The wife and i are heading back to to St Maarten after 23 years Nov 29 to Dec 3 has anyone recently stayed at the Westin Dawn beach hotel that can let us know what kind of hotel it is? We enjoy a party atmosphere. How far from the nightlife? Rent a car or cab it? How far is orient beach? Is shopping near by?

Joey,

If you haven't been to St. Maarten/St. Martin in 23 years you are in for a big surprise. No, make that a shock. There will be little you remember from back then that you'll still be able to recognize as the island has grown up and developed to the nth. And the Orient Beach of 23 years ago is gone, even down to the original Brinks Orient Beach Nudist Camp which washed out to sea in a hurricane in the 90's. It's very developed as is every corner of the island now.

The Westin is not close to a lot of big party spots but it does have its own casino, restaurant and club. If you remember the old Dawn Beach Resort of years ago, that's exactly where it is. If you're planning on staying there and partying, do yourself a favor and have the concierge either arrange a driver or cabs for you for your nighttime activities. The shopping would be in Philipsberg or Marigot and neither one is really right there at your fingertips.

These are just my personal opinions and I have to admit, these days I'm not all that familiar with that part of the island so hopefully Barbara or someone else will jump in here and give you better info but I hope this helps for a start.

Respectfully,

pat
:-) :-)

The hotel is beautiful and you will enjoy the beach and the pool. However, when it comes to night life you must have a car and travel about 15 minutes. I would guess the roads are about the same as they were 20 years ago so drive safely.

MaMa's Pizza just up the road on the French side is a must.

Just returned from SXM this past weekend and spent 3 nights at the Westin before moving over to our favorite hotel on the Dutch side, Mary's Boon.

The Westin is a full service hotel with all the amenities one would expect from an upper class hotel. I know from the outside it doesn’t look like much but once inside the resort it is very tropical looking with a spectacular pool with several levels and lots of palm trees surrounding the inner area of the resort. The pool is quite large with a big swim-up bar. A big Jacuzzi off to the right of the pool with outdoor lunch service next door was convenient.

We did not consider the casino small. Perhaps it’s smaller than some of the free standing casinos on the island but from what we recall it’s bigger than the Sonesta Maho. We liked the size, newness of it and choices of slots, joker poker, a couple roulette wheels, craps and blackjack tables. We made a deposit and then a withdrawal! Having the casino smack in the middle of the first floor upon entering and exiting can be very dangerous.

The Westin includes the heavenly bed, heavenly two-headed shower with large two person glass shower stall and bath tub on the other side of the bathroom. We were upgrade to an oceanfront corner room that had a very huge and private balcony on the 2nd floor. Front French doors opened up to a full view of the beach and side French doors around the opposite corner of our room opened up to a wonderful view of the pool. We did not have a suite but the room was very large. We had several amenities sent up to the room, one upon arrival and another little tray of cookies the second evening. Turn down service each night included chocolates on the side. They also have a huge gift shop, onsite car rental – Prestige; full spa and fitness room. Two onsite restaurants and a night club complete the resort.

We did not check out the night club but did dine onsite at the Asian inspired restaurant, OCEAN which was delicious. Cost was no more than any other full service restaurant we ate on the island. What we really liked was you could dine both inside (air conditioned) and out at both restaurants and the outdoor area was covered by a huge oval stationary roof so if it rained you could still eat outside. We did not try the French inspired restaurant, AURA which was considered fine dining exhibited by the table clothes and a few other added touches but we did like the menu and would try it should we return. There is a three story covered parking garage adjacent to the lobby, but no valet service offered, you park your own car. Didn't mind as that was one less person to tip and could get the car quickly.

If this was our first visit to the island I doubt I’d ever leave the resort, smart thinking on their part but since we have been to the island repeatedly, and rent a car we like to venture all over so some of those amenities and services would be wasted on us if we stayed the full length of our vacation. Don’t get me wrong I’d like being able at 10:30 PM at night to go back downstairs to the bar and order a cordial and dessert which is not something we’ve be able to do at any of the other hotels we’ve stayed at on this island.

As a part-time resident of the island I'd just like to make you aware of what a bad neighbor this hotel has been and even worse, the damage the recent construction of this hotel has done to the environment (for example see the blog [sxmprivateeye.com] for more info). If you swim in the ocean there, you'll witness environmental destruction first hand and possibly hurt yourself on the very sharp, dead coral near the shore. The hotel also still has a pretty unfinished look on the outside (and there is still construction of condos going on on the property). People who come to this resort and never go to other parts of the island are missing out and are a good example of why Americans have the reputation for being uncultured, untraveled, and unsophisticated. Take advantage of the European flavor of the island and its many different beaches! However, if your idea of a vacation is being drunk 24/7 by a nice big pool, and you prefer spending your time in a casino rather than by admiring the natural beauty of the Carribean, this might be the place for you. But then, why not just go to Las Vegas?

The Westin is pretty cold on the inside. It's built around the casino so you have to walk a distance to get to the hotel part and then,there are no coffee shops or just areas in which to "hang out". It's quite remote from the nite-life. However, it's a beautiful part of the island with a great view of the ocean.

hi my name is chery, i am answering your question about westin i know westin is a fabulous place. it is new and there ia alot of actvities there.i have been there for 2 weeks in july and we loved it. we are planning to come back in december of this year. so maybe we will see you there my husband and i.i must say you do need a car or taxi for getting to the best spots. like maho and marigot is nice for upscale shopping youo need a taxi have the concierge ask for cheryl taxi 252 she is a wonderful taxi driver. she knows alot of the island all the great spots. and she is always at your service. very reliable and always on tine. you will have fun with her.take care and enjoy your time in st.maarten great island

[edited by moderator]

Ummm... Chery!... are you in fact "Cheryl - taxi 252" that you are recommending, since you are posting from St Maarten and you are making believe that you were there for 2 weeks in july and planing to come back here in december? You are already heremy Dear!... please do not use this board for advertising.
Philippe



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/2008 08:34AM by Tabba Khady.