This was our 15th trip to SXM (though our first since 2005), but this one had to be a bit different than previous visits.
We firmed up our travel plans in early August. The last weekend of Aug., I had a mishap on my bicycle and fractured my left leg immediately below the knee (at a spot called the tibial plateau). The orthopedist forecasted 8-10 weeks on crutches and outfitted me with a bulky, uncomfortable knee brace…but no cast, thank goodness.
One of my first questions for him was whether this unfortunate accident would endanger my Caribbean trip, which was about 11 weeks away at that point. He replied that if I had planned on doing a lot of active things like golf or tennis, I should reconsider, but if my idea of a good vacation is sitting in a beach chair sipping umbrella drinks, it was probably exactly what I needed. Hey, I like the way this guy thinks!
But it also meant I wouldn’t be able to walk the length of Orient Beach every day and I wouldn’t be strolling Front St. I don’t like to shop (I know, my husband’s a lucky guy), but I truly did miss the morning beach walks. The upside is it forced me to relax a little more than I typically do. Nevertheless, I was able to get from Kakao, the beach bar in front of our hotel, down to Papagayo’s by employing the strategy of walk a little way, stop at a beach bar, walk a little more, stop at another beach bar. A few stops like that and if it hurts, well, I sure wasn’t feeling any pain!
Although this trip was in honor of our 20th anniversary, the economy hasn’t been kind to us, so it was also essential we keep things as inexpensive as possible. We flew on FF miles, with an itinerary that included overnighting in Miami on the way down. We turned this into an advantage because by leaving O’Hare on a Friday evening, we were able to take public transportation to the airport, transportation that doesn’t run on Saturdays. The cost of the hotel in Miami was actually less than what we would have normally paid to park our car in the so-called “economy” parking at O’Hare. We also had time to enjoy a leisurely lunch at Versailles, a Cuban restaurant in Little Havana. Excellent, and definitely worth the stopover.
Because this was a little different trip for me, I’m going to make this a different trip report. Instead of recounting every day and every restaurant, I’ll hit highlights and my overall impressions, especially after not being on the island for 4 years:
My new favorite hotel – Alamanda. We’ve stayed at several places, always on the French side, but most often at L’Hoste on Orient. Because we knew they were undergoing renovations this fall, we didn’t want to take a chance it wouldn’t be complete by the time we traveled, so we booked Alamanda. This turned out to be the perfect choice for this trip. With my reduced mobility, it was nice to have a first floor room (we always book 2nd or 3rd floor at L’Hoste) and we really enjoyed using the pool, something we haven’t done that much in the past. We met lots of friendly folks there, guests and staff alike, and would often spend a couple of hours during breakfast just chatting with our fellow guests before venturing to the beach. We also enjoyed spending time at Kakao, a beach bar we had never spent time at before. Enjoyed great service from bartenders Thibault and Guillaume. And they didn’t seem to mind at all that we brought our own cooler to the beach, perhaps because we supplemented it with many purchases from both the bar and the restaurant.
Most pleasant evening activities – dining, strolling and drinking around the Orient Village. Being right next door at Alamanda, the Village was very convenient. We happened to be on the island when the Beaujolais Nouveau wine was released. Of course, this is a great excuse for a party for the French. We started with a bottle and a cheese/sausage plate at Safari early in the evening and mingled with some of the bartenders and servers we had encountered at other establishments around Orient, enjoying their own after-work drinks. We walked around the Village plaza. We watched some Frenchmen playing boules (French version of bocci ball). We listened to a live band playing in the plaza. We ate a lovely pizza at Le Piment and polished off another bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau. After all that, we still had enough capacity to get an after-dinner drink at the Thai restaurant. The Village is so convenient and has enough variety now that I could even see staying at Alamanda or L’Hoste for the week without needing a car.
Biggest surprise – Island-wide. The traffic roundabouts…couldn’t believe how well these made the traffic flow. We encountered only one traffic jam the whole time. As far as I know, there’s only one roundabout in all of Chicagoland, but I can think of several intersections that could benefit from one. The only bad thing was they changed the “look” of a few intersections and we found ourselves taking the wrong arm a few times until we got familiar.
