JW Marriott Just Opened Its First Caribbean Beach Resort in St Maarten 

By: - March 7th, 2024
jw marriott st maarten
The new beach resort in St Maarten.

It was arguably the most high-profile resort on the Dutch side of St Maarten: the Westin Dawn Beach resort, set on one of the most beautiful shorelines on the island and the area’s most famous branded hotel. 

Then that unwelcome guest named Irma showed up and for nearly seven years the resort sat in varying stages of disrepair, with only former timeshare owners able to access it. 

This week, though, the property made its triumphant return, officially reopening as the newest JW Marriott resort in the Caribbean. 

the entrance to the resort
The entrance to the revamped resort.

As Caribbean Journal first reported, the 200-room resort has been reborn as the new JW Marriott St Maarten Beach Resort and Spa.

It’s just the second JW Marriott on a Caribbean island (and the first one on a beach) joining the longtime, business-focused JW Marriott in Santo Domingo. 

dawn beach
Dawn Beach in St Maarten.

So what’s on offer?

The hotel has a signature JW Bar, joined by a quick-grab JW Market. There’s a Mediterranean eatery called Liguria, along with an all-day, “flip-flop dining” eatery called Carambola. 

There’s also a full-service fitness center, a spa called Hbiscus and, perhaps most notably for the island, nearly 30,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space. 

It’s part of something of a hotel renaissance for St Maarten, which in the last few years welcomed a new, modern resort called The Morgan, a new-build hotel called the Adonis in Cupecoy; and has a major new five-star resort project under way called Vie L’Ven in Indigo Bay. 

That’s along with some new hotel energy on the French side, from the debut of the M Hotel in Cul de Sac to a soon-to-debut resort in the heart of Marigot.

And yes, you can book the resort using Marriott Bonvoy points. A three-night stay in the heart of March is going for about 273,000 points per stay, according to the Bonvoy app. 

For more, visit the JW Marriott St Maarten.

About the author

Alexander Britell is the founder and editor-in-chief of Caribbean Journal and one of the top experts on Caribbean travel worldwide, with decades of on-the-ground travel to the region and comprehensive knowledge of the entire Caribbean Basin.
News

Curacao Hotel Rooms Keep Filling Up

kura botanica pool with chairs and roofs

As Curacao continues to break arrival records, the island’s hotels keep filling up, according to new data from the Curacao Hotel and Tourism Association.  Hotel occupancy to start the year was 76.3 percent, well ahead of the regional average of 70.6 percent.  That was 2.4 percentage points higher than in January 2023, even with an […]

News

How to Take a “Barbie” Vacation to The Bahamas 

atlantis tower

Barbie been the biggest cinematic event of the last year, and Barbie-mania continues to take over the popular consciousness. Now, Barbie is coming to The Bahamas.  Mattel has partnered with the Atlantis Paradise Island resort to launch a special “Barbie Bahamas Beach Vacation: Where Atlantis Dreams Come True,” which will include a host of special […]

News

Recovery of Caribbean Hotel Investment Market "Has Been Surprising"

the beach at the caribe hilton

In reflecting on the heart of the pandemic to now, Fernando Garcia-Chacon is impressed with how well things have bounced back in such a short amount of time. “Back [in 2020], we were hoping that perhaps hotel investments would regain their value by 2024 or 2025,” the leader of the CBRE Hotels Advisory team tells […]


558-Acre Cat Island Beach Site Lists for $13 Million 

A 558-acre prime beachfront property on Cat Island in the Bahamas has hit the market for $13 million.  The Lucky Mount Acreage is set on the island’s Fine Bay Beach, a pink-sand beach.  It’s listed with Brian Austin of Bahamas Realty.  The property has previously received approval for hotel and casino development with single-family lots, […]

Turks and Caicos International Arrivals Are Surging

It’s no secret that the Turks and Caicos Islands has been one of the hottest destinations in the region since the pandemic.  But the destination’s growth isn’t just strong for the Caribbean — it’s right at the top of the world.  Data from the UN’s World Tourism Barometer show that the Turks and Caicos Islands […]

Why Grenada Is a New Caribbean Luxury Hotspot

A 558-acre prime beachfront property on Cat Island in the Bahamas has hit the market for $13 million.  The Lucky Mount Acreage is set on the island’s Fine Bay Beach, a pink-sand beach.  It’s listed with Brian Austin of Bahamas Realty.  The property has previously received approval for hotel and casino development with single-family lots, […]

From Anguilla to St Barth, How to Fly to the Caribbean’s Top March Events 

Some of the Caribbean’s most beloved events are on the agenda this month, from the St Barth Bucket Regatta to the Moonsplash Music Festival in Anguilla.  And there’s one great way to reach all of them: flying Tradewind Aviation.  Tradewind is the only airline that flies to Anguilla, St Barth and Virgin Gorda, all of […]