Amenity highlights: A crescent beach extends 1.5 km (1 mi) around Great Bay, which opens to the south into the Caribbean Sea. The Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort & Casino provides lounge chairs and umbrellas on the beach. Two pools lie above the beach; one has an infinity edge and a swim-up bar, and overlooks the bay. A water-sports/dive center offers a variety of rental equipment and arranges motorized water sports and scuba-diving/snorkeling trips.

Insider tip: A one-way street flanked by narrow sidewalks and a few parking spaces, Philipsburg's renowned Front Street is crammed with duty-free shops. To avoid getting jostled and trapped (no side streets exist to escape the daily traffic jam), guests are advised to walk to the street—which begins 400m (437 yds) from the resort—and to arrive before cruise-ship passengers get there or after they depart.

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Rooms

Guests may book either an All-Inclusive plan or a Room-Only (No Meals) plan. The All-Inclusive plan includes meals, drinks, gratuities, and certain resort-offered amenities. The Room-Only (No Meals) plan does not include meals, drinks, gratuities, and certain resort-offered amenities (scroll up to the All-Inclusive Plan Details section for more information).

Sonesta Great Bay offers 237 air-conditioned guestrooms in a seven-story hotel wing and a four-story vacation rental wing, both with white exteriors and blue trim. Decor and furnishings feature white walls and ceilings, pale-tile floors, turquoise-and-orange fabrics, and caramel-colored furniture, including dresser/desks and armchairs with yellow cushions by a cocktail table.

Rooms at this St. Maarten hotel include furnished balconies or terraces and contemporary bathrooms with granite vanities, shower/tub combinations, or glassed-in stall showers without tubs. Wireless Internet access is available. In-room safes are also available (surcharge).

Room Amenities

• Internet access - wireless
• Premium TV channel(s)
• Cable/satellite TV
• Air conditioning
• Blackout drapes/curtains
• Climate control
• Voice mail
• Wake-up calls
• Housekeeping (daily)
• Turndown service
• Complimentary toiletries

• Hair dryer
• Child care (in room, surcharge)
• Electronic/magnetic keys
• Iron/ironing board (on request)
• Window opens
• In-room safe
• Television
• Television - Satellite service
• Smoking rooms
• Rollaway beds
• Cribs (infant beds) available

Recreation

Guests may book either an All-Inclusive plan or a Room-Only (No Meals) plan. Please note the following recreational amenities may not apply to all guests (scroll up to the All-Inclusive Plan Details section for more information).

Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort & Casino lies on Great Bay and its 1.5-km (1-mi) crescent beach, which opens to the south into the Caribbean Sea. Lounge chairs and umbrellas are supplied along the resort's beachfront.

Two pools are terraced above the beach. The lower pool overlooks the bay and measures 19.75m by 6m (65 ft by 20 ft); it has an infinity edge and a swim-up bar. The irregularly shaped upper pool is 18.25 m (60 ft) long. A 20-person spa tub also overlooks the bay.

A water-sports/dive center rents snorkeling gear (complimentary for All-Inclusive plan guests), kayaks, windsurfers, and sailboats. The center also arranges personal watercraft, parasailing, water skiing, wake boarding, banana boating, scuba-diving instruction/certification, and scuba-diving and snorkeling excursions (surcharges for all).

Tennis on the resort's lighted court, tennis racquets and balls, bocce, shuffleboard, beach volleyball, Ping-Pong, pool, beach croquet, and beach/pool lounge chair/towels are complimentary for both All-Inclusive plan and Room-Only (No Meals) plan guests.

The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or near the resort, in the Philipsburg area of St. Maarten; fees may apply.

• Windsurfing on site
• Snorkeling on site
• Swimming on site
• Personal watercraft on site
• Sailing on site
• Scuba diving on site
• Water skiing on site
• Aerobics on site

• Volleyball on site
• Tennis on site
• Scooter/Moped Rentals nearby
• Bicycle rentals nearby
• Hiking/biking trails nearby
• Horse riding/rental nearby
• Parasailing on site
• Helicopter/airplane sightseeing nearby
• Fishing nearby

Property Amenities

Guests may book either an All-Inclusive plan or a Room-Only (No Meals) plan. All-Inclusive plans include meals, drinks, gratuities, and certain resort-offered amenities. Room-Only (No Meals) plans do not include meals, drinks, gratuities, and certain resort-offered amenities (scroll up to the All-Inclusive Plan Details section for more information).

Open from evening to early morning daily, the resort's casino offers roulette, black jack, poker, and slot machines. An air-conditioned activities center contains a pool table, a foosball table, board games, books, and a big-screen television for children's movies.

Self parking:
Complimentary.
Subject to change without prior notification.

• Swimming pool - outdoor (two)
• Poolside bar
• Swim-up bar
• Spa tub
• Concierge services
• Complimentary newspapers in lobby
• Fitness equipment
• Restaurant(s) in hotel
• Bar/lounge
• Parking (free)
• Banquet facilities
• Meeting rooms (small groups)
• Audio-visual equipment
• Business services
• Number of rooms: 237
• Safe-deposit box - front desk
• Multilingual staff
• 24-hour front desk

• Porter/bellhop
• Security guard
• Number of floors: 7
• Gift shops or newsstand
• Currency exchange
• Medical assistance available
• Dry cleaning service
• Ballroom(s)
• Casino
• Elevator/lift
• Air-conditioned public areas
• Caters to families
• Supervised child care/activities
• Wedding services
• Beach/pool umbrellas
• Tours/ticket assistance
• Wireless Internet access - surcharge
• Internet access - wireless
• Self parking

Policies

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on hotel policy.
Photo identification and credit card or cash deposit are required at check-in for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges. Special requests cannot be guaranteed.

