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Debbie from USA >
2 contribution(s) United States of America
Jun, 2009
Arrival: May 2009
Resort is about 30 minutes from the airport by taxi. smooth check in.very pleasant friendly staff, very attentive from the moment we checked in.
Rooms:
Clean, big nicely furnished with a nice balcony. separate small tub/big shower We like to have a fridge in room-- we asked and within 5 minutes one was delivered to our room--no added charge
Restaurants and Bars:
Very good restaurant-reasonable- Pirates night was great well worth the $40 per person-- tons of food--especially seafood mussels,shrimp,crab also lots of grilled meats ribs chicken steak ,desert table was fabulous-endless rum punch. the food in st maarten is on the pricey side-so this was reasonable. Tried main restaurant for dinner another night-very good food-tab = $80 us (we each had an appetizer and glass of wine). Best food daytime is served poolside or beach--about $10 us gets you a very large wrap or huge salad with chicken-food very flavorful and well woth the $$.one day we had no breakfast,early lunch of wraps at pool and it was enough to eat all day.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Clean and spacious lounging areas never felt crowded. lot of chair--beach is gorgeous white sand ,clean,crystal clear water about a half mile long
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Not much- a casino in lobby was fun at night and free drinks while you gamble just tip well. we played penny slots-lost a few dollars here and there but had free drinks all night
Other Comments:
This is a nice destination for 4 to 5 nights max--not much to do at night-relaxing for couples-not for singles at all- island itself is poor and seems scetchy in areas. Phillipsburg had all these adds about great shopping but from what we saw just a bunch of average t-shirts/souvenirs. I was at the Westin Grand Cayman May 2008 for 6 nights and it is much better resort/more activities all the way around. 7 mile beach is best beach ive been to and it is 7 miles you can walk as far as you want. Grand Cayman is sooooo clean you can almost eat off the streets/police dont carry guns--soo safe.GO TO GRAND CAYMAN WESTIN INSTEAD OF ST MAARTEN.
Old Reviews - Getting married in the Caribbean
Royal Islander La Plage
Deb USA
December 2006
Very nice resort! We stayed from November 19th - 26th - great Thanksgiving getaway! The beach is beautiful at the resort - nice stretch of beach to walk - past the airway strip - watch the planes come in & take off! Very close to shopping and lots of restaurants.
We loved Sopranos Italian Restaurant next door to our resort - great thin crust pizzas & pasta. We ate their 3 nights! The Boat Bar next to the resort is great for cheap bars, pizzas, & watching the sunset. Further down is the Sunset Bar - nice bar for watching the sunset but a bit pricy for beers. The Bliss restaurant/lounge is a romantic beautiful place for dinner with a great view of the ocean & a wonderful atmosphere - dancefloor, pool, private lounging cabanas. Very enjoyable evening here on Thanksgiving!
We took the bus - stops right in front of the hotel every 10-15 minutes and only costs $1 to go into Simpson Bay or $1.50 to Phillipsburg. We went to Phillipsburg twice for shopping & dining. Great shopping, especially for jewelry and also open air flea markets. Cruise ships stop here daily - plenty of restaurants on the boardwalk with a great view of the ocean and mountains.
We went on the rhino tour - mini boat for two, out to Creole Rock for snorkeling. This was a 2-1/2 hour tour and well worth the $49 each!
Royal Islander Resort is very nice. They clean the rooms once during the week. We had a full kitchen, large bathroom & bedroom. The living room & outdoor balcony faced the pool and ocean. The pool is very nice, next to the ocean. Great place to stay!!!
Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort & Casino
Sarah Columbus, Mississippi
November 2006
My husband and I just returned from our weeklong honeymoon in St. Maarten and had a wonderful time. We stayed at the Great Bay Resort near Philipsburg and think it was a terrific experience, especially for the all-inclusive price. The hotel is very nice with spacious rooms, ceramic flooring, panoramic views (beach front very much worth the extra expense) and a wonderful infinite pool with a swim up bar. The food was fantastic and offered lots of choices during the week. The ala carte restaurants were wonderful with varied menus and wonderful cuisine. The buffet breakfast was terrific and lunch and dinners at the buffet were satisfactory, but not as good as the indoor restaurants. A couple of negative things… the staff was not particular friendly or helpful. It was the off season and the hotel was mostly empty, but the bartenders, wait and hotel staff were curt and sometimes even rude. The air conditioner had only one temperature… freezing. We kept it on during the day and then turned it off at night to be comfortable. The beach is not that great, with coarse, shell filled sand, but the pool more than made up for it.
