Poll: Do you stay on French or Dutch side?

(I don't believe this forum has a tool for polls, so we will have to manually do it. At the end of each day, I will post the new French/Dutch side tally.)

Please post if you stay at lodging on the French side, or the Dutch side. If you stay on both, please pick the one you stay at the most. This is only for your lodging. Residents of the island are welcome to indicate your side as well.

As a secondary poll, please indicate, in the same post, if you spend more of your time away from your lodging on the French or Dutch side. Again, I realize this is going to be tough for many of you, as reading the trip reports it sounds like many of you spend a lot of time on both sides. Again, pick the ONE side where you feel you spend the most time.

Hopefully this is a fun exercise, and one that gets a large number of responses.

I am a cruiser, so have not lodged on either side.

However, I have spent all of my time there on the French side.

Lodging Dutch side. Split recreation on both sides. Mostly on Dutch.

Both...but have main stay on Dutch side. Blue Beach properties would be second choice.

We stay on the French side and spend the majority of our time there as well.

Lodging on the french side and spend time mostly on the french side !

French side for lodging.
We also spend most of our time on the French side.

90% French side both lodging and beach

We stay on the French side but visit both French and Dutch sides for shopping, dining, exploring ...

Stay on the French side and go to beach and eat on the French, more and more eating Orient Village. Only go to Dutch side when we arrive and leave. Shop at grocery story near Mark's Place, eat at Mark's for our first meal there and wave fondly as we head to the airport.
Friends that go with us make at least one trip to Philipsburg to shop and have lunch. They leave us on Orient

lodging and most activities on Dutch side

This is a very interesting post as it tells who stays where and why. Certainly will change some minds, like me, who seem stuck in what we do. Many thanks for posting.

We stay on the French side, and mostly eat there. But, usually one trip to Front Street and several Dutch side restaurants, especially Cupecoy.

Stay on Dutch side......recreation about 50/50.

Lodging the last two times on the French side. Prior to that three times on the Dutch side. Next visit will be to Grand Case Beach Club.

Beach time is mostly on the French side

Stay on Dutch side. Visit French side.

French Side for lodging, and almost all recreation as well.

Lodging Dutch side. Split time 70% Dutch, 30% French.

We stay on the Dutch side, and spend more beach days on the French side than the Dutch. In the past 4 or 5 years, we eat more evening meals on the Dutch side, while we used to eat many more on the French side.

Normally we have stayed on the Dutch side, and spent our beach days mostly on the French side, except for maybe one day per trip which we stayed around our resort. This year we stayed part of the trip on the French side, and the rest on the Dutch side. Eating is about 70% Dutch Side and 30% French side.

We always stay on the French Side and also spend most of our days on the French Side as well. We always also spend one partial day on the Dutch Side shopping on Front Street in the morning followed by lunch before returning to the French side.

Stay on Dutch side, and all activities on dutch side.

French side for both!

Great idea for a poll. it would also be interesting to know how many have based their choices on the acceptance of nude beaches on the French side and/or timeshare purchases on the Dutch side and if neither option were available, how many would still keep coming back anyway.

We've probably made seventy trips to the island over the years and purchased timeshare weeks here after about fifteen years worth of annual trips. Finally, a year and a half ago, we stayed in the French side for the first time at GCBC, thoroughly enjoying our stay but still being more comfortable over all on the Dutch side.

We move around the island and enjoy beaches on both sides but Mullet still is and has always been our favorite, and the huge majority of our dining is still done on the Dutch side with the occasional trip to the other side.

Lodging on Dutch side, spending most of the time on French side.

Dutch side since 1984: Pelican/Simpson Bay Resort timeshare.

French side for beach and Accomadation Dutch side for shopping and entertainment

Lodging on the French side where we spend most of our time.

Stay on the French side's Club Orient... and rarely leave (French Side) Orient Beach.

...actually, we DO have a mechanism for polls, it just has to be done by an administrator..

French side lodging, occasional forays to the Dutch side.

French side (GCBC) with a one day trip around the whole island to P-burg.

Dutch side (SBR) for lodging and most non-beach activities. Beach would be Happy Bay 70% and 20% for Simpson Bay beach walks. Other than Happy Bay we go to Grand Case for a few lunches and a walk or two the length of Orient (10%)

Lodge on French side & spend most of our time there.

Lodging on the Dutch side. The last couple of years recreation mostly on the Dutch sides but before that mostly on the French side. Getting lazy

Stay on the French side. Dutch side for ATM and supermarket.

