It’s an hour before sunset, and I perch on a sofa at a rooftop bar overlooking Maho Bay and the runway beyond. In one hand I hold a gin and tonic, and, in the other, my phone displays FlightRadar24 app’s departure and landing boards for SXM. Between sips, I catch the last flights of the day taking off and landing at one of the world’s most extreme airports. For aviation geeks like me, Sint Maarten is the Holy Grail, and this resort offers an incomparable front-row seat.

Sonesta Ocean Point Resort, a 130-suite, adults-only, all-inclusive property, boasts endless plane-spotting vantage points. At à la carte cliffside restaurant Azul, not only did the backdrop include views of the clear cerulean waters below but also scenes of inter-island Cessnas and Bombardiers whizzing past my table as I enjoyed a morning mimosa. During lunch, as larger commercial flights arrived with happy vacationers, I savored Caribbean pumpkin soup swirled with cream, seared ahi tuna with aioli, and grilled shrimp avocado salad, lingering with another glass of Provençal rosé. With its unique status as half-Dutch and half-French, the island often gets priority access to imports, including French wines you might not get at home.

© Kelly Magyarics

Above Azul, Bluefin Restaurant + Bar serves light bites and cocktails during the day and build-your-own poke bowls at night. Downstairs, Portofino offers alfresco northern Italian dining. Cocktails and some wines are included at all restaurants, and, quite honestly, there is room for more by-the-glass selections. Guests can purchase bottles from the reserve list, though. At Portofino I ordered a bottle of Sancerre for my local seared grouper but only drank half; staff kept it corked and chilled for my next evening at Bluefin.

Dinners by the water are lovely, but since Princess Juliana Airport ceases operations by mid-evening, there’s more plane action
during the day, including at the resort’s four pools. I preferred Edge Pool with its manmade beach and infinity pool blending into the sea; attendants provide drink service to your lounge chair or you can walk to the bar at Azul for your piña colada.

But I came here for the chance to stand directly on Maho Beach and observe aircraft approach from the horizon, scream overhead and land just a few hundred yards away. I stood with a group of enthusiastic aviation fans checking apps to see what was landing next. For several hours I was transfixed as I felt the power of Air France and KLM Airbus A330s, United and American airlines’ Boeing 737s, and various commuter and inter-Caribbean flights, followed by the rush of wake turbulence. I couldn’t resist snapping a selfie in front of the danger sign, where the jet blast from a departing JetBlue Airbus A320 blew me down to the water and I underwent an unintended exfoliation, courtesy of the sand.

At the iconic Sunset Beach Bar on Maho Beach, where a surfboard-turned-chalkboard lists airport arrivals, I attempted the perfect photo. After a few tries to figure out the timing and angle, I finally captured a shot of the Sonesta blurred in the background, an aircraft approaching the runway and a bottle of local SXM beer in my hand — the ultimate souvenir that encapsulates the ethos of this unique section of the island. Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for landing.