Just back from an all-too-brief trip.
A longer report in a few days' time, but a handful of just-in-time items...
1. We stayed at Club O, our third time. The prices have gone up, but it seemed to be the only place on Orient Beach that was near-capacity. We naturists are a gregarious group, and seem happy to pay for the pleasure of the company. Past the yellow umbrellas, Orient Beach was sparsely populated.
2. Part of the emptiness may have been the wind, which was steady at about 20 mph out of the ESE, that is blowing from the bay directly onto the beach. Good news: no no-see-ums, never got "too hot" on the beach, "free" exfoliation. Bad news: choppy surf, and the steady sandblasting made it hard to stay out for more than a few hours at a time. Retreat to the chaises behind our mini-suite-deluxe provided plenty of sun and a respite from the wind.
3. Restaurants in GC were happy for the business. We had three lovely meals at Fish Pot, Il Nettuno, and Tastevin. Reservations were unnecessary. Walk-in anywhere. (Business was thin.)
4. At Village D'Orient, made two pleasant discoveries. One was Planet Orient, a new restaurant just behing Bikini Beach. Neither the setting nor the food was as "fancy" as in GC, but the quality was good and the convenience remarkable. Total cost ran about 2/3 what we paid for "gourmet" meals in GC.
5. The other pleasant discovery was the Halt Fitness Center in Village d'Orient. If a workout is important to you, this is really a fairly well equipped gym (I can send details--PM me) that will accomodate you for 15 euros a session, or 65 euros for the week. There is a discount for some hotels, but not for Club O.
As always, we had a great time in SXM. As is our custom, we keep our trips short so we always leave wanting to come back.
Tim and Barb
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