Philipsburg is about a 15 minute walk from the hotel. The beach offers a quieter but longer way to town, while the street does have a crowded sidewalk and not so scenic shanty houses along the way. Front Street is crammed full of more jewelry stores than you can imagine that offer some amazing deals. It has clear sidewalks with liquor, electronics and linen stores for blocks. The traffic is very busy and as you get closer to the pier the solicitors are thick, offering tours and who knows what else. Back Street is a bit scarier with local clothiers and grocery stores. We stopped at a small bar, Indigo, on the boardwalk for afternoon cocktails and were pleasantly surprised by super friendly service and reasonably priced drinks.
Other island stops included the Butterfly Farm and Paradise Peak. The Butterfly Farm is terrific if you are fans of the winged creatures. Watch out at Paradise Peak! It seems like a really secluded spot, but criminals are staking you out! You park on a deserted hilltop road and are lead down a step and slow-going path to a grown over view point (not really worth it as there are many on the island). While gone, our car was broken into. Just another lesson of never leave anything worth taking in your car, even when you think no one is around. Orient beach was a wonderful excursion and the Bikini Bar offered chairs, umbrellas, drinks and lunch for a great price. The highlight of our trip was sailing on the Lambada to Anguilla for a day of snorkeling. It was a terrific, albeit exhausting trip that created some great memories.
We also traveled all over the entire island (a rental car is the way to go) and were amazed by the beautiful scenery. We stopped in Marigot, the French capital, and were appalled by the raw sewage in the streets and abject poverty all around. People were very rude and not at all helpful in any of the shops or cafes.
We met lots of great people on our trip, other tourists who had been to St. Maarten many times. It obviously has a very devoted following.
Overall, we had a wonderful time in St. Maarten and would certainly go back.
Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort & Casino
Trisha Toronto, Canada
November 2005
I just returned from my second trip this year (Nov 2005) to Great Bay and it was just as good as the first time. The food is still great, the staff is friendly and the hotel is inviting.
Do not let other people complaining about a moldy smell put you off from this hotel. How much time do you spend hanging out in the hallways anyway? You will find that because of the high humidity there that some of your clothes or the bed sheets may feel damp. However this is normal in tropical countries. It is nothing to be alarmed about and you should not let it ruin your vacation. Just open the balcony door and let some fresh air in.
On to more pleasant topics - The Italian restaurant is now open and the food is great. They have a good selection of pasta as well as steak, veal, pork, chicken and fish dishes. However the one thing they are lacking is any kind of salad for an appetizer.
If you can swing it, request to sit in Dawn’s section at the a la carte restaurants. She is amazing. She made our whole dinner experience twenty times better. She will do everything possible to make sure you enjoy your meal. She even went out of her way to get me the aforementioned salad because I am a fussy eater and did not like any of the other appetizers offered. We ended up leaving her a $10.00 US tip the first night and she deserved every penny of it.
One tip – book your reservations for the a la carte restaurants early in the week as they tend to fill up fast.
However, do go to the buffet on Friday nights as the prime rib is great. Where else can you get prime rib at a three star all inclusive – I will answer that question for you – nowhere!
The bartenders are great and will make you any drink you want. If they do not know a drink, tell them the ingredients and they will figure it out. My friend had Michael making her chocolate banana martinis one night that were very good. Don’t be afraid to ask for their speciality as well, if you want to try something out of the ordinary. Michael also makes good shooters at the lobby bar at night. However do not let him serve you ‘liquid crack” if you cannot handle your liquor. Maritza, Kevin and Destine are all great too.
There are limited activities at the hotel but you will find enough to keep you busy. See JJ, Luce, or Lawrencia for some suggestions. They are all super friendly and are there to entertain and inform the guests. There is live crab racing on Sundays which is a hoot.
You can also play pool, cards, checkers and other board games in the activities room. You can borrow books or watch movies on their large screen TV as well.
