# Anyone been to St Martin/St Maartin? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2002, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-been-to-st-martin-st-maartin/105640 "2002-04-25T21:47:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-been-to-st-martin-st-maartin/105640/1 "2002-04-25T21:47:05Z")
My husband and I are taking a vacation sans kiddo in July. I wanted to go to Quebec City or Montreal, but he wants nude beaches and casinos. I figured that St Martin was the next best thing. Here’s my dilemma: He wants nude beaches and nightlife and those are on opposite sides of the island. We both want an upscale hotel with all the amenities and that (one that I can find) is closer to nightlife than nude beach. So I’m looking at [La Samanna](http://www.orient-express.com/cgi-bin/oe/omar/omar_a1a_splash.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1358178149.1019770866@@@@&BV_EngineID=eadcdlijiijibglcfiicglck.0) and am wondering if anyone has stayed there, or if anyone knows of any other nice hotels on the island. If you’ve got recommendations or experiences and you’d like to share, please do! I’ve only been to St Martin once and it was on a cruise stop, so I didn’t see much. Thanks! Sue PS. Also looking for 3-4 bedroom villas there to rent at X-mas time so if anyone has ever done that, then I’d appreciate some info too! ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-been-to-st-martin-st-maartin/105640/2 "2002-04-25T22:09:57Z")
Never stayed at a hotel either (had a day long cruise stop). I would go back in a heart-beat. I envy you, those accomdations look great. Martinique IMHO has a similar atmosphere and many nude-beaches were nearby as well. Lucky lady! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-been-to-st-martin-st-maartin/105640/3 "2002-04-25T22:34:28Z")
Went a couple years ago with my parents (and will be there again in June…too bad, we could’ve had a tropical Dopefest, eh?) The island itself is very small and you can drive completely around the perimeter in maybe a couple of hours, if I remember right, so I wouldn’t worry too much about being stuck on one “side” of the island. We stay in a timeshare (I believe Divi Little Bay is the name) so I can’t comment on any hotels either. I think they may rent to “non-owners” to try and get them hooked so you might want to look into that as an option. It’s a very nice resort – right on the beach and a couple of pools. Plus they can set up pretty much anything you want: snorkeling, deep sea fishing, etc. Fun things to do: There’s a butterfly farm/preserve that’s really fascinating. A handful of cute casinos. And most importantly, don’t forget to go to the Guavaberry liqueur shop and have a free sample. (I prefer their lime rum myself, but at the prices they charge you can have several bottles of each.) Oh, and I believe you’re allowed to bring back 6 bottles of duty-free PER ADULT. Enjoy! 😉 (I don’t remember seeing any nude beaches, but then again, I wasn’t looking for any.) ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-been-to-st-martin-st-maartin/105640/4 "2002-04-25T22:39:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by voguevixen \* > \*\*. And most importantly, don’t forget to go to the Guavaberry liqueur shop and have a free sample \*\* Thats funny. I was told to be sure to buy some of that when I was there too, which I did. That was April 2, 98. Its still 3/4 full sitting in my liquor cabinet. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![grettle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@grettle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grettle)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-been-to-st-martin-st-maartin/105640/5 "2002-04-25T23:05:33Z")
I went there once with half of my family on a cruise ship. I met a guy there who made leather necklaces and anklets, hemp-style. fantastic jewelry souveniers for any 12-25 yo girls. The beach there was nice, not one of my favourites (like Martinique) but still beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-been-to-st-martin-st-maartin/105640/6 "2002-04-26T04:58:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bernse \* > \*\* > > Thats funny. I was told to be sure to buy some of that when I was there too, which I did. That was April 2, 98. Its still 3/4 full sitting in my liquor cabinet. 🙂 \*\* Oops, didn’t mean to imply that it was GOOD, haha. I meant go get your free sample taste, then buy one of the other dozens of flavors they make. (Or buy the Guavaberry as gifts, as far as I know it’s the only place you can get it so it’s a unique souvenier.) ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-been-to-st-martin-st-maartin/105640/7 "2002-04-26T12:41:10Z")
I’ve stayed a Club Orient (clothing optional beach) a couple of times. If you want my advice (and you wouldn’t have posted if you didn’t, right?), go to Anguilla instead. There’s a ferry across to St. Martin that runs on a very regular schedule, but it is much cheaper to stay in Anguilla, it is much, much less crowded, and the people are fantastic. It is small, quiet, a VERY relaxing.