just confirmed Oyster Bay Beach resort in ST. Maarten

[carlrocky]

Our first trip to this Island. Unit number on II certificate is UUU1. Anyone know where it is, what view I might have. Im thinking of renting a car. Is it beter to rent one at the Airport or at the Resort? Its just my wife and myself for March14th to March 21st.
If you have a favorite place to eat or a best beach let me know! Thank you.

 

[Blondie]

You will definitely want to rent a car- it is sort of far from anything, but lovely. Rent a car at the airport- they will pick you up and drive you to get the car at their lot as they are not allowed to rent them directly at the airport. We always used Michael at Unity with great results/service every time. Don't take a cab to the resort- it is a bit of a distance, maybe 20-30 minutes so a cab would be $expensive. Have fun; we love SXM.

 

[rsnash]

Post about a trip to St. Martin back in 2002. I would highly recommend Poulet D'Orleans and Dinghy Dock. But, keep in mind it is 6 years later. So YMMV and double check to see if they are still in business. Although, I would expect Dinghy Dock to not have changed.

 

[RandyK]

I agree, look at the airport fr a car.
We are currently in St Maaren (Simpson Bay) and it was going to cost $25 for a taxi.
We ended up renting a mid-sized car from Dollar Rental for ~$250 for 10 days.
Note that the mid-sized is a matchbox but hauls around 4 of us well.

I would say you are going to drive most everywhere.
This is our 1st time to St Maarten and we have only walked to 1 restaurant in 5 days.

Another note, is seems most end up at Orient Beach. If you do the chairs and umbrellas are much cheaper to rent as you get towards the nude side. We ended up paying $18 for 2 chairs and an umbrella - down the beach towards the nude side my wife saw a sign for $9 which included a drink and access to showers and bathroom.
The sand on Orient is very nice and soft/white whereas Simpson Bay is rougher, rockier, and dirtier.

I am not an expert as we are learning as we go.

 

[tombo]

This web site has tons of information. You can join and get additional info but there is plenty of things to learn here for free.

http://www.everythingstmaarten.com/

You must have a car in St maarten

 

[RIMike]

Great Resort

I enjoyed my stay there very much. Car rentals are not very expensive really..and I got a beat up one (which I wanted). I would recommend a local car company. St. Martin/St Maarten is one of my all time favorite islands. Go to SABA one day too...

 

[sne75]

We own in Oyster Bay. It's been a few years, but definitely rent a car at the airport. In terms of restaurants, we liked Temptation. I forget exactly where it is. Bombay Brasserie on the French side also had nice Indian food.

We did a day trip to Saba, which was nice, but I really wanted to go to St. Barts. However, the St Barts trip required a passport (Saba didn't) and we had left our passports in our room.

 

[gjaques]

We just stayed ay OBBR in July and had a great time. This was our second trip to St. Maarten and will most certainly return in the future.
Having a car is definitely a plus. We have used both Prince's and Tropical-Tropicana and found both reasonable and very helpful. I would rcommend emailing several places for quotes and set up a reservation before you go.
The main restaurant at OBBR was quite nice and food was good, but there are so many good restaurants on the island that confining yourselves to the resort would be a mistake. We really like Kangaroo Court in Philipsburg for sandwiches and salads and Lolo's on the beach in Grand Case cannot be beat for a cheap, but very filling and flavorful meal.
If you are planning shopping in Philipsburg, I would strongly recommend checking out the cruise ship schedule and avoiding days when there are more than one ship in port as the crowds can be almost unbearable.
Also OBBR has happy hour daily and if you participate say Hi to Edith at the pool area bar.
Greg

 

[Denise]

Beaches

I liked Plum/Prune and Friar's. Do rent a car and try to visit as many of the beaches as you can; they all have a personality. A day trip to Anguilla by ferry, especially if you like to snorkel. Try Shoal Bay.