Our reliable travel agent recommended Sonesta Maho as a quick get away to relax a few days. My husband and I wanted simple pleasures and not lots of planned activities. We also wanted a fast flight (4 hours from NY) and short taxi from the airport . The airport's walking distance, but don't be alarmed. Mostly small planes come in, and only during daytime.

We had a tower room with ocean view. The room and bath were new and the bed was very comfy. Ceramic tile floors are icy cold so keep your sandals near the bed. The wide, flat, rain-style showerhead was a bad design choice since there's low water pressure, and the only disappointment. These are meant to be used in conjunction with a standard showerhead or removable hand-held version, but there was none, making it difficult to rinse properly.

We recommend not getting the inclusive meal plan since you'll want to go to other parts of the island and end up eating there. The rooms have coffee pots and mini fridges so go to the grocery store across the street which has fresh fruits, cold cuts, cheeses, liquor and drinks. Stock up for breakfast, lunch and snacks and skip the buffets. Save your money to go to really nice restaurants in the evenings in Maho and Marigot.

The little town outside the Sonesta is not going to keep you occupied for more than a day unless you spend a lot of time at the casino. Cab is $15 each way to Marigot and about $10 each way to Phillipsburg. Take the bus to Phillipsburg at $2 per person each way, it's fine. We were the only tourists but we felt safe. Ask to go to the Boardwalk and the bus driver will show you where to get off. Important: When you go somewhere by taxi or bus, be sure to ask the driver where to find the taxi stand or bus stop to get a ride back.

I saw reviews saying the staff or residents were not friendly, but I noted that they were very friendly and helpful, especially if you smiled and were courteous. I've traveled to many of the Caribbean islands and St Martin is one of the nicest overall. It's now my favorite.

I only went for 1 day, and I chose this hotel because it is so close to the airport. You can basically walk to/from the airport, but I didn't because I had luggage. The cab ride is only like $6. While on the beach, you will see all of the planes landing right overhead, and they fly super close. Checking in was super easy. Next I headed out to the bars. They have a bar outdoors with a restaurant and a swim up bar at the pool. The drinks at the swim up bar aren't quite as good. Cheryl at the other bar makes the best drinks, and her prices are better. Try the Guavaberry--it's the island's signature liquer. The ocean is absolutely gorgeous. You can walk along the beach to Sunset Beach Bar... its only like 2 minutes away, and has a gorgeous view. That is also right beside Bliss, which is supposed to be some super awesome club, but it wasn't open the night I was there. Overall, the nightlife and general social atmosphere of the place was really great, and I met lots of randoms. The beach is a little rocky, however, so beware of this after having a few drinks. The strip of beach on the property is a little narrow because it is bordering a road by the airport, so the tide pretty much overtakes the beach at times, however there is a raised area with loungers and umbrellas. There is a little mini casino in the hotel. I went there, spent one dollar and lost. My room was pretty standard. I really only wanted it as a please to sleep and keep my stuff, so I don't really have any complaints. Aesthetically it isn't too great, but it works. The view from the balcony was gorgeous, even though I only paid for the cheapest room possible. The tv doesn't get a lot of channels. The next morning I went to the breakfast, which was $15, but totally worth it... they have basically everything. Check-out time is 11, but when I tried to shower the water was turned off, so they told me I could check out at 12. I left my bag with the bellman. There are touristy shops within walking distance. I didn't ever really leave the vicinity of the resort in the 24 hours I was there, but it was still a completely awesome experience.

My husband and I stayed at the Sonesta Maho in April for 5 nights. We had a great time!! The drinks were great, the staff were great!! Watching the planes was a lot of fun!! Food was okay, only ate at the buffet one night and did not love it. The Palms Grill was fine for lunch and dinner, good desserts.

Nice clean room, nice view of the water and pool. Had no problems with moldy smells or with airplane noise or smell. We had a great time, nothing bothered us at this hotel. Had no problems renting a car and driving around the whole island, went to Grand Case for lunch, swam at Orient beach, shopped in Phillipsburg. No problems with traffic or crazy drivers.

We really enjoyed our trip to St. Martin and would go back and stay at the Sonesta and still do AI, we thought it was worth it for the drinks and lunch alone!!

Well let first start by saying that I've read some very negative reviews on here about this hotel.......DON"T LET THE OPINION OF A FEW DETER YOU FROM STAYING HERE. I've been all over the Carribbean, and this was by far the best vacation i've taken out there ever!!!! Vacations are about getting away from the grind of daily life and just relaxing. It is what you make of it. For those of you that expected the Trump tower maybe you should have stayed in Miami. What do you expect to find on 40 square mile island in the middle of no where!! Now thats out of the way, allow me to fill you in on the hotel. You have litteraly a 2 minute drive from the airport which for me was very refreshing because usually when you go on vacay you've got another hour and a half in a bus to get to your resort. I felt the resort was very nice. It did smell a little musty to me but you've got to understand its right on the beach, its humid, there's a casino in it, and it's just gonna smell a little musty. I actually enjoyed the way it smelled. I knew I was on vacay. Everyone at the front desk was always very helpful, slow at times, but once again your not in the states anymore. The room was nice, once again not the trump, but nice for what it was. You have to understand thats its an older hotel, but I was perfecty satisfied with the room. It was cleaned every day for us and the sheets changed every day. Besides other than sleep, and do what you do with your significant other your not gonna spend much time in the room anyways. The restraunts were pretty good, more of like a quick fix though. Dont do the all inclusive!!!!! Save yourself the extra 100 bucks a night and just pay as you go. My girl friend and I did the all inclusive thinking it was the cheaper way to go but it was'nt. It only gets you meals at two restraunts, and does'nt get you top shelf drinks. It would only pay off if you never left the resort, but trust me you will! There is so much to do down there, that you just dont wanna hang out at the pool all day! Ramone is the pool bartender, He's really cool! All the restraunts we ate at outside of the hotel were incredible! The casino across the street was awesome and alot of fun!! Won money there every night! Blackjack and roulette. You can rent a jeep at the front desk for 65$ a day. Well worth it! You will deffinately wanna tour the island for yourself. We felt totaly safe and comfortable everywhere we went. This is not your tipical caribbean island, there is alot of culture here, primarily french and dutch. I have already recommended this hotel, and this island to my friends. We are already planning our next trip out there, and we will be staying at the Sonesta again. And to give you an idea of what kind of money you'll spend my girl friend and I took only 1000 cash with us, We ate wonderful meals every night, gambled every night, checked out the local bars every night, rented a jeep for the day, and what ever else we felt like doing! All this and still managed to come home with a little over 100 bucks! And one last thing, you can go to Phillipsburg beach, which is like a 30 minitue drive from the Sonesta, rent a car and drive yourself, Its beautiful. But when you get there 20$ will get you 2 beach chairs, an umbrella, and a six pack of beer on ice! So go make you own Corona commercial and hava an incredible vacation!!!