I second Carol's summation regarding recovery on the Dutch and French sides of SXM, but the Orient Bay area was really coming along nicely with more beach bars and restaurants popping up until this COVID-19 thing arose. So, if your goal is to split time on both sides of St. Martin I might suggest focusing on the Orient Bay area for the French side experience, and the Simpson Bay/Cole Bay/Maho areas on the Dutch side. No one can be sure which places on either side will reopen after the virus has been cleared on the island, but the people of St. Martin are very resilient and my guess is that most places will be back.

As to when to plan your visit, it remains a guessing game at this time. With hurricane season lurking right around the corner, I would surely wait until mid-November at the earliest. Hopefully, another hurricane season will spare SXM and with another 7 months between now and then COVID-19 may have faded to the point where everything on the island is back up-and-running with only limited restrictions. Plus, air travel there should be back to some type of new normal. Of course, a surer bet for a visit would seem to be during the winter of 2021 and that's what I am presently planning at this time.