Oyster Bay Beach Resort - Dawn Beach (Dutch side), St. Martin

Oyster Bay Beach Resort, Dawn Beach (Dutch side) hotel review Visited: March 2009

Posted by dutchgir99

The staff was courteous, fun and helpful. The food was 'island good', and the pool and beach were superb.

Anyone who complains about this place should give their heads a shake. You are on an island - not at home. Of course you will need a car, but the taxi fares are low and taxis are easy to get.

St. Maarten is a laid back island. If you want fun and more night life, go to Aruba or Jamaica. Rest and enjoy the beautiful beaches, snorkeling, and the lovely people of the island. Stop complaining or go home! St. Maarten is my home away from home.

22 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful.

Did you find this helpful?

Oyster Bay Beach Resort, Dawn Beach (Dutch side) hotel review Visited: December 2007

Posted by bobharvey

No, it is not the Ritz. However, the views and ambiance of this resort are hard to beat.

Away from the hassles of Philipsburg, Dawn Beach is stunningly beautiful, peaceful and ideally located. It is close to the French side (amazing restaurants and beaches), and 20 minutes to the shopping mecca of Philipsburg.

The rooms are spacious, clean and bright. This is a timeshare resort, not a hotel! We actually used the full kitchen, but really used the gracious balcony overlooking the ocean!

38 users found this review helpful. 3 found this review unhelpful.

Did you find this helpful?

Oyster Bay Beach Resort, Dawn Beach (Dutch side) hotel review Visited: October 2007

Posted by mamared51

My husband and I first visited St. Maarten on a cruise, and had a great time. We own a timeshare in Orlando, Florida, and traded it to vacation here in October 2006.

The first year we stayed at Oyster Bay, we bought a vacation week. Last year when we stayed at OBBR, we upgraded.

Oyster Bay is a great place to relax, and the staff has been awesome! We have enjoyed getting to know Marion, Marlon, Russ, and our bartender, David. They are very friendly and helpful.

The food is good, the resort is clean and well-maintained, and the pool area is beautiful. We had so much fun with Captain Alan and Coleen on our boating excursions, and can hardly wait to go again. Next month, I am going for a week with some girlfriends, then my family will be joining me for another week.

The complainers must have never been to the Caribbean, or they would know there's poverty on all the islands to a degree. I also think there are probably "nasty" areas in every state in the US.

As far as the quality of merchandise, at lot of what is sold there comes from the US! You can get great bargains depending on what you want to buy or do. It costs as much or more to vacation in the Florida Keys or Orlando (check out Disney prices!)

We love Saint Maarten and its residents, and would stay longer if we could!

24 users found this review helpful. 3 found this review unhelpful.

Did you find this helpful?

Oyster Bay Beach Resort, Dawn Beach (Dutch side) hotel review Visited: September 2007

Posted by ecochallenge

I agree with "Noemail1" that St Martin/St Maarten was an overall digusting trip!

The island had great weather when we landed and throughout the stay. However, when we landed, we were inundated with the locals wanting our money now. They were very demanding. We were surrounded by this behavior until we left.

Our first tourist mistake was forgetting insect repellent. I recommend 14 spray bottles for one week - two per day. We had to spray all the rooms before bed and after. Do not leave doors open for the breeze.

The second tourist mistake was not trying locally owned small restaurants that served better food and were cheaper.

The third tourist mistake was buying cheap products - very cheap. Do not buy any electronic products, jewelry, cothes - nothing! They are of very poor quality.

Oyster Bay Beach was very beautiful. But outside of the resort, it was absolutely nasty. There was trash piled on the side of the roads, and more trash on the side of buildings, and restaurants. Also, the beaches had broken glass and all kinds of trash on them. It was a very nasty island - outside of Oyster Bay.

Renting a car for a week was expensive, and we didn't even use it. We drove around the whole island within an hour, and it was such a nasty trip that we decided to stay within Oyster Bay.

In addition, the locals will not let you use the bathrooms outside of the hotel unless you pay a dollar or more!

We will not do this trip again, and have not recommended this island! The brochures are beautiful, but the reality is that the island is trashy and nasty.

8 users found this review helpful. 46 found this review unhelpful.

Did you find this helpful?