Jump to content

Hotel in St. Maarten


glo3479
 Share

Recommended Posts

We are looking at April 2013, St. Martin to St. Martin. As we have been on the French side in the past, thought it would be fun to get a hotel near Phillipsburg on the Dutch side for 2 nights... do a little shopping and go hang on the fence at the airport.

Does anyone have a suggestion on a hotel...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are looking at April 2013, St. Martin to St. Martin. As we have been on the French side in the past, thought it would be fun to get a hotel near Phillipsburg on the Dutch side for 2 nights... do a little shopping and go hang on the fence at the airport.

Does anyone have a suggestion on a hotel...

 

we have stayed at the Sonesta Maho Bay resort and enjoyed it. Right at the end of the SXM runway and the Sunset Bar for your fence hanging.:eek: Short cab ride into Philipsburg. Would stay there again. A casino right across the street if that is of interest. Check out their website.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Jim,,, I do believe this resort will be the one... we have a couple that wants to hang on the fence... and I think it would be fun sitting at the sunset bar and watching them.

Did you do the all inclusive?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Jim,,, I do believe this resort will be the one... we have a couple that wants to hang on the fence... and I think it would be fun sitting at the sunset bar and watching them.

Did you do the all inclusive?

 

No, but another SeaDream couple we met there did and said it was well worth it. We will try it the next time. We really enjoyed the location with shops and restaurants very nearby. Call me a nut but playing with the 747s and drinking in a beachfront bar was lots of fun. Extra bonus, the cab ride from the airport to the hotel is about two minutes. Walkable but on a main street so we took the cab because lugging bags in traffic is no fun. Enjoy.:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jim,,,,,

Now I am really looking forward to our trip... the only problem... its not until April 2013...

 

It'll be here before ya know it.:D Until then, Google St. Maarten Landings and watch some fun videos. The Sunset Bar site has some awesome pictures as well.

J.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

click the link, then hand-type the x at the end on your URL after the "asp", so it will read: http:/now.msn.com/living/0408-maarten-airport.aspx

It should then work. When you stop laughing, reply back and let me know what you thought!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow! That had to hurt!:eek: I can tell you, the jet blast is fierce. Even when landing, the wake turbulence hits hard. You can easily lose hats, cameras, etc. if you are not ready. But, for some idiots:eek:, it is a blast. Want to do it again. Maybe this fall. Hey, the burgers at the Sunset bar are good too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I felt terrible for laughing at her, but I couldn't help it. Then they had to slo-mo the awful part of it at the end! Jim, thank you for the nice comment on the St. Bart's sunset photo. It certainly was an evening for the memory bank!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

not to worry, just a little aliteration. the area around phillipsburg has NO fab hotels! also i would not stress over french-side/dutch-side amenities. while there are some generalities, individual reviews are the best barometers here. this is practical because barring traffic jams (usually high season) the island is easily navigatable and surprising proximities access expediency (takes

less than 2 hours to circumvent entire island). at the risk of coming off a little smugly (just that st martin familiar and dear to me) i give my recs:

hotel accomodations: 1. la samana only 4-5 star on island. haute-monde!

restaurant to die for, actually on french side in tere bases but close to dutch border. situated on longue beach (rocky and narrow) 2. Le meridian le habitation 3-4 star on cove something or other. nice little secluded beach. restaurant ok. beautiful views definitely. atmosphere more (pedestrian) than la samana, short drive to tiny Grand Case gastrognome capital of the tropics, 5 or so touted restaurants NO bad choices. (la testeven my fav) now my #3 hotel could be uhh, dont know name of it. i say this because it is on dawn beach/gorgeous not too small family best. from our vIlla viewed construction over couple years. finished about 2006. inquire thru carimo realtors because i think it has condos/ rental short stay as well. actually is on dutch side.

 

hope this helps!! happy sailing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 years later...

I would appreciate input based on recent experiences at hotels in St. Maarten. We are contemplating a cruise departing SXM and would arrive a day early. I'm familiar with La Samana so don't need info on that property. We would arrive in the afternoon, spend the night and head to the port early the following afternoon. Given the brief stay, we prefer to avoid lengthy cab rides if possible, don't care one way or the other about the proximity or quality of beaches, and prefer a property reasonably close both to airport and port.

 

I see a few people, including Jim and Lois, have stayed at the Sonesta Maho Bay but that was a while ago. Any recent experiences there?

 

Thanks in advance for any info.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Charlie. Yes, it has been a few years since the last Sonesta stay. I will add that every hotel we have stayed in anywhere in the Caribbean has been a bit lacking in service, food, and/or cleanliness (it's the Caribbean Mon!) so we generally pick based on location/convenience. We have always enjoyed hanging out at The Sunset Bar watching the big jets land right on top of the beach. Just a personal weirdness. And just in case anyone is wondering, jet noise was a non issue in our Sonesta rooms. :cool:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Charlie. Yes, it has been a few years since the last Sonesta stay. I will add that every hotel we have stayed in anywhere in the Caribbean has been a bit lacking in service, food, and/or cleanliness (it's the Caribbean Mon!) so we generally pick based on location/convenience. We have always enjoyed hanging out at The Sunset Bar watching the big jets land right on top of the beach. Just a personal weirdness. And just in case anyone is wondering, jet noise was a non issue in our Sonesta rooms. :cool:

 

Thanks, Jim. Understand and agree regarding Caribbean hotels. Appreciate the Sonesta input. And, yes, I am (ahem) familiar with the Sunset Beach Bar and Grill. When in SXM on SD (whether Philipsburg or Marigot) I usually lead a group road trip there, have a beer or two and enjoy the show. Sure do miss that KLM 747 though. It's just not the same any longer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...