Stayed with my family for 7 nights at Sonesta Maho. Except for the last two days when a large group came the resort was quiet and uncrowded. There were plenty of beach chairs both at the pool and beach.

The Garden view room we stayed in was recently redecorated and suited us well. Though there were no paintings on the wall and the view was of a partialy paved rooftop with a with a few palm trees. We also faced the Casino and it was regularly loud when we went to bed at around 10pm.

The beach is small and uncrowded but the planes landing again and again got a bit annoying even though there were only a few airlines per day.

The resort was beautiful, the staff friendly and helpfull. The Ocean Terrace served a diffrent meal for lunch every day and night. The Palms grill had a set menu that got monotunus but there were daily specails to choose from.

The Rock and Roll trip to Creol Rock with Aqu Mania was alot of fun but the snorkling was just ok. Though the kids really liked it.

The Aqua Mania trip to Prickly Pear Nature Reserve is a must.
It is a half day trip on the Lamabada a 64' Catamaran. They French bread, apples, Guda cheese and drinkables are served on the way there and back. Lunch is included. The snorkleing there was better but not great. Watch out for jellyfish both small and larger ones. The kids really liked this too.

We rented a car for a day a went to the French side.
Red Bay was our first stop. It is a beautiful, quiet and and ok place to snorkle. Watch out for small jellyfish and fire coral.

Orient Beach is crowded and full of activieties.

We stopped at Friars Bay on a recommendation to look for shells. Shells were hard to find on other beaches.
You will find them on the left side of the beach among the rocks.
But take care there is also broken glass in the rocks.

The Butterfly Farm was nice but we've been to others at home so it wasn't a memorable experience, though we did get to see a Blue Morpho.

We tried to get to Pic de Paradise but the road had no signs after the initial one and we ended up at a dead end. It looked like there was a dark hiking path but I didn't feel safe enough to take the kids along.

There are several signs in french warning of you of thieves so don't leave anything, even flip flops in your car.

There wasn't much nudity to speak of. But there was a notable amount of liter on the beaches like straws, cigaret butts, and beer bottles. Even at the resort there were straws and cigaret butts in the sand a bit trash showed up on the beach in the morning that the tide brought in. And they allow smoking in the retsaurants.

Because of the conditions of the beaches, that were not nature preserves, I would not return to the island.

We went to St. Martin from May 31 to Jun 7, 2008. We absolutely loved the Maho hotel. We read other peoples reviews before we went and found them very helpful. If you can upgrade your room to the Tower rooms from floor 7 to 9 ocean view. It is worth it. We did for $50USD a night. The rooms have a small fridge and a programable safe. Check-in was quite easy. Do the usual one of you gets the luggage while the other checks in. Its much quicker that way. I was first in line. I loved the all inclusive bands. They are not the usual plastic ones you get. Theirs are like braclets you would buy from a vendor. The hotel has nice grounds to walk around and at night you can also walk along the street in front of the hotel. It is quite safe. There are about 10 stores there which stay open later in the evening(4 restaurants, 1 small drug store, a few clothing and shoe stores). One of them is a Hagen-Daz ice cream store. The $5 USD milkshake is a taste of heaven on a hot summer day. Definately go to the restaurants. Le Charlebois was one restaurant I wouldn't go back to. We didn't like the lack of service or the food. The Paris Bistro and The Point restaurant have a better selection and quality of food. At the Point restaurant I would recommend asking how the food is served ie. what type of sauce is used in the meal. I had a delicious chicken char-broiled on mashed potatoes while my husband had 4 shrimp on spagetti in a white sauce as the main course. He hates white sauce and it wasn't written in the menu. So its good to ask. At all these restaurants the all inclusive meal is limited. You only get 1 free drink with your meal so ask for a glass of water as well. You can always go to the buffet if you are still hungry. The buffet at all meal times is quite good. Try the wings at the Ocean Club Restaurant on the property. They are yummy! There are many cats that live on the property. They are so cute. They sit quietly hoping you will feed them. There are signs in the buffet area asking you to not feed them, but people do. I've travel a bit and know that there are either stray cats or dogs that are nearby all the hotels. I bring cat food when I travel for them. Its a nice thing to do. The activities desk employees are very helpful so do ask them questions. If you rent a car the hotel will charge you $5USD a day for parking. They don't always tell you that. We had it taken off our bill because we were not informed of the fee. You can rent from Hertz in the hotel lobby. Definatley rent a vehicle and tour the island. Buy gas on the french side its cheaper. There is a great little gas station between Le Flamboyant Hotel and Mercure Simson on Nettle Bay. The Maho beach is just okay. Take the 5 min. walk to Mullet Bay beach next door it is so worth it. I saw 2 dolphins out there and the snorkelling is fantasic. Bring some bread and feed the fish. Its alot of fun. You get a great view of Cupecoy from Mullet beach. You can fish off the rocks on the left side of Mullet Bay. Don't try to scramble across the rock. There is a path to the left at the end of the beach. Wear your runners if you go out there.
The Maho hotel has a great location because its close proxity to the island's beaches and Marigot. The traffic is worse near the Philipsburg hotels. Beaches you must definately see are Red Bay(it is filled with beach sand from a storm in March 2008, it use to be mostly flat rocks sand), Gallion beach, Long Bay, and Dawn Beach. Drive out to the lookout point at L'Embourage. It is breathtaking. Bring bread to Red Bay beach. There are more fish there that will come and eat than at Mullet Bay. It also has great snorkelling. You can snorkel to a small seperate beach from there. You can buy food and drinks at the beach. Not all beaches have restaurants. Gallion Beach also has a restaurant. It is very shallow and great for children. You can see the wind surfurs at the beach right next door at Coconut Grove. It costs $5USD to rent a beach chair and $5USD to rent an umbrella at all the public beaches which have them available. We just take our beach towels. We have been to St. Martin 4 times and the Maho would be our choice of hotel for our 5th visit. If you like rock and roll music then listen to Island 92 Bogart in the morning is great. We saved an hour of standing in line when you leave by taking a $7 cab from the hotel 2000 yards to the airport. Definitely watch the planes come in, contrary to what people say you aren't bothered by the sound of the planes arriving and departing. Its very cool!

