TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Pros nice staff and good food Cons really no beach to sit at you’re up on top of the ledge at the hotel with some dirty sand. Elevators to a couple restaurants are not working. You need to walk up and down non-running escalator not good for the handicap or injured which I hurt my ankle and had a hard time walking up island view rooms, overlook the garbage and sewage. It smelled so bad you couldn’t sit out there and the smell came into the room. A lot of riffraff lotta noise during the night on the floors with doors, slamming, and people have parties in their rooms.

Purchased day pass from resort for the day for our port day via the Carnival Celebration. The front desk staff did not explain anything to us and a second person collected our drivers licenses, took them to the back for a few minis then came back out and put them in an unmarked envelope and slid it on a drawer. My friend finally asked and we were told we would get them back when we got ready to leave. As we walked outside on our own with no prior direction a security guard chased after us asking where we were going and our purpose for being at the resort. We showed her our armbands and told her we were there on a day pass. She softened her tone and told us there were areas where we can’t go. We found chairs right away beachside as we were still a little unclear on the pool situation. There was a swim up bar in the pool and a covered patio bar and dining area with restrooms to change, with outdoor showers directly across. Upon arrival the only food and drink venue open was an indoor coffee shop and the staff there gave us 4 bottles of water quickly. After swimming at the beach we had a couple of drinks from the outdoor bar before moving onto the pool. When we started getting hungry we moved to the dining area and sat at a table finishing drinks. My friend approached the hostess and asked if we could leave our stuff at the table to come and order food and the hostess snapped “no you must pick up your things and get dressed with shoes if you are going to eat here.” My friend was wearing a modest skirted 2 piece suit and her water shoes and was waiting to change into street clothes when she dried off more. We decided to change into our clothes and headed back to the ship. It was checkout time at the hotel and a long line at the desk, but my friend found a staff member who retrieved our licenses without a WORD. We didn’t complain, frown or otherwise engage other than to say we were ready to leave.

The Sonesta has its up’s and it’s down’s. The bad; If you have an island view room, YOU WILL NOT SLEEP. Club pumping music until 4am Thursday-Sunday. We had noise cancelling headphones which helped a bit, but they are the bulky type so not ideal to sleep with. Complained everyday and we were told they were fully booked and nothing could be done. We found the resort to be painfully understaffed in the bar areas. We were told there was a 1000 people at the resort the week we were there and they had one bartender working the pool bar with the help of two girls doing drink service. Beach access is limited, and honestly kind of awkward to get too. The undertow was quite bad infront of the resort as well. In addition it was almost impossible to find pool chairs or beach chairs unless you were up very very early. The resort is “family friendly” but definitely found it to have a heavy party vibe. Although, I was not too bothered by this, I could see how if you were there with young children it maybe a problem. The Good; The staff was honestly some of the best we have ever encountered. Almost all of them were smiling and happy. Shout out to Katerina at the pool bar, Damien at the Palms and the wonderful bartender at the Village tavern. I feel horrible for both getting his name as myself and my husband spent most of the night there with him and he was honestly awesome! The food was the best. We had a great dinner at Jing’s, La Fontana, and the Mexican place. Juan especially at the Mexican restaurant was so great! I will add that if you can go before it gets super busy that is what I would recommend for the best service and speed. The buffet was okay, I never went hungry, but didn’t love their breakfast options. The rooms themselves were very nice, updated and clean. My husband lived on our balcony because our view on the island was nice (besides the noise!). The grounds of the resort are some of the most beautiful we have ever seen, the ambiance and the mood at twilight or as the sun is setting is truthfully indescribable. I will add that we found the La Fantana bar a little too late into our vacation because it was such a nice spot to escape the craziness of some of the other bars and just sit by the ocean with a drink. Sint Maarten is a truly beautiful island, with some of the most beautiful beaches, delicious food and amazing people. The Sonesta does have its faults but over all I would stay there again. I would be sure to upgrade our room to an ocean view though to avoid the noise.

Stayed for 6days and 5 nights on the Island side of the resort, only slept well for two nights due to the noise from 10pm-4am...yes 4am!!! Thumping music from Thursdays-Sundays EVERY night until 4am and after some times. Staff will tell you it does not happen or may not happen but trust me, it was loud! Not enough pillows to cover my head, earplugs and noise machines are no match for the noise. I thought the airport would be noisy being so close, but it was least of our concerns. We had complained the first night and were told "it might happen Thursday-Sunday" and they were right, did not care at all but were right. We asked Monday to switch rooms and the mysterious Giovanny who was in charge was never around to help us. I asked EVERY day from Monday to Wednesday, some days multiple times, and only did I receive a message back, conveniently when my family and I were out enjoying vacation on a catamaran tour we booked through the resort. The message was that we had a 2hr window to pack up and have our things held so we could move rooms. We lost out since we were not sitting in our room waiting for a phone call. Staff was unapologetic, every person I tried to talk to. Staff in general seemed miserable and inconvenienced by any request, including a second cup of coffee, a cocktail or a burger at the snack shack. Rarely did we see anyone smile. Food in Ocean Terrace buffet was decent most days, it's an all-inclusive buffet, so you get what you get but some food was great and some was not...service was awful, no smiles and good luck getting a coffee refill in the morning. Cantina food was ok, Palms was basic lunch, good not great. La Fontana was EXCELLENT! Frutti de Mare was the best I have ever had...service NOT so much. Had the same waitress twice and she was more concerned with those around her than taking our order correctly. Jings was excellent and the best service by far, great food! I think our waiter was Dante and he was pleasant, others at the resort can take lessons from that young man. Best bartender by a landslide was Damian at the Palms/Cantina...try one of his Ambassador drinks, so good! Nighttime entertainment was good, very kid friendly. My 8yr old had a blast just about every night! If you want a good excursion, try the Catamaran tour by Eagle Tours out of Bobbys Marina in Phillipsburg - boat was Too Rhum Punch and the crew Fritz and Keke ( think he was the captain) were amazing! Great tour, they were knowledgeable and fun, plus the food prepared was fantastic as was the rum punch! Great snorkeling and views of the island...wear sunscreen! In closing, if you need to go here, choose a room NOT on the island side and I hope your experience was better than ours. We won't be back...plenty of other islands in the world to explore.

I enjoyed the stay - my second time at the resort. Good food, nice room etc. I tried Azul Expereience. All good! There were a couple of issues (one was my own fault) but thanks to the great customer service provided by Ms.Onicka Williams (Front Desk Manager) all was resolved. She went out of her way to assist. Bravo!