Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino

“Beautiful St Maarten”

We stayed for a week at the Sonesta Maho Beach Casino and Spa at St Maarten. What a beautiful resort, definitely a 5+ star. The food was excellent and I loved that nobody touched anything in the buffet. You told the server what you wanted and they served it up. So much better than everyone touch… more

We stayed for a week at the Sonesta Maho Beach Casino and Spa at St Maarten. What a beautiful resort, definitely a 5+ star. The food was excellent and I loved that nobody touched anything in the buffet. You told the server what you wanted and they served it up. So much better than everyone touching the utensils. The Alacarte restaurants were very good as well. The beach was nice but unfortunately we didnt spend a lot of time on the beach due to it being very windy the week we were there. The pools were very nice too. What I think was most impressive was the people, their kindness, always appeared happy and willing to answer any questions you had. We did an island tour and would highly recommend that day trip. Definitely will go back. Rooms were very clean and not dated. This resort was good value for our money. It was also a pretty quiet resort.

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“Great location, clean, not luxury”

We chose the resort for its proximity to Mullet Bay and Maho/airport, ability to book an Oceanview Suite with a separate bedroom for adults, and all-inclusive package. First 2 things worked out great, but food was mediocre, mixed drinks were kind of bad and we’ve been to many AI’s for comparison. B… more

We chose the resort for its proximity to Mullet Bay and Maho/airport, ability to book an Oceanview Suite with a separate bedroom for adults, and all-inclusive package. First 2 things worked out great, but food was mediocre, mixed drinks were kind of bad and we’ve been to many AI’s for comparison. Bottom line: Great location, clean property, mediocre food and drinks. Pros Short walk to cat sanctuary, shops, and bars/restaurants which you’ll need because resort food/drinks aren’t great Proximity to Mullet and Maho Beaches Omelette station/breakfast buffet, La Fontana Italian, and pizza place are decent All restaurants had at least one vegetarian item and the items were labeled as vegetarian/vegan on the menu Cafe that serves espresso drinks is included and open 7 to 7 Decent live music by the pool in the afternoons Air conditioning, sinks, toilet and shower worked efficiently, we never ran out of hot water Room and furniture, including pullout bed, were clean Plenty of closet and drawer space in the room Several resort bars and restaurants on the water Cons No beach on the resort property, at least when I visited Oceanview Suite - bedroom window doesn’t open (see photo) Balconies not private (see photo) No ceiling fans Shower has a half wall only, no door, so water gets everywhere Pool small and no ocean view Drinks and food not great even for an AI, beer selection is Caribe or Coors Couldn’t figure out the thermostat or find a manual online Master bedroom bed/pillows hard and flat (Sofa bed was decent for a pullout) No room service, at least for our room type FYI Bathroom has a door but within the bathroom, toilet and shower stalls don’t have doors just a glass half-partition Water was rough while we were here, too rough to try and walk to Mahó along the shoreline. But it takes 3 minutes to get there along the road instead. There’s a walkway through a terrace with lounge chairs right next to the Palms restaurant, which goes toward Maho, but you can’t use it, it’s private property and there’s a security guard stationed there. Scan the QR code on your room’s TV for accurate info about restaurant hours/menus and activities - I could never get the app to work. Adults get a bracelet with a plastic tag that scans you into your room and into bars/restaurants. If you have an older child or teen who will be moving around the resort by themself, they get a basic plastic wristband and you’ll have to ask for a key card for them at check-in. Mixed drinks were pretty bad, we stuck to beer and house wines all week. The house rose was decent. Fontana, pizza place and breakfast buffet food was ok, the rest of the restaurants were mediocre to bad. Plan on draping wet bathing suits etc on the balcony furniture during the day so they get the sun. Nothing dried inside our room even with the a/c on, or outside at night, and that was in winter. There are dedicated taxi drivers right outside the hotel entrance, they have salmon colored shirts. It was $21 for 3 people to Simpson Bay, which is about a 10-15 minute taxi ride. The resort cats are fed and veterinary care is provided by the cat sanctuary which is next to the resort’s Asian restaurant and well worth a visit to play with kittens. They accept cash and Venmo donations. To get to Mullet Bay (gorgeous beach and much nicer than Maho), walk out of the resort’s front entrance and turn left down the main shopping road for about 2 minutes. Where it sort of dead ends, make a slight left onto Rhine Road. You’ll end up walking through a golf course, keep walking for about 5 minutes until you see cars parked a little ways to the left. The beach entrance is past the parking lot. We liked Da Waterhole for food and drinks, we weren’t impressed with Rosie’s. You’ll have to buy a $10 wristband to use the Waterhole facilities, including the bathroom and foot shower. You can rent chairs and umbrellas for $30/day from the people at the tents past Rosie’s, and they’ll also bring you soda, water, and buckets of iced beer for $20. You can rent jet skis, pool noodles, etc from them as well. Re: other reviews claiming the resort staff is rude - the only rudeness I saw was from visitors. It’s the Caribbean, people are generally not going to be rushing to attend to and fawn over you. In my family’s experience, most of the resort staff and other islanders we encountered were pleasant and many were friendly. A few were more reserved, but nobody was “rude” to us. Adjust your expectations and always approach people with the same degree of patience, respect, and kindness that you want in return. Also, leave tips.

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