Having done all-inclusives in the places mentioned, I agree that they work well in those places. However, for many years we went all-inclusive at Maho. The main reason for this was that my husband did not like to go out searching for breakfast. The buffet breakfast at Maho was very good. We went out everyday, to one of the beaches or to shop and ate at other places for lunch and at our favorite spots for dinner. If we were too tired to go out, we ate dinner at Maho. This worked for us.

Another post suggested that the drinks do not contain much alcohol. This depends on what you drink. In most all-inclusives, the mixed drinks - pina coladas, punches, etc. - may be lacking in alcohol but we learned in other locations that beer and wine are not watered down nor were they at Maho. Also, mixed spirits there are fine. I recall that the bartender in the main bar at Maho made a great manhattan.

The other benefit of staying at Maho meant you could get out to the casino and other lively spots by walking and did not have to worry about drinking and driving.

In the first years that we went to SXM, we stayed on the French side, in places that provided fully-equipped kitchens. We would get our own breakfast there, thus alleviating hubby's angst over finding breakfast. We would go out every night for dinner. After experiencing a frightening incident on the road one night, we decided that all the night-driving was not for us and switched to Maho.

To each his own, I guess, but I would not discourage people from staying at Maho. It has its benefits.