An hour before sunset, I settled onto a rooftop sofa with a gin and tonic in one hand and the FlightRadar24 app open on my phone in the other. From this bar I had an exceptional view of Maho Bay and the runway beyond. As the last flights of the day took off and landed at one of the world’s most dramatic airports, I watched between sips. For aviation enthusiasts, Sint Maarten is a bucket-list destination, and Sonesta Ocean Point Resort provides an unbeatable front-row seat.
Sonesta Ocean Point Resort is a 130-suite, adults-only, all-inclusive property with numerous vantage points for plane spotting. At the cliffside à la carte restaurant Azul, the expansive view included the cerulean water below and a continuous parade of inter-island Cessnas and Bombardier turboprops gliding past my table during a leisurely morning mimosa. At lunch, larger commercial flights arrived carrying fresh waves of vacationers. I enjoyed Caribbean pumpkin soup with a swirl of cream, seared ahi tuna with aioli, and a grilled shrimp and avocado salad, paired with a glass of Provençal rosé. Thanks to the island’s dual Dutch and French heritage, wine selections often include French bottles that can be harder to find elsewhere.
© Kelly Magyarics
Above Azul, Bluefin Restaurant + Bar offers light bites and cocktails by day and build-your-own poke bowls at night, while downstairs Portofino serves alfresco northern Italian fare. Cocktails and a selection of wines are included at the resort’s restaurants, though the by-the-glass range could be broader. Guests can buy bottles from the reserve list when they want more variety; I ordered a bottle of Sancerre to accompany local seared grouper at Portofino and the staff kept it corked and chilled for my next evening at Bluefin.
Dinners by the water are delightful, but most aircraft traffic happens earlier in the day since Princess Juliana Airport winds down by mid-evening. That makes the resort’s daytime spots—especially its four pools—ideal for watching flights. I favored the Edge Pool with its manmade beach and infinity edge that seems to blend into the ocean. Attendants deliver drinks to your lounger, or you can stroll to Azul for a piña colada.
My main reason for visiting was to stand on Maho Beach and watch aircraft approach from the horizon, roar overhead, and land just a few hundred yards away. I joined a group of fellow aviation fans who checked apps to see what was coming next. For several hours I was transfixed by the power of arriving aircraft: Air France and KLM Airbus A330s, United and American Boeing 737s, regional commuter planes and inter-Caribbean flights, each followed by a pulse of wake turbulence. At one point a departing JetBlue Airbus A320 blasted jet exhaust across the beach, blowing me toward the water and sand—an unsolicited exfoliation and an unforgettable part of the experience.
At the iconic Sunset Beach Bar on Maho Beach, a surfboard-turned-chalkboard lists airport arrivals and sets the scene for the perfect photo. After practicing timing and angle, I finally captured the moment I wanted: the Sonesta blurred in the background, an aircraft on final approach, and a bottle of local SXM beer in hand. It was the ideal souvenir and a fitting snapshot of this one-of-a-kind stretch of island. Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for landing.