second time being mentioned so will absolutely look at them next time around. Thank you!

 

[cassidain]

Second time being mentioned so will absolutely look at them next time around.

Three times now.

Just one experience with Corcoran but all very good. Had 3 cycles of book-cancel-rebook due to government-imposed travel restrictions, and they "did the right thing" throughout. On island experience exemplary too.

 

[amyb]

LongIslander I am glad to see some happier things being mentioned. Congrats on the wedding and the engagement…beautiful and unforgettable life cycle events that took place here.

Now, enjoy the rest of the stay that you had dreamed about and planned for and like most of us be grateful for the WARM and the caring that make this island so special.

 

[noel]

We also had a very disappointing experience with Sibarth, and Ashley LaCour in particular. We had some background with Brook and Roger LaCour -- my inlaws used them to buy property and build a house in Lurin in the late 70s. After they died in the 80s my wife, Didi, became the family landlord, and she and her brother again used Brook and Christian Wattiau to sell the property in 2005. (The house was so humble the new owner tore it down.) Anyway, we thought we were in good hands with Ashley for rentals when we returned to the island.. Not so. We rented Kiera House a couple years ago, and when the SiBarth rep showed us the property, we looked around the main floor and saw double doors that were locked. The rep told us that it was a storage room. The main bedroom he showed us was a small guest cottage up 22 steps on a hill in the back of the property. We later met Ashley through a friend and told him about the problem. We heard lots of smooth talk from Ashley, all to no avail, except he later offered us a few hundred dollars in a partial refund, which we declined. After that time, the listing on the house was changed to say the primary bedroom was "up a few steps."

So my friends, be careful out there.

 

[Cwater]

As a fellow LongIslander (Port Washington) visiting St. Barth since 1987 this story is amazing on the negative side on so many levels. Operating a business I understand how complaints work. They need to be addressed immediately with satisfaction for the harmed individual. I am shocked that more has not been done. To Sibarth…we have never rented from you however if we needed a new broker in the future we would look elsewhere. There will be more members reading this thread and posting that they saw a loose floorboard by the pool or a stain that should not have been there. Rectify this situation and build up some warm feelings within the amazing members of this group. Cheryl & I are blessed that we get to spend 2 weeks a year at our happy place. The nightmare scenario that LongIslander is going through is in incomprehensible. It does not matter who is right or who is wrong. The negativity is out there. Happy New Year to all.

 

[Sibarth]

Dear Members,

It seems that all of this is being blown out of proportion.

The villa Ipanema inside was in impeccable condition upon arrival and the outdoor area of the condominium is always very well maintained.
Indeed the swimming pool had a few leaves, which we immediately signaled to the villa manager about prior to arrival. It is true that the pool maintenance company only intervened 2 days after despite multiple reminders.
However, it is incorrect to state that the chemicals were unbalanced nor that the follow ups with our concierge were un-responded to.
Regarding the hot tub (jacuzzi), it is also wrong to state that it was totally broken. The jacuzzi had a malfunction with the heating sensor only. The manager made all efforts to find the replacement piece on island but to no avail and then flew over to St. Martin the following day to try and find it there, again to no avail. The piece was then immediately ordered by express DHL.
No one can reasonably state that SIBARTH did not make its best efforts to satisfy the client even if we cannot be held liable for every unexpected events that might occur in the over 300 villas in our portfolio. I assume sbh online forum is a place to share ideas and experiences about the island life, not a place to defame reputable companies, overreact or manipulate facts, and instigate others to do so.
Even though sbh online forum is owned and managed by WIMCO/ST BARTH PROPERTIES, we believe it is in the interest of our guests to the island to have access to factual, impartial, and objective information.
We are obviously always open to receiving feedback so long as they help us to improve our services for the satisfaction of our clients.
We wish you all a happy and prosperous new year,
Ashley Lacour

 

[Cwater]

Wow I didn’t know that this forum is owned and managed by Wimco/St Barth Properties.

 

[Amery]

I agree that this is blown out of proportion. The forum is a wonderful place to share information--good, bad and in between--and most members are careful and thoughtful when presenting negative reviews or reports--in the interest of fairness and so as not to completely malign a restaurant or business. I myself have commented on aggressive servers or asks for tips or food perhaps less than expected but try to be respectful. Obviously we welcome everyone's experiences and constructive criticisms but perhaps this thread presents a good reminder to be fair. I understand when it comes to "festive" rates and what guests are spending that one's patience might run thin when things don't go as planned. However, this same poster maligned St Barth Commuter a while back here on the forum which I disagreed with completely. The vast majority of forum members who use SBC continuously sing its praises...one bad experience by one person or group should not, in fairness, put that business in purgatory. I'm all for the free exchange of ideas and opinions but let's remember these are real businesses and people's livelihoods we are talking about--all on St Barth. A place we love and support.

 

[JEK]

Wow I didn’t know that this forum is owned and managed by Wimco/St Barth Properties.

Not a secret. Also as a moderator they have never imposed and restrictions or edits to anything posted about their services or competitors. The full history of the Forum may be found here: https://www.sbhonline.com/forums/showthread.php/96984-FORUM-History-Introductory-Course-101.

Warning, a long thread!

 

[LongIslander]

Was not intending to turn this into a P*ssing match, but the facts need to be set straight if a company is now accusing me of lying. I never said the inside of the villa was an issue, I said the exact opposite in the previous comment. It says more that the company is doing more to defend itself on here than to work with us during our stay. The photos below accurately show the condition of the pool and a hot tub that does not heat is a broken hot tub….

Nothing they have said changes the fact that they never reached out to us to make things right, and flying in the part may help the homeowner but not us (it hasn’t arrived in a week and a half). Yes they responded when we followed up, but that is not pro-active outreach. If you own a business, own customer/client service.

In both Sibarth’s email to us last night after my original post (it took this post to get a proactive email from them which wasn’t even the puspose), nor in any of these responses have they explained or owned the fact that they failed to confirm a major reservation they claimed was confirmed multiple times. This is just as big of an issue during peak week.

In fairness, they did email us last night and said they were dealing with a difficult villa management company and were trying to reach a solution for us, but I would prefer to work with a company that takes the step to reach out and say that when an issue occurs, not after I share the experience. No one is defaming anyone and if the post moderator deems this thread inappropriate for the forum, by all means remove it. I believe the experience we’ve had is worth sharing, and if this resolves itself amicably I will be the first to post a positive update.

 

[LongIslander]