All in all, this hotel is great for an intimate, friendly vacation. Do not expect a 5 star experience and you will not be disappointed. It can be as action packed or as low key as you want to make it. I will definitely be making another trip to Great Bay next year.
Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort & Casino
Jerry Canada
April 2005
Contrary to many of the negative comments that I reviewed prior to going to the Grand Bay Hotel and Casino in Sint Maartin I found everything to be first class, as did the fifty + others that traveled with me and my wife. There was no smell from the lagoon, the hotel accommodations were very good and the staff very hospitable and friendly. The rooms were clean and well looked after with the towels in the bathroom being changed twice a day as an example. Even the beach area was regularly groomed (it was hard to find as much as a cigarette butt). The meals were excellent both at the buffet (omelettes in the morning are excellent) and in the restaurant where service was first class and the staff dressed and attentive far better than many high class restaurants you find else where.
Would I go again....without a doubt, would the others that we were there with.....from the comments that I heard when we landed back home the answer would be a resounding YES.
The only downside of the stay at the Grand Bay Hotel and Casino in Sint Maartin ......................was having to coming back to reality after a great week of fun in the sun.
Maho Beach Resort & Casino
Kari & Les Halifax Nova Scotia
March 2005
We stayed at the resort from Feb 14-28/05. This was the first time I had been away for two weeks. I wish that we had done it last year in the Mayan! While we didn't have a horrible vacation, it wasn't the greatest. This resort definetly is NOT a 41/2 star. 3 1/2 is closer to the truth. If we had paid for a 3 1/2 we would have been much happier.
The flight (Westjet) was fine, it was raining when we arrived. Our room wasn't ready so we went down to eat. The food at the Maho is fine. I don't think we had a bad meal while we were there, but we didn't have a great one either - pub food is the best description. There are two options: the buffet or the Palms Grill (a la carte). We had breakfast every day at the buffet. It was the same every day and limited choices, but the food was good (the best fresh fruit I have had at any resort) and the french toast was good as well. Service was another matter. We rarely got a spoon (and I eat cereal) and it was a daily battle to get decaf coffee. We would sit there politely waiting for someone to offer it. Some days we got it early, others we left without any. If you sought someone out to request it, you were guaranteed a dirty look and one staff member even yelled at my husband and chased him back to his seat. There were some staff that were great (two young girls who always smiled and chatted) but they were the exception, not the rule.
We had lunch everyday at the Palms. The lunch at the buffet were too heavy for us. There weren't a lot of healthy options at either- though there is a small salad bar at the Palms and some days they had cooked chicken breasts to put on your salad. The hamburgers are really good and everything else was ok. The pineapple (ony healthy choice on the menu) came with canned fruit, which I found very disappointing as the buffet had such good fresh fruit.
For supper we tried a few "dine around" choices. Tiramisu was pretty good (italian food) - the chicken parm was pretty yummy. We were impressed with the service the first time, but the second week it wasn't nearly as good. The steakhouse wasn't very good. My husband paid extra to get a steak (with the dine around you get a very limited menu and have to pay extra if you want anything from the regular menu) and I tried it. The steak at the Palms was just as good if not better. We also felt like second class citizens here as they told us there were only certain tables we could sit at- one was in the path of the exhaust and the other was inside where the air conditioning was freezing. We also ate at the Point- I didn't like it much, though the ambiance and service were great.
Our room was horrible. We were in the main building on the fifth floor at the end of the hallway (if they give you room 561, don't even bother going upstairs, just ask to change it). It was smoking (we requested non-smoking) and there was a pile of butts on the floor (and yes we had waited 90 minutes while it was being cleaned). There was mold on the ceiling outside the bathroom and mold on the shower curtain. There were huge chips out of the tub. The sliding door to the balcony wouldn't lock (they did fix it) and our view was of a rotting rooftop with rotting buildings from an old resort that was not rebuilt after the hurricane. There were two double beds (our 16 year old daughter came for the first week). When you sat on them you almost hit the floor. It took two nights before I was exhausted enough to sleep. The one good thing was that it was pretty quite. We could see the casino, but we were on the far side of the hotel- so we only heard the loud music at 9pm every night. There was a parade down the main street at that time to entice everyone to the casino. We spoke to someone at the bar who told us they had been moved 4 times- they were now overlooking the same view as us but had been close to the casino and kept up to 5am, overlooking a cesspool and other such marvels. We decided to stay where we were- sticking with the devil we knew - as we didn't want to spend our vacation changing rooms.
