TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Anse Marcel

I haven't had much luck gathering opinions or information on potential beach day at Anse Marcel. While I have deduced that it is a lovely and calm beach, I am curious about offered chair rentals, beach bars, etc. The only thing I have come up with is that there is a Riu which rents chairs for a kind of high price, and there doesn't seem to be anywhere to set up your own chair, or rent anywhere more casual. I would appreciate input from anyone familiar with spending the day/time in the area.

I believe in the middle of the beach (between Riu and Anse Marcel Beach Restaurant) there is an area where you could set up your own chairs and/or rent them, but I'm not positive about that. I also think there is a beach bar in the middle; I don't know about the quality of food.

I have spent several days at Anse Marcel Beach Restaurant and can speak definitively only to that. You need to rent chairs there even if you are eating there, and no coolers allowed. It's not an inexpensive day but worth it in my opinion.

Good luck! You will love the beach!

If you do a search here you will find many mentions of Anse Marcel area but that said, RIU is an all-inclusive resort on one end of the beach area here.

There is another spot that is often spoken of, and that many of us absolutely love, called the Anse Marcel Beach Club. Trust me, it is NOT an inexpensive day but one that might become one of the highlights of your trip.

As I recall, five of us spent a lovely day there back in April. By the time we left, our bill for the day ranged in the $350.00 range and I thought it a good deal, all things taken into consideration. It seems to me, the chair rental alone is $22 EU for two chairs, an umbrella and a cocktail table. Our day included chair set-ups for five adults, drinks on the beach with several bottles of sparkling wine served chair side and then a lovely lunch in one of their special dining alcoves. Its certainly not an everyday beach lunch, at least, not for us, but for a special day it was delightful. The food was delicious, the service was excellent and the setting delightful. The restrooms are lovely and well maintained and the parking is fairly secure in their well paved lot.

There appears to be a reasonably sized beach area between these two properties where one could set up their own chairs and umbrellas and dine from the largesse of their personal coolers which to the best of my knowledge, CANNOT be done at either of the two more formal establishments.

The beach itself in this cove is white powdery sand and generally speaking, there are no waves - just a gentle and pleasant water experience for those who don't want the other. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Just a question, no disrespect intended at all...just trying to understand....Aren't all beaches public and they can't stop you from bringing your own snacks/beverages? TY.

As I understand it, various sections of the beaches (particularly on the french side), the government has given leases which entitle the owner of the lease to have exclusive rights to chair rentals in that specific area of the beach. I assume, without knowing, that if you set up your chair all the way behind all of their chairs, maybe they couldn't prevent you from doing that, but I personally would just go somewhere else, where I wouldn't potentially be hassles. Certain of those lessees state that if you are going to use their chairs, that you cannot bring your own food and drink and use their chairs. It's up to you whether you choose to rent chairs there, knowing their rules. For example, Coco at Esmeralda has had a rule for years that you cannot bring your own food and drink and rent their chairs. I personally choose not to patronize their establishment at all then. Certain places, like Dreams in Nettle Bay, gives free chairs if you eat or drink there. Or, go to Mullet or Club Orient beach, where it doesn't matter if you rent their chairs or not, you can bring your own food and drink.

No disrespect implied or felt....it is confusing! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

While not well versed in the ins and outs of all things island, there are some businesses that have apparently leased from the government the right to establish themselves on specific beaches and to hold those pieces of beach as their own, giving them the apparent right to ban chair squatters and cooler diners. Not saying I agree or disagree with this but the usual argument is they pay for and maintain their particular leased area ergo they have the rights to limit/ban the chairs and coolers of others. They can't, to the best of my knowledge, stop you from using the beach itself - just perhaps the way in which you use it. Perhaps I'm wrong but this is how it was explained to me. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for the suggestions. I, too, was confused about what was or wasn't public, although ultimately if it's just a matter of it being "tacky" or "frowned upon", I'm not going to do it anyway. I couldn't tell from my previous reading on the area, just how many options for rental there were...it sounds like the Anse Marcel Beach Club is a lovely place and worth the splurge, so I think we will check it out.

There was a post a few days ago about Grand Case and it explained the beaches. They are public but are private. Restaurants and bars do have licenses for concessions on the beaches.

We love Anse Marcel and go often during our stay. We usually bring our own cooler and rent chairs in the middle of the beach. For the number of times we visit this beach we couldn't possibly afford the Beach Club every time. When we do it's always very enjoyable as it is when we bring our own picnic.

When you say the middle of the beach, do you mean between Riu and Anse Marcel Beach Club? I didn't realize there was a chair rental concession there. Is it just chairs and umbrellas, or is there drink service?

We usually just rent the chairs, i'm not sure there are umbrella's. There is a little area selling food and drinks but they don't serve you on the beach. Yes it's between The Riu and The Beach Club. They also have a concession for water sports.

Thanks for the info. We definitely need an umbrella, so we'll stick with the beach club when we go.

yes you can bring your own chairs/umbrellas and coolers to Anse Marcel. But you need to be sitting in a certain area. It you are facing the water, it is all the way to the left. I have been several times, but not since December though...Parking is the big issue. You have to park very far away unless you are eating at the Anse Marcel beach club and then you can park in their lot

We stopped at the desk at the other hotel (not RUI) and said we wanted to use the beach with 2 chairs and an umbrella then have lunch in their restaurant. They took our name and a time for lunch then ushered us to the beach where someone set up chairs & umbrella for us. Charge $25 (maybe euros, forgot)