I went to St. Maarten for a business event and my wife decided to tag along. I must have read 20 reviews for the Sonesta Maho Beach and most were somewhat negative. Let me start my saying this is a Caribbean island and the majority of people are here to relax and lay back and enjoy the easy life in the slow lane while there. This resort does have its pros and cons but its a clean, safe and comfortable place to stay. Upon check in there was a wait but we were checking in at peak check in time most hotels have a wait at these busy times. While we were waiting the hotel offered champagne to all of the guest who were waiting so this was a nice surprise. Once we got to our room it was old school furniture with a flat panel TV. The room was clean and quite large. We had a balcony overlooking the small pool and Maho Bay. We spent our evenings here just talking and enjoying the beautiful weather. Over all the grounds were nice with only a few blemishes. It seems to me if the management were to spend a couple of weeks just paying attention to some minor house keeping and repairs this place would be top notch. We really only ate the buffet for breakfast but it was well stocked and quite good with cook to order egg station and plenty of fresh breads and pastries. Our waitress Laurie was great and greeted us each morning with a smile and fresh coffee. Our house keeper Lori Ann was quite hospitable and took great care of us during our stay. Over all this is a great location and good property. And as I stated earlier if the management would just put a little time in the details of the grounds this place would have received a top rating. We will definitely be back.

Had an Ocean View room. Just beautiful! Such lovely, lush grounds! Such pristine blue water. Sunsets are amazing from the gazebo. Daily activities occur at the pool and on the grounds into the night. We've stayed there 4 different times and have never been disappointed. We love the area. It's in an upscale area that's not overcrowded and within walking distance of Mullet Bay Beach - the best secret around. Love watching the planes come in - the dancers in the street at 9:00, the Sunset Grill and Cheri's Cafe. The all-inclusive plan is great. We've used that in the past. This time we chose to go on your own and there are plenty of eating places to walk to - in all price ranges - , as well as a grocery store, drug store, and casino. We never rent a car. Taxi's and the island bus service can take us wherever we want to go. We love to walk and are among the many who walk the 1/2 mile from the airport to the hotel.

We have read carefully many reviews and were expecting something to go wrong at this property. However, nothing really wrong happened, and we mostly enjoyed the stay at Sonesta Maho. We bought an all inclusive trip with Sunwing, and everything went smooth: both flights on time, check-in effective, no delays with baggage, quick transfer to the hotel. Sunwing Rep was waiting for us and lead to a separate table in hotel with envelopes with key and towel cards for each room. Our envelope was not prepared, and we were taken to reception desk and got everything in 5 minutes. We were going to rent a car, and paid for a week underground parking 35 USD at the same time. The room was clean, king size bed was comfortable. The room was on the 7th floor and faced back... water treatment equipment. There was insignificant noise from working pumps, almost could not be heard with the closed balcony door. I can imagine an unpleasant view from a room below ours, say 1st to 3rd floor. The rooms facing street could have some noise and loud music till 4 am. I would say, the hotel is kept relatively well, with the signs of neglect here and there. Some cracks, worn spots etc. Two times for a week our key cards stopped working and we had to go to reception to restore them (2 minutes at most). Toilet flush was not very effective and we had to flush 2-3 times. The water flow was strong and steady all times. One day it smelled sewage around the hotel. The safe in the room was placed in the upper corner of the den, and a short person or a lady would not be able to reach it. There was a flat screen TV with 32 US channels. You could see the weather in US (Channel 29) but not in Canada and, most important, not in St.Maarten. The hotel is very close to the airport, and we treated that as an attraction rather than a discomfort. Yes, there is occasional noise from the planes, and there is occasional smell of burned kerosene. But those are redemption for great views of landing 747 and A-340. We have chosen this hotel mainly because we like watching the planes.

