Sonesta Resorts - St. Maarten Review

Very good hotel, beautiful facilities with good services, for excellent you would lack better beach

The view from the ninth floor was spectacular,the food was wonderful and the staff was very helpful and nice and not forgetting very friendly too,I will be taking another trip there soon.

Good choice of food. They took care to make sure that each member of our group (of 12) was accommodated for. The service was great and the staff promptly responded to our requests.

The resort itself was a good resort when it comes to accomodations, the beach is kept clean and the water is gorgeous, but here comes the negatives.
Food was not what I expected from a Caribbean island. There was not much selection, it was the same food day after day and it was Western food, I would prefer more local foods when coming to a island.
The waiting staff were not friendly, they kind of ignored our party and tended to others quickly. It took us a long time to get seated and drinks served to us.
There is no night life at the resort, if you wanted to go to a club you would have to leave the resort mind you the club is across the street but you need to pay for your own drinks, being a all inclusive resort I would expect different.
I do not think I would be coming back to this resort because of these points and being a 4 star resort I kind of wonder how they got this rating.
St. Martin is a beautiful island, locals are very friendly and the outside food is amazing but the resort we stayed at kind of ruined the experience.

Good location
Close to airports and on Maho Beach.
This is the place you see the people stand behind the jets and get blown into the ocean.

Beach is nice and snorkeling was a blast.

I didn't eat at the resort and can't comment.
Room was great with great view.

Nice pool.

I'd stay there again no problem.

We had a Great stay. Staff was very warm and welcoming. Breakfast is their best mealtime of the day. Lunchtime however, was not impressive at all except for, the Pizza. The pizza saved the day. Dinner time was not bad but, there's room for improvement. We definitely will stay there again.

It's a very modern resort, clean, easy access to the beach, taxis and public transportation just around the corner. Plane landings and take-offs are once in the lifetime opportunities. Minor things could see some improvement but I recommend this resort.

Nice and decent resort. Food offering can be improved?

Island view rooms are noisy until late at night, so we recommend ocean view rooms even if they are a little expensive!

This place and the surroundings were all beautiful. However, our stay was not ideal. We had a bad ant problem from the time we checked in... Ants were all over the floor tiles in our room. We made the front desk aware multiple times but they never did anything.

Also, we had some bad plumbing issues... Sonesta was doing some renovations and cut a water line. We were without running water for multiple hours. We were unable to use the tiolets, shower, or sink. Management was very rude and acted like they could care less if we had a problem. Nevertheless, the island and ocean of St. Maarten is stunning.

Great room. Good choice of restaurants. Easy access to Maho's Sunset Beach and it's two bars and world famous low flying aircraft.

I had a brilliant stay before hurricane Irma. I'm certain it will be just as good if not better after the refurbishments.
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Just had another great holiday at the newly restored & refurbished Sonesta Maho Beach Resort. Room was excellent, staff helpful and attentive (one security guard was overly full of himself the rest were fine). Food at the Point Italian and Chinese restuarants (limited to use & must be booked) were excellent, all the others very good.

Another great stay at the improved complex.

Service and food is horrible! Bartenders are very rude! You can stand waiting for 20 mins and no one will offer to serve you. Bad smell of sewer throughout the building. Food options are the same each day -which is not good after couple days. Really need to listen to the comments and make improvements. We won t be back and not recommend this place.

Peaceful place to bring the family or go with your significant other to relax and enjoy the weather...

Super convinient location. Great view to the famous runway. Maho beach is just next door. Rooms are new. Staff very friendly and proffesional. Food option is fine. But buffet restaurant is avarage. Highly reccommend to go for a la carte. Mr.Damion in sunset bar is great entertiner.. enjoy your stay.

I spent 3 days in this hotel with my parents verdict:
the view is magnificent, the meal is good, the welcome is pleasant and secure with many security guards.
However, the beds are small enough to sleep two; when we arrived the tub was broken at the water drain hole; there is not enough sign indicating where such and such a thing is, suddenly at the beginning you can get lost; one of our cards to access our room was not working well; for our departure, no one told us at what time to vacate the room, suddenly when taking our things to leave in the afternoon, we could not enter the room anymore because our cards were disabled and they gave us 2 min to release her otherwise we paid supplements.
This is my first encounter with the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort hotel.

