My wife, one and a half year-old daughter and I just returned from a great week at the Hotel Beach Plaza in Marigot. This was our first visit to the island and we found the hotel was in a great location. We're not "sun worshippers", so promixity to a great beach wasn't our #1 priority, but the small beach at the hotel was perfect for our needs. We booked an oceanview room so we could see and hear the water every day and night. We overlooked the Bay at Marigot and could see Anguilla off in the distance. Sunsets were spectacular from our balcony. We started everyday with breakfast at the hotel. It was a great North American-style buffet with fresh fruit, breads, cereal, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and pancakes. The restaurant staff were attentive and friendly. Other meals at the hotel were average. Our best meals were in the Marina Royale, only a five-minute walk from the hotel. This part of town is great and very European. Cafes dot the interior of the marina while unique boutiques outline the perimeter. Our best meal was at a popular place called Tropicana. Each restaurant in the Marina has something unique to offer and you could spend an entire week just trying out each spot. Our first few days were spent lazing around the hotel on the beach and in the pool, and exploring Marigot. On Thursday and Friday we rented a car so that we could see other parts of the island. We rented from Hertz at the hotel and had a horrible experience with completely incompetent customer service. If you visit St. Martin, beware of Hertz. It's not like renting from them elsewhere. There are many other options. Having a car was great though. Shopping in Philipsburg was a highlight as was a visit to the beach at Orient Bay. Even though we aren't beach folks, it was a very "touristy" experience that was fun. Driving on the island is a bit chaotic at times but everything is very close. If you want to cover two or three destinations a day, it's completely manageable. During our stay, the weather was beautiful for the most part. We had a couple days with scattered showers and one major down-pour, but the rain seemed to be quite localized and did not last long. There's always somewhere fun to escape the rain.

My wife and I stayed at Beach Plaza Hotel for 3 nights. If you're looking for deluxe accomodations, a great on-site beach or activities galore, this is not the place for you. Nonetheless, we thoroughly enjoed our stay. Unlike many resorts and hotels on the island, Beach Plaza is located in Marigot. The hotel beach is small and rocky and we never set foot on it. It's walking distance from a great selection of restaurants (including our favorite, St. Germaine) mainly featuring french cuisine. Some of the staff speak English, but some only French. The same is true for restaurants and stores in Marigot, so knowledge of a few words in French will do you well. Most of the guests are European. You definitely need to get an ocean-side room. We slept to the sound of waves, which was wonderful. The other side of the hotel oversees the main and busiest street in Marigot. This was a great location from which to explore the island. We were happy to only need to drive through the Dutch side on the way to an from the airport. The Dutch side is far more Americanized, and not in a good way. There are several great beaches, our favorite was Baie Rouge, which is only 10 minutes drive from Beach PLaza Hotel. Baie Oriental is the most popular and is worth a visit though it's pretty crowded and about 20-25 minutes from the hotel.

We booked the Beach Plaza Hotel online and were pleasantly surprised. We arrived Feb. 20th, our 35th wedding anniversary, and were checked in within minutes. The island view I choose online, however, was not what I expected. The second-floor room overlooked a busy, dusty road and some kind of sprawling boatyard. We asked for an upgrade to the ocean side and were accomodated within an hour. The increase was about $35 a night, but so well worth it. The views of the Caribbean from our second-floor room and great porch were spectacular. The hotel was immaculate and the staff very friendly and helpful. Breakfast is included and was excellent. It's a buffet with eggs, sausages, bacon, etc. We lingered every morning over the great coffee and fresh croissants, enjoying our week-long respite from the cold Northeast of the states. The views from all tables are spectacular (it's open air overlooking the pool and ocean). Each day we were there was sun-filled with a soft breeze to caress my wife and I. The beach was great and a concrete deck for sunbathing that juts out into the ocean was tremendous. We ate dinner in the same restaurant twice and enjoyed it immensely. Marigot is a 10 minute walk away, past an old cemetery where chickens roam freely. Marigot is very safe and there are many fine french restaurants along the docks. Around the corner are a ton of nice shops and the center of town for more shopping is a half-block away. We didn't even have to rent a car because the hotel was so convenient, but we did for one day, choosing a nearby agency that had some kind of a small race car. Fun!!.. You can catch a bus in Marigot (runs frequently) that goes over to Philipsburg on the Dutch side for some of the best shopping in the world. We did that. It was cheap. Around $2 each person one way. The ride takes about 30 minutes, depending on traffic. We also took a sidebar high-speed boat trip to the nearby Dutch island, Saba, and loved it. We went over to Anguilla, too, but found not much going on. We should have taken the ferry to St. Bart's instead. About a 12 minute walk from the Beach Plaza Hotel is a new and air-conditioned mall, The West Indies shopping mall. Many fine shops are within and beckoning. They call St. Martin the friendly island. It lived up to its reputation. It was our second time there. We'll return.

I booked this hotel because of its proximity to the variety of restaurants in Marigot and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it delivered not just that, but also lovely facilities of its own. No, it is not located on one of the main beaches on the island, but the atmosphere is lovely and the veranda has a beautiful view of the harbor. The room was clean and spacious. As someone who doesn't like to be trapped at a resort with only access to their restaurants and beaches, this was a perfect solution. By renting a car, we were able to explore the full island and not feel badly that we were not taking advantage of resort amenities. For the price, you really can't beat the Hotel Beach Plaza. The staff was courteous and the complimentary breakfast was truly delightful.