The service was pretty good but not always quick. There was not a single occasion service people didn't do what we've asked for. Always smiling, good mood/attitude. Very welcoming. The food was good quality, plenty of choices, tasty. However, there are some things that were not offered, and those included wider variety of fruit, no fresh juices, almost no seafood. Some fish cooked from frozen, fresh king fish on BBQ 2 times a week. Good pizza booth and pasta station but those were not the food we were looking for. Absolutely no ice cream in buffet. The tea and coffee are not hot enough. Same issue with mains in a buffet: the big trays are not heated. Only one sort of natural cheese available in the morning (and one sort of processed cheese, and Philadelphia spread). Absolutely no rye bread. No onions for the salad. Plenty of vegetables. Very limited selection of meats/chicken. Good soups and those were really warm! Disappointing omelet/egg station. I ordered 2 fried eggs and the cook put eggs on a cold pan and switched on the propane burned under it. Than he left (to find a spatula) and returned back only when the eggs where burned, and I had to remove the pan from the burner and hold it in my hands. Omelets are not fried but rather scrambled. However, there was enough food to choose from, especially deserts. The Point restaurant and Palm Grill offered good choices for dinner. There are 4 bars at the resort, opened at different schedules. Service is good but there are the thing you cannot get. This includes champagne or bubbly, and some common cocktails like cosmopolitan, Bellini, Aperol, sazerac, and even Mojito. You can get coffee espresso at the bar, but not hot chocolate or cappuccino.

The beach is very small but it never was too crowded. The waves could be high at times, be careful. The pool is all right, the only thing to be careful about is the swim up bar with an underwater step that is not painted with different colour, and almost invisible at certain lighting.

In conclusion, we have to state that we enjoyed the stay in Sonesta Maho, we found good people and decent service, and did not come across with any significant problems. We ranted a car for a whole week and were exploring the beautiful islands of St.Maarten and around. My advice to people who don't like landing planes - stay somewhere else. Also, for the whole week we did not face any other attitude than welcome and warmth. In the rare case if somebody will refuse you the prompt service, I would advise to shrug your shoulders and address to another staff member, and don't waste you nerves for any minor issue, remember, you came here to rest and relax, so smile and enjoy your stay. Make you notes and conclusions and the next time you are in St.Maarten, you may give a try to another property... at a different cost.

We stayed at this hotel January 12-19, 2012, and it was not a pleasant experience. I had selected a “Garden/Island View” room. On arrival there was a long, half-hour lineup at reception and when we were finally assigned a room, I was stunned to see what Sonesta considers a garden view.

We were in room 563 of the tower building. From the balcony no garden could be seen just a wide stretch of water-logged roof stretching over to Rhine Road with a few stunted palms stuck in front of empty planters. The Sahara Desert has more vegetation than this barren wasteland.

In addition, from 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM (4:00 AM on Saturdays) the bass beat from the nightclub just beyond the fencing rattles the glass doors to our balcony as it does for every other room situated on the backside of this hotel. Obviously there was no ‘garden’ foliage to muffle the sound. Sleep was impossible. Not a relaxing experience.

Coupled with this audio visual assault, the pink door to our bathroom in what we were told was a renovated room was too big for the frame and was impossible to close. Out in the hallway, bleach had been used on the carpet to remove God-knows-what, leaving a large grey stain where the pattern as well as the offending crud had previously been. The Sonesta concierge/activities desk was only staffed during the day Monday to Friday. It was closed evenings and weekends. Trying to book excursions was a frustrating experience of either nobody at the desk or another long line of people waiting for service.

We spent the entire next day (January 13/12) arranging to change rooms. Many other people were equally upset about their accommodations. Hotel staff were less than helpful. They were slow and disinterested in helping guests whom they treated with increasing irritation. Many staff members disappeared behind the reception desk for long periods of time. Armando Pizzuti, Hotel General Manager, was consistently unavailable. Finally, after 3:00 PM we were re-located into room 110 in the older Ocean Terrace section of the hotel. Amazingly, it did have a garden view However, this whole fiasco blew one entire day out of our one week vacation.

But even then, room 110 did not have a refrigerator, just a big empty space under the counter where one was supposed to be. Hotel staff could not locate any replacement during our stay. There were three (3) light switches at the entrance to room 110 but none of them worked. The ceiling light was burned out. Also, the top left light fixture over the bathroom mirror was broken off and remained so throughout our stay. The toilet water in both rooms 563 and 110 was colored dark navy blue by some sort of dye/disinfectant favored by staff.

Nor was there any in-room written information about Sonesta Maho activities, layout, mealtimes, entertainment, TV channels or island events. Only on Tuesday, January 17/12, was Channel 2 suddenly available on the television with some information. While waiting at the concierge/activities desk I was able to grab a small map of the grounds printed on the back of a postcard-sized ad for diving excursions -- better than nothing but truly an eye test for eagles to read. In a nook off the tower lobby there are some slot machines which I gather the hotel calls a “casino”. There is a real one, Casino Royale, directly across Rhine Road with a Scotiabank ABM and an RBTTbank ABM on either side should you need an infusion of cash. Also along this strip are souvenir shops and restaurants but you can do better in Philipsburg or Marigot.

Our buffet breakfast at the Ocean Terrace Restaurant was a week-long repetition of the same foods over and over and over again. Getting coffee served was a morning challenge. Also, there were only two fresh fruits at breakfast. The fruit choices were cantaloupe and melon, pineapple and watermelon, cantaloupe and papaya or, pineapple and cantaloupe. This is a tropical island; they can do much better than this.

At our evening meal in The Palms Grill on Saturday, January 14/12, we ordered the jerk chicken. It was 7:30 PM and the meat arrived half-cooked. We told the server. She said that’s the way it was and still charged us full price. Maybe their jerk chicken is fully cooked later in the evening but if it is on the menu, then cook it properly from the start of food service. Also, their menu specifically stated “100% beef hamburger, coleslaw & french fries”. When we ordered this, it came without coleslaw -- twice. “Don’t have coleslaw,” said the waitress. Then why was it on their menu? Of course there was no reduction in price for the missing coleslaw. Luckily there is a mini-mart affiliated with the neighboring Royal Islander Club timeshare across the street where you can buy groceries and wine.

When I asked to put a postcard, with the correct amount of Sint Maarten postage affixed, into the hotel mail box I was told there was no mail box, the card could not be put in with the hotel’s outgoing mail and I would have to go into the post office in Philipsburg and personally post it there. Another example of Sonesta non-service. What reputable hotel does not accept guests’ stamped postcards for forwarding?

However, we did have a good experience with St. Maarten Sightseeing Tours (SST) TEL: 543-2000 which we phoned and booked directly ourselves and not thru that Sonesta activities desk. Their driver Raphael picked us up at the hotel in a new, clean bus and, along with eight other passengers, took us on a four-hour island tour of the French and Dutch territories for $20 each with stops in the capital cities of Marigot and Philipsburg (where I was able to mail my post card!). Kudos to Raphael – friendly, informative and a real joy after the dismal staff at Sonesta Maho. Not many passengers on this tour but we all tipped him handsomely. Also took the local mini-van bus service which stops on request to the left of the hotel front entrance (stick your arm up and wave) to get around. Two dollars (US) cash per person per trip and they have signs in the front window showing their destination(s). Sometimes we shared seats with locals going to and from work and other times with tourists out to see the sights. Taxis to restaurants and nightclubs in Simpson Bay cost $10 and up from the Sonesta Maho and the price doubles after dark. Typically, along with other tourists, we watched the jumbo KLM, Air France and Alitalia planes land/takeoff at Princess Juliana International Airport and sipped a beverage at the Sunset Bar while others chose to get sand blasted on the beach by jet exhaust.

I would never return to the Sonesta Maho or recommend it to others. They need to hire sufficient staff and train them in food service and accommodation management. They need to refurbish their rooms and attitudes. There is no excuse for the type of service we had from January 12-19. 2012. Apparently Sonesta’s corporate mission is “to exceed customers’ expectations” and they failed miserably. So I sent my litany of complaints to their head office. No response (surprise, surprise). Should you care to try, the contact address is:
Stephanie Sonnabend
CEO & President
Sonesta International Hotels Corporation
40 Edwin Land Blvd
Cambridge, MA 02142 USA