Lodging on the French side, in Orient Bay, and spend our days on Orient Beach. But we travel all over the island, for dinner, and usually hit P'burg once or twice for shopping. We have made friends with many couples over the years, who come down in February as we do, and since we are all scattered from one side to the other, it gives us a chance to dine together at a variety of locations.

We stay totally on the Dutch side. We only go on the French side to get to Pinel.

99% French side, stop for groceries on the Dutch side after leaving the airport then rarely leave the French side.

So the tally after partial day 1 is:

36 responders (not everyone responded to both questions)

17 stay on the Dutch side
18 stay on the French side

9 spend the majority of their time on the Dutch side
21 spend the majority on the French side.
Most everyone visits both sides frequently it seems.

Keep those responses coming.....

Accomodations French Side (Orient Bay). Play time French side 80%. Dining French side 75%

We stay on the Dutch side , and do visit the French side for a few dinners and some beaching. It all depends on weather, beach conditions and how brave (me) <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> (and tired) we are to drive at night.
We did stay on the French side on our first trip in the 80's.

Timeshare on Dutch side(Divi), but we dine out on both sides.

After years of 1 day stops while cruising, we hopped off for a week 5 years ago. Have stayed at Mt. Vernon (3x), Orient Village,The Summit, and next will be on the beach in Gr. Case. Mostly French side beaches daily, but we enjoyed Mullet last June. Coming from the Midwest we enjoy the "culture shock" of the French side over the congestion of the Dutch side.

We stay on the French side 100% and spend our time on the French side beaches 100%

100% French side - after the airport of course :-)

We always stay on Dutch side and most of our activities and meals are on Dutch side. Just became more familiar with it and find it easier for us. We do make one trip over to French side to check out a beach or to show newbies around, but The Dutch side is when we land.

I have stayed in hotels both sides, and probably 50% of leisure time spend on either side, French side mostly Orient Beach. But since my last trip Nov. 25 to Dec 2, I am fed up with all the traffic on the Dutch side. Planning on spending more time on the French side on future trips.

This is my answer also, and I used to live in Raleigh, if this helps.

100% French side, lodging at Grand Case Beach Club. Dinners
all on the French side!

We have always stayed on the French side. Some shopping and meals on the Dutch side.

Dutch side lodging, shopping, food.

One trip to Yvettes on the French side and sometimes a full drive around the island per trip.

We stay on both although last trip was all Dutch side.

French side for us!

sleep and eat on Dutch..swim on French, expect for days at Cupecoy

We stay on the French side and recreate there 99% of our time also. That said we know that on the Dutch side the nightlife is better. We both try to cram some basic French language through Duolingo app on our iPhones a few months before our journey but it seems to only help with reading menus.

I think part of what we enjoy is not understanding most of the conversations we overhear...odd as that may sound. There are a lot of high maintenance travelers who don't seem to get the whole island time thing and recognize it as part of what makes the caribbean such a relaxing destination. I've found that when we are on the Dutch side (and also the one breakfast that I had at GCBC) we are around more folks who are very expressive about their expectations for service, etc...sometimes it dampers the vibe for us.

We need to give the Dutch side more of a chance as most of my impressions are based on a very small set of references.

French side!

Always stay on french side. Maybe 60 (french) /40 (dutch) in terms of time on each side during the day.

Usually spend at least one day at Divi Little Bay. One day in Philipsburg, shopping, visiting front street museum, walking around. Often at least part of a day at Dawn - and usually do an excursion with Capt Alan. Sometimes, but not as much in recent years, take boat excursions from dutch side Simpson Bay/Lagoon - Celine, Random Wind, others - usually eat dutch side if took boat excursion from there.

If cruising with port of call in Philipsburg, almost always head immediately to Orient - may spend a little time in Philipsburg before getting back to ship.

Dutch lodging
Most of our time on Dutch as well.

All French eat, sleep, play

We are returning in January for our third visit, staying again at Mont Vernon. We much prefer the French side. We love the beaches, the restaurants, and the quiet. We spent one afternoon stuck in traffic in Philipsburg on our first visit, and decided that was enough. If we wanted high rise developments, casinos, Burger King, KFC, and Pizza Hut, we could stay home.

I live on the Dutch side (6 months) and beach on the French...eat on the Dutch, almost NEVER go to French at night

99.9% on the Dutch side. The little "buses" (vans) are so convenient on the Dutch side that I don't even bother renting a car anymore. I'm a single traveler, and I just find the Dutch side more active and inviting for a single traveler.

Dutch

Grand Case Beach Club

oops forget to respond to both. We travel around the island daily visiting all beaches and stores French & Dutch sides. Eat mostly (if not all) on French Side.

