Here is our trip report from our recent stay.

We flew Westjet from Toronto to St. Maarten on March 8th. Left a few minutes late but arrived 15 minutes early. A smooth flight. So nice to fly direct as the past few times we have flown from Buffalo via Charlotte on US Airways. Return flight was with Westjet on March 29th. Left 25 minutes late as bags needed to be removed for 2 persons who did not board the plane. Arrived in Toronto 8 minutes late. Another smooth flight. Walked right up to customs and through in about 3 minutes. So nice not to have to navigate US Customs and wait a couple of hours for a connecting flight from Charlotte to Buffalo.

We used a local Limo company to get us to & from Pearson. City Car (www.callcitycar.com, [email]bookmylimo@citycarlimo.com).[/email] Very good service.

Off to O’Paradis Cottages (www.oparadis-sxm.com) in Orient Beach. Bruno Lemoine, who has Le Cottage (www.restaurantlecottage.com) in Grand Case, has a villa, 2 small bungalows and 2 large bungalows to rent. Stayed in one of the small bungalows and moved part way through the holiday to one of the large bungalows. Nothing wrong with the small bungalow; we just wanted a bit more space. There is a pool with the bungalows which we enjoyed lounging around after a day at the beach. We enjoyed chatting and sharing drinks with the other guests, most who spent their time at Club O. Bruno and Geraldine are wonderful hosts who go out of their way to accommodate any requests. Thank you Bruno for the use of the BBQ and the iron and ironing board.

Rented our car from Lesley Bruce with Kenny’s Car Rental (contact Lesley at [email]bruce@sintmaarten.net).[/email] For our 20+ visits to the island, we have always used Lesley.

The weather for our 3 weeks was great. Lots of sun and fairly clear skies. Little rain and what we had was at night. Clouds and rain rolled in on just 2 days while on the beach. One day we had about 20 minutes of rain so we were off to Papagayo’s for a morning cocktail. The skies cleared and we were back to the beach in less than an hour. Mostly, the winds weren’t too bad. Only a couple of days were the winds strong enough to lift the sand.

Our son visited us for 1 week. It was his 3rd time to the island. Previously, he had stayed with us but this time he rented from La Plantation.

All our days were spent on the beach at Orient except for the day we dropped off our son at the airport when he left.

On our first day, we had chairs at Palm Beach (Koco & Marina’s Place). We had friends from home on the island at the same time and it was their last day. The 4 of us had lunch there. A fine lunch, good food and service. Later during our stay, the 2 of us went for 3 more lunches at Palm Beach. Again, fabulous food and great service. Over our 4 lunches, we enjoyed the Domi Burger, Beef Carpaccio, Mussels, Exotic Lobster Salad, Grouper, Shrimps in curry sauce, Duck salad with foie gras and once we shared the sampler dessert platter.

Other than the first day, all our time was spent on the beach at Club Orient. Lunch was either on the beach under our umbrella, Palm Beach, Orange Fever or Aloha. We had lunch at Papagayo’s once. All were wonderful but our favourite place is Palm Beach followed by Orange Fever. Aloha was a bit disappointing. Food is good (Duck Breast Salad is wonderful) but the service was not what we remember from the previous March (in July, they were closed when we were there). Also, they no longer leave the bottle of rum on the table at the end of the meal. Palm Beach does and it is a nice way to finish a lunch while enjoying looking at the crystal clear blue waters.

We ate in a few times barbequing beef, rack of lamb or sausage. Mostly, dinners out were in Grand Case. Four times we ate in the village.

Le Cottage (Grand Case) – 3 dinners. Absolutely, the best. Twice were during Mardi Gras nights (Tuesday) where we sat at the front and watched the crowds and samba band. A fun time as lots of our friends dropped by to say hi. Food was amazing, lobster tasting menu, rack of lamb, sashimi plate appetizer plates and of course the caramel soufflé. All were to die for. Bruno, Isabel and staff go out of their way to make your evening truly memorable.

Piazza Pascale ( Grand Case) – 3 dinners. A fabulous place for food and another one of our favorites. Located down a short alleyway not far from Le Cottage, the food and service was wonderful. Donna is a great hostess and we enjoyed our chats with her and Pascal. Be sure to eat upstairs to get a nice breeze and to have a bit of a view of Anguilla. Everything we ate was delicious. Still offering 1 Euro to 1 US when paying cash. Some of our favourite dishes were Veal Milanese, Koboi Fish with Squid Ink Risotto, Scampi with Linguine, Pistacchio encrusted Grouper. We also enjoyed their version of bruschetta.

Le Piment/Orient Village – We ate there 3 times. Usually have pizza but they have expanded their specials to include a variety of fish, pasta and beef dishes. Really good food and great service. Twice we ate there on Sunday nights and really enjoyed the live music in the courtyard. As usual, the pizza is delicious. Some of the specials we enjoyed were sautéed Foie Gras Salad, Lamb done 2 ways, Seafood Risotto and Breast of Duck.

Le Soleil (Grand Case) – A new find. It has been around a while but has new ownership. Our friends Susie and Russ recommended it to us and we were not disappointed. The gentleman, one of the owners, who waited on us, was a delight. He spends ½ a year in Thailand and (we believe) has roots in Alsace France. A lot of the menu is influenced by the food and wines from Alsace. We had a lot of fun chatting with him during our 3 visits. Be sure to try the Alsace Riesling, it is clear and crisp. Our favourite dishes were seared Tuna, Shrimp in puff pastry, seafood a la plancha, as well as more traditional Alsace meals of Chicken Cordon bleu with Spaetzle and the Alsace tasting menu.

Other places we visited were:

Ti Bouchon (Petit Cul de Sac) – The food was fine and Mo Mo is a wonderful and entertaining host. We found their prices on the high side for the quality of the meal. The Escargot in puff pastry, the Calamari, the White Fish Special and the Mussels with homemade fries were good. The Seafood dish done bouillabaisse style was a disappointment; fish dry, too much rice and little sauce. We should have sent it back.

Le Shore (Grand Case) – A wonderful place overlooking the water with a beautiful view of Anguilla. Another favourite of ours. Only managed to make it here once and we were not disappointed. Will try to visit more often during our July visit. Ate here with our son and were entertained by a gentleman strumming a guitar and singing. A favourite of ours is the beef carpaccio with homemade fries; outstanding. We enjoyed the fettuccini with prawns, the risotto and fish stew in lobster sauce.

Le Cadre/Orient Village – Always our first night dinner in Orient Village. Great food in a French atmosphere.

O’Plongeoir/Margot – We ate once here with our friends Linda and Martin. Enjoyed the Tuna Asian style and the Fish, Shrimp and Mussels done en papiotte.

Grocery shopping was mostly at the US SuperMarket in Hope Estates. Their location in Grand Case is now closed. We shopped a few times at Le Chappelle in Orient Village. This is new and is located at the back of the courtyard not far from Le Cadre. A wide selection of items and much larger than the Tap 5 which remains open and carries a larger selection of pastries and sandwiches/salads than they did last summer.

A great vacation and we are already counting the days to our next visit in July and more happy hours at the Perch.