TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Recommendation on accomodation

Hello all,
I'm new to this community. I used to travel to SXM often many years ago but have not been back for quite some time and I understand there have been many changes with hurricane destruction etc.
I am planning a trip for three couples to travel together. We would like to stay in a villa with 3 separate bedrooms (a pool would be great) or a hotel/ guest house where we can all be close together.
One couple would really like a sunset view of the sea and we would all like to be close (walking distance) to some restaurants and shopping. We will have a car as we are planning to visit different beaches during the day.
I used to rent an umbrella and chairs before, is this still available.

Thanks in advance for your help

We are headed here next week:
https://saintmartinrentals.com/properties/ocean-5-6-bed-luxury-villa-in-happy-bay/
It checks all your boxes except walking distance to restaurants and shopping. However, it's only a few minutes to Grand Case, which has both.
Maybe a villa in Grand Case would be what you are looking for...

You didn't say whether you prefer Dutch or French side, so that could well factor in here. Oddly enough, sunset views are not that common, most places on the island, if you are talking about sunset view from your lodging. And to combine a sunset view with walking to restaurants and especially shopping, is going to be difficult. Off the top of my head, the only place I can think of that might combine those elements is someplace in Cupecoy, like at Rainbow or the Cliff, although I don't know whether there are three bedroom units at either place or not. They would not be a traditional stand alone villa, but what I would call a condo. Rainbow has a pool for the complex, but no private pools, to my knowledge. The Cliff again has a pool for the building, but possibly there may be some private pools there, I don't know.

One place that might work is the Villas at Great Bay. Sunset views from there, and walking to restaurants and shopping, but DURING THE DAY only, as I wouldn't walk from there after night. And I don't honestly know if they have 3 bedroom units there or not.

Not a villa at all, but a traditional hotel on the French side that might work is Grand Case Beach Club. There is a restaurant there onsite, as well as a pool for the hotel, and I understand they now have a shuttle down to restaurant row. There are several rental units in Grand Case that have sunset views, but I'm not aware of any that have 3 bedrooms.

There are TONS of villas with sunset views, but just not walkable to restaurants or shopping. Many of the villas with sunset views are in Terre Basse, but they are not walkable to anywhere. On the Dutch side, one that is CLOSE to restaurants, but not really walkable at NIGHT is Villa Libre, which is at Pelican Cove.
Link to Villa Libre

Happy hunting!

As far as renting chairs and umbrellas, Craig from Pack Light used to do it, but I'm not certain if he still does or not.

I think you would need one of those end units at the Cliff to see the sunset directly from your unit but then you are not ocean front. Of course if you go outside at the Cliff you will be rewarded with a most awesome sunset.

murphy-thanks for the input. I've not actually been inside that building. I know some of the unit definitely have sunset views, as I've seen pictures, but no idea which ones.

If you rent from Empress Rent-a-Car, along with your vehicle, you can get a "beach package:" Two chairs, umbrella and cooler. I think it's $7/day. Not sure whether you can get more than one "beach package" per car. I'll be on the island next month and opted for this when booking on-line.

And chair/umbrella rental is available (per-day) on the most popular beaches.

Thanks for all the info, I have been looking at the Cliff and Grand Case area but reached out to you all for other suggestions. We really would like a sunset from the villa.
Ill keep hunting
Thanks again

You might want to look into some of the timeshare resorts on the Dutch side. Some have 3 bedroom units like the Royal Palm that is on the beach and walking distance to many restaurants.

If you’re still looking for walking ability to your specific requested amenities, sunsets and a full service resort, Grand Case Beach Club in Grand Case is awesome.
We typically stay at Beachside Villas on Simpson Bay Beach and love it there but it’s a bit of a hike to restaurants. They do have at least one three bedroom unit - maybe more? - and it’s a great place to chill but I wouldn’t walk too far on the beach from there. Karachter and the Boon are walkable but depending on your ages and mobility, they're a hike in my book. You can walk to Maho and Sunset Beach bar but again, they might be a stretch too far.

Scuba--most of the year, there is no sunset view from Royal Palm.

Another place you might consider is The Horny Toad Guest House. There are only eight units total (four up and four down), so you would each have your own unit. If you could get three of the four upstairs units, you could really have a nice time socializing yet still have privacy.

I have seen spectacular sunsets at The Toad. You don't see the sun hitting the water but you do see it setting over Beacon Hill. I know several guests who have walked to area restaurants from The Toad. Check out my four recent trip reports for more info.

Simpson Bay Resort’s Flamboyant building on the beach is almost what you are looking for. The sunsets are incredible & you can walk to many restaurants. The only problem is there are only one & two bedroom units. You could rent one of each and only use the one bedroom for sleeping & all hang out in the other. There is also a pool at the end of the building.

Carol, I have taken beautiful sunset pictures from Royal Palm, Atrium , Flamingo and Simpson Bay Villas during several visits.

While not in walking distance to restaurants, La Favorita in Terres Basses was our choice this past year for a villa.
We had strict criteria and after hours and hours of looking at pictures, this villa was chosen
Robin the housekeeper was wonderful and will be there for all your needs or leave you alone if you have no needs
It is maybe a 5 minute drive to some very good and varied restaurants in Puerto Cupecoy and the college area and another 5 minutes to Maho.
Probably less than 20 minutes to Simpson Bay restaurants
The only negative would be a 25 minute drive to Grand Case although the drive through Sandy Ground seemed much easier and safer than previous years

You definitely get a much bigger bang for your buck in this area and this was our deciding factor
There is security to get into the area and the property is gated.

The Villa itself speaks for itself and you truly will not want to leave
Chef Franc (former owner/chef) prepared a 4 course lobster meal for us at a price just a little over what it would cost at a restaurant, he went above and beyond
The bathrooms are the size of a large bedroom

Depending on the time of year, you should have a great sunset


https://stmartinblue.com/villas/vac...Gs9DO_AIVIPHjBx2iHAt-EAAYASAAEgJJ3fD_BwE

Thank you all for your suggestions, we have decided on an accommodation in Grand Case which ticks all the boxes for all of us.
Looking forward to our trip

Elizabeth--depends on the time of the year, as I said, and often it's not an uninterrupted view of the sunset, but over some other land.

lifetime--when is your trip? Perhaps you don't want to tell us yet where you are ending up, but would appreciate hearing all about your choice, later on.

My trip is in May and I will let you all know about it when its over.
I do recognize that the sunset may be interrupted by some land but I think it should be ok

OK, looking forward to hearing all about it.

Actually Carol the sunset from the Atrium is right over the water and the yachts anchoring there.

..depending on the time of the year.

If you go during the winter months, you'll be able to see beautiful sunsets from the villas at Shore Pointe in Cupecoy. They have small pools and are right on one of the Cupecoy beaches (which are clothing optional). They are just across the street from Porto Cupecoy, where there are 6 restaurants, a Carrefour express, ATM, and casino; and a short distance from Jordan Village, where there are also several restaurants.

We were there in 2016-oct for a few days through Sharon. Took this right outside on ground floor unit.