Zemi Beach House, LXR Hotels & Resorts

First time here and certainly won’t be our last! Travelled EWR-SXM used charter service booked through Zemi, very easy. Took about 2 hours total after landing In SXM to get to the Hotel. Arrived by 3:30 with losing an hour, better than we expected. $85pp each way. We were upgraded to an OV room, very large and beautiful with nice size balcony and great views. welcome candies and champagne in room on arrival. Turnodown service each night with delicious fresh baked cookies and bottle of water. Hotel grounds are lush and beautiful with many flowering shrubs etc. walking can be steep in certain areas but golf carts are readily available. Restaurants are very good and above average. Free breakfast at 20 knots was excellent with many options. Lunch is excellent there with a very large menu. Literally can sit a a table with feet in the sand overlooking the ocean. Hi end restaurant “Stone” is excellent with a very limited menu, inside is beautiful and elegant. Unfortunately no views of the ocean. Bar area is beautiful and comfortable with an excellent Sushi bar and live music every night from 7-10pm every night. Managers reception Thur evening with free drinks and canapés was a very nice touch and well done. Wednesday night beach BBQ was excellent with great live band. Unlimited grilled lobster! Beach is long and beautiful but is more rough than we expected since it is the ocean, unfortunately we did have some seaweed the first 3 days which they said was not typical. There are several really cute beach bars right down the beach from Zemi with live Music and very good drinks and food. Spa is beautiful and we each had some of the best massages we have ever had, the therapists are amazing here. We highly recommend renting a car and exploring the island as it’s very easy but is the opposite side from the US. There are many excellent restaurants and stunning beaches that are a must see. Staff is absolutely fantastic at every single position at the hotel, they truly care about making you as happy as possible. Overall it’s a very peaceful, laid back resort, and it’s definitely made for those looking to get away and relax and detach. We will definitely be back as we loved Anguilla and Zemi.

Used Hilton free night certificate / points for 7 night stay. As Diamond we were upgraded to OceanView. We booked prior to my being in a boot and not allowed to walk more than necessary. The resort was extremely accommodating. They gave us closest building to the pool/restaurants, took me in a golf cart, put a DVD player & weights in our room for my PT, & ran us up the road to Madeariman (think it was someone’s personal car). The staff could not have been nicer, best ever of any resort we’ve ever stayed at. They knew your name, super nice to talk with, and were very attentive without being invasive. The resort offers may freebies to go with the steep room rates – a great buffet breakfast (right on or just off the beach with incredible views) every day til 10:30, flip flops, sunscreen, gym, unlimited water bottles (they bring it in bags of ice when at pool/beach), pool/beach chairs and beds, daily room service in morning and turndown service at night (that included yummy cookies). Resort was built in 2016 - beautiful warm modern vibe with tropical touches, night lighting & firepits. It is “boutique” (76 spacious rooms w/great bathrooms, comfy beds, & nice balconies). Mainly couples, just a handful of families with pre-school kids. Main zigzag infinity pool facing beach is heated, has super comfy FREE lounge beds with plush pillows all around and normal loungers – no reservations, always some open (resort at 56% capacity). The other pool is terraced, with a lap pool lane, beautiful but not heated & surrounded by 3 bldgs so doesn’t get much sun (was told it was cold) and no beach view. Never saw it used. Big downside – NO HOT TUB! Didn’t check out the Spa. Never ate at the most upscale restaurant but can get anything from Bohio Lounge (love the open-air layout & comfy chairs/couches) or 20 Knots menus even when dining at the other. The Shoal Bay (seafood) and Ham/Burrata pizzas are REALLY good (including the crust/dough). Hubby got octopus appetizer a couple times, seafood tacos good also. Wed is Carib BBQ buffet night w/live music. Believe it’s $97/pp w/o drinks (w/13% island tax & 15% tip that’s on all bills). Hubby loved the huge lobster tails, etc. Can walk up the beach to Gwens or Madearimans for live music and Carib grill food on weekends – fun! Shoal Bay East is world famous for soft white sand, insane aqua color water, no people. The winds were crazy first 4 days with big rough waves (red flag), then one day of yellow, then finally green and calm. We did not leave the resort due to my foot (the other couples just rented a car for a day and said there wasn’t much to the island. I think that is supposed to be part of its charm). We worked out daily, then big bfast at 10:20, then reading on beach or by pool and talking to people. We spent dinner & then drinks at Bohio Lounge til bed with 2-3 other couples (& Sat/Sun afternoon listening to live music up the beach). One were Italians who live in Switzerland, plan to visit them next year! Everyone we met had very fascinating but intense lives/careers and just RAVED about how relaxing it was (we agreed) and several were already booking for next year. If that is the kind of vacation you are looking for, it’s perfect.

I really wanted to love this resort but based on the location and beach conditions, it’s not a place I would return to. The beach was so rough, full of seaweed and murky conditions, so you end up every day driving 30 mins each way to the west end beaches which are significantly nicer, although hard to get loungers since you’re not staying at those resorts. Also, all the good restaurants are on the west side so you end up driving another hour in the evenings for dinner. Overall I felt we weren’t at this resort at all to enjoy. I would stay on the west end next time. Also, do not expect for a room upgrade if you’re Gold or Diamond, even though the resort felt empty. On the plus side, the staff was very nice and the rooms are very comfortable. There seemed to be various events happening (buffet night ,sunset party etc) but we never got any information about those.