This was my 4th time visiting St. Maarten, and my 3rd time staying at the Sonesta Maho. There are a couple of reasons why I like the Sonesta Maho; the staff are always welcoming and helpful and I really like the location. The small area of Maho is great for those that want nightlife besides what the resort has to offer. There are clubs for adults of all ages within walking distance. For those so inclined there is also a cansino across the road. I did notice this trip that the Sonesta seems to be trying to increase their nightly entertainment on the premises as they always had something going on each night. I would say that the beach at the Maho is adequate but not the greatest on the island. However, the best beach on the island is a 15 minute walk down the road behind the hotel, Mullet Bay. For those of you who have been to the island and have never been to Mullet, you really need to go, it is a great beach.

Hotel is old and decor is very outdated, especially our room. It's not 4.5 stars, more like 3.5. But we didn't go to stay in the room, so it's not that important. The food in all the restaurants and buffet was excellent. Location of the hotel is great as you are in the middle of the entertainment district, with lots of other restaurants, a casino and various stores. $2 per person take you all over the island via a mini bus. Beach is small and rocky. Sonesta Great Bay has a much better beach.

Decent resort, but about a 3 star. Rooms average, damp. Food was pretty limited, a different theme each night at the buffet but they were all a variation of the same stuff. Only 1 a la carte. Everything seems to shut down by 10pm at the resort.
A few things wrong in our room. All the slot machines in the hotel are older and malfunction a lot.
Pool and the beach are great. Great location, and you can get around the entire island very easily.

We arrived at the hotel quickly since it is just a 5 minute drive to the airport. We were told our room wouldn't be ready until 3:00 pm, but we were able to check in at 12:30 pm. Our room was everything we asked for, except for the poolview ... instead we looked out to the main street and a big concrete rooftop, but we were able to watch the planes take off from the strip, so all was not lost. We booked all-inclusive, and Cheryl at the swimup bar was great!! Buffet breakfast was good, and lunch at the Palms Grill was good, but dinner at the buffet was tough ... probably 6 dishes to choose from in total, however, you could always get pasta or pizza at the pizzeria so no worries. Dinner for the kids would be tough though I think. The beach was ok, but there are no chairs on it so there was no relaxing on the beach. I would definitely go back.

BEACH AND POOL WERE GOOD. FOOD AND SERVICE TERRABLE. THIS IS AT BEST A 3 STAR RESORT AT 5 STAR PRICES.

Very nice place had the time of my life

Overall very good experience, hotel and our room very clean, bathroom a bit old with pink colours however, very clean. Hotel staff very nice but sad, employees fighting and yelling at each other. Many of them seemed tired and unhappy.

We just came back from a 3 night stay at the Sonesta Maho. I have never written a review before but this trip has changed that. St Maarten is a must-see. Beautiful beaches, amazing island and people. The Maho however was beyond disappointing. We booked this trip to celebrate my husband's birthday as well as our 10 year anniversary. We arrived to find out rooms would not be ready until at least 3pm. It was ok for us as we quickly changed and headed to the beach but there were several families with very small children that had nowhere to take them to change or nap. We were finally given a room, not the one we requested, and when we asked about it were told that the hotel was overbooked and it was all they had. Our "beautiful island view room" looked out onto a dirty disgusting rooftop and the bottom of our tub was black. Light switches were filthy (eww) but at least the bed was clean. Food was disappointing, no tropical fruit at all. Being optimistic, we still made the best of our vacation and had an amazing time in the ocean, at the pool, and in Phillipsburg. The people at the resort were friendly and the bartenders were fantastic. This resort should be rated as a 2 1/2 to 3 star. At least then we would have expected what we actually had. Would we visit St. Maarten again? Absolutely. But we won't be staying at the Maho.

we had a little confusion with our room when we went to check in but the staff was more than willing to do anything for us while they sorted out the rooms. but when we were all settled in our stay was relaxing and very enjoyable. the atmosphere was terrific. We have been to a few other islands that we have enjoyed, but St Maarten, Sonesta Maho Beach is our number one choice for a return visit. There was good snorkeling only a 10 minute walk from the resort. The food was amazing, staff and other guests were very friendly making the visit to the island a very enjoyable one.

The hotel is not 4 stars by any stretch. The room we got first has not been renovated for 50 years. The food is terrible. Service was very poor with grumpy servers. I would not go there agian for sure.

Bad front desk. Did not get a mini bar delivered to the room for three days and called to request it many times.

Great island and I would return but not to this hotel.

It was an ok trip. Ppaid to much for what we recieved.

We are in our 30’s and have travelled to 21 Caribbean destinations. This was our third trip to the Sonesta Maho, and it’s the only place we’ve ever been a return guest.