• Pets not allowed
• Check-in time is 3 PM
• Check-out time is 11 AM

Know Before You Go

The minimum check-in age at this hotel is 21 years old.

The maximum age for children to stay free in room with parent/guardian is 11 years old.

Dining

Guests may book either an All-Inclusive plan or a Room-Only (No Meals) plan. The All-Inclusive plan includes meals and beverages plus gratuities, at the following restaurants, snack spots, and bars. The Room-Only (No Meals) plan does not include meals, drinks, and gratuities, etc. (scroll up to the All-Inclusive Plan Details section for more information).

The Bay View - Open-air buffet restaurant/bar serving breakfast, lunch, themed-night dinners.

The Molasses - Informal, air-conditioned fine-dining restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Great Bay. Reservation required. Dress code: long pants, no beach sandals for men.

Sample menu for the Molasses

Sample menu for the Molasses
(Note: the following menu is for illustrative purposes only. Specific items listed may or may not be available.)
Appetizers:

• Puff pastry with spicy, creamy crab
• Cod fritters with mustard-lemon aioli
• Phyllo turnover with beef, Creole sauce
• Christophene with ham, cheese stuffing
  Soups:
• Cuban black bean
• Cream of sweet potato
  Salads:
• Tropical shrimp
• Jerk chicken
  Main courses:
• West Indian-style chicken breast with tomato-cream sauce
• Pan-fried curried chicken with banana
• Chicken cubes with spicy Creole sauce
• Beef stew
• Ribeye steak with Creole sauce
• Grilled pork chops with mango-cilantro sauce
• West Indian-style curried goat
• Shrimp in curried coconut sauce
• Seafood stew
• Snapper stuffed with conch
• Grilled grouper with spicy sauce
  Desserts:
• Bread pudding with tamarind-rum sauce
• Rice pudding with nutmeg-cinnamon sauce
• Guava tart with guavaberry liqueur
• Rum-flavored mango custard

The Living Room - Air-conditioned bar/lounge with view of Great Bay. Serpentine communal table and high tables with stools. Patterned carpet. Live music three-four nights weekly. Open early evening to late night.

La Cucina - Air-conditioned fine-dining restaurant serving Italian cuisine. Dinner only. Reservation required. Dress code: long pants, no beach sandals for men.

Anchor Bar - Pool bar with swim-up side. Open late morning to early evening.

Lobby Bar - Open early evening to late night.

All-inclusive Plan Details

Guests may book either an All-Inclusive plan or a Room-Only (No Meals) plan. Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort & Casino's All-Inclusive plan includes meals, drinks, taxes, gratuities, and certain resort-offered amenities. The Room-Only (No Meals) plan does NOT include meals, drinks, and gratuities, and the island tour and use of snorkeling gear. Click each link below for more details.

The following amenities are included in the All-Inclusive plan: (They also are available to guests booking the Room-Only (No Meals) plan, but for surcharges.)

All-Inclusive food and beverages

All-Inclusive food and beverages

• Meals at all resort restaurants
• Unlimited domestic- and international-brand drinks by the glass at all restaurants and bars
• Taxes and gratuities for plan inclusions
  Not included: Wine and liquor by the bottle; gift-shop snack foods and beverages.

  Scroll down to the Dining section for restaurant/menu details.

All-Inclusive activities and equipment

All-Inclusive activities and equipment
Not included: Use of snorkel gear, rental kayaks, windsurfers, and sailboats; motorized water sports; scuba-diving instruction/certification; scuba-diving and snorkeling excursions; other tours and excursions.

Not included

Not included

• Massage
• Wine and liquor by the bottle
• Gift-shop snack foods and beverages
• Optional or outside tours and excursions
• Use of rental kayaks, windsurfers, and sailboats
• Motorized water sports
• Scuba-diving instruction/certification
• Scuba-diving and snorkeling excursions
• Incidental purchases
• Telephone and fax charges
• Medical services
• Laundry and dry cleaning
• Child care services outside children's-activity hours
  Airport taxes may or may not be included.

  The following amenities are available to all guests of the hotel:
  

Activities and equipment available

Activities and equipment available
Water sports

• Pool aerobics
• Pool volleyball
• Pool Olympics
• Introductory scuba-diving lesson in pool
• Use of swimming pool/spa tub/beach and pool chaise lounges/towel service

  Available for a surcharge: Kayaks, windsurfers, and sailboats; motorized water sports; scuba-diving and snorkeling excursions.

  Land sports

• Lighted tennis court and racquets/balls
• Shuffleboard
• Bocce
• Beach volleyball
• Ping-Pong
• Pool
• Beach croquet
• Darts
• Horseshoes
• Crab racing
• Bean-bag baseball
• Use of fitness equipment
• Twice-weekly "stretch exercise"

  Classes/instruction available

• Merengue
• Cocktail mixing
  Available for a surcharge: Scuba-diving instruction/certification.

Children's activities available

Children’s activities available

• Arts and crafts
• Games/contests
• Big-screen TV movies
• Beach activities
  Available for a surcharge: Tours of Butterfly Farm and St. Maarten Zoo.

Entertainment and nightlife available

Entertainment/nightlife available

• Weekly manager's cocktail party with live music
• Live music 3–4 nights weekly in the Living Room bar/lounge

Address

Little Bay Rd 19

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten

Netherlands Antilles

Nearest major airport:

Philipsburg, Netherlands Antilles (SXM-Princess Juliana Intl.)

Area:

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles