Island gets all round
destination award
PHILIPSBURG - St. Maarten/St. Martin was voted the third Best All-Round Destination award in the Caribbean Travel and Life magazine third annual Best of the Caribbean awards. In first place was Aruba and second United States Virgin Islands.
The Dr. A.C Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facilities were voted as the second best in the Caribbean.
Despite its nickname the Friendly Island, St. Maarten was ranked third for the friendliest people.
Orient Beach was named the best beach in the Caribbean.
The French side was second to Mexico in the best local food category. Le Tropicana, located in Marina Royale was voted second in best restaurant.
In the hotel category, Grand Case Beach Club ranked first in the best Midsize Hotel, Le Meriden copped the third spot for the best large resort, and Hotel La Plantation got third in the third hotel category. Princess Heights was second in best boutique hotel. Elysee Spa at La Samanna was fourth in best hotel spa category.
Aruba, Cancun and St. Maarten were rated as the top three destinations for superb nightlife.
For best shopping destination, the island was second to St. Thomas.
The destination's ranking was determined by a survey of the magazine's Subscriber Study carried out by Walker Communications. The survey also found that of its 500,000 readers, 87.2 per cent are planning vacations to the Caribbean during this year.
In the past, the island won an award from the magazine for the Best Island for Shopping (2003) and first place in the Best All Round destination category (2002).
The St. Maarten Tourist Bureau is elated by the award for the island and is working to continue to promote the destination with the marketing funds it has available.