**If this is your first trip to St. Maarten:

The most important advice I can give is to have realistic expectations. If you normally vacation in Cuba, Mexico and DR, and spend 90% of your time on the 4-5* resort, this IS a different kind of vacation. While it is transitioning, it is still more of a hotel than a “resort”, and the price reflects the island, NOT the hotel. The Sonesta is not new, big or fancy (think Holiday Inn) and you will not be pampered, catered to or continuously entertained. It is oceanfront, not beachfront and the highlight of the Sonesta is that it is an economical well located hotel to explore this fantastic island, so if you aren’t willing to rent a car or at least take cabs, I would say you aren’t suited to the St. Maarten experience.
If however you are flexible, enjoy gourmet food, exploring, island hopping, and checking out a different beach every day, St. Maarten is truly paradise. The Sonesta is suited to those whose glass is half full; people who are happy just to be out of the cold and away from work (i.e. having outdated décor in your room, waiting, airplane noise, or having to seek out your own utensils does not ruin your vacation).

The food at the hotel is great, and the all-inclusive (AI) option is often exceptional value, but the food at restaurants in Maho village, and on the island in general is absolutely incredible. Dining out is an essential part of the experience in our opinion, so even if you go AI, bring lots of spending money to eat out. Pack a beach blanket and a cooler bag. There is a reasonable grocery store across the street. You can borrow snorkel gear to leave in the trunk for whenever you see an opportunity on your travels.

Shoal Bay Anguilla is a must-do, and go on your own (not a tour) so you have control. Drive to Marigot and pick up one of the frequent ferries, then take a cab to Shoal Bay. Including the outstanding lunch you’ll have at the beach (which comes with chairs), you’ll spend about $250 a couple for the day, and you’ll love every second of it.

**If you have been to the Sonesta Maho before:

When we started going here it was a hotel where most people were not AI, but now it has transformed to just the opposite. This has good points and bad.

Good: limited entertainment now exists, you don’t have to sign for everything, 2 breakfast buffets and a lunch buffet, a pizza place, no reservation needed at the Point and you can go as often as you like, some (inconsistent) stocking of the bar fridge enhanced by tipping, the oldest building (eyesore) has been covered with a nice screen, you can eat/drink at the Sonesta Great Bay which has a nice walking beach and friendlier service. We found it a great place to stop en route to/from Orient Beach.

Not as good: no dine around vouchers (major disappointment to us), only 3 beer choices, bar doesn’t open until lunch for any type of drink, competition for loungers, more kids and complainers

overall our stay was just ok.

The food needs to improve and the beach the waves were so high that we couldn't even go for a swim

This is what I wrote on tripadvisor:

I never thought I would be writing a bad review, considering I'm not a picky traveller- however, this merits to be written.

Being my first time on the island of St-Maarten, I was very excited. However, it all faded very quickly.

The room was clean. They had double booked rooms for myself, so we got a nice suite due to the mixup.

The staff are less welcoming. For the 'friendly' island- the people are by far NOT friendly. I'm not sure whether it's because we had the all-inclusive bracelet, and they saw us as non-paying customers, however, at the Beach Grill, it took literally 45 minutes just to get menus- even though every other table around us were being served. When the menus finally did arrive, the waitress never asked if we wanted a drink. This occurred several times before we just stopped going there to eat.
The food was 'ok'.

The only staff that is worth mentioning for actually doing their job right are: Daniel at the front desk, Clint at the Point restaurant, Marcia at the grill and Matthew at the lobby bar. All proved to be customer friendly.

In addition, we went to the other hotel: Sonesta Great Bay Resort...WHAT A DIFFERENCE! The service, the resort, the sights! If I were to return, I would only return to that resort! The staff were friendly, the entertainment staff were nice, the restaurant staff (especially Elizabeth)understood what service was about- and a smile was freely given.

Lastly, we travelled with sunwing. Beware of the excursions- especially with Oliver. He will show up at the Sunwing meeting and promise everything and anything for all excursions. What you don't know while listening to this charasmatic, energetic, sleezy salesman is that he over charges for the excursions through Sunwing, doesn't accept credit cards, and that the excursions aren't what he says...We made that mistake going to Anguilla. The excursion cost $120USD, though everyone else not from the hotel paid $85USD. Look into other excursion companies before committing with Sunwing! It's actually amazing that Sunwing accepts this, however, Sunwing really disappointed during our stay.

A little pricey but still a great trip.

I was not happy when I got there....my room was not ready and when it was someone else was in it and the second room did not exist and the third someone was in it....finely got a room at nine o'clock pm and I asked for two double beds and got one I also didn't not get a safe

Beyond expectations and we were on ocean side and the planes do not bother you the noise at all. In fact they are quite entertaining, I would return to this hotel

j ai formule une plainte directement a sunwing et j ai aviser l agence de voyage de l objet de ma plainte

