I normally don’t post but with present conditions I know people are wanting as much information as possible about the Island. We have been visiting the Island since 2011 and normally stay in Orient Village area which we love. However, this trip we decided to stay at El Zafiro on Simpson Bay. We had visited El Zafiro in January before the storm so we wanted to give it a try. We absolutely LOVED it!! It was perfect for us because we love small personable boutique type hotels. The staff treats you like family. They are constantly catering to their guest. We had viewed pics of the sand they took in after the storm and it was unbelievable the job that they did in restoring the place. The rooms are remarkably clean. Breakfast is included in your stay and they do serve both lunch and dinner. Dinner is set up for a fine beachside dining experience. My husband and I both enjoyed the Steak Creole, we are Cajuns and the sauce was very comparable to New Orleans style Creole. I had the seafood Pasta one night, which was also very good, and they prepared a grilled steak for husband at his request that was excellent.
We spent several days on Orient. We sat in front of the Club Orient Property. The beach was beautiful as always and the Perch Lite chair guys raked the seaweed each morning we were there. Everything is well managed there. It basically felt like Club O was still open the way things were done. The person renting the chairs sat behind us all day making sure everything was running smoothly, which felt somewhat like the old security. The Perch Lite had the best frozen drinks and their Ribs were out of this world!!
Sun Beach Clubber constructed a cool little bar the day we arrived so we went there each day for Rose and it felt very much like the old (prior to the new buildings) Clubber was back! The young man attending Sun Beach was so welcoming and friendly (of course, I’m terrible with names!). He had been working several years at Calmos prior to the storm and is strongly anticipating them to begin rebuild at the end of Hurricane season. He was renting chairs and offering a limited sandwich and salad lunch to the chair rentals if they ordered before a certain time. He was having the lunches brought in. We did not eat however we loved the ambiance of Sun Beach - the Rose, music and company was excellent. We stopped by Chez Leandra’s several times for a meal. The Lobster(probably the best I’ve had on St. Martin ever) and Grilled Shrimp were my favorites but the Red Snapper was very fresh as well. I’m a big brown rice fan and they had the best Also, very nice people!! Also LeString had a container style place open, renting chairs and I heard they BBQ on Sundays! Pedro’s and Water Sports also had chairs for rent!
The only negative thing about Orient Beach is the facilities. I felt they were not even useable. I don’t like mentioning negative because of their situation but I feel some people may have medical issues that feel they must have available facilities and in my opinion there are none available there.
We were also able to visit Happy Bay which really hasn’t changed except for the lack of shade trees. It is still a hidden gem though! Danny was there repairing his bar but not offering any food or drink that particular day. We attempted to visit Grand Case and had a bad experience with Rainbow, so we left. We caught the sunset at CupeCoy Beach a couple of evenings. Danny has built a cool little beach bar and is serving what he can! Such a nice man, I was glad to finally meet him! A few other first for us this trip was The Dinghy Dock Bar, The Hole in the Wall, The Turtle, Snoopy’s, Buccaneers – all a great time.
We had one of the best trips we’ve had to St. Martin. Experienced a few new things and enjoyed the peacefulness. We highly suggest visiting the Island!!
Edit: Two things I forgot to say - we used shop and drop and they were there waiting when we arrived! Super friendly, perfect timing and everything we ordered! Also we don’t rent a car. We have been using Niran Laurent as our taxi driver for years and we know we can always trust him to take care of us. Please let me know if you are looking for a driver - I will PM his contact!
Last edited by islalover28; 05/21/2018 09:23 PM.
.
