It’s a real question on an island like St Martin / St Maarten — and the answer depends entirely on how you want to spend your days.
A villa gives you freedom, space, and the feeling of living here rather than visiting. A hotel gives you simplicity, a made bed every morning, and someone else thinking about the details.
The French side leans toward the intimate end — boutique properties, small guesthouses, places where the owner greets you by name. The Dutch side has the resorts, the pools, the full-service experience. Both are valid. Both are very different trips.
What follows is my shortlist of the places I’d actually recommend — not every option on the island, just the ones worth your attention.
Orient Beach Hotel is the only hotel sitting directly on the sand at Orient Bay — and location matters more than any amenity list here. You step out of your room and you’re already there. No car, no planning, no ten-minute walk. Just the beach, the light, and the sound of the water.
The rooms are spacious junior suites, most with ocean views and a small kitchen — recently renovated, clean, and well thought-out for a beach stay. The path through the gardens to the beach is genuinely lovely. Guests come back year after year, which tells you everything.
It’s not a luxury resort. It’s something better for this location — a place that gets Orient Bay exactly right.
Six suites. A Balinese pool in a tropical garden. A private jacuzzi on almost every terrace. And two owners — Pauline and Jérémy — who left solid careers in France to build something personal in St Martin, from scratch.
Pomme Cannelle sits at the entrance of Orient Bay, close enough to the beach to walk there in minutes, far enough from the strip to feel like a different world entirely. It’s intimate by design — which means no crowds, no anonymity, and breakfast delivered to your room if you want it.
The 9.2/10 on Booking.com from guests says everything. Guests come back. Not because it’s the biggest property on the island, but because it gets the small things right consistently.
If you’re traveling as a couple and want Orient Bay without living in the middle of it — this is the one I’d point you to first.
Where you stay in St Martin shapes your entire experience of the island.
The same destination can feel completely different depending on your surroundings — beachside and vibrant, quiet and tucked away, or fully serviced with everything taken care of.
The French side was never built for mass tourism, and it shows in the way people stay here. Small properties tucked into Grand Case, hidden along the coast, or set back from Orient Bay in lush gardens — places with six rooms, owners who know your name, and a pace that feels nothing like a standard hotel stay. It’s a different philosophy entirely. Less infrastructure, more atmosphere.
I’ve put together a shortlist of the ones I’d actually recommend.
Not sure where to stay? Here’s a quick guide to the most sought-after areas.
Orient Bay The liveliest part of the French side — beach clubs, watersports, restaurants within walking distance, and a constant low hum of activity from morning until late. If you want to be in the middle of it, this is where you stay.
→ See my Orient Bay hotels recommandations.
Grand Case A single street of restaurants right on the water, widely considered the culinary capital of the Caribbean. Quieter than Orient Bay, more local in feel, and genuinely beautiful at sunset. Accommodation here is limited but worth seeking out if food and atmosphere matter more to you than beach access.
→ Guide coming soon
The Dutch side is a different island entirely — Simpson Bay, Maho, Philipsburg, Little Bay. More resorts, more energy, more options at every price point. It’s where you go if you want a big pool, a casino nearby, or a room that doesn’t require planning your entire day around a car.
I’m working on a full guide to the best hotels on the Dutch side. In the meantime, the search at the end of this page covers the whole island — filter by area and dates to see what’s available.
St Maarten has exactly three all inclusive resorts worth considering — all on the Dutch side, each genuinely good for a different kind of traveler. One adults-only with oceanfront suites and real quiet. One on a peninsula with water on both sides, great for families. One right on Maho Beach, where planes fly ten metres overhead and something is always happening.
Choosing between them isn’t obvious. I’ve written an honest breakdown of all three.
The best hotels in St Martin and St Maarten don’t stay available for long — especially the ones right on the beach. Once your travel dates are set, options can disappear quickly across the island.