Nous revenons tout juste de cet hotel du 8 au 15 janvier 2012. Ça mal commencé puisque la chambre n'était pas disponible à notre arrivée et nous avons du attendre dans le lobby. Quand nous sommes entrées il semble qu'ils se sont dépechés pour nous donner la chambre puisque le ménage avait été fait rapidement... cheveux et poils dans le bain... Le lendemain c'était correct lorsque la femme de ménage est passée. Il y a juste un resto à la carte où il n'est pas possible de reserver, c'est bien si vous etes que 2 personnes puisque votre tour vient rapidement pour manger. Il n'y a pas beaucoup de choix au buffet et c'est assez répétitif, par contre on a bien mangé et la nourriture était de bonne qualitée. L'arrivée des avions est spectaculaire les 2-3 premiers jours mais c'est agaçant à la longue. Il n'y a pas vraiment de belle plage à l'hotel et c'est conjoint avec une plage publique. Ce que je retient c'est que c'est un bon hotel pour une premiere fois à St-Martin si vous désirez absolument un tout inclus. Par contre je retournerais dans un plan européen car le plaisir est beaucoup plus de profiter de l'ile que de votre resort. Je donne un 3.5 au Sonesta et je ne crois pas que j'y retournerais.

We had a great time as a family.
Very friendly resort and island.
Can hardly wait to go back.

quand on va a st-martin, il faut oublier l'autre sud du grand site, c'est vivant et non redondant, nous pouvions aller à phylissiburg, à l'autre sonesta, et tout était compris sauf le bus, qui coûte 4$aller retour, ils ne sont pas habitué au tout compris, mais s'amiliorait de jour en jour, quand on a goût de quelque chose différent,

-Deluxe room-is not a deluxe room, view from rooms are over a filtration system(Stinky) or over looking a roof top.
-room safe not attached to anything ,anyone could walk away with your goods
-did not feel safe in room as door to room would not close/latch
I would not recommend this hotel as it needs many up-grades and mould was found in bathrooms and rooms. Noise of planes coming in beside the hotel are continously going on from 7am until around 10pm. Hotel front desk staff where not helpful when you brought to their attention any inadequacies in the rooms.

This hotel is NOT a 4.5 star.
The beach is non existent, service disgraceful, food, although good, is extremely limited. There are periods where the restaurants close to prepare for the next meal so make sure you aren't hungry during those times. Make sure to stay in a renovated room. If you have small kids make sure your room is not facing the casino. You will hear music from the clubs on the main street and the planes taking off. Expect to wait for everything. The restaurant staff will ask if you want a drink and come back 20min later with it. They will ask if you want coffee, bring that to your table and then ask if you want milk and sugar with that...and return 20 min later with it. They are not prompt to clear tables. Lobby bar closes at 12:30am. There is no room service. I actually ate out more then expected due to the lack of variety and effort. There is fresh made to order pizza at one of the restaurants. We ordered one and were told to return in 20 min to pick it up because there were other orders ahead of ours. No issue with that, however, when we did go to pick up our pizza, the chef told us he was closed and wouldn't make our pizza. So, we were forced to leave the resort and buy our dinner. THe location is pretty decent, there are restaurants and shops, clubs and casinos right outside the hotel. If you want wi-fi, you must pay for it, however, all the restaurants outside of the resort offer it for free. All in all, if the service improved, I would consider recommending this hotel. At this time, unfortunately, I would advise staying elsewhere.

L'Hôtel aurait besoin d'un petit rafraichissement surtout au niveau des tapis sur les étages.

Sonesta Maho is a great resort. Very friendly staff. Food is very good. The weather is always sunny, and hot in St. Martin. The resort is also conveniently located to the island's best secret, Mullet Bay beach. A short ferry ride will also take you to Shoal Bay in Anguilla, often ranked one of the world's top ten beaches.

The Sonesta Maho Beach was more than we expected. The floor manager was excellent. The first night, we arrived late due to our flight being delayed in Toronto. They put us in a 7th floor room overlooking the casino. We found it kind of noisy that night and the view was not great. The next morning we talked to the manager and he quickly changed our room to a fabulous room on the 8th floor, overlooking the pool, beach and ocean. The room was bright, clean and comfortable. The staff (housekeeping, and lobby staff) we very friendly and helpful when we had questions. The location of the resort was perfect. I cannot comment on the food at the hotel because we did not eat at the hotel. We ate at local restaurants and at places throughout the island. We rented a car so everyday we explored various parts of the island. We enjoyed being on the southwest side of the island. It was not as busy, traffic wise, as the southeastern side.

Hotel très propre, un peu trop prêt de l'aéroport ( bruit )particulièrement si vous êtes du côté rue.

très recommandable.

A good place to stay to discover St. Maarten.

Our hotel reception was EXCELLENT. I've never had a faster reception. This may have been the fault of the SunWing tour organizers.
The accommodation was clean and well appointed.
The view from our room excellent.
The staff were pleasant.
The food was good, a nice variety.

We had a couple of "in room safe" issues that took a bit of time to resolve but we weren't too bothered.

Frequently there seemed to be a disconnect with staff knowledge of hotel activities, and what was really going to happen. Example: which of the 3 restaurants was open that evening, no one seemed to know until that evening.

We were advised not to drink the tap water, I don't know if thats true but no one on our tour had any problems. The drinks and ice were good.