Biggest thing that made me go “Huh?” – Speaking of traffic circles, what’s with that detour in Cole Bay when you’re going in the direction from Simpson Bay toward Marigot? After doing this detour a couple of times, we realized that if we just kept going straight, we’d still end up in the same place without the turns and the hassles.
Biggest dining surprise – El Rancho del Sol, main road near Orient Bay. We weren’t sure what to expect from this restaurant, but we went here based on the recommendation of the French woman who serves breakfast at Alamanda. I guess I would describe this restaurant as a French interpretation of a southwestern American steakhouse. The food was excellent and portions were huge. We especially enjoyed the escargot here, which featured more snails than any other place we’ve ever ordered escargot. This was our main celebratory dinner of the trip, so we did not hold back on what we ordered and also had a bottle of wine and dessert. The biggest surprise came when the bill was delivered…it was much less than what we were anticipating, and the Euro-dollar exchange rate was 1:1.2. I wouldn’t hesitate to go here again.
Biggest dining bargain – Sky’s the Limit Lolo. Of course, it’s no surprise that a lolo is cheap, cheap, cheap, but we had obscene amounts of food, along with several extra side dishes and a couple of drinks each for a grand total of $32. Euro-dollar exchange was 1:1.
Best Caribbean Creole-style meal – Rosemary’s at the Marigot waterfront. Delicious homemade food and Rosemary treats us like long-lost family. She told us the economy led to a painfully slow year, but her place seemed to be the busiest of all the waterfront spots. I wish her a better 2010 because we feel she and her food are true island treasures.
Best Caribbean “other” meal – Freedom Fighters Ital Shack, Philipsburg. Although we are not vegans or vegetarians, a stop at this Rastafarian restaurant always makes us feel just a little healthier. Much of the food served is grown on the hill behind the restaurant, and I believe it’s organic as well. They also make their own “sodas” and to me, the lime is not to be missed.
Biggest heart-warming aspect of SXM that makes us want to keep returning – Even with our 4-year absence, a number of people around the island recognized us. The first time we walked into the Perch, Willie looked up at us, gasped and said, “Where have you been?!”
Biggest disappointment, Dutch side – What Sunset Bar & Grill has become. I used to say my vacation hadn’t begun till I was sitting at Sunset Beach Bar. I remember when SSBB was nothing but the concrete 8-sided bar with a small wooden deck. As it enlarged throughout the years, it lost some of its charm, but now it’s become just a generic, sprawling place. We ordered some chicken wings as a snack to go with our second round of drinks at the bar. After 50 minutes, they still hadn’t arrived. We canceled the order and left. From now on, we’ll do our plane watching from the Driftwood at the other end of the beach.
Biggest disappointment, French side – What Papagayos has become. It no longer has a Caribbean beach bar feel. Some years ago, they started giving it a “salon” look – now that look has completed and it looks like Papagayos wants to be in South Beach. The good news is the Perch still has that friendly beach bar atmosphere. But I’ll say that in general, I felt Club O has changed a lot since our last visit. Some of the staffers we chatted with that we’ve known for over a decade confirmed they felt the same way. As it got toward Happy Hour at Papagayos, I noticed a lot of outfits/body jewelry on both men and women seemed like they were designed to be attention-getting toward certain body parts. I’m not judging, I’m just saying that I went to a nude beach and felt underdressed. It seems like Club O has lost the comfortable “come as you are” atmosphere I always liked about it.
Biggest disappointment, island-side – In general, I noticed the island looking less “Caribbean” than it used to. Restaurants and bars have lost the brightly colored and pastel décor I think of when I think of the Caribbean. Everything is leaning more toward the trendy, all-white look with a splash of blue and woven dark brown furniture with brushed chrome accents. Again, great in South Beach, but lacking that funky-yet-lovable Caribbean feel.
Biggest shock, island-wide – All the construction around Cupecoy. Until the economy really picks up, I can see a lot of that real estate being empty for quite some time to come.
Biggest disappointment of the whole trip – That ten days went by so quickly and we had to get back on a plane and come home when it seemed like we just got there. I think we both realized how much we had missed SXM and definitely want to go back much sooner than in another four years.
One of my coworkers recently returned from his first trip to the island. He and his wife are now hooked and are already starting to plan their next trip. They stayed at the Royal Palm, trading from their timeshare in Hawaii. They don’t want to go back to Hawaii now that they’ve discovered SXM.
There’s just something about that island!
