The Dawn Beach Club is a timeshare that shares facilities with a Starwood hotel, the Westin Dawn Beach. It isn't in the Starwood Vacation Network, so if you buy at Dawn Beach Club, realize that you won't be able to internally exchange to Starwood timeshares. (You could exchange via II, but you will not enjoy a Starwood priority.)
I've never stayed there, though I did spend the afternoon at Westin Dawn Beach (hotel) this past January. (The house that I rented was in Dawn Beach Estates, a gated community which overlooked Dawn Beach.)
The beach was beautiful, but the ocean was very rough the week we stayed. My husband was the only one who attempted to swim Dawn Beach and the current carried him down the entire length of the bay in no time.
The winds were correspondingly fierce, especially at night. I'm talking blow-your-hair-horizontal wind. Even though the temperature was in the 90s, the breeze made it very comfortable; however al fresco dining on our patio was impossible most of the week.
We ate lunch at Westin's outdoor cafe and it was both reasonably priced (esp for a resort) and tasty. The beach facilities were clean and the staff was very nice.
Though not on the calmer side of the island, DB is centrally situated. It's right on the French border, and very near Oyster Pond marina, with its shops and restaurants. Famous Orient Beach is about a 10 minute drive. You can get to the Great Salt Pond (grocery stores and restaurants) in about 10 minutes, Simpson Bay in about 20-30 minutes (depending on traffic), and Grand Case in about 25 minutes. We spent the majority of our days on the protected French beaches, such as Friars Beach and Anse Marsel.
Now for the downside. Even though we were in a double gated house (gated community and gated driveway), we were warned to lock all the doors at all times, as thieves were known to sneak in and steal electronics, even when people were occupying the home. Also, on the Tuesday of our trip, a fatal robbery happened right down the street from the Westin, just a few doors down from Mr. Busby's restaurant. We actually passed the crime scene on our way to Grand Case. Apparently, a European couple had rented a home, and three local kids tried to rob them as they were unloading their belongings. The tourists fought back. One was a body builder who grabbed one of the thieves and held him while the others fled. By the time the police arrived, the kid had stopped breathing, and was ultimately pronounced DOA. To say that this was unsettling is an understatement. We feared that the local gangs would target tourists for retribution, a fear that was thankfully unfounded.
That evening, we attended the Grand Case bazaar, a weekly Tuesday evening event, where local vendors display their wares on outdoor tables. There are tons of both formal and informal restaurants to choose from as well, and you can walk around with drinks and browse. It's loads of fun, but I couldn't completely relax with the extreme police presence. I'm talking dozens of police, complete with flak jackets, and guns. When we stepped outside of the roped off main street, we were discreetly escorted to our cars by the gendarmes.
I mention this because Oyster Pond was a location mentioned by many locals as being particularly unsafe for personal property crimes. They blamed the slap-on-the-wrist mentality of the Dutch police. This may have all changed for the better as a result of this fatality, but if I were to travel to St. Maarten again (and I would return, as there is a ton to love about SXM), I'd stay in the more touristy areas. Dawn Beach/Oyster Pond is too remote to command a huge police presence, so this is where thieves will continue to target.