Interesting to me to see how many are on the French side. If I'd had to guess would had said TTOL [ex Club O] was largely Dutch side
Anyway did a quick straw count, had to interpret some responses, but my columns are based on stay and play, ie if you stay on the Dutch side but play both sides, I counted you as Dutch / Dutch - anyway my count totals are
Dutch/Dutch - 10
Dutch/French - 14
French / French - 23 [suspect several Club O responses in that count]
French / Dutch - 10

Intereseting snap shot, but I suspect most of the rooms for rent [hotel /ts/other] are on the Dutch side. Anyone know any info on # of rooms per side?
J&B

Always stay on French side primarily at LePetit in Grand Case.

Yes is there another side <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />?

We stay on the Dutch side and spend about equal time on each side.

We stay on the French side and spend most of our time on the French side.

we stay on the Dutch side and spend most of our time there

French side - 95%. C'est bon!!

Jim and Jane

We stay on the French side and eat on the French side.

We used to divide our stay with accommodations on the Dutch and French side. Now that we stay much longer,we prefer the Dutch side for accommodations and night life, and spend most beach days on the French side.We enjoy the entire island and appreciate the differences of both sides. To only enjoy one side seems a real shame to me when two different countries can be enjoyed in one vacation!

French side for everything.

Lodging: Dutch 60% French 40%
Daytime recreation: Dutch 5% French 95%
Nighttime activities: Dutch: 60% French 40%

This was a very interesting post. Thank you. Learned a great deal. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

Stay on French side 2 weeks separated by one week on Dutch side. patronize both sides for recreation and dining

We have been coming to St. Martin since 2000, sometimes twice a year. We have stayed on the Dutch side twice. We do enjoy visiting on the Dutch side a few times each visit to grocery shot, eat and souvenir shop, but most of our time is spent in Orient Village and the surrounding home area. Seems to be less hectic and much easier for driving.

Lodging, recreation and dining only on the French side. Only shopping and casino gambling on the Dutch side.

Stay on the Dutch side but spend time on both, beaches and restaurants.

French
French

I agree that this is an interesting thread. I am surprised by how many people on this board say that after arriving they never (or almost never) go to dutch side.

I couldn't have said it better <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

okay, here are the new totals after day 2:
75 responders by my count.

42 lodge on French side
32 lodge on Dutch side

22 spend most of time on Dutch side
47 spend most of time on French side

The time spent numbers are not an accurate representation of anything though. It seems a lot of people eat on the French side, shop on the Dutch side, obviously can only gamble on the Dutch side, etc.

The lodging is pretty close to an even split, but I think someone had suggested that there was more lodging available on the Dutch side, than on the French side. Yet this small sample shows more people using French lodging? Is it possible that the active forum members who have taken time to respond are the ones more attracted to the French side? And if so, why would it be that way?

Earlier Pat had wondered how much of an influence the nude beaches were having in the responses (I have paraphrased her, but believe I have the kept her context).

I have some ideas for a follow up poll that touches on Pat's thoughts, but since some of it will be about the nude beach use, I am looking for a more anonymous approach so forum members will not feel uncomfortable or afraid to respond.

I will see what Carol has available. Stay tuned,
and if you haven't responded to this poll, what are you waiting for? :-)

French side all the way. If someone offered me a free trip but had to stay on the Dutch side I would probably pass. Any charm that existed there was paved over long ago...IMHO.

Honestly, you really need to check out more accomodations on the Dutch side, as there are PLENTY of really lovely places to stay on the Dutch side..

Please send the free trip offer whenever you receive it. <wink>

If somebody offers you that trip to stay on the Dutch side, give it to me! I have stayed on both sides and enjoy all of it. I would never pass up a free trip!!!!!

You're second in line. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

and some say the same about the French side

The only time we are on the Dutch side is when we arrive and depart. We think the French side has a more low key atmosphere. We stay at O'Paradis and love the fact that there are only 4 units. It is great to be able to walk down to great restaurants in the village.

I don't think I need to worry! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

We stay on the French side, and spend most of our time there, as well.

Dutch

Raleigh,

I started to say this yesterday and held back at the risk of seeming controversial but what the heck - why let a little political correctness get in the way.

We came to this island 43 years ago and our first stay was on the Dutch side of the island. But we visited and explored the French side freely, fast learning that beyond a few great restaurants and nice beaches, it didn't hold much of interest for us. But still, we kept enjoying it and with each year and each trip that passes, and with only one of them lodging on the French side of the island, we are still open to exploring it while lodging still on the Dutch side.