The pool is very nice. They have these green mats at the towel booth that you can use to float on. Just get there early to sign them out (they are free). We really enjoyed them and they made nice pads for the chairs as well. Mullet Bay was a 5 minute walk from the resort. What a beautiful beach. The only downfall is that it is $15 US to rent two chairs and an umbrella for the day and the public bathrooms are a bit scary. We went once the first week and once the second. We also went to Orient Bay on the hotel shuttle. You have to sign up at the towel hut the morning before. This beach is nice too (about a 40 minute bus ride). I would recommend taking the hotel shuttle there, but take a cab or local bus back so you can stay later. They didn't arrive until 10am or so and left at 1pm. Much too nice a beach to leave that soon. Note that both beaches have nude people sunbathing. Orient Bay they are fully nude and Mullet mostly just topless women.
We also did two excursions. The first week we went to Anguilla. I highly recommend this. The beach is great, ferry ride is only 20 minutes and it was a nice full day there. The meal was really good. We also went to Phillipsburg via the local bus. We enjoyed the bus ride as much as the shopping. You should be careful to go on a day when there are minimal cruise ships. Better yet, do you shopping at the shops in Maho. The one furthest down (by the Pharmacy) gave us great deals and service. Though, Phillipsburg is worth seeing. We only saw Marigot as we were going to Anguilla. It is very beautiful. We just were shopped out and didn't want to go back- the exchange to Euro also dissuaded us too.
The second week we went to Prickly Pear on a catamaran. We had decided not to go to St. Barth's because of the rough trip- wish we were warned about this too. I would be careful going to St. Barth's, Saba or Prickly Pear if it is windy. The waves were about 4 feet. A number of people got seasick. I was freezing because we were getting soaked from the waves and the wind was soooo strong. The trip there was close to 2 hours. I couldn't wait to get off. The way home was much better- definetly not worth $85 US each!
The staff ran hot and cold. Our daughter and I had our hair braided (Frances from the time share desk at the hotel will come to your room and do it). She was great and it was so easy not having to worry about our hair for the vacation. Most staff at the front desk didn't care at all about any concerns expressed. We had a few requests (key for the safe, getting the sliding door fixed, getting access to the gym) and the response was none too friendly. Service was generally poor too. I can take slow (most days), but slow and cranky wore on you after awhile. As we were on the first direct flight from Halifax, I will be curious to see whether it will be running next year. Most of the others from Halifax were disappointed with the Maho.
I do want to recommend one of the Maho drinks- a BBC (bailey's banada colada)- as upset as I was the first day, they can always make you smile! We won't return to the Maho and probably not to St. Maarten at all. As we toured the island we didn't see any other resort that we would want to stay at- too bad because there are some amazing beaches, shopping and people in St. Maarten.
Maho Beach Resort & Casino
Eric and Colette
October 2008
Nov 2005 Dec 2006 and Nov/Dec 2007
Yes that’s right – 3 years in a row and we are heading for our 4th in a couple months. We have been to many islands/all inclusives and haven’t found a better island than St. Maarten to keep us occupied for two weeks. The Maho is perfect. We chose the all inclusive package. Even if you just had one meal a day there it was well worth it. We stayed in the Sky Tower – the rooms were extremely clean and the upgraded renovated suites (2007) were well worth it. The rooms are large and the amenities luxurious. Large bathrooms too. Maid service was very efficient.
The resort is very well cared for – grounds are clean and welcoming and very lush and tropical. This resort is all inclusive or not – many people are overnighters. The restaurants don’t feel like the typical all-inclusive. Meals are excellent and the Pointe is one of the best restaurants we have ever been to. There are many other restaurants in the Maho complex. You get vouchers to go to them so the variety is there. We really liked the outdoor Palms Grill for most of our meals. Bar service was very good – quick and very good cocktails/beers/wines and of course the signature “BBC” (you gotta have one and then you can’t stop!!). The pools are very clean – we liked the smaller one where we could watch the planes land and take off. The noise didn’t bother us at all. The swim up bar (Ramon) was always a treat to watch the activities at. We prefer the beaches which are unbelievable. Mullet Beach is a 10 minute walk from the Resort if you don’t want to stay on Maho. Most of the beaches have services (food/umbrella’s/chairs for reasonable fees). Some of the other beaches are a bit off the beaten track and well worth the time to find them. Many times we are the only people on the beach. Brochures are available everywhere with very good maps of the island. Check at the airport when you arrive as they are on the wall where you get your luggage. A car is the best way to see this island. Driving is very easy. Maho has a secure parking lot. Book your car rental online as the rates are better.
The resort itself has little in the way of entertainment, however right across the street there is more than enough. Maho is the only place on the island where the stores stay open in the evening. There are some pretty “unique” bars all within walking distance of the hotel. On 4 or 5 nights of the week there is a street show right in front of the Maho. They stop the traffic – great show and dancing – around 9PM – perfect way to start your evening of fun. We found the prices in Maho better than anywhere on the island and the sales people are easier to deal with than in Philipsburg and Marigot. But Philipsburg is where to go for selection – especially watches and diamonds!!!! We prefer Philipsburg to Marigot – they have a gorgeous boardwalk in Philipsburg. Just don’t go on Wednesday when there are up to 5 cruise ships docked.
There are many islands that are a day trip away – we hiked up the volcano on Saba and into the volcano at St. Eustatius. Breathtaking!!! We have done the snorkeling at Prickly Pear by catamaran – highly recommend that adventure. Our favourite is to take the little ferry boat ($6 US) across to Isle Pinel on the French side and hike around for a bit and then settle in for a lobster lunch, hand picked fresh from the water, at Karibouni restaurant. There is no electricity on this island – all is cooked over a grill.
St. Maarten is a busy island – lots of condos being built, lots of time share people, (they leave you alone if you tell them you are Canadian). It is an amazing island, it is truly half French and half Dutch and 200% Caribbean. But in seconds you can be away from all the busy-ness and find your own little piece of paradise. We highly recommend Sonesta Maho, for its location, services, food and its staff.
Maho Beach Resort & Casino
Tanya & Ron Toronto
April 2005
We just returned from our honeymoon at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort.
Resort -
The hotel and property was clean, modern and well maintained. The
gardens were lush with flowers and beautiful palm trees and it truly felt
like a tropical paradise. There were 3 sparkling pools with lots of room
and chairs for sunbathing and tanning. The view was spectacular facing
beach/poolside - definitely worth the upgrade, but also ok if you were
facing the golfcourse - not so great if you were facing the street/casino.
Food -
We were pleased with the quality and variety of food. Basically
there are 2 main restaurants - one is buffet style with a different theme
everyday and the other has a set menu. Both have adequate seating and
fanatastic views overlooking the beach/sea. Additionally, there are several
other restaurants included at no charge where you may dine once by using a
hotel voucher. We highly recommend The Point for presentation and delicious
steak/seafood and the Italian restaurant Tirimisu for authentic cuisine and
first class service. Keep in mind that you should bring one set of dress
clothes as these spots frown against shorts and sandels. Besides, you'll
want to dress up anyway!
Beach -
The hurricane from the 90's wiped out a lot of the beachfront, but
having said that..... there was still ample beach to walk, sunbathe and have
fun in the water. Most of the guests stayed by the pools anyway - close to
towels, washrooms and free drinks! Furthermore, Mullet Bay - a fantastic
beach - is only a 5 minute walk up the road. Plus, there are compimentary
shuttles to Orient Beach - a must see - and don't forget to spend some time
at Great Bay beach when you visit Phillipsburg. We have to mention Cupecoy
beach as well. This tranquil and picturesque beach has been carved out of a
rockface with caves and unique nooks and crannies. The water is a much
rougher and there is nudity, so not a family spot for sure.
Golf -
The Mullet Bay Golf Course is adjacent to the Maho Resort and about
a 5 minute walk to the 1st hole. Unfortunately, the course is not well
maintained and very, very dry. We paid $98 including a cart for 18 holes
which was worth every penny for the scenery alone, but don't expect lush
fairways and manicured greens.
The Airport -
Worth mentioning since it is RIGHT BESIDE the resort. Many reviews complain about the noise of the jets landing and taking off. Our feedback is much the opposite - we had a blast watching the planes come
in and out. The beach at the end of the runway is the closest place in the
world - no kidding - that you'll ever come to commercial aircraft. The buzz around the resort was all about which plane was coming in when. Everyone wanted to see the Air France jet or the KLM jumbo jet lumber in
across the sea and seemingly land right on top of you! We have some awesome
pics - the kids wil love it.
Night Life -
There's lots and lots to do at night. Maho Beach is right in
the middle of clubs and casinos. Club Q is right across the street. Bliss
and Bamboo Bernie's is a 5 minute walk away. Casino Royale is across the
street and the Atlantis casino is a 10 minute walk away. We have to mention
that it's not exactly quiet at night. The bass from the clubs carries
across the water and light sleepers might be annoyed. We didn't have any
complaints, but it's not a tranquil setting at night.
Service -
Overall, not the friendliest service in the Caribbean. We weren't
exactly disappointed, but a few more smiles and a bit more conversation
would have went a long way. In all fairness..... the hotel staff did send
champagne to our room and surprised us with a scrumpcious cake at The Point
to celebrate our honeymoon.
Spa -
The Good Life Spa on the 3rd floor was quite impressive. The
treatments were reasonably priced and definitely worthwhile. Check it out
and pamper yourself.
Phillipsburg
Definitely go for the shopping - especially watches and
jewellery. Pick a good day and you'll see a few cruise ships in port. Much
better than Marigot which has a few stores and an outdoor market, but is
mostly for night life.
So, as you can tell..... we had a great vacation in St. Maarten. The island
has so much to offer - we certainly would go back again and recommend the
Sonesta Maho Beach Resort.
Maho Beach Resort & Casino
Kathy and Tom Canada
December 2004
My husband and I travelled to the beautiful island of St. Maarten this
past November after having read several positive reviews right here on
Debbie's page. We found the reviews by previous guests to be very fair
and accurate and therefore totally enjoyed our trip and were well
prepared for the very few negatives we found on this great vacation.
First of all the beauty of St. Maarten itself we found to be beyond
compare and we have travelled to Mexico, Jamaica and Cuba for sunny
vacations in the past. The Sonesta Maho beach resort is lovely and well
maintained and we found our room to be clean and well appointed and the
maids did a good job doing a general tidy up each day as we hit the
beach or went travelling. Because the Maho is so close to the airport
we did of course notice the noise of jets landing and taking off but
coming from Toronto it was a pleasure not to hear police sirens for a
whole week so the jets proved to be not only not that disturbing but
fascinating to see landing so close to the beach. There is some music
noise at night from the local nightclubs but both of us are good
sleepers and had no problem with that either.
The food at the resort was by far superior to any other all inclusive
resort we have travelled to even one that was considerably more
expensive. The buffet at Oceans Terrase is different every night and
everything was good with several different meat choices and if you
really are picky the Palms Cafe restaurant can surely fill in the
blanks for you. We used our three a la carte choices to go to The
Point, Paris and The Grande. Paris and the Grande were both good but
The Point was fantastic. That dinner alone made the evening seem like a
very classy special anniversary party, the service, the food, the
atmosphere all simply beautiful.
Now to the beaches, we rented a car one day which was very reasonable
at Alamo and travelled around just trying out different beaches.
Cupacoy which is clothing optional is beautiful and secluded, Orient
Beach is great if you want to rent water craft or do parasailing and
the beach right close to Maho called Mullet Bay is gorgeous and fun for
body surfing. The very small beach right at Maho is exciting if you
want to sunbathe while looking right at the undercarriage of jet
airliners too!
Shopping is extraordinary in Philipsburg-everything from inexpensive
but brightly coloured pareos for your swimsuit cover ups to the most
expensive diamond ring I have ever tried on-$45,0000 U.S. There are a
plethora of jewellery and electronics shops so if you want either of
those bring some cash.
