St. Maarten/St. Martin Hotel ?'s
 

Have stayed previously at Maho Beach Hotel and the Atrium but am interested in hearing some views on other places to stay. Prefer on the beach, French or Dutch side. Not necessarily looking for inexpensive, but not La Sammana either. Possibly Port De Plaisance, Grand Case Beach Club and what is that resort just below the Pelican timeshare units.

What about Captain Oliver's on the marina right next to Dawn Beach on the French side. Lovely small hotel with about 50 units. 15 or so are waterview. Great infinity pool and good restaurant.<BR><BR>We also liked the Caravanserai near the airport because of it's location and cleaniness. Dolphin Casino is adjacent and within several yards are Bliss, Bamboo Bernies and Sunset Beach Bar. The planes landing or taking off did not disturb us nor did we hear any noise from the hotel.

We were very pleased with the Le Meridien (www.lemeridien-lhabitation.com).<BR>

Another vote for le Meridian. Only downside...the resort is a bit &quot;isolated&quot;, waaaay up in Anse Marcel. We actually enjoyed the peace and quiet this isolation offered. The cove/beach is lovely, calm, and more of that peace and quiet.

Thanks for the suggestions, it gives me a place to start my research on resorts.

Do not count out Grand Case Beach Club as well.<BR><BR>We have stayed once and found it it to be a very nice place. It would probably fall in the mid-range of hotels, but it was an excellent place to stay and very close to dining if you are eating in Grand Case.<BR><BR>Check it out as well.

Endorse Fabila's recommendation of Captain Oliver's. We stayed there this summer and it was great!

Oops. Message should have read we didn't hear any noise from the casino. We found it no noiser staying by the hotel than anywhere else.<BR><BR>I should also mention another intimate hotel on the Dutch side called Mary Boon's. It's getting a lot of good mention on the traveltalkonline board. You can easily find their website.<BR><BR>Grand Case looks beautiful also and I would consider that on a future trip.

Planning a trip to LeMeridien and would love some info on which part of the resrt to book our room. (Habitation vs. LeDomaine?)<BR>Also, is there a significant difference between ground floor and higher up?<BR>Thanks for any feedback.

Message to Harry: We've been going to St.Martin for 20 years and have stayed in many different hotels on the French side. If you want to walk into Marigot and to the Marina area for shops and restaurants look up the Hotel Beach Plaza; good sized rooms, small frig, pool, restaurant and bar, friendly helpful staff. Almost right next door is the US Import Supermarche where we pick up fruit, ham, cheese, etc. and there's a delicious bakery as well. Grand Case Beach Hotel is good and as stated a walk away from the town which is lined with restaurants. This year we're staying at L'Hoste which is right on Orient Beach...check out their website www.hostehotel.com actually the rooms look nicer than the pictures show. There is a lot of new building on Orient so 5 min. away is a shop where you can get your baguette, cheese,etc. We're also staying at the Nettle Bay Beach Hotel which is very nice. In the Nettle Bay area (5 min from Marigot) there are several hotels.

Once again thanks for all the assistance. I will be looking into all the recommended places. I think this time we would prefer to stay on the French side so these firsthand experiences will be helpful.

We have been to St. Martin yearly for 15 years. We do have a time-share but like to go early. Our favorite side of the island is the French. We have stayed at L'Hoste the last 3 times and enjoy it because of the beach. Night is quiet because the beach bars close. But it is not a bad drive from Grand Case. Great food in Grand Case. I also agree with another person about the Grand Case Beach Club. It too is a great place to stay. Hope you enjoy it!

A few restaurant suggestions: In Grand Case try Le Pressoir as well as the lolos or rib shacks( our favourite is Talk of the Town). In the Marina we like Brasserie de la Gare and La Belle Epoque; on the harbourfront try Bar de La Mer. All are reasonably priced and attract both locals and tourists. Shops and restaurants take both Euros and the US dollar. For us as Canadians they're both a bit pricy, but years ago I was given advice by local business people to bring francs and I would end up saving money. The explanation was that basically everything is imported so it is ordered and paid for in FF and in order to convert prices to $US there was a bit of a cost which was passed on to the tourist. When I checked this out they were right, especially if you were buying a big-ticket item so we started bringing FF and now the Euro. I do usually bring some $US in case we go to the Dutch side or need a dollar to park at Julianna airport. Since we travel to France on vacation and live near the US border here we end up using up any leftover money one way or another. SXM can be as expensive or inexpensive as you wish. Personally we go for the beaches; we take breakfast and lunch with us in a fold down cooler and go out for dinner; other people prefer to eat all meals out so I guess it's all in how you want to spend your money.