any suggestions for reasonably priced hotels on the west side of the island with bar and restaurant and on the beach. thanks.

the west side of the island? what is the west side? we only talk in terms of Dutch side and French side actually.

Barbara, my translation is; Caribbean side as opposed to Atlantic side. Or Sunset or sunrise.

Augie;

I am an agnostic dyslexic who questions if there really is a dog.

sunset? sunrise?? LOL
well, that makes sense, I guess. the question still maybe needs to be frame din terms of actual locations on the island.
probably though the best hotel would be Maho.

Anyone have an opinion on "The Atrium" there in St. Martins?

yes, the Atrium is very nice. great location. rooms are very nice.
gets good reviews

The Atrium is located on the Dutch side of the island, which is known as Sint Maarten. St. Martin (no "s") is the French side of the island. Not to pick, but it really helps in understanding locations when you get those basics down! The Dutch side has the night life and is more Americanized. The French side pretty much closes down at dark, and is generally more expensive due to the unfavorable dollar/Euro conversion rate.

The beach at the Atrium is not the best on the island by any means, but if you are going to go to other beaches during the day, as most do, and just use the Atrium as your "base camp", it is a great location. You're within walking distance of plenty of restaurants and nighttime entertainment locations.

I guess what I'm saying is that it depends on what you're looking for, as the island is quite varied.

Enjoy!

becka,
The Atrium is a nice timeshare and as stated very convenient to a lot of restraunts etc. That said its also in a very busy and very congested area so to me its a trade off. If it was available I'd take it knowing I'd have to travel through a lot of congestion during the day but I could walk to many destinations at night and be able to party as much as I wanted without worrying about driving de islan roads at night.

We stay at the Atrium 2 x a year and love it. We don't spend time at the beach, but rent a car and drive to the many wonderful beaches during the day. In the evening, it's a great jumping off place. You can walk to many bars and restaurants. Orr drive a short distance to many more.

The resort itself is clean and confortable with a great staff.

We don't usually have traffic issues. We avoid rush hour and bridge openings.