We went with Air Transat Holidays. Only downside don't pay them for an upgraded room, it is cheaper to pay the hotel when you get there to upgrade. Front desk staff were friendly and helpful and check was really fast.

The planes taking off and landing were no big deal. The beach while small was nice, but watch the current. The room was spotless and the bed was great. Food was nice especially the Point. You get some voucher for offsight restaurants. They weren't that great. The buffet was a lot better. Best nights are Saturday and pay the surcharge for lobster ($15) and Tuesday when they have French food. We eat an a la carte lunch every day and it was amazing!! The place is called the Grill and it is included. Be nice to the waitress and tip based on the bill you will fast and fabulous service otherwise the service is a lot slower.

Went to the Spa which was expensive ($90) for a massage. Had Patricia and I have never had a better massage anywhere. Massage was $40 for an hour on the beach right in front of the hotel (ask the "braids" lady) but I only found out about it when I left.

They are not kidding when they say if you rent a car go into town at least an hour before the shops open or there is no parking!!!! This isn't a joke. Even going at 9AM for shop opening at 10AM it was hard to find parking. Be careful I was double billed for the car and also we had tires so bad it is a wonder we didn't die. Check the tires when you check the car.

As for car rental, we used the Avis desk at the hotel and the lady there is so nice and so friendly. Wow!!!!

Now as for the restaurants in Grand Case, except the Lolos they are expensive and frankly we didn' think they were that good but... Loved the Lolo "Talk fo the town".

Pinell Island was nice and inexpensive if you drove and took the ferry but lunch is pricy and even the loungers and umbrellas are expensive so be aware of that. Think $15 for two loungers and an umbrella and $40 per person, on top of the ferry and car rental makes the packages fromt the hotel look like a good deal.

Orient beach was kind of like a California beach and that is not bad but it was a little of a let down.

So would I go back. Absolutely. Would I recommend the Sonesta Maho, yes I would.
Hope this help. Leslie in Toronto

My husband and I just came back from this resort and we have no compliants. The food was very good and lots of selection. The staff was very friendly and helpful. FEVRY LYSHER was amazing and went out of his way to be friendly, funny and professional. One day my husband went on a scuba diving course off site and I stayed back. I went to lunch solo and Fevry met me at the entrance and looked after me during the whole time I spent at lunch. The management at this hotel should be proud to have such an employee on their staff. The swimming pool was beautiful with a swim up bar. The beach area is gorgeous, the sand like power, white and beautiful. It is so much fun to watch the planes come in every day. They didn't bother us at all. I would highly recomment this resort to anyone for a nice relaxing time!

The Hume's from Toronto.

Background:

I have always enjoyed all-inclusive vacations. They are relatively affordable, give you a piece-of-mind and generally have beautiful beaches to relax on. Being 27-years young now, I have been to a few all-inclusives in the past few years: Varadero (Cuba), Cancun (Mexico) and Punta Cana (Dominican Republic). They have all ranged from 4 – 5+ Stars and have had many pros and cons. When on vacation, it generally takes quite the effort to irritate me, and I am not one to complain about the most insignificant things; come on, you’re on vacation, relax a little! However, that does not mean I’m a pushover, nor do I tolerate rudeness or uncleanness.

Having been to the destinations mentioned above, a colleague recommended that I try Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino located in St. Maarten (Netherlands Antilles), as he just returned from his honeymoon and had a wonderful time. I then did some quick research (on Trip Advisor of course!) and the general consensus was positive albeit some common concerns (unfriendly resort staff was probably the most noted).
My review will be divided into main topics for easier reading. Also to note, I went on this trip from September 4th – 11th, 2009 with my lovely girlfriend and two good friends!

Flight:

We had an early flight departing from Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada. The flight was supposed to be 4.5 hours to reach our destination, but unfortunately, the weather was not on our side when approaching St. Maarten. There was a brutal storm passing through the island, which delayed our landing attempts. The captain made several attempts, but finally made the decision to land in St. Thomas (Virgin Islands), which was a 20-minute flight from our destination. We were to wait there until the storm had passed St. Maarten. Most passengers were very understandable, as we cannot control the weather, but of course there were a few individuals who would murmur words under their breath as well as call this event “ridiculous”. As I said, I’m not one to complain about the littlest things, and I commend the captain for making right decision. For all those ingrates who were [--] and moaning, let’s see you try to land a Boeing 737 with rain (--) sideways and fog. Thought so. Anywho, we stayed in St. Thomas for about 1.5 hours before given the OK with take flight to our original destination.

Location and Surrounding Amenities:

When we finally landed, standard protocol with customs clearance and baggage pickup was in place. Once we all got our luggage, we proceeded to the buses/mini vans, which took us to the Resort. Now the beautiful thing is that Sonesta Maho Beach is only a 5 minute bus ride away from the Princess Juliana International Airport! The Resort is also conveniently located to the following amenities:

- Food Express: A convenience store that’s a 2 minute walk from the resort. You can purchase items such cigarettes, alcohol, bottled water, toothpaste, sunscreen, ice cream, snacks, groceries, etc.) . Prices are very reasonable and in USD.

- Tantra Night Club: A night club/disco directly across the street from the Resort. Popular destination for both tourists and locals. Ladies Night is on Wednesdays! More on this later!

- Restaurants: There are 3 main restaurants surrounding Sonesta Maho Beach: Sopranos, Paris, and Le Charolais. You will get complimentary vouchers to each at any 2 of these restaurants (or you could also go to the same restaurant twice I guess).

- Casino Royale: Also directly across the resort beside Tantra Night Club is the Casino. What is recommended is that you sign up for the free VIP club card, and you will receive a $10.00 voucher to play the slot machines. Now the beauty is that every subsequent night you return and show your VIP card and hotel pass, you will continue to receive a $10.00 voucher! That’s $70.00 in free money for the week!

- Shops: There are some small shops along the strip. They’re mainly souvenir shops, but a few stores sold designer sunglasses and perfumes. Remember, everything in St. Maarten is tax-free, and you pay in US currency.

Sonesta Maho Beach Resort:

Now onto the actual Sonesta Maho Resort; the resort is very clean and modern looking. The air conditioning was nice and cool and a relief from the mugginess outside. We all received our ‘all-inclusive bracelets’ and got in line to check-in. The front office agents were very friendly towards us, and we kindly requested if we could get our two rooms on the same floor. Unfortunately the agent couldn’t find anything for us on the same floor, but this wasn’t a big deal (remember, don’t sweat the small stuff!). My girlfriend and I received a room on the main floor and my two friends received a room on the third floor (Details on the rooms later). There is a lobby bar which opens in the evening (around 8pm or 9pm?), and there is also a small casino (which I seldom saw people playing at). There was a small gym situated on the third floor which my friends made it to once; I never had the privilege of making it that far. The resort was relatively cozy compared to other chains I’ve stayed at. I believe there are approximately 300 rooms. Outside, there is beautiful landscaping with nice flora overlooking the towel bar (where the guys DJ some good music) and a nice big pool with a waterfall. The pool’s max depth is 6 feet, and yes there is a pool bar that’s generally the hang-out point for most people. There were ample beach chairs all around, so you would never had to worry about not finding a seat.

Rooms:

When we got to our rooms, I was very impressed. They looked as if they were recently renovated and very clean. Linoleum flooring was present, and the King sized bed was very comfortable. The bed sheets and pillows were nice and fresh and the AC was cold. We had a small patio overlooking into the pool area. Even the Television channels were good! All the main English channels were available, and there were always movies on in case you wanted to surf the tube. Also to note, we were informed that the tap water is drinkable in St. Maarten.

Food, Drink and Restaurants at the Resort:

Near the pool area was the Palms Grill which opened from 11am – 5:30pm daily. The food here was excellent and far exceeded my expectations. A few items they had included the following: Caesar Salad, Cobb Salad, Buffalo Wings, Chicken Quesadillas, BBQ Ribs, Nachos & Cheese, Assorted Pizzas, Fish & Chips, Club House Sandwich, Chicken Shawarma and Angus Burgers. Again, the food at Palms Grill exceeded my expectations. I would rate it far better than food I’ve had at your average restaurant in Toronto (i.e. Boston Pizza, Kelsey’s, Moxie’s, Pizza Hut, etc.). One thing that you must note at this all-inclusive compared to others is the billing system. After every meal, they present you a bill. Nothing to worry about; since it’s all inclusive, all you have to do is sign the bill (tipping is extra). I asked the server how come we still have to sign the bills even though it’s all-inclusive for us, and she informed us it’s just a form of inventory tracking for them. Not a big deal at all. In fact, it kind of makes you feel pretty good, as the bill amounts are usually ghastly amounts. Our average meals among the 4 of us ranged between $90 - $160 USD! Remember, the bracelet you’re wearing means it’s all covered. There are a lot of guests on the resort that are not part of the all-inclusive package and have to pay per bill. Ouch. Lastly, staff at Palms Grill were very friendly to us. Orders were generally pretty quick and service was excellent.
Near the Palms Grill was the buffet that opened for dinner from 6pm – 10:30pm. Every night was a different theme (Caribbean, French, Italian, etc.) and generally the food was very good as well. During the morning between 7am – 10:30am, the buffet area is opened for breakfast. Available include fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, eggs Benedict, boiled eggs, cinnamon oatmeal, omelettes made-to-order, and fresh bread. Again, all very good. Staff at the buffet service were very accommodating as well. Service was great, and we were never disappointed.

Should you not eat at the buffet for dinner time, the other option is ‘The Point’ restaurant also situated on the resort. Reservations are required, and we were able to have the pleasure of visiting twice. The food was excellent. Items we chose included lamb chops, fresh halibut, and free range chicken and fresh pasta. Service here was also great!

As stated earlier, each room receives 4 complimentary vouchers (2 per person) to eat at Paris, Sorpranos, or Le Charolais. Make sure to book your restaurants in the binder at the tour rep’s “office” area. We all ate at Paris and Le Charolais. Food at both restaurants were great. We had items such as French onion soup, Garlic Butter Escargots, Caesar salad, flank steak, boiled mussels, and pasta primavera. The service at these restaurants were great and everyone was very friendly towards us.

Beach:

One word: Magnificent. Fresh, salty turquoise waters, powder white sand and hardly any rocks on the bottom in the sand. There were several times we saw schools of fish swim around our feet. Truly wonderful! The sun is nice and intense; perfect for that tan you’ve been longing for! I would rate the beaches of St. Maarten better than those of both Cuba and Dominican Republic. As for Cancun, it doesn’t even compare to St. Maarten’s beaches! An added bonus is because the resort is so close to the airport, you can actually watch airplanes land while at the beach. It’s truly magnificent when you’re in the warm ocean water and directly above you is a Boeing 747 plane. Amazing. Now regarding the noise; it’s honestly not that bad. You don’t hear the planes when in your room (at least we didn’t). Truly a great experience!
We were informed by our tour representative that there are a total of 37 beaches on St. Maarten (including both Dutch & French sides). We mainly stayed on our beach at the resort, aside from the beach in Anguilla (more on that later.)

Night Life and Bars:

Throughout the week, after dinner, we spent our evenings at the lobby bar relaxing and having drinks, along with other tourists. They have quite a large variety of beers and mixers. A word of caution; they are very heavy-handed on the alcohol for the mixed drinks…sometimes it doesn’t even taste like there’s any mix, haha! We weren’t complaining. As for beers, they had unlimited Heineken, Corona, Presidente, Carib, Bud Light and Coors Light from what I recall. The bartender was the same gentlemen every night. He doesn’t smile much and could come across as rude, but once you start talking to him, he’s actually a very cool guy. He definitely hooked us up several times when it came to last call. Speaking of last call, unfortunately the bar closes at 12am, and there’s no 24 hour bar, but offer the bartender a nice tip and I assure you you’ll have enough drinks to last you into the week hours of the morning. Remember, you do have to sign the bill/tab at the end of the night. We managed to rack up an average bill of $200USD each night, haha. Again, all-inclusive! Life’s good.

On Wednesday, we (along with every single young person on the island) went to Tantra Night Club. It was ladies night, and they got in free and received complimentary champagne all night. For gentlemen, it was $10 admission and drinks extra while inside the club. The club was pretty nice, and had a Chinese theme to it. Upon entering into the club, you see a wall of Terracotta warriors, and Chinese calligraphy hung around the ceiling. Definitely not expected (I’m Chinese), but it was a very nice touch. The music was modern and very good, and the tourists were definitely enjoying themselves (we had a blast). Many locals stood around the edges of the dance floor like it was high-school all over again, but we had a great time. The club got pretty packed very quickly. Beers were about $5 USD each, so it wasn’t too bad for us gentlemen. We left the club around 3am, but it was still packed, so I’m not sure what time they actually close.

From what I was told, about 10 minutes away, there is another club/lounge called Bliss, but we never made it there.

Excursions:

We did the Catamaran Tour to Anguilla (British Islands). Upon being told by our Tour rep that Anguilla received the award for best beaches of 2009, I think that sold us (along with everyone else in our tour group). The cost was $102 USD per person and it’s about an hour and a half boat ride to the islands. The beaches of Anguilla certainly didn’t disappoint. Absolutely magnificent, and the powder white sand felt even softer than St. Maarten’s! We went snorkelling and got to see schools of fish, along with coral, sea urchin, etc. The water was nice and warm, and of course, turquoise-blue. A highly recommended excursion. Also, the captain of the catamaran was very friendly and provided unlimited rum punch (as well as regular punch)

Shopping:

Your best bet for shopping is in the capital of St. Maarten (Dutch side), which is Phillipsburg. It’s about a 25-minute bus ride (more like a minivan), and it’s also the most affordable at $2.00 USD per person each way. In Phillipsburg, there are tonnes of clothing stores, liquor stores and jewellery stores (They have a Tiffany & Co and Little Switzerland). If you’re in the market for some diamonds, rings and luxury watches, this is the place for you. You can generally haggle for the best prices, but the bigger stores are pretty firm on their prices. Again, everything is in USD and tax-free. We visited Phillipsburg twice within the week, and had an enjoyable time.

Conclusion:

I mean this when I say it. This has been THE BEST all-inclusive vacation I’ve ever stayed at. I had great company, great beaches, great food and great service from everyone. I’m would not hesitate going back to this resort and would recommend it to all my friends and family. I have only had positive experiences from the staff at the resort and could not have asked for more from this trip.
For all those who finished reading my lengthy review, I thank you for your time, and hope I have added some value to your decision. Wherever you go, just maintain a positive attitude, have fun, and don’t sweat the small stuff!

Regards,

Austin

Me and my partner and my daughter (24) and her boyfriend (26) stayed at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort from August 28 to September 4, 2009.

