Why Sint Maarten Now: Rediscovering One of the Caribbean’s Original Luxury Destinations

As part of AG&T’s ongoing thought leadership series on Caribbean hospitality and real estate, I recently sat down with Harrison Drouin-Reed, owner of Sotheby’s International Realty in St. Martin, for a conversation about the remarkable evolution of one of the Caribbean’s most resilient and dynamic destinations.

Our discussion was inspired by a simple question:

Why Sint Maarten now?

The answer begins not with today’s luxury developments, but with the island’s remarkable history.

Long before St. Barth became synonymous with ultra-luxury travel, Sint Maarten and neighboring Saint Martin had already established themselves as one of the Caribbean’s premier international resort destinations. During the 1950s and 1960s, the island attracted celebrities, entrepreneurs, European aristocracy, and sophisticated travelers seeking an elegant yet relaxed Caribbean experience. Boutique beachfront hotels, fine dining with French influence, a cosmopolitan atmosphere, and the island’s unique Dutch-French culture created a destination unlike anywhere else in the region.

Its strategic location, international airport, duty-free shopping, and welcoming business environment helped transform Sint Maarten into one of the Caribbean’s earliest tourism success stories.

The island became known as “The Friendly Island,” not only because of its people, but because it offered something rare for its time: world-class hospitality with an international character.

During the 1970s and 1980s, however, the market began to evolve.

As tourism expanded across the Caribbean, Sint Maarten embraced large-scale resort development and became one of the region’s pioneers in the timeshare industry. Timeshares dramatically increased visitor arrivals and broadened tourism’s economic impact, helping establish the island as one of the busiest destinations in the northeastern Caribbean. At the same time, this success shifted much of the market toward volume tourism, while destinations such as St. Barth increasingly focused on exclusivity, limited supply, and ultra-luxury experiences.

Neither strategy was inherently right or wrong—they simply reflected different stages in the evolution of Caribbean tourism.

Today, the story is coming full circle.

Following the rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Irma, a new generation of investment is reshaping Sint Maarten’s hospitality landscape. Developers are once again focusing on boutique luxury hotels, branded residences, wellness experiences, exceptional culinary offerings, and thoughtfully planned mixed-use communities designed for affluent international buyers and travelers.

Projects such as Setai Sint Maarten at Indigo Bay represent this new chapter, combining world-class architecture, luxury hospitality, branded residential living, and curated lifestyle experiences that reconnect the island with its historic position at the upper end of the Caribbean market. Rather than competing on volume, Sint Maarten is increasingly competing on quality, authenticity, and experience.

One of the most interesting observations from my conversation with Harrison was that today’s luxury renaissance is not creating something entirely new.

In many respects, it is rediscovering what made Sint Maarten special from the very beginning.

Luxury has always been part of the island’s DNA.

What has changed is the sophistication of today’s traveler. Modern buyers seek more than beautiful beaches. They value wellness, sustainability, privacy, exceptional service, branded residences, fine dining, cultural authenticity, and memorable experiences. The new generation of developments reflects these changing expectations while building upon the island’s rich hospitality heritage.

As Chairman of AG&T, I find this particularly exciting.

Over the past several years, our firm has had the opportunity to participate in some of the island’s most significant hospitality and residential projects, witnessing firsthand how institutional capital is once again recognizing Sint Maarten as one of the Caribbean’s most compelling luxury investment destinations.

The island’s renaissance is not simply about rebuilding after Hurricane Irma.

It is about reclaiming its place among the Caribbean’s premier luxury destinations—while creating an even stronger foundation for the future.

I invite you to watch my conversation with Harrison Drouin-Reed as we explore Sint Maarten’s fascinating history, its evolving luxury market, and why we believe the island is entering one of the most exciting chapters in its hospitality story.