We recently returned from a four night stay at the Westin. Check in was a breeze. Our room was lovely on the inside, well appointed with a nice bed, flat screen tv, minibar, and balcony; the bathroom was fantastic, large with seperate tub and shower with dual shower heads. We did not have a view at all "resort view"; however we knew this would be the case from reading other reviews. The pool was georgeous as was the beach. It's true there is no shade at the pool and pool cabanas are very expensive to rent by the day. Less expensive to rent are beach cabanas which gets you two lounge chairs on the beach with a cabana topping over them for $20/day. We never had a problem getting chairs at either the beach or the pool. The casino in the lobby was not a problem in my opinion; it was always empty so smoke wasn't a problem either. The lobby bar and lounge area was nice for relaxing. We ate at Aura one night on the patio and had a fantastic meal. We also had sandwiches by the pool at lunch which was conveniently delivered to our chairs and pretty much what you would expect for the cost and quality (quality decent, resort cost = more than you'd like to pay for a sandwich). Never had a problem with room service at all and the conceirge made us dinner reservations 2 nights with no problem.

We ate at Big Fish just up the road which I would recommend. We also ate at Le Pressoir in Grand Case which was an excellent, excellent meal but we did experience a little sticker shock with the Euro on that. We also ate at Sol et Luna which was well worth the trip and slightly closer than Grand Case.

We rented a car at the airport (Thrifty) which made it easier to get around, but be warned the roads are not very good and there is very little to no light at night travelling to and from dinner. It is maybe 15 minutes by car to Grand Case and 30 minutes to Marigot in no traffic from the Westin. Leave plenty of time to get from place to place though because there does tend to be traffic in Marigot, Phillipsburg and especially by the airport.

After a couple days settling in, we really enjoyed our stay at the Westin. We were initially very frustrated with the island traffic and difficulty getting around. Suggest taking a taxi from the airport and having your rental car delivered to the hotel. Hte taxi drivers know all the back roads. It takes an hour to get from the airport to the hotel assuming you don't get too lost.


The hotel was great. We had two rooms on the third floor overlooking the pool and the ocean. Best view ont he property IMHO (room 3037-3039).

Enjoyed the people...liked the concierge as he was quite helpful and quick with dinner recommendations. We ate at Fishpot, Spigo and La California in Grand Case. All terrific but California was too busy so the service was slow slow. Also so ate at Big Fish near the hotel and obviously, Mr. Busby's.

Great bakeries in Marigot...worth the drive. No reason to hit Orient Beach...cruise ship haven. Beach at hotel is perfect.
Chartered a sailboat from Private Yacht Charters in Oyster Pond. Pierre runs the place and Greg was our Captain. We sailed to St. Barts for the day. It was rough seas going over so it took longer (they told us it would) but it was still worth the adventure.

No need to hit Phiilpsburg. French side has better food, roads, beaches, etc.

Nice place!

Got sent to the Westin when our other hotel told us they had overbooked. We were only there for a few days, but what a great hotel! Gorgeous. Very friendly and helpful front desk. Cool bar right in the lobby. Casino in the lobby as well, complete w/ tables. We ate at the restaurant for the breakfast buffet, it was delicious but expensive ($20 each). The beach was GORGEOUS...pools were great....Our room was big too, and the bathroom was awesome - Jacuzzi tub and a separate (LARGE) shower w/ dual showerheads. Definitely one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed in, and I'm pretty picky!

If you have not read Hyelor's review, please do so as they pretty much hit every point and very accurate as we stayed from March 15th-21st.

High Points of Westin: Nice beds ("Heavenly" Beds), bathrooms are spacious and water pressure was great (2 shower heads too). We had a courtyard view and it wasn't bad. The beach and pool are clean, but not enough umbrellas to provide shade. The resort facility itself is very nice, but entertainment is almost non-existent so unless you want to be a prisoner on the property, get out and about as much as you can.

Some employees were very helpful and nice; we had very little bad attitude other than the lack of interest from the concierge and seeing an employee urinate in the parking garage one night. One of the receptionists was on the rude side too, but the rest accomodated us fine. The disco was closed one night and reserved for a company function another night. The casino was always empty (though not an issue for us) and the restaurant choices minimal.

Low Points of Westin: As Hyelor mentioned, the concierge's attitude sucked. Also, toiletries were scarce upon check-in and you had to be very specific when requesting extras. They nickel and dime you on everything so be careful. Bring a cooler and refill ice in the vending machines-avoid the mini bar/refrigerator at all costs.

Food was outrageously priced, along with the gift shop. We did eat at the Ocean Restaurant and the food is good, but just way too high priced for what you get.

High Points of the Island: Renting a car! Although you need to be very cautious in driving with the narrow roads, few barriers on some hills, and extremely fast drivers. I am glad we went the taxi route at first and on the last day to the airport as the taxi drivers provided some interesting information, but I highly recommend renting a car and getting out and about! Be sure to drive all around the island and also up to Pic Paradise as the view is wonderful, though the drive up is on the rough side and parking is non-existent, we were lucky to be able to get a spot and turn around!

Sunset Beach Bar to view the airplanes landing. Wow.....quite the view and the food was actually good. I recommend the grouper fingers or fried shrimp! This is one place I would hang out for hours if I could.

Cheri's Cafe-good food and entertainment! We had fun there on our last night! Good for kids early, then the older crowd later. The band is great and funny and there is audience participation if you enjoy that!

Friars Beach if the surf isn't up too high! It is a secluded beach on the French side and would be great when the weather is calm. Also has a beach bar.

The Boardwalk at Philipsburg/Front Street: More for the people watching than anything. Shopping is fine if that is what you go for, otherwise, once you have seen a couple of shops, you have pretty much seen them all. One lady at one of the linen shops actually asked me to come back later as they were not "officially" opened, yet had their doors opened where anyone could walk in so they lost a customer that day!

It is fun to watch the cruise ships, people watch and sit at one of the beach bars to eat and relax. We ate at the "Honky Tonk Beach Bar" as well as the Madame Lou Lou's?

Also, attend a church service if you can. We attended the Philipsburg Methodist Church on Front Street and after the service, you can go shop, eat lunch, etc. Everything is convenient.

I probably would not go back to the Westin until they worked out some kinks as it is not worth the price you pay to stay there.