TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

For St. Maarten (Sonesta): While the property itself was beautiful and the rooms were clean with great views, we did experience several challenges. Even though it was advertised as adults-only, there were still children on property from the family side of Sonesta. Which took away from the atmosphere we expected, especially since we paid extra for an adult-only experience. Throughout the stay, the staff was often unaccommodating. I had a group of 28 people for my birthday trip! We ran into issues with my birthday dinner setup, getting space at the pool, limited cups for drinks at the swim up bar, and overall unpleasant interactions across the resort. We made arrangements with the banquet manager to be separate from the rest of the restaurant patrons so that we could have a more intimate private experience without it being a private room (which they don't have). Unfortunately that was not conveyed to the staff and they put us in the middle of the restaurant at three separate tables that were very spread out. Which led us have to speak louder instead of off to the side which would’ve been more intimate and appropriate. There was plenty of open space available to accommodate that request. There were only four other tables being utilized in the whole restaurant. The food also wasn’t the greatest, and the buffet areas being open to birds raised some concerns. Entertainment leaned heavily toward American genres like R&B and Country rather than a Caribbean feel, which didn’t match what many guests were hoping for. Additionally, it would’ve been helpful to know about resort activities ahead of time so we could pass that along to our group. Some areas of the resort, like one of the bars had leaking air conditioning and buckets on the floor, felt unprepared for guest flow. Not enough bar staff also impacted the experience. There were bright spots — beautiful scenery, a nice property layout, and guests enjoyed the views from their rooms — but overall, Sonesta didn’t deliver the level of service we expected. My guest and I made the best of it. Disappointed for the money we spent!

Amazing food, amazing staff & beautiful beaches & pools. couldnt ask for more! Ate at Azul & Blufin most of our time there, amazing wait staff, sidia, jennifer & maddi the baddie!

Ranjeet was our butler. He is an incredibly warm person who took good care of us and seems to define the role! We recommend going with a butler and highly recommend Ranjeet. Yannik is also very service-oriented and a native of Dutch Sint Maarten so very knowledgeable about the island. The resort is gorgeous and everyone who works there is friendly, helpful, cordial and respectful. It cannot be easy to keep it spotless and staff seem to do the work behind the scenes. Every staff member said Good morning or other appropriate greeting but we initiated with a smile at them and acknowledgement that we see them. Even the men that make the zen garden so nice are friendly, even though English is probably a challenge. Azul is our favorite restaurant at the resort; the chef is inventive and the menu changes daily. Hang Su (spelling?) was our chef for at least one meal; he created a veggie burger for my wife that was much appreciated. Staff we want to recognize individually for stand out service and/or friendliness are: Jonathan Smiley, Jennifer, Maddie Baddie, Sheryl/Cheryl, Janeal, Fantasia, Rihanna, Sidia, Marie, Stephanie, and Schneider. Apologies for mispellings and omitting anyone. New nametags with larger font size would help me, but we know to ask someone their name. After several meals at Azul the staff mentioned above greeted us by our first names (which we love). The ocean-side Serenity Spa massage was out of this world. Flores worked out some deep muscle issues. Anna did the same for my wife.

The hotel is good, not fantastic. However what was amazing was Portofino's restaurant. The food was the best of the whole of the 2 hotels. The whole experience was made even more special by Brandon (he is still training) he was the BEST member of staff we experienced the whole trip. He needs to be promoted asap, before someone steals him.

We had a wonderful time. We had a butler suite and Ranjeet was just amazing. He handled anything we needed, or wanted. He is very professional and made our trip so pleasurable. Our favorite restaurant was Azul & pizza at the pool with a drink watching the airplanes was just perfect. We would definitely stay here again.