Pre-cruise Hotel in St. Maarten

Hi,

We're sailing on March 12th. I'm in the process of finding a pre-cruise hotel. So far these three have availability for the 11th. Can anyone share you experience if you stayed at one of these hotels- Royal Pasanggrahas, Holland House, which only has "street view" room or Simpson Bay Resort.

If you have any other hotels you could recommend, that would be appreciated.

Thank you.

We.stayed twice in street side room last year. It was fine and had a covered porch. Spent all our time on the beach side bar and restaurant or the boardwalk. Jack on Windspirit next week!

We stayed at the Pasangrahhan before a Wind Surf cruise a couple of years ago and LOVED it. We had a room in the new annex that was huge (I had booked a standard room) and we spent a lovely 24 hours sitting out by the outdoor bar, watching the water. It was an amazing, relaxing way to start our trip.

Holland House three times, very friendly, great bar and restaurant,terrific breakfast, nice to take a swim before breakfast. Happy Sailing

We are on the March 19th sailing. We are coming in on the 18th and staying at Holland House. Want to sit on the porch area and watch those other ships sail away on Friday and then watch Windsurf sail in early on the 19th.

Cheers

Thanks everyone. This is my first Windstar cruise and very excited!

Used Holland House 2 years ago. Good location, great view from the Terrace. Would go again.

Did not tried the other 2 mentioned.

Dandee2

I am another happy Holland House fan! Stayed there two times before boarding the Surf. One time beach front, the other street side which was fine as everything closes down on the street by 7pm. Found the food at the hotel very good, grabbed a cab in the morning and we were on our way.

I LOVED Pasanggrahan! It is tropical, great accommodations. one side faces the road (don't go there: noisy!!) and the other faces the beach. Opens onto the boardwalk and beach. Two-story. There is the older section that has more typical hotel rooms, and the new section that is all suites. We stayed in a suite, loved it. Huge! Wonderful deck overlooking beach/boardwalk.

Friend stayed in a regular room: she loved it because she got a first floor room on beach side and had a wonderful flora and fauna-enclosed patio but with view of the ocean. We saw it, and would stay there, too. I never went into Holland House, just walked past it. It looked like a typical hotel from outside, while Pasanggrahan looks so tropical. But I know people who really like HH.

Pasanggrahan has a wonderful outside bar with palapa-topped bar and tables overlooking boardwalk, beach. Great people-watching! Has open-air restaurant with limited dinner menu (but quite good) and extensive breakfast menu. Didn't eat lunch there.

Also nearby is The Greenhouse restaurant, about a block's length to the left as you get onto the boardwalk. That is a fabulous open-air restaurant with lots of seating, extensive and varied menu from simple on up, great place to meet up with other folks.

We stayed at Pasanggrahan pre and post cruise, and they let us leave a locked suitcase with our non sailing clothes til our return. Worked super! Very pleasant people, and wonderful tropical setting.

HH and Pasanggrahan are not far apart. Do walk the boardwalk: lots of bars, funky cafes, sometimes entertainers, beach toys to rent, jewelry to buy (lots of options for that). Fun area to be.

We have stayed at 3 hotels pre Windsurf trips, and each hotel has its own attributes. All have views of the Windsurf coming into port around 5am if your room is waterside.

1) Divi Little Bay is a time share property, offering multiple types of accommodations (1 to 3 bedrooms) and feels like a village with pools, restaurants and outside bars, and a beautiful beach on the southwest portion of the property....great for sunsets. It is a secure environment with gated access, approximately 1 mile from the heart of Phillipsburg.

2) Sonesta Great Bay has the least attractive rooms, but offers a great pool and beautiful beach with beach toys, and an interesting and fun beachfront buffet followed by a movie on the pool terrace under the stars. It is located about 1/4 mile front the center of Phillipsburg pier.

3) Holland House is right on the beach, approximately 500 feet from the pier with modern European style rooms. The lobby and bar are open air facilities leading to a handsome elevated teak deck outside lounge area. The outdoor restaurant has a buffet breakfast and the staff was very pleasant and accommodating. Unlike the others it doesn't have a pool, but has direct beach access across the boardwalk.

We have not tried Pasanggrahan, but it sounds lovely.

Hope this helps. We always fly into St Maarten the day before, because we are concerned about the weather in the northeast. Wherever you stay, the best part is watching the beautiful Windsurf come into port in the morning, and the time spent on board! We love WINDSTAR....our 15th voyage is coming up soon.

Pasanggrahan has no pool, either....it's more of a boutique hotel in size. But it has that wonderful natural pool just outside (as does HH).

We, too, ALWAYS plan a day ahead re sailing in the Caribbean. And if you have NO issues re air travel, well then, so much the better to have more time to enjoy the island, whichever one you're on!!

St. Martin is lovely. Go in early and stay. I usually go at least 4-7 days before the cruise. I stayed on the dutch side twice and then found the french side. 20 years later, I still stay on the french side. The island is small. Rent a car and drive. I rent from Thrifty. Pick up at SXM airport, drop off gives us a ride to the ship. My favorite place to stay is La Plantation or Esmeralda on orient Beach. Dinner at places in Grand Case are fabulous. Enjoy!!