Hotels near St Maarten Zoo, Philipsburg

This hotel is actually local, an old resort, close to the prince **. The facilities are very shabby from the outside, but they have been renovated from the inside, in line with the latest aesthetic style. I give full marks for this interior. The environment is very good. There is a large area around the resort, with complete facilities, and various restaurants and bars. The pier fitness ** is all in the resort.

This was my first time coming to Sint Maartin and I didn’t know what to expect. I had heard good things about the place so I was excited. Arriving in the country I noticed that the hotel doesn’t have an airport shuttle even though the hotel was 10-15 mins away. They did offer a suggestion for a driver and it was $25 to the hotel, ok not a big deal. When I arrived to the hotel which was situated up a hill I didn’t realize the scale of the property. It’s huge! The staff provided a map which outlined the restaurants,pools, beach, etc. The property is designed as an all inclusive but it was definitely not. All the food and drinks were separate and very expensive. Also the menu was very “Americanized” which I know might be someone’s taste but I prefer local dishes. Room: The room was very much outdated but clean. My AC kept going out but each time I called maintenance they responded immediately. Staff: Great staff very friendly. But they could provide more details about the property, internet and also taxis available to take people around. Perhaps work out a deal for them to be waiting and provide daily rates. Walkability: The property provides a shuttle down to the hill but couldn’t go far due to local taxi complaints. There is no uber and walking places, to me weren’t actually that convenient. Positives: The views were amazing, the beach was clean and the water was beautiful. Takeaways: I would plan in advance to hire a driver daily so that you can get to places and find other dining/shopping spots. Also I would plan to have more cash and expect to pay a lot for food. All in all I would recommend this place if they did renovations and you have children.

We just returned from our stay at this property and Hilton again did not disappoint. The beach is beautiful with views all the way across Simpson Bay to the airport, countless restaurants, bars at tours and clubs within a easy walk and even a full service market right next to the famous Red Piano Bar. We actually had to cancel or plan A that was to stay at a AirBnB due to power outages on the Dutch side and fortunately while there were minor disruptions at Flamingo Bay, they have a backup generator that kicks in so the lifesaving A/C was always available. In addition to everything else the staff stayed friendly and ready to help even with Tropical Cyclone Ernesto whipping the island. Only drawback is there is not an adults only area, so if you’re looking to escape the screaming kids for a romantic beach you’ll have to do some exploring which was a bonus in itself. Safe Travels.

This is on a nice part of the beach in Simpson Bay. It has been here awhile and has been updated some but still has more to do and could use some minor maintenance. It is about 2/3 of the way down the runway and it is interesting to see the planes fly over - but luckily the noise never bothered us at all. Food was varied and very good. Service on the beach both for food and for umbrellas and such was not really up to par and their dogs often created a distraction.

This was my first time leading a group to a Sonesta resort. I brought a group of 21 adults. Almost all of my other all-inclusive resort experience has been with Iberostar organizing almost 10 group visits to 3 different Iberostar resorts and 2 visits to Rui resorts. Let’s start with the good/great. The location of Ocean Point is absolutely beautiful and really the most beautiful location of a resort I have been to. Stunning views and an amazing location. Having the airport right next door is convenient for obvious ground transportation reasons but having that additional beach attraction with the planes landing and taking off is really cool. The service staff we interacted with at the restaurants and bars were truly exceptional and some of the most friendly and engaging staff I have encountered, including the Baha Mar and Four Seasons. A shout out to Shingai, Jennifer and 'Mr Smiley' at Azul and Cheryl at the Point Pool - they were exceptional!. The Sonesta restaurant staff was very accommodating with our larger group and always got us good seating times for our entire group to be together for dinners and did so every time without concern or trouble. The food at the restaurants was amazing – never had a bad meal. We had two folks with dietary restrictions and every restaurant handled their restrictions perfectly. The restaurants and food were amazing. Now the not so good. The deck service at the Ocean Point pools was non-existent. You could always get up and go to the respective bars at each pool to get a drink, but they never had anyone away from the bar providing service, taking orders, delivering drinks etc. It was very much self-service – if you want a drink, you were going to have to get it yourself. The main pool for the Maho was under construction and the Maho guests were all in the one pool with a swim up bar so it was constantly packed. We didn’t even use that pool it was so crowded and only used the two pools at Ocean Point. The bar that services the Edge/Azul Pool had terrible service and as a result, we only spent one afternoon at that pool. It was a bit of a walk to the bar from the pool and there was typically no staff at the bar when you got there – you had to wait to be noticed and get service. The bartenders at the Point Pool were super friendly, but there was no lounge or table service there either. We ended up spending most of our time at the Point pool because at least the bartender was there and friendly. Usually 5 star/luxury resorts have servers that provide pool deck service with great attention – that is not the case here. They have lots of live music at the Point Pool and the roof top bar, but it is all blaring loud – so loud, you really can’t have a conversation. It was ear piercing. The last day, as we made friends with the bartender at the point pool, she advised that artist to play at a reasonable level, which was much appreciated. The check in process was very clunky for our group and they do not provide a

There were 11 of us who stayed here. Can't say enough about the staff and facilities. Everyone was friendly and willing to help or lend a hand. Facilities were clean, plenty of food to choose from also. My only complaint is we would have liked to have another choice for breakfast instead of the buffet. Waiters and waitresses were quick and efficient in the Buffet. Absolutely one of the BEST family vacations ever-6 adults 4 children ages ranging from 10-13. Lasagna at the Italian restaurant was the best I've ever had. Sushi was also wonderful. I'd go back in a hot second.