We are beginning the process of planning a big 20th anniversary trip next June. We went to Anguilla for our honeymoon, and will be renting a small villa there for one week. On both ends of that week, we would like to stay a few nights on St. Maarten/Martin. Our idea is to stay on the french side first and then the dutch side afterward. We are hoping to find places to stay/eat, that will give us a true "french" and "dutch" sense of the island. We have only been to the island en route to Anguilla, and would appreciate any suggestions and tips. Thank you!

on the French side I would recommend Le Petit Hotel or L'esplanade in Grand case

http://www.lepetithotel.com/
http://www.lesplanade.com/web/rates.php

Grand case Beach Club is nice too.
http://www.grandcasebeachclub.com/

St. Maarten is actually quite small so you could stay on one side and see the whole island.

The Dutch side is more Americanized. There is not much of a Dutch feel to it.
you might like Mary's Boon Hotel though
http://www.marysboon.com/

Thanks Barbara! We had gotten those two recommendations on the french side from other folks - so they must be great!

We had looked into Mary's Boon for the last trip, but then canceled staying on St. Maarten at all..

THanks again!

i would recommend the aera of nettle bay:

- it is on french and there are several good restaurant in walking distance.
- the deutsche side is not far
- maho and its night life only 5 minutes away
- you have rental villas so you check out the following offerings in the area
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-ren...tle-bay/r21269
- you can drive to marigot (5 minutes if no traffic) and lots of great restaurants

We liked both the Alamanda and Esmeralda for the Orient beach experience on the French side. It's a fun beach like no other. You'll be close enough to drive to all of the great restaurants in Grand Case.