I don't think that I would spend the money on La Samanna. It's pretty overpriced for what you get, and the reviews that you have read are pretty accurate. St Martin is totally different from Anguilla and how you pick a hotel is based on the differences between the islands. Anguilla has three topnotch hotels that are all located right on some of the best beaches in the Caribbean. The hotels are beautiful - Cuisanart is my favorite - and you spend the majority of your time at your hotel and using the hotel beaches. That's the whole point of going to Anguilla, and it's a very laid back kind of beach experience. It's slow and totally relaxing!

St Martin is totally different. The charm of the island is to go to different beaches all over the island and try different restaurants each night. You need to rent a car and really explore all the options that the island offers. It's a very cool place, but not if you sit at your hotel for your entire stay. So the hotel doesn't have to be right on the beach, because you're going to do a lot of traveling around anyway. So based on that, I would pick L'Esplanade or Le Petit Hotel, which are both have the same ownership. I happen to like L'Esplanade the best. It's a small boutique hotel and is just a terrific place to stay, especially if they know that you are on your honeymoon. It's right on the edge of Grand case and you can just walk into town and have the most romantic dinners that you could imagine. Grand Case has too many wonderful French restaurants to even list. And I promise that it will be a heck of a lot less expensive than La Samanna. It's just a way better hotel. The only difference is that it's not located directly on the beach, but in St Martin it doesn't matter nearly as much.

Also going to St Martin for my honeymoon this year and doing some research now. We seem to hav ethe same ideas....Based on the reviews I have read I would agree with Bob. Bob, appreciate if you could kindly e-mail me. My address is rocky1977_98@yahoo.com.... I have a few questions I would like to ask..

Thanks

Regarding La Samanna...I have heard that their spa is wonderful. So...if that's a consideration, you might check further.

We have been to La Samana and did not feel the value for the money was worth it. I definitely did NOT enjoy the spa. At the time I went, no one in the spa spoke English and I did not speak French. Some of the ladies spoke neither French nor English. I could not convey what I wanted done exactly that day. Also, we did not care for the restaurant. Food was OK.

We love Le Petit and Esplanade! Esplanade is not on a beach-you may prefer Le Petit if this is important to you. But Esplanade is my preferred choice of the two.

We stayed at Grand Case Beach Club and really liked being on the water, the small beach and the restaurant is very good for breakfast and lunch. The rooms are outdated, but you really do not spend all day in the room-you must beach hop and shop (on Dutch side).

We have stayed at Green Cay Villas-liked the fact that we had our own private pool. It is located near Orient Beach. The living area was open-air and was much too warm for us in the summer. Also, heavy with mosquitos at that time.

Really enjoyed Le Meridien, now Le Domaine located in Anse Marcel. It is located on a nice beach and food is good.

As you may notice, we prefer staying on the French side, only because we know the restaurants in Grand Case really well and eat there every night.

Just know ahead of time that many trip advisors often refer to service personnel on the island as "slow", "rude", "unfriendly" and this is not truly the case-most of the time. The island is laid back, no one rushes you in/out of restaurants, dinners are relaxing with several courses. Some personnel work extended hours-so they do not have smiles plastered on their faces-but if you are friendly and polite toward them-you shouldn't experience problems.

We are going again in February and are venturing out more on the Dutch side this time. Hope this info helps for your honeymoon.

You won't be disappointed with the quality and service of L'esplanade. We stayed for our 25th anniversary in 2003. When we were considering the many options in the caribbean to celebrate my 50th last November we thought why look anywhere else other than L'esplanade. We enjoyed it so much the first time that we returned and loved it even more. Great location, wonderful view, accomodating staff (booked reservations for restaurant, massage, etc) and so close to the great restaurants of Grand case (favorites include Spiga and La Pressoir) which are so very romantic.

If you are 'laid back people' you'll also enjoy the size of the hotel... only 24 suites. Its much more intimate, you get to know other guests, and get to know some of the staff and owners.

Have a wonderful time and all the best in your married life.