• Unit Type: Studio
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Good
• Service: Good

• Unit Type: Studio
• Activities: Fair
• Amenities: Fair
• Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Very Good
• Service: Very Good

The kitchen was fully equipped with a full-size fridge with filtered-water dispenser, icemaker, etc. We had a wonderful dining room and front room, each with all-glass picture windows looking out over the pool, ocean and sunset beach bar, Maho Beach, and views of planes landing. We, however, could never hear the planes take off and land inside our suite. But we did love to watch the people on the beach get blown into the water, and even saw a shirt blown off a guy and land 100 yards into the ocean when an Air France jet took off.

Our rooms had five TVs, with a big-screen in the living room, where a couch also made out into a bed. We had a CD player and VCR and DVD players in our rooms as well. Talk about spoiled! Each room had an air conditioner and the suite came with a dehumidifier, which we loved, being from Montana, where it is very dry. All bathrooms were marble with beautiful rock floor tiles.

To give you an idea how large the suite was, it had its own door buzzer, because you could not hear knocking from the main living quarters. We were early, and the maid made a special effort to do our suite first so we could move in early, and we had a great young man who checked and cleaned our hot tub almost every day. We even had our own washer and dryer. I can say with no hesitation that this was the finest suite we have ever stayed in.

• Unit Type: 3 Bedroom
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

La Plage is bigger and more bustling than La Terrasse. The prices are a bit higher, too, simply because it's "beach front."

My advice? Skip the crowds and the higher prices. Go for the quieter, smaller are with a better pool across the street at La Terrasse. And walk 2 minutes more to get to the beach.

This gorgeous resort sits parallel to the Princess Juliana Airport runway, and every room has a balcony from which to view the big planes landing. But they're soundproofed so your afternoon nap won't be disturbed. (Planes don't land here at night.)

Just steps from Maho Beach, the resort offers studio rooms, and suites from 1 to 3 bedrooms. The beds are very comfortable, and the bathrooms are palatial with amazing water pressure and plenty of fresh towels every day. All rooms come with kitchens which are complete and well accessorized except for no oven (though the fancy toaster oven will do in a pinch for fish or other small meats.) Rooms are large and airy, decorated in island style. All have oceanview balconies overlooking the terrace pool and have great views of incoming planes.

The pool area is about the most stunning of any resort I've patronized in the Caribbean. The massive zero-entry pool is sparkling clean and was totally deserted during my entire stay. There are some other small dipping pools with waterfalls nearby which offer a great water massage. A couple of hot tubs and outdoor showers round out the wet area, along with a viewing deck for watching the planes arrive and depart, or for watching the people watch the planes arrive and depart, which is just as entertaining.

Expect a studio that sleeps 2 to run $130 in the summer, twice that in winter. A 1 bedroom suite will run you $210 in summer, and twice that in winter. There is a whopping 21% room tax to add on to that! Booking through Travelocity or Expedia, and pre-paying your room in full at the time of booking may save you quite a bundle, as it did me. I got the 1 bedroom suite for only $130. The resort also offers airline employee discounts. Call Lucy in the sales office to enquire.

The lovely thing about this resort is the fully stocked and reasonably priced grocery store in the basement, so you can cook your own meals! The store also offers a buffet every meal of the day. Also, the store has liquor at those ridiculously cheap St. Maarten prices...about 1/4 that in the US!!! (Example: 1L Bombay Sapphire Gin $31.89 in Dallas, $11.50 at the La Terrasse grocery store.) The store is open until midnight.

The only annoyances I experienced at this resort were the fact that the water comes out yellow (probably due to iodine purification) but it tastes fine. Also, there was the minor annoyance of the alarm clock being reset every time I left the room. Your room key is inserted into a slot just inside the door which turns on the electricity in the room. So when you're gone, the lights and TV are out and the clock resets (though the A/C and fridge continue to operate).

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent