6 Best Hotels in St. Martin and St. Maarten

Bordering gorgeous Little Bay, this property is awash with water-sports options and restaurants and has an awesome multilevel pool with breathtaking views of neighboring islands. Rooms, suites, and studios, including the more luxurious units in the Oceans section, have contemporary style with pops of Caribbean color. Full-size apartments in the time-share section have granite kitchen countertops and modern bathrooms. The resort provides concierge service for a spectrum of great island activities. It's also a quick trip to the heart of Philipsburg. If you think you would enjoy watching the cruise ships arrive, ask for a bay-front unit. Families like the casitas. Expect some construction nearby, but it should not impact your stay at all. 

Guests return year after year to the classy, loft-style suites of this immaculate family-owned and -operated boutique hotel on a hill overlooking Grand Case village and harbor. Units are tastefully decorated in dark wood, tropics-style, with big four-poster beds and terraces that offer stunning sunset and bay views. Kitchens are sleek and stocked with basics before you arrive, and bathrooms have chic waterfall shower heads and double vessel sinks. The nicely designed spa is in a lovely pavilion, which is the site of free morning yoga classes. The heated pool and its swim-up bar are in a picturesque garden that's the place to be for cocktails.

Most of the modern rooms at this boutique resort a five-minute walk from Maho Beach have balconies overlooking the infinity pool, which has a grotto, a large hot tub, a small water slide, a swim-up bar, and private cabanas. Some rooms overlook the runway at the adjacent airport, but you can also catch the aviation action from the hotel's top-floor observation deck, the beach, or the pier that juts into the ocean from the hotel grounds. Salt, the pool-side restaurant, serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as tasty cocktails, but there are also plenty of other dining options nearby.

Be lulled to sleep by the sounds of the ocean in one of the spacious units of this tidy complex set on a sliver of Grand Case Beach. Studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments (the biggest accommodates six people) all have great views—with big sliding-glass doors to showcase them—and are beautifully furnished with blue or green accents. Apartments are accessible to those in wheelchairs by elevator, and there is both outdoor and indoor parking. You can request a crib or high chair, but availability is limited.

Some of the privately owned units available to rent at this luxurious, high-rise condo complex are downright fabulous, and all have sweeping vistas, large living and dining rooms, and fully-equipped kitchens with stainless-steel appliances. For extra privacy, separate elevators serve only two units on every floor. On-site amenities include the chic Mario Bistrot, tennis courts, indoor and outdoor pools, and a fitness center with a sauna and a whirlpool tub. 

The island's largest resort—a no-limit all-inclusive overlooking the bay and close to the airport—is an attractive, reasonably priced, family-friendly property with lots to do. In addition to a big pool area, on-site amenities include a gym, spa, casino, theater, clubs, shops, and restaurants. The beach and additional restaurants are just steps away away. Be sure to check the website for special offers.