St. Maarten

[tapcon]

Looking for suggestions for a nice hotel on the beach.

 

[Capthuff]

MAHO, It has been a while since I've been there but the crew rate was $125/night.
Rooms were decent and food was good but there is beter food in the plaza across the street.
It's on the water and it is the hotel you see in the backgroung in all the pics of A/C landing over the beach.

Maho is the only hotel I've stayed at there so I cant comment on any other place. But I'd stay there again.

 

[Diesel]

Just got back from there. Two different overnights had us in two different places.

Sunset Beach bar hotel. Can't remember the exact name but you can checkout the bar's website and get the number from them. Very cool hotel. The bar was awsome to watch planes land. Very nice pool and beach. Typical island hotel with the rooms. Beds are okay and they have cable.

Towers hotel- If you want to not stay at a place that has a lot going on. They are off the beach and only have a pool. More of an American type hotel than anything else.

Personally i'll take the sunset beach bar hotel anyday. If you really can't find the hotel let me know. I can go back into my expense reports and find it.

 

[Captain4242]

Yeah, go with the Maho.
Make sure you hit the outdoor bar on the beach right at the approach end of RWY 9 (is it RWY 8?).

 

[1900cpt]

gee diesel, must be nice gettin the good trips! haha

 

[Otter]

Maho

I would add a vote for the MAHO, all inclusive, short walk to most everything right there, including the bar at the end of the street with the walkways over water and brass poles...<its not BBQ, but good for killing some time>

Need to get a car to drive to the other side of the island, good beaches there, Maho is on the Dutch (PBI27, thank you for the correction) side, other side is French.

The bar on the beach is manadatory for a good pic and a cheap heini!!!

If you have the time the flight on the local puddle jumper to S. Bart's is good for a story or two.

 

[PBI27]

I would add a vote for the MAHO, all inclusive, short walk to most everything right there, including the bar at the end of the street with the walkways over water and brass poles...<its not BBQ, but good for killing some time>

Need to get a car to drive to the other side of the island, good beaches there, Maho is on the Danish side, other side is French.

The bar on the beach is manadatory for a good pic and a cheap heini!!!

If you have the time the flight on the local puddle jumper to S. Bart's is good for a story or two.

I'm sure you meant to say the Dutch side. The south of Saint Maarten is Dutch (The Netherlands) and the north part is French. Isn't that vweird?

I don't think the Danes have owned any land at any point in the Caribbean. Their colonial efforts were focused more on Iceland and Greenland.

 

[Otter]

Ugh....you are right, hey I got the "D" right, thats something for a dumb pilot.

 

[Clutch_Cargo]

I've been to St Maarten/St Martin a number of times but not in the last few years. I'd also give a thumbs up to Maho. I've also stayed at Mullet Bay Resort and Towers at Mullet Bay (condos you can rent) and been very happy. They are just up the road from Maho. If you have a car (you really should rent one at least for a day) there are some very nice places to stay on the French side... Green Cay is one... sits up on a hillside above Orient Beach. If you get a car, make a trip up to Grand Case, on the French side. It's basically a town of restaurants... great food... and if you can't find something you like, well, I feel sorry for you! BTW, the Dutch side has the gambling, if that's your thing, the French side has the best beaches. I would also recommend a trip to St. Barts or Saba. St. Barts is good for saying you've done it. Maybe you'll catch a celeb on the beach. It's expensive. Airport is cool... around 2500' I think... ends at the beach and has a steep hill at the other end. The French require a check-out to land there. If you stand at the top of the hill, it seems you can almost reach out and touch the landing gear of aircraft on short final. Saba is very cool... basically a mountain sticking out of the ocean. Winair is the only one flying there... in twin otters. Runway is around 1300' if I remember right... shortest commercial airport around... with steep drop on either end and the mountain right up against the wing tip. The airport is on one side with a deep water pier on the other and a very twisty road connecting them. There aren't any beaches (one I think) to speak of but there are a couple of cool things to do... one is to hike to top of Mt. Scenery... it takes several hours and consists of trails and, I forget but something like, a thousand stone steps to get to the top. You go through six or seven different eco systems... very cool and a nice workout. The other is to dive the Marine park... some nice diving and very cool underwater pinnacles... check out Saba Deep... nice people. If I were only going to make one trip off the island, I would do Saba. Other things to do... Phillipsburg for the duty-free shopping, if that's your thing. God help you if a cruise ship is in port... way too busy for me. Maybe take back some guavaberry liqueur... it's the island's drink. Whatever you do... have fun!

cc