TRIP REPORT FEB. 9 – 16, 2008
This was our third trip to St. Martin and our first as members of TTOL.
Saturday, Feb 9th – The airport limo picked us up at 3:45 a.m. and we arrived at Pearson International Airport (Toronto) at 4:15 a.m. We boarded our Delta flight at 6:10 a.m. We were supposed to leave at 6:25 a.m. but due to the longest time we have ever seen it take to de-ice a small airplane we did not leave until 7:25 a.m. We had a 9:53 connection in Atlanta, but we didn’t make it. We only missed it by a few minutes. Delta said that they would put us on a flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico and then an American Eagle flight to St. Martin. While waiting to board the first flight I called Club Orient and Thrifty Car Rental to let them know that we would not be in until 10:45 p.m. We left Atlanta at 11:45 a.m. and arrived in San Juan at 4:05 p.m. We had a 5 hour layover in San Juan, plenty of time to grab a bite to eat as we hadn’t had anything other than airline snacks all day. We left San Juan at 9:40 p.m. and arrived in St. Martin at 10:45 p.m. After clearing Immigration, we went to the Thrifty rental counter, the office was called and someone came over immediately to pick us up. Thrifty normally closes at 11:00 p.m., but they were expecting us and they had waited for us. We were very appreciative. We have used Thrifty for several years for business and we are very happy with their service and rates. We left Thrifty at 11:15 p.m. and arrived at Club O at 12:00 midnight. The office was closed, but Security was expecting us. They had our key and they were very helpful about showing us to our mini suite. They allowed us to park beside our unit overnight and move the car to the parking lot in the morning. We loved our mini suite. It was exactly as it was pictured on the Club O website. We were disappointed that we had lost 8 hours of our vacation time, but we were very happy that we hadn’t lost a whole day.
Sunday, Feb 10th – We checked in officially at the office and picked up some wonderful almond croissants from the store at Club O for breakfast. We spent the rest of the day on Orient Beach and had lunch at Baywatch which was excellent as usual (grouper burger, scallops, BBC & Carib, $42.00 including tip). At 5:00 p.m. we drove over to Calmos Cafe in Grand Case to watch the sunset and have dinner, but no tables were available, so we decided to go to Orient Village and check it out. We couldn’t decide on a restaurant, so we picked up a pizza, beer, pop and ice cream at Tap 5 and took it back to Club O.
Monday, Feb 11th - We went for a walk on the beach down to Mount Vernon and back and then had almond croissants for breakfast. We drove to Phillipsburg, did some shopping and had a snack at Les Saveurs de France (excellent chocolate and coffee éclairs). Then more shopping and lunch at Taloula Mango’s (Cuban BBQ pork sandwich, Bonzai chicken skewers, Guavaberry Colada & Presidente, $32.00 incl. tip) once again excellent as it was last year. We went back to Club O and then I bought a bathing suit at Adam and Eve and Mrs. Neeko ordered a bathing suit from Luiz. We had a light dinner in our suite at Club O. We had picked up ham and cheese croissants at Les Saveurs de France on our way out of Phillipsburg.
Tuesday, Feb 12th - We went for our walk to Mt. Vernon and back and then had almond croissants for breakfast. After breakfast we went to the West Indies Mall in Marigot and then had a snack at Sarafina’s (they have terrific desserts). We went to Match for some supplies and bought some Ma Doudou there as gifts for our 2 married daughters. We stopped at Bounty in Grand Case just to check it out and on our next trip we will try their whole barbecued chicken. We then drove back to Club O and had lunch at Pedro’s which was very good (ribs & fries, spicy ribs & fries, Guavaberry Colada and 2 Presidentes, ($38.00 incl. tip). We then picked up Mrs. Neeko’s bathing suit from Luiz. Mrs. Neeko was thrilled with it and it looks like she will be getting another one on our next trip. We then drove back to Marigot and had dinner at Le Galion on the Marina (complementary Planters Punches, French bread, bottle of water, grilled mahi-mahi with passion fruit sauce, veal marsala, profiteroles, $70.00 including tip). The meals and service were excellent. If you like dessert, the profiteroles were superb!