Bell boy Raol was friendly, pleassnt and efficient. Sharon from the food service was amazing goes above a d beyond to satisfy our needs. Kevin the manager front desk act in a profession manner, good communication snd excellent people person skills. Housekeeping did her job but needs to be educated on interpersonal communication skills.

The area is great no need for a taxi but the hotel is either old-fashioned. Except for the new building

Fantastic hotel, incredibly modern building, huge, high-tech rooms, ice machines on every floor, all-inclusive service is really well-rounded, plenty of different buffet and dining options to dine on daily, plus plenty of drinks. The hotel also has several options of gyms, room with coffee and snack machine, casino, pool with bar. Amazing experience my hosting days!

Beautiful view. Great surrounding areas to eat for free. Awesome pool. Exceptional staff. No complaints except stairs down floors might not be safest but they can fix that. Safe but heard from someone not great. Idk

Had a bad start as they gave us the wrong room with a view to construction and some kind of water filtration system.. changed our room but still had the same view when we paid for a full ocean front room. Then came dining issues as they were all booked. Eventually they upgraded us to the ocean point adults only more luxurious resort and it was beautiful and had no issues from then on out.

We will be travelling here in may. Do they have cribs or a pack and play available? Also, can you get to maho beach from the resort?

Staff are awesome!! That is why I am back for the second time the the food is good service even better

Filicia is my favorite bartender and phone rescuer. Having a great

time!

By far my best resort experience yet. Food was great and staff was very friendy. Special shout out to Cedric and Jesigna for arranging an upgrade to better suit my needs. Maho beach is exciting with planes landing regularly but the water is gorgeous and waves are small. A 15 minute walk away, Mullet Bay Beach is beautiful and more peaceful with very calm water. Sint Maarten really is the friendly island and I look forward to going back to Sonesta Maho Beach Resort!!

Under construction, hotel is like 60% ready, should look beautiful when finish rebuilt after such a nasty storm that hit the island in 2017

Beautiful hotel with excellent service & hot spot great taxi service (Ravo taxi service)

On day 4 of my 7 night stay here right now. Staff is rude unless you are willing to tip with every request, food is ok, not great, except the restaurant at ocean point staff and food were great), restaurant reservations are near impossible to get unless they do you a favor. Room is ok but ac is weak, has been set to 18c since I arrived and unable to bring room temp below 23c.

Beautiful views,Great staff, great food. you can also use the pool at the sister hotel, Sonesta Great Bay Just a few miles away.
And if you like boating, Also a few miles away at Simpson Bay Check out The Boat House Boat Rentals. Run by a nice couple. They offer snorkeling,fishing, full maps and all safety gear needed. The best way to see the island is from the water. See the old ship wrecks and view the caves along the coast. hours of great fun.
556-1560.

Just came back from my 60th birthday, Had a wonderful time people friendly, The island is beautiful I definitely would return. Little bump in road but not enough where I wouldn't go back.

Nice rooms a view of airport and landing planes but the service and food was not good at all

I had read the bad reviews and we still decided to give this place a chance, but what a mistake! Firstly, the choices for food are terrible. The only sit-down options for dinner are with reservations. That wouldn't be such a big deal if it weren't for the fact that almost all the slots are booked before you even arrive, so good luck. We were able to book 2 nights out of the 7 we'll be here and we have yet to eat at either of those restaurants so I can't comment on that. Aside from that, your options are the buffet or Ascot Pub which has been out of several menu items both times we've gone and the food they do have is overcooked and takes an atrociously long time to arrive. As for the buffets,the dinner options are average but don't vary much from night to night. During breakfast be prepared to stand and wait 20 minutes for each station to be refilled so by the time you fill your whole plate your meal is cold.

The drinks are all watered down. Even if you order straight rum or vodka it tastes as if the alcohol itself has been watered down.

The resort's saving grace is the fact that the property it sits on is beautiful. The customer service is hit-or-miss, with some staff members going above and beyond, and others being quite rude. My brother went down for a beer at 12:30 am and was told by the bartender that he couldn't serve him because he was done at 1am. While service like that is inexcusable when you're spending your hard-earned money, I chalk it up to the fact that Sonesta seems to be understaffed and most of the employees are working their butts off.

