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Plane Spotting from a Private Balcony: Inside the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort on St. Maarten

February 26, 2013 at 6:32 PM | by | Comments (0)

For travelers who seek to scratch the Caribbean island of St. Maarten off their bucket list, and see the planes flying over the beach for which the island is most famous, there's only one hotel option. This is the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino, an all-inclusive property with the distinction of being the only large hotel within walking distance of Maho Beach; the other buildings around all all time-shares or private condos.

The Sonesta towers over the small town of Maho, and the 537-room property is one of the first things visitors see as their plane touches down to the tarmac at SXM, St. Maarten's Airport which sits just off of Maho. As it's all-inclusive, nightly rates during winter peak season aren't cheap ($450 is average), but having everything taken care of and being on Maho Beach is a huge perk to justify the rate. If you're just on St. Maarten for the excellent plane spotting, you wouldn't even need to rent a car; just take a taxi to the hotel and all necessities are within walking distance.

It is important to note that though Sonesta is made up of a few dining venues, a casino, two pools, beach access and plenty viewing points for aircraft arrivals, there are differences between the two room towers: Sky Tower and Ocean Terrace. Sky Tower is the main building, with newer accommodations and higher floors. Ocean Terrace's rooms are a longer walk and are outfitted with rattan furniture, but the views from the room boast a far better angle of Maho Beach.

WiFi Connect: 24 hours of WiFi costs $16, via credit card (not billed to the room).

Rooms to book: We stayed in a regular 7th floor room in the Sky Tower, and can say that those on the 7th and 8th floors facing Maho Beach are all pretty awesome, view-wise. If you don't mind a longer walk to your room, go for the Deluxe Suite 601 in the Ocean Terrace building (giant balcony with prime view to Maho Beach & end of the runway) or 610, a regular room in the Ocean Terrace, which also has a knock-out view.

For more on St. Maarten, check out our brother site Jaunted, and their week-long series unfolding now, on what to do on the island (and where best to plane-spot!).

We stayed as guests of the Sonesta because the island was nearly sold-out for our last-minute stay, but all photos and opinions are completely our own.

[Photos: Cynthia Drescher/HotelChatter]

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