Wednesday, Feb 13th - We went for our walk to Mt. Vernon and back and then had breakfast at Papagayo (western omelette, sausage, scrambled eggs, home fries, toast, 1 orange juice, 1 coffee, $31.00 including tip). The food was very good. We then went to Friar’s Bay, rented chairs & umbrella ($6.00 if you were having lunch at the Friar’s Bay Beach Cafe) and spent a couple of hours on the beach. Lunch was excellent (cheeseburgers, fries, Pina Colada and a Presidente, $35.00 including tip). We then went back to Club O, but it was too windy to go to the beach. We left at 4:45 for Calmos Cafe in Grand Case to watch the sunset and have dinner. At first everything was great. We sat at a table on the beach and enjoyed a drink as the sun went down. It became a little cool and windy and we moved indoors for dinner (Pina Colada, Presidente, bottle of water, grilled mahi mahi , shrimps sate, $68.00 including tip). The food was disappointing and we decided that if we went again it would just be for drinks. Before leaving the restaurant Mrs. Neeko went to the washroom. She thought it was very strange that there was a window right above the toilet. The window was covered with a sheer green curtain. Through the curtain she thought she could see people far off in the kitchen. When she was finished, she turned around and faced the window and she could see something red. She peered more closely and it looked like a man wearing a red t-shirt was standing right in front of the window. She left the washroom and walked around to see what was on the other side of that window. There was a small table there and it looked like the waiters were coming there to pick up their orders from the kitchen. It made her sick to think that every time they picked up an order they had a perfect view of whoever was in the washroom. Mrs Neeko said she will never be able to go to Calmos Cafe again.
Thursday, Feb 14th - We went for our walk to Mt. Vernon and back and once again had almond croissants for breakfast. We took the ferry to Pinel Island ($14.00) and rented chairs and umbrella ($20.00). We had lunch at Karibuni (Presidente, Pina Colada, ribs, swordfish kebab, complementary rum liqueurs, $59.00 including tip). We thought the food was not that good and we would not go there again. We took the ferry back and went back to Club O and spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach. We left for Marigot at 6:00 p.m. as we had a reservation for dinner at La Vie En Rose. This is a very romantic restaurant and the rose petals strewn on the steps leading to the second floor dining room were a nice touch for Valentine’s Day. We had a really nice corner table on the balcony and the food was very good. The service was good too, but a bit slow as the restaurant was packed for Valentine’s Day. A nice touch on leaving was that each lady was given a rose and a postcard. (glass of white wine, screwdriver, filet mignon, red snapper in a champagne sauce with pumpkin risotto, gateau au chocolat fondant, $116.00 including tip). Next time Mrs. Neeko says she will order the crème brule (4 different flavours).
Friday, Feb 15th - We went for our walk to Mt. Vernon and back. We then drove to Cafe Atlantico in Simpson Bay and bought chocolate croissants (excellent) to take back to Club O for later. We then had breakfast at Zee best (croissants, coffee, hot chocolate, $11.00 including tip). The food was as good as Zee Best used to be in Marigot, but we felt this location was not as charming. We then stopped at U.S. Imports in Sandy Ground and at Le Grand Marche and the Food Centre in Cole Bay and bought a few supplies including sandwiches for dinner. We then went back to Club O for Happy Hour at the Perch (the best BBC we had this trip). Lunch was at Baywatch again (Italian meatball hero sandwich, chicken wings, fries, Coors light, Coke, $30.00 including tip). We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach. We had sandwiches and croissants for dinner.
Saturday, Feb 16th - We went for our last walk to Mt. Vernon for this trip and then had our last swim and went back to our suite to pack. Checked out and went to Thrifty to return the car, shuttled to the airport and checked our bags and then took a taxi to Sunset Beach Bar for lunch (2 Presidentes, Pina Colada, grouper fingers, breaded shrimp, $35.00 including tip). The food was very good. We took a taxi back to the airport and left St. Martin at 4:45 p.m. and arrived in Atlanta at 7:55 p.m. It was nice that our bags had been checked right through to Toronto, so we didn’t have to pick them up in Atlanta and re-check them. We left Atlanta at 10:45 p.m. and arrived in Toronto just after midnight. We went through Customs where we were made to declare the chocolate we had purchased in St. Martin. This seemed strange. We called the airport limo and arrived home at 1:15 a.m.
What a great trip! This was our first stay at Club O and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The staff at Club O was very friendly and very efficient. The peace and quiet was wonderful. We weren’t sure if we could go a week without TV or radio, but we really enjoyed it. We are returning for 15 days in December for my 65th birthday and we have reserved a mini suite at Club O. Can’t wait, only 9 months to go!