The people on the island are very friendly and helpful and all speak
English so it is not difficult to make yourself understood and easy to
meet locals and chat to them about their beautiful homeland if you want
to find out more about St. Maarten.
You can easily drive around the whole island in one day both French and
Dutch side but the traffic does get congested in some spots as there
seem to more cars than roads. We did notice however that most of the
drivers seem to be driving on a excess of courtesy because without
traffic lights or many stop signs everyone just seems to get where they
are going without beeping or raging at the other drivers. If you don't
want to drive yourself just hop on one o the local minivan public buses
and for $1.50 you will reach almost any destination you want.
We loved St. Maarten and plan to return next year with our two adult
sons as there is lots to do, swim, eat, shop and then go to a local
club with live music or the casinos at night! Don't worry if you don't
want to visit there we'll keep it our little secret!
Maho Beach Resort & Casino
Marcel & Nancy Niagara Falls
November 2004
My Husband and I went to St. Maarten in November 2004 for our 20th anniversary. It was our first time to the island and we stayed at the Maho Resort. We had a really nice and clean room, with a great view of the pool. The weather was great and any rain mostly happened at night, light mist once in a while during the day that quickly dried up.The planes coming in never bothered us and we never smelt any fuels or anything..it was actually pretty neat to eat breakfast at the buffet and watch a plane come in. We visited many beaches, including Orient Beach, it was nice and the nudest section was mainly older (60 plus) there was quite a few little shops and plenty of places to eat or drink. The drive to get there was interesting with the driver making some stops so we could take pictures. The drive back to the resort was the rest of the island that we did not get to see..enjoyable. Mullet Bay was closer to the resort and we spent plenty of time there, swimming, snorkeling, suntanning. Got some really great deals in Phillipsburg, Front St is full of stores..but bargain...there is room for deals. We got our best deals right in the Maho hotel strip...at Jewels & Linens, Carl is great and really made us laugh, ask about the coconut rum...mmm my favorite. We met some really great people that we will be keeping in touch with, and making plans about meeting again next year. Our waitress in the Palm Grill was great, always friendly and greated us with smiles...even got a hug when we left....the pool bar was great and don't be afraid to ask the bartender for a surprise drink...Ramone made some fabulous ones I had never tried before. Overall, this was a great getaway and there is still so much we want to see and do on the island...we will be going back again for sure.
Maho Beach Resort & Casino
Roy
November 2004
My wife and I flew in St. MArtin to stay at the Maho Beach in Nov. 2004. We flew US Air arriving on a Sat, They lost our luggage and we didn't get it until Sunday. This was our first time to St. MArtin and we were overall pleased with it. We stayed at the Ocean Terrace on the 5th floor with a great view of the ocean. The shower never had anything over luke warm water with no pressure.But the other people with came with had the same problem. The food at the buffet and outside restaurant were nothing special,mediocre to say the least. We did have 2 coupons good for other restaurants and we chose the Grand Cafe and The Point which were excellant. WE also ate at Cheri's across the street which was very good. We went to Orient Beach on Monday which was a 45 minute ride and the beach was good You could venture down to the nude beach but i would say the average age was 60. The beaches next to the hotel, Mullet Beach, Sunset Beach and Cupaygo were just as good and closer. There were local people there serving chicken and sandwiches at a reasonable price..All of these beaches have there share of topless people there.
We chose to do the sports things so we did the Rhino boat and waverunner rides, both very good but a little hard on the person on the back. Wednesday nite we did the sunset cruise on a catamaran which included food for $50. and was well worth it. Also a trip up to the butterfly farm was worth the time. We chose to use a taxi which was quite pricey,usaully $25. for 2 people but we did not want to wait for the bus. Its not worth it to rent a car because of the traffic and it is almost impossible to find a place to park. Don't buy anything on the beaches since it is cheaper in Phillipsburg or by the hotel. Planes were no problem,enjoyable to watch and stand at the fence during take-off waas quite a thrill.. All in all I would stay at this hotel again, I don't think I would go back here year after year. We have stayed at other resort in differant towns that were better for the all inclusive.. We enjoyed the beaches better than the hotel pools.Snorkeling was average since you won't see much unless you scuba dive. The people there were all very friendly wherever you went. Don't bother with golf clubs since the course is very unkept.
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