The Westin Dawn Beach Resort & Spa, St. Maarten

Our first time in St. Maarten and we stayed at this hotel from Thursday-​Monday. As our shuttle pulled up to the hotel, some of the hotel staff were outside and ready to help us with our luggage. Immediately upon arrival we were handed cups of their island fruit punch while we were checking in. This was a nice refreshment after a dehydrating day of travel. The lobby area of the hotel is spacious and airy with chairs and small round tables for lounging or waiting. There’s also a bar with plenty of seating and a casino visible from the bar.
Since they had oceanfront rooms available that day we had a free upgrade to a room that overlooked the beautiful infinity pool and the ocean. The room was big, elegantly but casually decorated and furnished, and the bed was huge and comfortable. The flatscreen television mounted against the wall had plenty of channels in English and French. The bathroom had a large glass-​walled shower on one side and a full-​sized tub on the other side. Leaf-​shaped soaps and bottles of lightly fragranced shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion were provided, as were mouthwash, cottonswabs, a small sewing kit, and nail file.
We had breakfast every morning at the hotel restaurant Ocean. The food here was pricey but excellent. We’re used to staying in hotels that offer complimentary breakfast so it was a bit of a surprise to have to pay especially considering the prices. The first morning we had the buffet at $ 25.00 per person but it was delicious. Great variety of beautifully displayed and fresh breakfast and non-​traditional breakfast items. On one side of the buffet there were cold cuts, smoked salmon, cheeses and sliced fruit. In the middle hot breakfast items like scrambled eggs, the usual breakfast meats, and some unique items like Caribbean beef. At the very end there’s an omelet station. We ordered off the regular menu the rest of our stay. I fell in love with the broccoli and cheese egg white omelet and had it two days in a row and ordered the smoked salmon platter on another day, which I also loved. Regular menu prices are a bit less than buffet. Ocean has indoor and outdoor seating. Outdoor provides a view of the infinity pool and the ocean.
As mentioned before, the hotel has a casino, and it also has a gift shop, a business center (75cents per minute for internet use) with two computers and a printer, a gym, and a spa. Outdoors, there’s plenty of space around the pool for relaxing. The pool was divided into several sections but all connected. The part closest to the ocean had a swim-​up bar complete with underwater stools. Theres also a regular bar area for those who prefer to get their drinks out of the water. I highly recommend their Guavaberry Coolata. I was hooked on this drink. It’s frozen, sweet but not too sweet, and tastes like vacation.
The beach at this hotel is definitely nice but the water was a little choppy and rocky in some areas. Great beach to soak up some rays but if spending lots of time in the water is your plan it’s worth it to take a ride to Orient Beach or Palm Beach at Orient Bay. At the hotel beach there are cabanas available for rental and also a seat covers to shield the sun. You can also order off a bar menu anywhere on the beach and staff come around to take your order for food or drinks. The West Indies wrap with curried chicken is my recommendation and evidently the most popular item on this menu.
Staff were all wonderful here. Everyone was polite and courteous. Our room was very nice. We loved the pool and beach area. Food and drinks were excellent. It was easy getting a cab in the front of the hotel. We had such a great time staying here!