My family has stayed at the Sonesta Maho 3 times. We went in 2004 for a week and loved it. When planning next years vacation we pulled out all kinds of travel books, flipped through them quickly and then decided to go back for 2 weeks! 2 years later my sister got married there!
It's a great hotel, the older rooms do need some work, but hey - the hotel realizes this and is upgrading them, they'll get there. Hopefully it won't take them too long. The upgraded rooms are gorgeous and worth every penny they put into them.
They have made a number of upgrades since we first went, including upgrading the pool and providing Internet access.
The food is great - the Filet Mignon at The Point is the best steak I've ever had. We usually ate lunches at the Palms Grill - my husband still talks about St. Maarten burgers a year later!
The beach at the Sonesta Maho is fun but if you want a relaxing beach time, walk for 5 minutes to Mullet Bay - its beautiful there.
The staff are all wonderful. One bartender literally gave me the shirt off of his back!
We have noticed that it has become more popular over the years and a lot more of a party hotel than it used to be. We have made some great memories and have had nothing to complain about. We're going somewhere else this year just for variety but will likely return to St. Maarten in a few years after we've seen a bit more of the world!

After reading so many conflicting reviews I was a little hesitant. We have stayed at many beach destination locations and enjoy the Riu in Cancun, to the Mayan Palace in Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco. But, after getting an amazing off-season rate of only $97 per night we decided to give it a try to see something different. If you are looking for the big new beautiful hotels you'll see in Mexico-- then it might be best to go to Mexico.

Release your pre-conceptions and embrace the diversity and cultural differences this small island offers. Our room was located in the main building and very easy to get to the pool beach and lobby... The rooms were very clean, (yes, when you walk into the lobby there is a bit of a "musty" smell but that's from the humidity, it's not dirty. Our room was spotless. I think you get what you pay for in terms of the room, we decided not to pay for the view. since we don't spend much time in the room when we travel. We had a large clean comfortable room, which was facing the street, (even though there is music on the street each night, if you close the sliding door you won't hear a thing.) The only thing I wish the room had, was a servi bar or fridge, --but again, you get what you pay for, I understand the suites are amazing and have servi bars...

The beach on first glance seems small, but the sand is very nice, the water is crystal clear warm and beautiful. There are pleanty of chairs and umbrellas at no charge for your to use. Walk about 50 yards down the beach and you can have a drink at a little makeshift bar made out of a small boat and enjoy cocktails as you watch the planes take off right over your head... at very reasonable prices with a rustic and charming carribean setting-- complete with little palm huts and picnic tables.

I highly reccommend that you budget some dollars to rent a car about $30 per day. Try to spend time at some of the other beaches, we loved the lively and beautiful Orient beach. It's really upbeat and exciting with great restaurants and bars, walk the beach and find a deal for chairs an umbrella and drinks for about $6-8 per person. It's fun to see the difference on the other side of the island.

On your way home detour to Great Bay and have a wonderful dinner of terrific french food, --or sit at the beachside grills and have some of the best grilled shrimp, grilled ribs and Johnny Cakes that you've ever had at "Talk of the Town Restaurant". (And a slab of ribs is $4 US dollars!)

If you're a shopper make sure to hit Marigot. It is probably the most sopihisticated area with a pretty outdoor mall with upscale shops. For jewelry and souvinirs, make sure to hit Phillipsburg .. but note it's only open from 9-6p it closes up fairly early. Then head back to the Sonesta and enjoy the nightlife, especially... Casino Royale where at 9pm they do a show out in front of the Casino ,it's wild to watch as the dancers literally stop traffic on the little strip each night. Bliss is a fun outdoor nightclub and last but not least, our absolute favorite was The Sopranos Piano bar. They have great entertainement and fantastic service! Ask for Morris the manager and bartender, he's the best!...and makes everyone feel right at home.

What's nice about the Sonesta, is there is entertainment all within walking distance until very late-- and you can have dinner, drinks and then easily walk the small strip back to your room...with no need for a cab or concerns about driving. Also don't worry about the Euros -- most restaurants were offering a 1 to 1 rate at all the restaurants on the French side. And everywhere we went, they accepted US dollars.

If you've never been to the islands, take a deep breath, slow down and embrace the slower pace, diversity and charm this beautiful Island can offer. It's pretty nice to eat amazing French croissants that taste as good as the ones in Paris for breakfast, and then have "melt in your mouth" Johnny cakes at dinner. I hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did. I have to say at first I was a little hesitant.. but the more I saw and experienced, the more I grew to love this very eclectic and charming island. I hope you have a wonderfrul vacation!