Cancun vs. St. Maarten ???

[JoePa]

All,

We're starting to plan our vacation for spring of 2008.

Originally, we were planning to go back to the Surf Club in Aruba but the pool and beach were crowded when we were there last year. With the 3rd building being completed, we're looking at possibly 50% more people at an already crowded beach and pool.

St. Maarten was the next choice, probably Oyster Bay. I was also reading the TUG reviews of the Royal's in Cancun and they all sound really nice. Now I'm

We're looking for any comments on the pro's / con's of St. Maarten and any of the Royal's in Cancun. Our schedules are flexible and are looking at February - April of 2008 if this makes a difference.

TIA Joe

 

[anne1125]

We're going to Oyster Bay this summer for the first time. I've heard that St. Martin as good places to eat.

We loved Royal Caribbean in Cancun but the food was not so great, but the resort is wonderful and they treat you very well.

Anne

 

[brother coony]

Cancun / st martin

We went to Cancun two years ago and loved it Great weather, and good food stayed at exatpa Palace, loved the resort and its staff , great service

Also went to ST Maarten later that year and stayed at Oyster bay beach resort great time and food also,
funny we found cancun more relaxing and laid back more that st Maarten
guest we were in cancun right afther spring break , but in st Martin / StMaarten, we party every day , cant decide on one over the other, so if you want to relax go sight seeing and tours then cancun is the place for you

on the other hand St Martin is a small Island, Drove around the Island in a couple hours not mutch to see or tour but at night the resorts comes alive with caribbean music and good food,
cant miss with eathier one , except most resort in cancun are A/I and charge a lot

 

[Bucky]

We just came back from a week at the Royal Sands in Cancun. We have also stayed at the Royal Caribbean. Either one of these resorts is great. I like the pools at the Sands better since they are heated to a higher degree than the RC in my opinion. Tons of great restaurants in the Cancun Hotel Zone and also downtown.

Never stayed at Oyster Bay but we were in St Maarten for a week last January. We stayed at the Sapphire Beach Club and were very impressed. We were impressed because we were lucky enough to get one of the Villa units. These come with their own plunge pools and are ocean front to boot. Not much of a beach but wonderful restaurants everywhere on the island. This was within walking distance to the Atlantis Casino also.

There's no way I would rent a car in Cancun due to the lunatic drivers. On the other hand, we hand no problem renting a car in St Maarten and touring the island. St Maarten has more beautiful and plentiful public beaches than Cancun in my opinion.

We love both locations and plan on visiting both every year if possible. We're also going back to the Aruba Ocean Club in May. St Maarten and Aruba are similar in the beaches, good restaurants, and the ability to get around easily. St Maarten wins out hands down if you're into French food. St Maarten is much lusher than Aruba. One tropical island versus one desert island.

You're going to enjoy St Maarten or the Royal's in Cancun at any rate. JMHO.

 

[Canuck]

We were in St. Martin last year and loved it. Also, we have been to Cancun and area 5 times, loved it as well. We prefer Playa Del Carmen area over Cancun....that's just us.

We stayed at Oyster Bay and would be hard pressed to find anything negative to say....great place! St. Martin does have good night life but we were with our 2 young kids so we were big beach bums! So many beaches to explore, some were busy and others were empty, all were AMAZING.

The food was great, the people were super friendly, driving was no problem at all.

Mexico is also great and we have rented cars before but you don't really need to.

Tough decision, both places are wonderful! Why not request both and see what place comes up first!!!

 

[JoePa]

Thanks for all the great feedback. Sounds like it's a coin toss. As Canuck suggested, I think we'll put in for both and take which ever comes up first.

One last question... I've read where the Royal Hacienda is pretty much outside of town with not much around it. Is it within walking distance to restaurants, shops, etc. or would you need transportation?

Thanks Again,

Joe

 

[Carolinian]

I have done timeshare exchanges to both, and Sint Maarten wins, hands down. Having two cultures on one island makes it a very unique place, and the ability to easily island hop to the British crown colony of Anguilla with its great beaches, upscale St. Baarths, now French but influenced by many years of Swedish rule, or laid back, untouristy Dutch Saba, make it a great destination to see a lot. There are regular boats to each of those other islands for easy day trips.

Another advantage, was that the beaches in Sint Maarten were much nicer. Those at Cancun had the roughest water I have experienced on a tourist beach other than the Golden Mile in Durban, South Africa.

