Anyone now a good one on the French side of the island?

La Samana is a perfect choice. It's an Orient Express hotel. Take a look at their website.

Mont Vernon is popular.

I have read some really bad reviews about La Sammana....I think from trip advisor

I've heard some bad things about La Sammana, as well. I understand that it's not what it used to be.

What area of the French side are you interested in staying in? Grand Case, Oyster Pond, Orient Bay, Sandy Ground....?

Are you looking for an AI or a smaller scale inn? On the beach or near the nightlife?

There are many, many hotels and more info allow us to better make suggestions.

Well we want this portion of the trip to be about nightlife, but don't want to be to far from a beach. As far as what area on the French side.... no clue. We have never been, but was told the French side was better than the Dutch

Which side is "better" really depends on what each traveler is seeking. I prefer the French side myself because it has more of a Mediterranean feel to it.

If you are seeking nightlife, however, (clubs, bars, casinos, etc.) then you won't really find too much of it on the French side. The French side consists of mostly nice dining at night, although there are a few places where one can experience more of a partying atmopshere.

The nightlife is more on the Dutch side of the island. However, the island is not that large so you can stay on the French side and spend time on the Dutch or vice versa.

My two suggestions for places to research on the French side would be Orient Bay and Grand Case. Take a look at some tourism websites on St. Martin and check out those two areas/beaches to see if they interest you.

You can also get good info specifically about St. Maarten/St. Martin at traveltalkonline.com

Hope this helps.

Don't go to Le Meridean on the French side!

On the French side we have stayed in Grand Case and Orient Beach.
Grand Case: We stayed at the Grand Case Beach Resort - 2 small beaches, very friendly staff, near all the restaurants in Grand Case
Orient Beach: We stayed at L'Hoste Hotel - small hotel, steps from Orient beach, very helpful and friendly Front Desk staff.
We prefered L'Hoste because of its location on Orient Beach but both hotels are fine.

Another idea for Grand Case is Le Petit Hotel:

http://www.lepetithotel.com/main.php?404.php

It's in a good location to a lot of the restaurants so you can walk instead of renting a car or taxi. We walked by it in February and it looked great although we didn't see any rooms.

It's sister property, Hotel L'Esplanade, is not beach front but highly regarded and has many repeat guests. The hotel is considered to be first class.....but check www.tripadvisor.com for reviews on both of these.

Also, the following forum may be more help. There are many St. Maarten/St. Martin regulars that are a wealth of information.

http://www.traveltalkonline.com/

The towns tend to have traffic jams so if you want less aggrevation staying in Grand Case would simplify matters. I understand too that there is bus service into Philipsburg for something like $2. Might be worth checking out and let someone else do the driving.

Good luck in your search.