We arrived at the airport at approximately 11 am. It took 3 1/2 minutes to be shuttled to the resort. We were checked into both our rooms by noon. Front desk staff were always very helpful and polite.
Our room was on the 5th floor facing the casino and rooftop. It was fine because we normally don't spend anytime in our room except for sleeping and showering for dinner. Our room was very clean. Our maid had our room done up everyday by 11 am. I didn't even tip her until mid-week and our service was excellent. There was no bar fridge in our room. No biggy.
The swimming pool was very inviting. Clean and always able to get a lounger when needed. Raymond looked after the pool bar. He made excellent drinks. He is a bit quiet at first but once you get through his barrier, hahaha, he is very nice to talk to and makes excellent drinks. The pool bar closed by 6 pm.
The lobby bar stayed opened until midnight. The bartender there was a bit rough around the edges, just did his job, tip or not, though we never had an encounter with him other than ordering drinks. He did his best to keep everyone watered upon requests.
There was another bar located closer to the Point Restaurant which seemed to be opened in the evening.
The buffet was just okay. I'm not a picky eater so I found something. Have had better staying at the Iberostar Resorts or Princess, but I didn't go to St. Maarten for the food. We tried the a la carte restaurants. Paris, Point and Sopranos. Sopranos was the best. Paris was just okay and the Point was good. Try the fish. Excellent.
There is also a grocery store across the street which stayed opened until midnight for snacks, pop, liquor, beer etc. Good prices.
Also, there are a few duty free shops along the street where the hotel is located. Good souvenir prices and some lovely jewelery shops, perfume outlet etc. Also there is a Subway along the strip, just a few minute walk from the hotel. You can also order Dominos Pizza, very cheap, to the hotel, if need be, lol. The casino is across the road. Rip off, like most casinos, don't waste your money.
We had a few drinks at the Sunset Bar down the beach where the planes take off. Good hang out for nightly entertainment. There is also another bar before that one along the roadside on a beached boat. Small but fun.
We took the local bus for $2 into Phillipsburg. Worth it. Don't take a cab. The bus system is so easy and they are marked. Takes you right into town and you grab the bus where it lets you off or any other street heading back to Mullet Bay or Maho Beach. Just wave it down. It stops everywhere and lets you out anywhere. The locals pay $1 but tourists pay $2 (tip included). Just the the way it is. Don't worry, a cheap way to get around.
Good shopping in Phillipsburg for jewellery, booze and souvenirs. We got 2 x 1.4 litre of Crown Royal and a 375 gr of crown royal for $32. Awesome deals.
Also bought a necklace and earring set for $124 retail closer to $400. Sunset topaz in white gold setting. Beautiful.
Make sure to visit the Canadian owned bar called The Wet Bar on the boardwalk. You can see it from the boardwalk, Canadian Flag proudly displayed. Its where the cruiseships come in. Great place to have a cold beer (2 for $3) and the best poutine (Canadians know how to make it, haha). The owner will likely sit and have a chat with you....
We also found a little bar (smallest bar in the world) down an alley across from Tiffanys' that gave you $1 rum shots and the best conversation. A hole in the wall bar. Very nice owner. He made us a homemade bottle of rum. It was delicious. We went back 2 days later and he had it ready for us.
We never got sick of watching the planes land and take off. Awesome. Can't even say in words the thrill of being so close to 747 jumbo jets taking off and landing over the beach. A must experience if you love planes.
Overall we had an awesome time in St. Maarten. The Sonesta is just okay, no real complaints, but like I said, we went for the experience. So if your going and expecting 5 star buffet layouts and food, it won't be there, but it isn't bad either. Just average. The rooms are clean.
Tip: Get one of the renovated room above the 5th floor. I believe our room was one of the rooms renovated on the 5th floor, it seemed pretty fresh and clean but I hear above the 5th floor are the better rooms.
While we were there the threat of tropical storm Ericka was present (last couple of days) and the hotel did their best to make sure there were ready for the worst. Updates, etc. Unfortunately the beach was washed away due to the high waves (very high) and the beach was red flagged the last 2 days there, no biggy, swam in the pool or watched the incredible surfs over 12 foot swells coming in.....unpredictable weather.

BTW I wouldn't travel to St. Maarten after the labour day weekend because many, many bars, clubs and stores were closing down for their 6 week vacation time until busy season starts up again in October. So you might be disappointed with so many places closed down, otherwise, between October and August its fine.
Any questions, email me.

Mary from Toronto