We went to Cancun two years ago and loved it Great weather, and good food stayed at exatpa Palace, loved the resort and its staff , great service

Also went to ST Maarten later that year and stayed at Oyster bay beach resort great time and food also,
funny we found cancun more relaxing and laid back more that st Maarten
guest we were in cancun right afther spring break , but in st Martin / StMaarten, we party every day , cant decide on one over the other, so if you want to relax go sight seeing and tours then cancun is the place for you

on the other hand St Martin is a small Island, Drove around the Island in a couple hours not mutch to see or tour but at night the resorts comes alive with caribbean music and good food,
cant miss with eathier one , except most resort in cancun are A/I and charge a lot

 

[caribbeansun]

Royal Hacienda is not in Cancun it is down the coast in Playa Del Carmen.

We like both places but I'd give the nod to Cancun at present - tough to explain exactly why but you'd like either place and they are both quite different from one another.

 

[karenvit]

Bucky--how did you get one of the Villas?

 

[Janis]

These two destinations could not be more different.

Cancun is much more built up - lots of absolutely gorgeous resorts, wonderful food, and a lot of excitement. Personally, I love the Cancun beaches. Sometimes the water can be quite rough. But other times it's just plain fun! However, it doesn't really feel like you are in a foreign country. The Hotel Zone is very modern and there are tons of Americans everywhere. I have never met friendlier people or better maintained facilities than at the Royal Resorts.


SXM is definitely more of an island feel. They have beaches that make your jaw drop - at least if you stay away from the busy ones. We were there over XMAS this year - and were very unhappy with both Orient & Dawn Beach. They were so crowded that if you didn't bring your own chair, you would be 5 rows back staring at the back of some cigar-smoking chubster from Jersey. I am not disparaging JErsey - some of my favorite relatives live there. But there were thousands of NJiers at these 2 spots.

THe more secluded beaches were amazing: Mullet Bay, Baie Rouge. Breathtakingly beautiful.

For the most part, The resorts themselves don't have great beaches. You MUST rent a car and traverse the island to visit them. Fantastic restaurants, friendly people.

I love both places. But they are very different vacations.

 

[johnmfaeth]

Hi Janis,

I must say that the Divi Resort has a huge, wonderful beach at Little Bay. I agree that a car is a must and that Mullet and Baie Rouge are great too. There are actually 5 beach sections at Orient Bay. As you go further south, they become far more empty. Don't go all the way south or you will encounter full nudity at the Club Orient Beach. Pinel Island in Orient Bay is a top beach spot too. You take a "ferry" which is really a small skiff.

Full nudity and fat middle-aged NJ guys don't mix well IMHO.

John Faeth
Fat Middle-Aged Jersey Guy

 

[Bucky]

Bucky--how did you get one of the Villas?

Just dumb luck. We just confirmed a two bedroom that was online and available. When we got there and asked where to park our rental car they said "why in front of you villa" as if I was suppose to know where I was staying. I closed my mouth, took my key and ran.

 

[Aldo]

The only nude people I saw on Orient Beach were fat middle aged guys, too.

But how do you tell they are from Jersey?

 

[AmyL4408]

Originally, we were planning to go back to the Surf Club in Aruba but the pool and beach were crowded when we were there last year. With the 3rd building being completed, we're looking at possibly 50% more people at an already crowded beach and pool.

We just visited Aruba (Ocean Club) for the first time a few weeks ago. We will be going to Cancun for the first time in just over a month. No St. Martaan for our yet...... But maybe that will have to be on our list of places to go next!


I will say about the Marriotts in Aruba, I thought it was extremely overcrowded. Just yesterday I found a post that includes the number of rooms at each resort. I think the Ocean Club had aboaut 125. I think the Surf Club had about 600..... Since we don't really know how many are 1BR or 2BR, I figure it was probable to average 8 per room. So that will be over 5,000 people sharing those two facilities, add in the Stellaris too... And thats one big mess. We found lots and lots of New Yorkers during our 3rd week January trip.... and probably 3 to 4 kids, per couple.


Aruba was just Hubby & I. Cancun will be with our daughter, 11 years old. We do like kids, just not thousands of them running all over! :annoyed:



My only other international experience is with Jamaica. I much preferred my resort at Jamaica, no kids, all-inlcusive great food & drinks, and the friendliest staff you'd ever meet. But I will say I loved Arubas climate, the breeze, the sea, the safe feeling, and driving ourselves around.


The resort we love the most now in Jamaica is stretched a large amount of property. Very long beach, and has about 300 rooms which means about 600 guests at a time. I thought that was ALOT, until I visited the Marriotts in Aruba


Oh and one more thing. We own at the Grand Vista, which is supposed to have 900 rooms. I think the difference is that those 7,000 people are all off doing something different. You've got theme parks, you've got the Florida coast, not all 7,000 are trying to use one beach and 2 pools.