TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin El Zafiro

Checked out El Zafiro on White Sands road. Go past Sunset Beach bar to the left along the airport fence for a few blocks. Similar to Karackter as far as bar /food and free beach chairs. Another nice alternative to the zoo at the end of the runway.

link doesn't work

Yup ... should have checked it first myself .. looks like they need a domain

Facebook page looks very interesting and I must admit my ignorance. I thought it was a just a place for food and drinks but in addition it is a really nice looking small boutique like place to stay. Also has beach tennis...

For the FB crowd:

El Zafiro

Can you bring your own cooler and snacks? TY

I would not recommend it - most places that provide chairs and umbrellas along with the purchase of food/drink don't appreciate folks bringing their own. Up to you, though, if you want to try and see if they say anything. If you have a medical condition that requires it, that's a little different. (Like, for example, if you need a certain type of beverage like Ensure or another dietary supplement, I'm sure they would be ok with that.)

don't know .. we do sometimes bring a small cooler when stopping at Karackter and don't get a hassle. Of course we always order "something" as well

Surprised you bring stuff to Karakter. I brought a bottle of water (only) to Karakter one time and they gave me grief over it, so since then, I haven't brought anything there.

Does anyone know their rates? I did email, but no answer as yet, and with the website not working....? Thanks!

Wow. I've seen entire groups of (very rude) people there with coolers filled with beer and mixed drinks, using the free chairs and ordering nothing. Perhaps it's since that experience that they started cracking down. Sadly, we don't enjoy Karakter as much since they got the new chairs and jammed so many of them in their small area.

Georgia,

Back in the time when Jorritt still owned and ran the place we observed an adult family of six who came in and sat beside us with a big cooler in tow. The parents ordered two mixed drinks from the server while their four adult kids drank beers from the cooler.

Jorritt saw it and was clearly steamed but far too polite to say anything. A little after noon they started making plans to leave and go to SSB&G for lunch. An hour later Jorritt came over to us and asked where the group next to us had gone since they'd left their towels, cooler and various other things on the chairs, thus marking them as 'taken' until they returned.

We rather sheepishly told him we thought they might have gone to SSB&G for lunch and plane watching, at which point he muttered a few words (mostly under his breath but we got the gist....) and he picked up all their left behind items and took them to the bar to stow them for the return of the family, and straightened up their former chairs for the next comers.

We wanted to be nosy and stay around to see the outcome as the family returned but after an hour or so, we had enough sun so we left. I imagine, gentleman that he generally was, Jorritt kept his cool with them but I wouldn't have blamed him if he didn't.

He once told us we were welcome to bring a small cooler with our own NA beer and frozen water bottle but he also knew we started the day with smoothies and progressed through snacks, lunch and drinks for most of every day we spent there and rarely left with a check under a hundred dollars a day. And he didn't carry an NA beer, at least not at that time.

Once Jorritt and his wife left and Monique and a few others moved on, we did, too. The place just wasn't the same......too many chairs in the same amount of space; music too loud and for us, the classy ambiance of the place was lost with Jorritt and his wife's departure. We haven't been back in years.......and if it's a Simpson Bay kind of day, we're more inclined to do the Boon or ElZafiro.

We really do enjoy our quiet days at ElZafiro. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Pat, I agree with everything you said! We've yet to be Boonies for a Day, but will have that on the loose plan for this trip, as well as a day or two at El Zafiro. Simpson Bay Beach is really gorgeous, and we always spend more than one day there during our trip.

Of the two, I'm thinking EZBeach will be more to your liking but the menu at the Boon is more extensive and their lobster salad plate (if they offer it) is absolutely to die for. Try it but just don't expect Dreams service and the real good news is the beach at either is much nicer than Dreams.

Pat, you are so right! (as usual). The very first difference after Jorritt left was the music. I miss his music collection so much. On your advice we tried out being "Boonies for a Day" instead a few years ago, and loved it. It became our new "go-to" place for Simpson Bay. I am looking forward to a day at El Zafiro this trip (early December). And REALLY looking forward to a return trip to SXM after missing last year!

Follow up to our stay .. Spent one full day at El Zafiro beach and had a full lunch and a day of plane watching from a different perspective. It was one of our best beach days.
Had breakfast there on travel day (very good) on Saturday and it was pleasant once again. Parking is good there as well. Karackter is still fine ( especially on Sunday) but EZ is a nice option as well.