Aside from the pizza place, there is no place to get a snack during the day. There's a coffee shop in the lobby with sandwiches that run out early in the day and never get restocked. If you have kids, you'll find yourself going to the market down the road to look for snacks to keep in your room.

The rooms are fine as they seem to be recently renovated. If you get an island view room, be prepared to stare at an ugly roof every time you look outside. Not a deal-breaker for us, but my parents who are celebrating their 40th anniversary on this trip are extremely disappointed. They've stated this has been the worst resort
experience they've ever had which is shame considering this was a celebratory trip.

Despite everything, we've determined to make the most of our stay. However, we're on day 4 of our trip and we won't be sad to leave Sonesta Maho Bay in the least.

The worst and most frustrating vacation experience at a all inclusive resort. Management needs an immediate comprehensive and strategic coordinated plan to service the guests at this resort.Management needs to provide their employees with training and a support system, so the employees can provide the best customer service to the guest.
The first negative experience was the check in process. The resort didn t have sufficient staff to check in the guest. Expect long wait times to check in. They didn t provide me with a welcome packet or literature , detailing the locations of restaurants and facilities that are part of the resort. Some restaurants were outside of the resort area and we didn t even know they existed until the second day.
The food and beverages are below average in my opinion. It reminds me of school lunches. They constantly run out of food without properly replenishing the items. Like one of the reviewers stated, the variety of food is terrible. Expect the same menu every day. The traditional no name liquor brand is served, without the option to upgrade with the premium brands. The liquor is so cheap, that they put 4 full bottles in your room. I priced it at 5 dollars a bottle at the local store. Luckily, there was a market selling top shelf liquor around the corner from the resort.
Entertainment is very weak. They had 1 good Latin fire show the whole weak.
The rooms were renovated after the hurricane. The rooms are decent. No major complaints there.
Overall, my family and I tried to make the best of it. The excursions made the trip. The Anguilla sailing trip was good. The ATV 4 wheelers was great. I was able to explore the complete island both the Dutch and French side. I did enjoy the best lobster I ever had at Pineapple Pete s. The Lobster thermidor.
Definitely not coming back.

People love to complain, but few give praise! We are loving our stay here! The room is spacious, modern, and clean. The staff are attentive and smile when one is pleasant and treats them nicely. There are loads of different places to perch yourself for the day, poolside or seaside. The beach and sea are spectacular, the water crystal clear and warm! There are 3 main restaurants with plenty of choices for every taste. The food is great, but best to eat earlier rather than later. There are numerous bars serving alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks all day long. The ONLY disappointing feature is there aren't enough elevators to serve so many clients. Don't expect to get to your room in a speedy manner, but prepared to spend the day at the pool or beach, and there will be no worries whatsoever!

Good view, access to the beach, great food, good bartenders, comfortable rooms.

Did not care for the issues with the treatment of the employees and the relationship between resorters. Will not likely return

Was nice but they kicked us off the "beachy" area at 4 for events. They were also having a sickness outbreak and staff needs to be trained better how to handle it. They were trying and helpful. Food was ok 1 restaurant was great. Drinks were great.

Casino had a nice bartender. Food quality is terrible. Staff aren't interested in being there.

Visit the website for the best price. It's cheaper than the most booking sites. So far the best hotel in Sint Maarten.

Used to be one of my most favorite place. The view is very beautiful, but the service is horrible. The staff is very rude. Ordered service waited so long I had to go get it myself. Went to to the lunch area around 11:45am just to sit and have a drink. The lady in charge was extremely rude. She said no staff are working now so you can go get you own things. I ask if I can sit here she was like NO!! Wow horrible. That day I went and stayed at Holland House and amazing. All incluside is a good thing but when service is horrible why pay extra for it? Oh one of the waiter came during dinner leave someone else drinks on our table and gone never came back for the people drinks hahaha and the sodas tasted flat.

Was there just last week for a vacation with my boyfriend. The food at the buffet was atrocious, very limited options, and service was almost non-existent. Getting something as simple as cutlery turned into an ordeal - very disorganized. Only 4 restaurants open - and the food was the same at all 4 of them. It felt like that they were moving leftovers from one restaurant to another. Workers there are not accommodating whatsoever - there was no information regarding restaurants or activities. Left to figure thibgs out on our own.
The place is still under construction - got woken up early on several days due to the noise. Elevators were extremely slow - stairs under construction; not sure what route would have been used during an emergency? Ants/mosquitos - not sure what it was - were a big problem. Both my boyfriend and I got bit by something during the night.
The only good thing i can say, is that the beach was wonderful; sand and water were perfectiob.
However, this experience honestly would not make me go back to St. Marteen.