Those who say there is no charm or they'd rather stay home than visit EITHER side over the other are, IMO, missing out big time. There is much to explore and enjoy on both sides and while I'll readily admit, the over construction of the Dutch side wouldn't have been my plan for it, it is what it is, just as so very many areas on the French side are equally seedy and grungy in my eyes. But along with the over development and the seedy and grungy, if you take the time to explore BOTH sides, there really are equally incredible and enjoyable aspects to each.

The last few remnants of the gingerbread architecture need to be seen before it all rots away and is replaced with more concrete and glass, as do some of the more tucked away beach spots that so many will miss by limiting themselves to only one spot.

There was a time when people ONLY dined on the French side because that's where the 'really good restaurants' were but those days are done, too. Some if the best restaurants on the island are now to be found on the Dutch side and more are relocating there every day.

I'm not condemning or criticizing and I'm sure not saying either side is better or worse, but after 43 years and probably sixty plus stays, I still find something new on each side with every trip and wouldn't miss our island-wide travels for the world and I'd strongly advocate everyone should get out and explore ALL this island has to offer. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Pat,
That is the danger with a poll like this. The intent is just to find out which side of the island each person spends their time at, or the side THEY like better. But what happens is pretty soon it turns into an argument about which SIDE is better. And of course, that will turn into a very passionate debate, and we all know how that ends.
IMHO, those debates are silly, since we all don't like the exact same things. Some like peace and quiet, others want bustle and party time. What is perfect for you, I may not like at all. And so it goes.
It is hard to not respond when someone slights your personal favorite place, but I always look at it like this, "If someone says they would never go to xxxxxx, great by me, one less person I have to share it with." ;-)

My only experience with the Dutch side, is from what I've read in this forum. I have done the exact same thing on all 3 of my cruise stops. Hail a taxi, go to Club O, hail a taxi, get back on the ship. So not only do I know nothing about the Dutch side, I really also know nothing about the French side. As I mentioned, I am hoping to get a couple of polls up that I hope will get the same interest as this thread. Those polls will let people anonymously select what they like about the island.

Raleigh....just a suggestion, but you could have eliminated the need for gathering responses and potential conflict by posting a poll link.
Surveymonkey is an example.

Raleigh - your thread topic is interesting, and I think one that all of us deal with to one extent or another. However, there is a HUGE difference in the nature of island visits.

For cruise ship 1 day visitors, what you are doing is a home run. For those who travel by themselves (with spouse), then the hotel or time share is a primary option. In my case, I always travel with friends and rent a house for a week. That completely changes where we look to rent, which is in the Lowlands, as we like to have a house on the beach.

All in all, I think a more appropriate topic is where you spend your time rather than where you spend the night.

Charlie,
I agree that where you spend your time is more defining of what a person is looking for on the island. But, when you look at the responses many, nay, most, of the people are on both sides much of their time. For many it is probably hard for them to say which side they spend more time on. The answer would depend on what they were looking to do any given day. But housing is pretty close to binary. You are either on one side or the other. I also am assuming that people are choosing their lodging to be closer to the things they want to do most. For instance, I have inferred from the forum(s) that the Dutch side has a more active night life. If I want to dance/drink into the late night (I don't), and not drive across the island after I am done, I think I need to stay on the Dutch side. Does that mean all of the people who stay on the Dutch side are looking to party? Of course not. In your case, it looks like you are saying the TYPE and FIT of lodging you need is more important than which side of the island you find it. That is certainly understandable, and in that case, this poll would distort your response.

To reiterate, I wasn't looking to start a war over which side is better. I just wanted a light-hearted snapshot of where people lodge, and if they mostly prefer one side or the other. I think that has been pretty successful, but in the end, I also know the responses really have no meaning, in addition to being a very small sample size.

I desperately want to come to the island for a couple of weeks. I am looking into sharing a villa, hotels, VRBO, condo, etc. I have not looked into it yet, but I would assume there is a rental market out there for TS units, something like the VRBO site. The poll was to help me get an idea of where people on this board, who I have read for a few years now, find lodging.

Hi BK,
Yeah, I agree this was a pretty mediocre way to do a poll. Other boards that I am on allow the members to create polls. The idea for this poll came to me as I was reading a couple of other threads, so I started this one. Almost 80 people have responded, so I think the interest is there. And it appears most people have enjoyed the responses. But I am starting to feel that I have stumbled into a topic that has perhaps caused turmoil in the past, and I am hoping it does not happen here.
As far as survey monkey, I am familiar with it, but have never set up a poll there. I am not a fan of sending people off-site. Just a personal peeve of mine.

What is your point with this survey?

Hi takeus,
Just a simple place for a person to say where they stay, and if they spend most of their time on one side or the other. Nothing more than that.

So far, it appears a few more people lodge on the French side, and I have come to understand, the activity is really irrelevant, since the two sides offer different things to do.

We stay, play & eat on the French side, however now the Mario's has moved the the Dutch side there will be at least one trip to Mario's

1st time (1993 or so) stayed at La Belle Creole on the French side and fell in love with the place. When the 1995 hurricane blew it away, it was awhile before we returned and the condos were so much less expensive on the Dutch side, stayed there nearly every year, with the exception of a couple of years ago at Cottages de Longvilliers. I'm thrilled to say we'll be at Club Orient starting on December 12.

As I said before, this board does have the ability to do polls, but they are only enabled for admins, because polls take up a tremendous amount of bandwidth. We have done a very similar poll to this in the past..

We stay on the Dutch side, In our condo at Tradewinds, and have for 31 years.

I personally think polls are a waste of time and don't serve any real purpose. I did contribute to this one, but usually don't bother as they are far too subjective, just like our taste buds! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Aside for answers to the simple yes/no or where is this or that questions, the reality is that this and most forums are just polls with a bit more detail about the answer. Read through the posts: subjective just like our tastebuds.

I don't think labeling a post as a poll really changes anything, except, based on the number of participants in this post, maybe they get more responses.

People stay mainly on the Dutch side more than the French for a number of reasons. Many own timeshares, Hotels on the Dutch side are more like those in America, the local people speak English on the Dutch side while French is more common on the French, TV is in English on guess which side while on the French side it will more likely be in guess what. This is changing as the French are more and more willing to cater to North American tastes, but the Dutch side is more like home, although we don't like to admit it.

We do package tours out of Toronto and stay at the least expensive hotel. The past 6 trips have been spent at The Beach Plaza / Beach Hotel just on the edge of Marigot. This trip we spent each day at Mullet Bay (calmer water) we ate more meals on the French side than the Dutch

Dutch side, much more nightlife and we own timeshares there. We do visit French beaches and restaurants occasionally.

Day 3 Summary

85 people have responded

47 lodge on French side
37 lodge on Dutch side

52 spend most time on French side
27 spend most time on Dutch side

Frenchside is the place to be

French Side

We also live in Raleigh!!

French side all the way. If it were not for the Grande Marche and the airport, we would never go the Dutch side.

French! Like the wine too much to stay anywhere lese

After reading Pat's post, I wanted to provide clarification to my answers. I stated we stay on the French side and go to the beaches on the French side. Pat is correct, there is so much more to the island than we have seen on our trips over the past 10+ years. At this time in our lives, for me the trip to SXM is an opportunity to just decompress and get away. We have limited vacation time due to work schedules and with the stress of work, all I want to do is sit in my lounger and find a way to forget about everything and focus on my wonderful wife, the warm water in front of me and the cold beverage next to me, and nothing more. We are certainly missing out on so much more and I hope when we retire or when our schedules allow us to stay longer, we will get to enjoy the entire island. At that time, my poll answers may be very different. Thanks for your comments Pat, your note really made me think.

Stay on French Side and most activities also on the French Side.

I am surprised. With the Dutch side having so many more rooms for rent, I thought that it would have the most people staying there.

It might be that many of the people who stay on the Dutch side are not on TTOL. It surprised me too as I thought those of us who stayed on the French side were in the minority.

Stay on the French side. We only visit the dutch side when we are at the airport (coming or going), our visit to Sunset Bar, and when we visit Neil for our Celine Charter.

Lived in Raleigh for years-now Greensboro- French side except for groceries

We mostly stay on the French side and most of our time is spent there, however, we are spending a week this year on the Dutch side because we miss going there and are too lazy to drive over most of the time!

Summary to this poiint

93 responders

55 lodge French side
37 lodge Dutch side

60 mostly active on French side
27 mostly active on Dutch side

We stay on the Dutch side (laVista)

Spend our days on both sides, though mostly Dutch side.

I stay on the French side for the winter. Since I don't rent a car, I rarely visit the Dutch side.

French side for lodging and most playing. Once or twice a trip we meander to the Dutch side for dinner and casinos.

BobandJeana

Always stay on French side at Club O. Rarely venture to Dutch side unless meeting friends for dinner. Our most recent trip we were on the Dutch side only from and to the airport.

We always stay on the French side.