Good value for $$

Overall we really enjoyed our stay at the Sonesta Great Bay. The facilities are very nice, staff is friendly and work very hard to make sure your stay is wonderful. The beach is lovely, and the infinity pool is just heavenly. A few negatives: no organized morning exersize type classes, although they were listed on the board, they never actually took place, no water sports (windsurfing, Hoby Cat small catamarans, water skiing etc.) and long line ups to eat at the buffet. But, a big plus is that y [... read more]ou can use both the Great Bay and Maho facilities for dining, drinking and swimming.

"Not as advertised"

Although this hotel had great food, we were less than satisfied by the lack of concern or care by most of the staff. It seemed as if it was a huge burden on them if you had a special request. We booked well in advance, requesting a room with ocean view and higher than ground level and with a king bed. We got the ground floor and was told that their facility had no king beds. (their listing shows king rooms). We got a rolling of the eyes and bad attitude from both of the front desk clerks. After  [... read more]a little attitude of my own, they finally gave us a second level on the timeshare side of the complex with a large double bed only. They had no tennis courts either, as advertised. The entertainment was light and not overdone. For us, that was ok .We danced most evenings to whatever they played. During our stay, someone had placed some dishes in a hallway. They were not cleared away for several days. The room was clean and maintained well by the chambermaid. Overall... Average.

Amazing Staff,dated rooms and so.so food

Rated 4 star for location,more like a 3 star for rooms and food,staff was fantastic,maybe pricing itself out of our range.This is our 2nd year at Sonesta Great Bay but maybe too pricey in 2015 .Please try to keep the price reasonable.

Staff and resort was good however

i did not like waiting at the buffet for dinner lunch or breakfast.. ive been going there for 15 yrs and it was never like that or at least not as bad . i do understand that with the new renovations going on at the other building that we have to wait now because the dinning area is closed ...still i dont like the wait ..not at a buffet.

Another great trip to St. Marten

Although we were booked for our 13th trip to Sonesta Great Bay we could not stay there as the hotel was damaged by a hurricane a week before we were to travel. We were then booked into the New Riu Palace. on the French side of the island. The hotel in total was very nice and although still under renovations and opened 2 weeks early to accommodate the displaced Great Bay guests all was really good. The rooms were nice, beds comfortable, nice bathrooms beautiful beach and pool. All the staff were  [... read more]great and the food was delicious, plentiful and well prepared even thought we only had buffet for the week as the other resturantes were not yet opened. Our compliments to all the staff... great job. The only issue we have with this resort is it is isolated and transportation into Phillipsburg on the Dutch side for shopping or to Marigot on the French side by taxi can be expensive. ( best taxi driver is Albert Rogers, just have the front desk call him a great guy ) We did suggest to Riu that a free daily shuttle to either town would really sell this hotel. Would recommend this hotel to anyone. Special thanks to Lawrence Solomon of Trip Central for all his help and working Sunwing to get us to this hotel. .

Great place to be!!

We were a group of 6 ladies that travelled the week of Sept 25-Oct 2 and had a great time!! All of the staff were super friendly and the food and drinks were amazing. We stayed on the 8th floor and had no complaints about our 3 rooms what so ever :) THe grounds were clean and the beach the place to be everyday- the planes landing made it very interesting. The pool needs some work and I think a new liner is required but it wa still clean and refreshing.

Very clean!!!

This hotel was very clean. The food was amazing and the wait staff were great. Beach was nice, but the water was a bit rough. Gorgeous weather too!! All the staff were very friendly. The wood oven was the best!!! pizza was outstanding!!! should have had it going 24/7!!!

Hotel is very good. No complaints.

Hotel was situated in a good location, where you can walk to downtown Phillipsburg. Not an overly large hotel, the rooms are a good size. If you like pools, (I don't care for pools) it is small. The view from the grounds and around the pool of the beach and ocean is great.

Great people,great food and great booze

The service was amazing, The food was amazing and can beer...coors lite, miller light ....never got sick of the food...you have to try the steak dinner upstairs. Short walk on the beach to town for some great shopping. Went sea-dooing and scuba diving was amazing. Rented a car across the street 45 bucks for 24 hours great. All the staff was amazing even the security gards...only thing they could improve on is the night entertainment very boring...except for one band on sat night...great place to [... read more] visit....I would go back again for sure.

Definite return spot!

This resort is simply amazing. The pool area of this resort has a very tasteful and modern design, overlooking the ocean and the cruise ship dock in downtown St. Philipsberg. The staff was simply amazing as well, they really make you feel like family. The food is delicious, I was never disappointed and the selection is very generous.

This resort puts the first in class

excellent food, every day something different,not the recycled food you get at some other resorts where your supper is what they served at lunch, the variety of breakfast choice was varied every day and bacon, sausage, ect was available every morning not just once a week as it is in the Dominican Republic staff very attentive to your every need.got a knock at the door for room service and it was the lady who checked the beer and booze in your room with another bottle of Bacardi lemon, it like th [... read more]e other 4 bottles of booze in the room was complimentary the beer and soft drinks in the fridge were checked and refreshed every day, excellent view of the whole bay from the third floor,the view was all the way to the cruise ship docks,this was a deluxe sea view room, if you book a garden view it is on the opposite side of the building with a view of the main road and hills,not my preference but still very nice, entertainment good short walk to phillipsburg

Awesome resort

Beautiful beach, lovely views, excellent food and service. Friendly staff. Great location. Walk to Phillipsburg. A la carte restaurants were excellent. Lots to do if you want or just relax and be waited on.

Fantastic Trip

I travelled with my 20 and 23 year old daughters. We had a terrific time in St. Maarten. The hotel was in an excellent location on the island and we strolled along the beach to the nice downtown everyday. The food was delicious and the hotel was clean. Only annoying problem was our hotel room smelt musty and like mildew. The lampshade had mold dots on it. We were going to change rooms but it also smelt musty. We faced the island side. Another couple at the resort didnt have this issue in their r [... read more]oom but they were on the ocean side. I would go back to this hotel (ocean side) many times in the future as I got great value for our money. Great Bay was scenic with cruise ships and nice landscaping. We really enjoyed the view of the bay, the walks to town, the food at the hotel and the warm ocean in this Sonesta Hotel.

Relaxing stay

Everyone at this resort was so friendly and went out of their way to make you feel at home. Rooms were clean, very comfortable beds and the food was great, especially in the a la carte restaurants. Lots of variety. A special thank you to Vicky on the front desk for her compassion and assistance when I needed it. Also, our server, Vernike, in the Bay View restaurant was extremely efficient and friendly. The ocean view is worth the extra $.

Great view, shopping, relaxing vacation

Small but friendly resort, decent food, but not a lot of variety. Beach was nice but deep too quickly. Pool and bar by the beach best part of holiday, along with the bartenders, especially Claudine. Shopping is incredible for jewelry.. bring lots of credit.