Our stay was ok, not terrible but not great. The place has potential but it was not ready for the amount of guests at the time, open too early. Resort was still under construction. Here's a pros and cons list:

Cons
-Flickering and poor functioning lighting
-Food only available at certain times, no included food options after 10pm buffet
- Small beach, they wont give chairs after 5pm then take them off the beach as you go to use them after 5pm
- Towels not replaced everyday
- Poor shower design, water doesn't stay in shower ends up on floor
- Disappointing pool
- Dinner reservation/kiosk system poor freezes. Is somehow booked fully but not all restaurants are full.
- Inefficient elevators
- Not aware of ongoing/incomplete construction
- No balcony on 4th floor, door opens to large unfinished rooftop
- Lava rock cooking, good idea, poor in practice. You cook on a hot stone but stone doesnt stay hot long enough and you are given meats that need to be fully cooked to be safe to eat like chicken and pork.
- No room service
- No deadbolt or secondary lock on door
- Washroom door didn't lock
- Walked into contractors working in our room without any notice.

Pros
- Clean
- Nice design
- Ac works
- Mostly good food, buffet, welcome bbq
-Good casino shows/show team
-Pool bingo
-Good service serving
- Nice gym
- Good TV channel selection
- Excursions
- A short walk from mullet beach(best on island, we went to all of them)
-strip outside of resort nice, will get better over time
- Comfortable king size bed
- Couch in room was a plus
-Mini fridge constantly restocked
- Wi-fi everywhere
- Outlets with USB ports for charging
-Safe in room

We knew that Ocean Point just really re-opened after the awful hurricane. Certain things were great and others will be good soon. Morning breakfast service not as great but pool, bartender, and night dinner service was good. Food needs to come up a bit but was good. The best was the poolside service, bartender and cleaning service. We will be back because the Ocean Point resort is in the best location on the island. Thank you for a great vacation

Do not even check in. Worst experience ever at an all inclusive resort. No reservations for dinner available. Staff is completely indifferent. Beach area is very small. Find another resort and don t look back.

The serenity spa was fantastic. Well worth the time and money!!

Excellent hotel for family. A little expensive, but it's worth it. Food is good.

We had a wonderfully fun vacation at this resort. Be sure to dine at the various restaurants requiring reservation for high quality meals. Ceceil, our waitress at two restaurants, provided exceptionally friendly and courteous service with thorough knowledge of the menu.

So glad I chose to go to this resort despite the reviews. I had a good time.
#1--the check in process really does suck. Our room wasn't ready at 3pm and we waited over an hour for it. I would say this was the only BAD thing about the experience.
#2--I am known to be a picky eater by all my friends and family. The food is NOT half as bad as the other reviews say it is. I had good breakfast everyday from Ocean Terrace (omelette, fresh fruit, croissant, etc). I had decent lunch everyday from Palms Grill (curry chicken dish was ok, didn't care for the jerk chicken, had a burger one day, fries were good). To be honest, by the time dinner rolled around, I wasn't really hungry because I ate breakfast and lunch. I don't eat the typical American diet and don't normally eat three meals a day unless they're small plates. Dinner reservations at the Pointe and I thought the chicken parmesan dish was decent. It wasn't the best dish I've ever had in life (nor was it supposed to be), but it was pretty decent and I ate all of it. What irks me about these reviews is what do you people expect? You're not in America/Italy,/Greece or wherever your home country is. Don't go to the Caribbean expecting Fogo de Chao. I can't speak for everyone else, but I do not go on these trips for the food. I go for the beach, the beautiful water, not to stuff my face. So in summary, the food is decent and you will not starve nor do you have to find food offsite. One night, they threw a huge BBQ, which I thought was really nice and the food was decent.
#3 Drinks--yes, they have 1 blender and maybe 1-2 servers working so there may be a wait for a drink. However, I didn't have to wait that long and I could see the servers were working their butts off to serve us. Patience is a virtue that I see a lot of people don't have. During our stay, we got all the drinks we wanted without a problem. During our stay, there was only 1 night they ran out of frozen drinks and it was the night of the huge BBQ. This wasn't a big deal to me. So in summary, this is not a major issue and shouldn't deter you from choosing this resort.
#4 Entertainment--most nights there was a live band, which was nice in my opinion. Again, I go to the Caribbean for the beach and relaxation so I'm not looking for a lot of entertainment. I'm just happy to get away from the hustle and bustle of my home city back in the US.
#5 Hotel--the hotel is new so that's a plus. Our king sized bed was a little hard, but this didn't ruin my vacation.
#6 beach--the beach is beautiful...what more can I say. You need to get there early if you want an umbrella, but don't be like some of the selfish folks who claim an umbrella and don't return for hours. We were truly beach bums and were on the beach all day.
#7 staff- all the staff were pretty nice to me. There was only 1 person during our check in who said something that upset us, but other than that, people were nice.

