TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Five nights in St. Maarten

To recap our recent trip.....January 20 through January 25.........

Wednesday was 'going home' day and as is so often said, "you can't come back if you haven't left" so this was the day......

We had great flights, JB from JFK round trip with good seats in both directions. We paid for the roomier seats and were very happy we did - early boarding and early off the planes on both ends along with pretty much guaranteed space in the overheads. The fact that our third seat was unsold on the trip home just made everything better. And the Global Entry made returning a piece of cake, particularly since we arrived early and didn't have to wait for luggage. Our limo was there and we were on our way in no time, but the only downside was we were dumped into the height of rush hour commuter traffic. But we made it and were back in CT before seven o'clock so it all ended well. But one thing for sure, John wouldn't be chillin' on our porch last night.

We experienced incredibly beautiful weather the entire short time we were there - I might even call it PERFECT!! Sunshine and occasional gentle breezes and while I know there were rain showers a couple of evenings they were late enough that we were already in for the night or early enough that we weren't up to experience them. Right now the island is a beautiful green virtually everywhere and the flowers are in full brilliant colors, showing the island to its best advantages. And the grass on the golf cart is brilliant and being widely played.

As always, excellent service from ShopndropSXM and Kenny's Car Rental - thank you Jeannie and Lesley for your normal great service and Lesley, for your patience about us being unable to contact you at the end - next time we'll go back to the way we always do it.

We stayed in a lovely studio unit at the Towers with the view we adore but we sure did miss our larger timeshare units. The studio was more than adequate for a short stay and certainly much larger and better equipped than many hotel rooms we've had in some of our travels, and once we acclimated to the smaller space it was fine. We were happy to see so many old staff friends still there and doing well and surprised by a few changes, too.

And the reason for this very short trip - our friend was totally surprised and I could even say he was shocked to see us on his doorstep when he arrived. Hugs and kisses and even tears in his eyes and we were off, but not without the plan to meet them the following evening for dinner. I was so very glad we chose to do this - life can be short and full of surprises, which brings us to the surprise of our daughter and SIL popping in to see us Friday night. We had no clue they were on the island and assumed they were back in CT where we thought we had left them. It truly was a great surprise for us. Now, in honesty, they were taking a mini break for Ken's birthday and the timing just worked for their surprise for us, but it was very special. So many families don't spend fun times together and I can't thank my kids enough for our surprise.

We didn't do much beyond the intended purpose of the trip - that of surprising our very dear friend. We did no meeting up with island friends, no casino stops after dinner, no boat trips, no shopping excursions, no trips into Pberg or checking out the island, no GC gourmet dinners, and only a couple of beach days but we thoroughly enjoyed our time every moment of our brief stay. Our trusty little Corolla only travelled as far as The Royal Palm in one direction and Porto Cupecoy and I doubt we put fifty miles on it but I wouldn't be without a car there, no how, no way. The point being, we chose not to travel but had we chosen differently we could have.

We had excellent meals at SBYC - our only breakfast out and our one day of checking out the big yachts - and lunches at Barcode, in our room one pool day, at Rosie's on Mullet, and at El Zafiro our other full beach day, and even a hot dog at our pool bar on our other pool afternoon.. Someone told me a while back they were very good and surprisingly, they really were - and I'm generally not much of a hot dog eater. We enjoyed drinks at Buccaneer Beach Bar among other places and had enjoyable dinners at Boca Marina, FIG, Skipjacks and our last night on the island we had a light pizza dinner at Fat Tony's which was an excellent very tasty thin crust pizza; our Front Desk staff totally enjoyed the latter half of which we couldn't eat. No gourmet meals and we didn't wander too far from home for anything them but we did enjoy!!

And seeing the whales, even if from afar, was an absolute joy to behold and beyond the planned surprises of our trip, this was the BEST!!

All things in consideration it was a short but great stay, good weather, calm seas and warm breezes and great times all around. And now we look forward to Easter and Carnival St. Maarten style.

Thanks for taking us along again. Glad all went well.

Thanks for the report! Glad it was a good trip!

Pat, so glad you had a great time. I think with all the rain that the island experienced in November, things could only be very green! Ted even mentioned how green the golf course was, too. Almost made him want to play on it . . .NOT! But, it was remarkably green.

Didn't do FIG in November, just last March. How was it? May add it to the list for the upcoming soiree!

Glad you're home safe and sound. Let the countdown begin for the next trip.

Cheryl,

This was a very short trip so believe me, the countdown has already begun and the trip counter is set for April.

Re the golf course - We were amazed at the huge numbers of people playing and then decided, most of them must be visitors from the northern most parts of the country or even Canada: the snow-belt where the ground is frozen solid and covered with white stuff. We had a discussion with someone who plays every day while down there regarding the whole Mullet situation and we all agree, the state of Mullet Golf Course is sad, as it is a very well designed and laid out course. We were chatting with someone we met this trip who is reasonably well connected on the island who suggested they may finally be starting something this year so perhaps first item on the agenda could be the course? Merely a rumor? Probably but One could only hope....

Re FIG - Food is Good - it's very decent food and service in a reasonably nice setting. It's not GC or white glove gourmet but it's still good and reasonably priced and very convenient for places in that area.

You must be getting very close since we saw regatta signs all over the place. Enjoy.....

Sounds great Pat. Good things often come in small packages, and your trip though short packaged was definitely a good thing for you and your surprised friend! April will be here before you know it!

I played the golf course one time about 10 or 12 years ago. I agree with Pat that the layout is great and there is so much possibility. What I couldn't believe was how much they charged to play what amounts to a giant sand trap with a few grassy patches. I want to say they charged me $125 which included a pieced together set of clubs. Some of the holes could be so beautiful. If it improved I would take another chance at it. Until then, nah.

That being said, I am glad you had a great, but short trip Pat. It was full of surprises. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Rick,
Believe it or not, there was a time when it was a beautiful and very well maintained course but sadly, since the hurricane destroyed Mullet Resort and the watering system, this is what is left. They drive a water truck through the course in dry spells but it doesn't do much good. We have free golf privileges but DH doesn't bother anymore. But at the same time, many do. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Cupecoy sunsets











Sunrise at the Towers


Images from a perfect Mullet day

Carol,

TY for posting these.

The first photo blows my mind in that we could see Saba, Statia, St. Kitts and Nevis all in one shot from where we were on Cupecoy, and I understand from others on the island, if we had been just a little farther towards Simpson Bay or beyond, we could have also seen St. Bart's in the same vista. I've never seen them so clearly all at one time, and this was also the afternoon we saw the whales.

And then, a few days later when we were at Mullet you wouldn't have believed Saba existed out there. Go figger...... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

No problem. They are nice pictures.

Again, for those who want to post images in threads, if you reduce the size of the pictures, you can upload them here to the SXM picture gallery, which is what I did here, and then copy the location of the picture to use the image tag in a post.

Great pictures! We have to wait our turn till December. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for all your shares Miss Pat...simply lovely <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />