My wife and I have stayed at Alizea twice. The first time was in March 2009, and the second time was Feb 2011. We travel on a budget and Alizea suited our needs. It is one of the least expensive places to stay within walking distance of Orient Beach, which is a great beach. Alizea is more like a guesthouse than a hotel. Maid service is not included unless you want to pay extra for it (you don't have to clean it before you leave, the maid service to do your post-departure cleaning is included). Our room was very clean when we arrived and they included one set of towels. We brought an extra set for the beach. We don't need someone to make our bed every day so we were fine not having maid service. The rooms we stayed in on the top floor are large with a sofa, king size bed, and a nice balcony with a great view of Orient Bay. There's also a small kitchen area on the balcony including fridge, stove and sink plus dishes. You could eat all your meals there if you wanted to, but we mostly use the savings gained from staying at Alizea to eat out.

Some other reviewer mentioned having a bad experience with bed bugs at Alizea. We never had this problem during either of our stays, nor did any of the other guests we met there. Remember a bed bug episode can happen anywhere...we got them one time at a fairly upscale La Quinta in the Kansas City area, so don't let that stop you from going to Alizea. The only bugs we encountered were a few mosquitos. There's a mosquito net for the bed which we used a few nights, most of the nights we didn't need it. Also remember, it's the tropics...if you see a bug in the room, get over it. You get those at high-end Sandals resorts too.

The bed was comfortable. The room had air conditioning but we never turned it on. We slept with the doors to the balcony open, feeling the wonderful sea breeze.

There's a TV in the room but you'll only get a few crappy local channels and some French programming. If you're going to the Caribbean to watch CNN or American Idol, don't go to Alizea. As for us, we didn't miss any of that stuff. There's wi-fi available down by the front desk/pool area, but not in the rooms.

There's a nice pool at Alizea which is kept clean and is never crowded. We enjoyed it. Overall the Alizea property has a bit of peeling paint and some areas could use some cosmetic work, but the grounds are clean and we did not feel like it was run down or dumpy. It isn't the Hilton though either.

As for security we always felt safe there. There's no safe in the rooms we stayed in, but with no maid service we didn't worry about it and never had a problem leaving valuables in the room.

You will need a rental car in St Martin (unless you stay in one of the hotel zones on the Dutch side within walking distance of lots of shops/restaurants). Alizea is a bit tricky to find, we arrived after dark at 9pm and had to drive to the other side of the island. I highly recommend taking the road from the terminal that goes east along the runway, then head counter clockwise around the lagoon up towards Marigot and Grand Case. Going the other way around the southeast side of the island (Phillipsburg) is pretty difficult when you're unfamiliar with it, it's night, and you're tired. Ask me how I know. Print out some good maps before you go and you'll figure out how to get there. If anyone is interested let me know and I can try to make a map or write directions for you.

Alizea is run by a French couple, their English is very limited but they were helpful and courteous.

To get down to Orient Beach you can either walk or drive. It's about a 10 min walk down a pretty steep hill. We enjoyed the exercise so we always walked, and used the car to go explore the island. Alizea has a gate (they will give you the code) and a steep curving driveway lined with gorgeous bouganvillia. There was always enough parking space for us.

We have been to a number of places in the Caribbean and St. Martin has been the best hands down. You can get anywhere on the island within about 30 mins. Driving is on the right side of the road. There are round-abouts at most intersections, remember to go counterclockwise and whoever is already in the roundabout (coming from your left) has the right away. Grand Case and Marigot have great French cuisine. Orient Beach also has some great beach bars and places to eat. Make sure to visit Philipsburg, if you don't like crowds go during the evening when the cruise ships are gone. However if you want to go shopping and have more restaurant options, go during the day when the ships are in port because that's when all the vendors are out. And of course you can't do St Maarten without spending some time at Maho beach, watching the planes take off and land. The beach bar just to the north of the beach is less crowded than the famed Sunset Beach Bar on the sound end, and they have awesome pina coladas made fresh from real pineapple and coconut milk.

Tip: call your credit card company before traveling to let them know you'll be in St. Martin. Citibank shut down my card, and wouldn't accept the collect calls to the number on the back of my Mastercard, so we had to get a ton of cash from the ATM to pay our hotel bill. Another tip is that having cash in dollars will save you a lot on the French side, where many restaurants offer 1 Euro = 1 Dollar if you pay cash. If you use your credit card, you'll pay the exchange rate to Euros plus foreign transaction fees which makes your meal/purchase about 35% more expensive (as of Feb 2011).

Bottom line: if you are looking for low-cost accommodations near Orient Beach and you have a rental car, Alizea is a great choice for a place to stay with an awesome view. If you want luxury and beachfront convenience, this place would not be for you. Hope this information is helpful to others!