In my opinion this resort should never have been given 4 stars. It is a three at best! I should have known that all those positive reviews were too good to be true. This resort is quite small and quaint but very tired, run down and in need of repairs. This trip we decided on St. Maarten as it was one place that neither my spouse nor I had been and all the positive reviews of this resort we thought we couldn’t go wrong. Well we were. My husband and I have traveled a lot and stayed in very many different accommodations so we are not just judging this place by Canadian standards. I have stayed in some very bad motel rooms that were in better condition but didn’t call themselves 4 stars! The afternoon after check in, around 3pm, walking down the hallway to the elevator, there were poop footprints all along the hallway. I gather a little kid must have pooped himself and had it on their feet. You would expect that the cleaning staff would have cleaned that up right away, right? No that evening it was still there and also the next morning at 9:30 when we left the room. That to me was totally disgusting and certainly not what is acceptable practice in a good resort! Now St. Maarten was great. The people outside the resort were wonderful. Very friendly and smiling all the time. We went to Skip Jack’s for supper one night. You have to try it! The food is fantastic and service superb! Try St. Maarten but in my opinion I would stay clear of the Maho! For the little extra it would cost you stay at the RIU! If I’m spending good hard earned money for a 4 star resort, I expect a 4 star resort , room as well! Sunwing and Signature should be ashamed of themselves for labelling this resort as 4 stars. I might return to St. Maarten but never to the Sonesta Maho and I certainly will not recommend it to anyone! The whole Sonesta Maho resort should be downgraded to a 3 star!
Room Number:
637,864
Arrival:
The lobby is ok, worn and tired looking and not quite the atmosphere I would have expected. Certainly not as nice and inviting as Palladium, Iberostar or Riu resorts!
Rooms: The rooms checking in weren’t ready yet so we had to wait. We finally were allocated room 637 which is absolutely terrible. The shower head is coming off the wall, the water pressure is almost nil, the room is very run done in dire need of renovations and directly outside was the water treatment tank and garbage! The décor and furniture were very tired and worn just like the rest of the resort. We couldn’t enjoy the balcony at all due to the water tank and garbage! Very disappointing as I emailed Rollicia at reservations prior to coming to try and ensure a good room plus brought her gifts to sweeten the deal and I still ended up with one of the worst rooms ever! The front desk clerk, I think her name was Jessenia, was in no way helpful. We just kept getting told the same old story that they were booked and no other rooms available! I had also asked prior to coming if it was possible to get non-alcoholic beer in our room or on the resort and was emailed back that it was no problem they would ensure some was in our room. That never happened either! After calling constantly and only thanks to Rollicia, we finally got some non-alcoholic beer on Tuesday. Most people comment and say so how much time do you really spend in your room, well we spend quite a bit of time in our room! We really enjoy sitting on the balcony, looking at the view and reading which we could not do in room 637. On Tuesday we went to see Sansary, the Sunwing rep and he was able to get a different room. The new room was 864, it wasn’t a 4 star room, the bathtub caulking and shower curtain were covered in mold but at least the shower worked and we were a little further from the water tank and noise. The beds in both rooms were quite comfortable so that was a plus.
Restaurants and Bars: There are three restaurants in the resort, the buffet, the point (suppose to be fine dining), and the grill. Food is very good, selection not bad so there was always something to eat. I found most of the staff very unfriendly and unsmiling unless you tipped them constantly. I took this to test. I went to the same woman at the pool bar and ordered a drink, no money in hand. Even though no one else was there, she took her sweet time getting around to serving me. Not once did she smile! The next day I tried again with money in hand, I got served right away and she smiled and spoke! Ok, next day tried again with no money and same service as first time. Discussed!
Beach/Pools/Grounds: The pool is ok but there is only one and it is small, very old and in need of repairs. The tile/plastic lining on the bottom of the pool is all lifting up.
Ocean water is clear and a beautiful blue with white sandy beaches and the lush green foliage of the island is attractive.