Hotel too big compared to the facility. Buffet too small a lot of waiting. Pool too small too crowded. On the beach impossible to have a chair and umbrella etc.

Site needs refreshing. Staff is slow and not very interested in its guests. Ac went off for a full day in the reception while one elevator out of three didn't work for at least three days. Food quality is ok but cafeteria is dirty and infested by birds flying over your head while eating. Pool ok but would need a bit of a clean up in the bar area. This hotel Doesn't compare to any all inclusive offers in Mexico or Cuba.

Is best resort to stay at, good healthy food, very clean fitness center and lots of friendly people

Very rude and unprofessional staff would never stay here again

The resort itself had a nice view, and pool area and the rooms were nice too. Negatives unfortunately out way the positives. My spouse as well got sick at this resort the day before we left- with that said the worst I have to say was the customer service. Working in management/ customer relations your staff minus two people that we met are miserable. Guests would say please,thank you and happy to be at your resort and your staff would shut that down with no smile or pure attitude. They were more concerned about complaining to one another about not having enough people to help them or something personal while people waited for service- For example- we asked to sit outside for breakfast and so did three other couples behind us .. willing to wait through you being busy and to enjoy the weather and view... and In return we get a rude gesture, teeth being kissed and complaining to the rest of your team as you try to clean tables.I could go through every area but it would be the same. Your people should be happy and happy to see your guests. Smiles are free and they shouldn t be a bother for your staff to express when you have thousands of people spend thousands to visit you. I will give Erika and Roman recognition- they were the ONLY two people in that entire resort that acknowledged, worked hard, looked liked they enjoyed their job and respected your guests- gold star to them with that said I hope you recognize them for this as it is more than deserved. Hope you find a way to improve your service levels- best of luck.

The ocean point sonesta is next door and much more luxurious. You can go to the beach where the planes pass close for landing. Very interesting

Very first visit and am loving it. Staff extremely warm and pleasant. Eager to assist and to answer every question. All needs were adequately addressed.

Excellent location. Rooms on the pool/ocean side were amazing on the 8th floor with great views of the ocean. If you are looking for world class food on this kind of budget it's probably not the place for you. The food was comparable to all inclusive's that cost way more on other islands. The cost was so good that we were able to budget going out into the island for as much as we cared to. Also, I would suggest renting a car. It very easy to navigate this small island. Thanks for the great place to stay Sonesta and the hospitality of your staff! Especially to Mairovy and Beatrix(hope you get to NY soon). You guys were awesome!

My stay at the macho was short,sweet and all together okay. The food wasn't as great the wait staff a tad bit rude, expect for a few for ex, Simone and fevry. My kids really enjoy the kids camp but one worker is really ludicrous! Jeriesha in the camp did a really great job. The intertainment the wasn't nothing to talk about but the few on the team are really great people samuel at the morning activities. And eduardo as well. If we ever wish to go back I hope they are upgraded a bit.

This was the worst resort we have ever been to. The staff are miserable, the drinks are sub par and the view from the standard rooms is disgusting. All standard rooms are at the back of the hotel and face the smelly garbage dumpster and the sewage treatment facility. It is so loud on the balcony that you cant even have a conversation. For what people pay to visit this resort (even for the standard rooms) you should be ashamed!!!! Will never return and would never refer anyone to this resort.

