If you are staying at the Westin the most important thing you can do is rent a car from the airport. The location of the hotel is very remote, where you can not walk anywhere. It cost about 20.00 to take a taxi anywhere and a rental is about 40.00 a day. We tried to rent from the hotel, but they were always out of cars. The pool is very nice and the beach is nice but the water is very rough. We drove to other beaches during the day. The restaurants at the hotel are very expensive. If the location was better I would rate it better.

entering the hotel overlooking a casino with cigar smoking people is not really wat you expect these days. The Westin looks a bit old, carpet stains etc. We had a large room and dito bathroom. The best part was a wonderful bed.
Staf around the pool/beach was quite friendly. Staf in the restaurants and front desk absolutly not. If hospitality is not your interest don't work in a 4+ rated hotel, or don't hire them! Worst experience was Restaurant Aura. We had the worst Lobster Bisque ever tasted. A creamy porridge an amateur cook wouldn't dare to serve is guests. luckely near Oyster Pond there also good restaurants.

The hotel was beautiful, the rooms and the pool and beach. We ate at one restaurant (Ocean) and it was just ok, we heard others talking about Aura saying they were extremely disappointed. You're better off renting a car and heading to Grand Case to eat. I personally liked that the hotel was located further away from everything, it made it more relaxing, but if you want to be located closer to the hustle and bustle, this isn't for you.

The main reason for the poor review, and for why this hotel is not your typical Westin, is that the concierge service is so incredibly terrible. We asked for some restaurant recommendations, if there were day trips (booze cruises, snorkeling, etc) and we never got answers. And to top it off, it wasn't very professional either.

Overall, I really enjoyed my stay, but it was mostly due to research before the trip which allowed us to not need the concierge for anything.

My family and I visited in December 2011, we actually stayed most of our time at another hotel but purchased at the DBC Condos at the Westin. The resort is amazing. First, St.Maarten is divine, my initial opinion was that the people were unfriendly and seemed disgruntled...until I realized that once again, I had an ethnocentric approach to the entire culture. I expected NY glamm..but instead was greeted with a challenge to become culturally aware of how others express and recognize true beauty. The people appreciate fine music, food, jewelry and human character without the fancy packaging...once I began to explore the island..my family and I fell in love. We visited the French and the Dutch side and had sooo much fun. We attended parades, local dances, beach activities, fire shows, day cruises and local bar. The amount of fun to be had is unlimited. Each beach is unique and equally beautiful. You can run around the island, all day or just relax at your resort with friends,family and new acquaintances.
The tourist seem to revisit the island regularly and are very friendly, informative and fun. After 3 days, we felt as if this was our hometown.... we were so sad we had to leave and decided we too wanted to be regular visitors on the island,. The reasonable pricing for food and drinks was a plus!!!
The Westin offered the best of both worlds for us ...although location is not in the midst of the action, it is in between the French and the Dutch side....we love that.. it is a spiritual oasis.....we prefer to be surrounded by luxury, class and tranquility.. the island, is so small and convenient., we can drive to anything extra we are looking for. but at the end of the day, when we are relaxing together, we prefer luxury....believe me, the Condos are luxurious...its a dream vacation/retirement property-connected to the Westin resort. Words can't explain how beautiful the place is and how safe it feels. Claudia and Yaima are the best.!!!!!!! They went out of their way to help us find all the various enjoyable activities each of our family would appreciate.
We are counting down the days until our return...hope to c u there!