This is really a good question, and I differ a bit from Carol's approach because St. Maarten/Martin is really two cultures on one island! So, instead of going to Aruba for a week and then Martinique for another week you can experience both dutch and french cultures on SXM. But, I would spend my first week in either the Simpson Bay or Maho areas. A place like Simpson Bay Resort would be ideal, because so many of the awesome restaurants in this area are within walking distance (i.e. Skip Jacks, Toppers, La Sucriere) if you like to walk. In the Maho area places like the Sonesta Resort or the Royal Islander are nice because both Maho Beach and Mullet Bay Beach are within walking distance, and there are restaurants within walking distance here as well. Or, you could go in between Maho and Simpson Bay and choose the Beachside Villas or even Mary's Boon, but it will require a rental car for dining at night, etc. Besides, after landing on St. Maarten and going through the airport experience it's kind of nice to get settled right away rather than endure a long trip to Orient Bay.

Then, at the midway point of your vacation you can pack-up and head to Orient Bay and choose a hotel like Esmeralda or the soon to open Palm Court, or just reserve an AirBnB. Many of the restaurants in this area are back up-and-running including the Yellow Submarine, Le Piment and L'Astrolabe. From here, places like Grand Case, Anse Marcel, and Pinel Island are relatively short trips and would break-up having to go to Orient Beach every day.

Whatever you decide you can't go wrong either way!