One of the worst trip in 15 years. The hotel is still in renovation. So don't go there be force one year. We stay from the 21 to the 28 of march 2019. We stay at the 6 th floor and the do the renovation of the 7 th floor in the same Time. More

Quiet, safe, great food, friendly service, beautiful view. At the Royal La Parge Beach Resort .

Currently here on a 4day stay& have had to spend 2 of those days in isolation because im waiting on results to be emailed to me (from their airport) ...i understand being safe but find it pretty unfair & a waste of my $ that im so restricted. When i ask nobody seems to know much, all they say is wait for the email. & the # they gave me keeps saying disconnected . I was very excited to visit this island & hotel but this experience so far has left a bad taste in my mouth ..if management sees this, feel free to contact me.

Cons
-Flickering and poor functioning lighting
-food only available at certain times, no included food options after 10pm buffet
- small beach, they wont give chairs after 5pm then take them off the beach as you go to use them after 5pm
- towels not replaced everyday
- poor shower design, water doesn't stay in shower ends up on floor
- disappointing pool
- Dinner reservation/kiosk system poor freezes. Is somehow booked fully but not all restaurants are full.
- inefficient elevators
- not aware of ongoing/incomplete construction
- no balcony on 4th floor, door opens to large unfinished rooftop
-lava rock cooking, good idea, poor in practice
- no room service
-no deadbolt or secondary lock on door
-washroom door didn't lock
-walked into contractors working in our room without any notice.

Pros
-Clean
-nice design
- ac works
- mostly good food, buffet, welcome bbq
-good casino shows/show team
-pool bingo
-good service serving
- nice gym
-good TV channel selection
-excursions
- a short walk from mullet beach(best on island, we went to all of them)
-strip outside of resort nice, will get better over time
-comfortable king size bed
- couch in room was a plus
-mini fridge constantly restocked
- wi-fi everywhere
- outlets with USB ports for charging
-safe

All in all this was sadly the worst resort I've been to, beautiful island but disappointing accomadation.

Beautiful hotel! I really love it. The room is clean, comfortable and well keep. The bed is amazing! I really enjoy my time into the room. From my room balcony I had the view of the Maho beach where you can see the planes arriving to the airport. The food in the restaurants are really good. All in this hotel was outstanding. Also, our check out was very early in the morning, and the restaurant was still close for the breakfast, they wait us in the reception with a bag with some bread, yogurt and fruits.
Service is good, the ladies of the cleaning are really nice and can help with informations about the places near to the hotel.
I really recommend this hotel, I hope I can go back for vacations and not for job as this time.

St Martin Wow !!! 31 degrees all week.
I loved it a lot ..

Very well located Many activities. Excellent care and cleanliness.

Large hotel and resort. Suitable for mass holiday and overeating. Gym poorly equipped. Rooms spacious and clean. Personal willing. The food in the restaurants makes it all-inclusive. In a coffee shop in a coffee shop More

Beach water was ice blue and very clean staff was very grandly rooms was excellent and news and very clean

The rooms are well kept. Maid service very good. Met Jenel at check-in and she was super. During our stay she helped us with a couple of problems. She was an all-star. Food left a lot to be desired and was a big drawback. All the staff (bar tenders, restaurant staff, maids) were super.

I went in February. This hotel was an upgrade during renovations. Staff was very welcoming. Rooms were cleaned. We received a free catamaran excursion which was great customer service as the hotel wasnt 100% up and running. Construction was being completed next door but it did not interfere with us. Some restaurants were not open due to construction on engagements. We typically ate at Azul. The pool food selection lacked. Azul did not change the menu too often. Some breakfast items could have been covered better to keep flies away. Rooftop dining tapas, mot a great selection. Drinks were good.

A fairly commercial resort, nothing special. Surely in a great location with all the facilities one needs. Beautiful pool with a bar inside the water, but the evening buffet food really very low level. To be booked only if with some special offer on the price.

Great hotel, clean, good views, close to entertainment

Food illness possible. Subpar all inclusive. Girlfriend got sick off the food as described in an earlier post from another guest. Service is slow at all restaurants...First all inclusive experience and won't be back. Room had a view of the septic pond and smelled like sewage. Tried to switch rooms and wasted half a day trying to switch when they told me I had to earliet due to the reservation number split up. Lionel at the front desk and the Maho cafe are nice experiences.