Carly

I'm planning on going to St. Martin for my honeymoon in September. Has anyone stayed at Maho Beach Resort? How are the accommodations? Is it better to go all-inclusive? Also, how is the nightlife on the island?

Chad

Went to St Martin last December but stayed on the dutch side, first mistake. the french side is much nicer and accommodating. I wasn't impressed at all with the island, nor the beaches. Maho beach wasn't bad, probably the best one on the island. I've heard there are a lot of good restaurants on the french side. As for the dutch, mostly local, small restuarants, and the food not bad.

Barbara

I live on St. maarten. the Maho Hotel is very nice. there are great restaurants,shops,casinos,and clubs all within walking distance. I would still recommend renting a car to travel around the isalnd to see the French side and other beaches. There is a great deala of night life on the island..lots of bars and clubs. I would not do an all inclusive. The dining on the island is superb..gourmet restaurants all over the place. It would be a shame not to indulge.

debbie

Maho Bay is supposed to be wonderful - when we went we stayed at a resort on the dutch side but spent most of our time on the french side. The restaurants in Grand Case I still dream about - wight on the wated and VERY romantic- i would definitely not go all inclusive. We traveled around at all hours and never felt unsafe.

cher4travel

Carly

We stayed at Maho Beach Hotel five years ago...stayed on 9th floor w/view of ocean and grounds, rooms very simple,tile floors, hotel seemed a little old...and remember near the airport, so a little noisy. Don't think I would stay there again

Melissa

We stayed at a great hotel on the French side called Hotel l'Esplanade. It was beautiful, very romantic and just a short walk to all the great restuarants in Grand Case (you don't need to eat anywhere else). The only down side is the hotel is not directly on the water, however it sits a top a hill with amazing views of the ocean and Grand Case. The beach is just down a short path. If you rent a car you'll want to beach hop anyway. We rented a car and saw the whole Island and wouldn't have stayed anywhere else. You won't be disappointed! As far as nightlife, there isn't any unless you like casinos, but we enjoyed long dinners everynight (did I mention the food is awesome) If you would like more info, please feel free to email me.

Perry

If you want a really nice honeymoon, go somewhere else. St. Martin is not an impressive island. It is very barren in landscape, dry, & dirty. There was a bad hurricane a few years ago & the island is still in shambles. If you like french cusine, you'll like it. If you like trash in the water, you'll like it. If you enjoy extremely rude french people, you will most certainly like it. There is quite a bit of crime as well. I would NOT walk on any beach at night, down any street at night, or generally leave the hotel after dark. (My rental car was broken into practically in front of me). The street vendors will harass the hell out of you as well. I will never go back.

Redcurls

We were just there the first of this month. It was actually sad. For an island which depends so much on tourism, it should be kept much cleaner! Unfortunately, there's a ton of litter along the main road. It's obviously not from the tourists - it's from the locals. I was glad we were visiting by way of a cruise ship, as I would have been upset if we had chosen a week to visit there! The driver for our island excursion admitted they have a problem with trash. I didn't see any in the water but there's more than enough on the landscape!

jenn

I think that Aruba is better. Been to both islands & St. Martin DOES have some problems. I stayed 8 days there a few months ago & really disliked the island. There was a big trash problem & many of the people were very rude to us. I never found that on Aruba, Grand Caymen, St. John or the BVI's. I guess it depends on what you are looking for. If you can overlook the trash on certain beaches, the high crime, the rudeness, then go to SXM. SXM is a pretty cheap island in my opinion & if you are on a tight budget, then it's all good. If you can spend the $, go somewhere nicer.