TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Trip report june 16-23.

Hi everyone. As some of you know this was our 4th trip to sxm and orient beach. We went in 2006, got engaged there in 2007 and honeymooned there in 2008. Then life got in the way and we did not make it back until this year, our 10th wedding anniversary. The hurricane that so destoyed our wonderful island could not, would not deter us. So here goes; We arrived on sat June 16th on Spirit Airlines from myrtle beach, through Ft Lauderdale. We were met by our driver Augustine, recommended by our relator, Magali Bartho. She was awesome. We stopped and grabbed some traveler Carib and headed to OB and our Villa, Joie De Vie. A 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath with provate pool. Hunger set in so we hot Coda Bar in the village. It was amazing. I got pretty drunk throughout the day and dont remember a lot ofnthe evening. Lol

Sun, Mon, and Tues were all spent at beach of Club O and Pedro's. The pedro chairs were much more comfortable to us. We bought our alcohol at perch lite each day. We ate lunch everyday on the beach at Chez Leandra. It was,beyond phenomenal with fresh red snapper, lobster, conch, etc. Sand was warm, as was the water. The beach front showed a lot of damage still bit alot of signs of rebuilding.

Wed we spent the day off the beach in Phillipsburg buying anniversary diamonds for the Mrs, drinking mixed drinks at Grand Jewelers. Mickey Punjabi is a great salesman and not a bad bartender. Lol. They paid for our party of 6 at dinner too which was amazing. Taxi back to OB and the villa for cocktails and the pool.

Thurs and Friday were again spent on the Club O side of the beach. We again drank , ate and spent our money trying to help the locals as much as we could. The beach the final days was actually nasty. Strong surf brought a beach full of seaweed that covered the sand and the water the length of the beach. I think the sea wall that protected OB was hurt alot from Hurricane,and the surf does the seaweed deal. Club O was not affected as much though so you could still enjoy water.

We are every night in the village. We ate at SAO, Le Piment, Le Laviole Blanche, Coda Bar and down the road at Le Plantation. I will say that everyplace was stunning and the food amazing. You name it from French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, pizza, seafood, amazing deserts. The staff from all,the places were fun and appreciated you being there. They need us.

The island has a lot of damage still. Its hard to look at some of it but you can't overt your eyes even when you try. When you hear the stories of,survival and acts of bravery were astonishing. We didn't hear much about SXM from news in the states but I came in optimistic. Then in speaking to the people I learned of hundreds of deaths. It was heart breaking and warning at how inviting the people were. Again, they need us there. Not alot of folks selling on the,beach except for cruise days , and thats light too. They all thanked us profusely.

We had no issues with broken glass in water or on beach. We had no problems with crime or anything like that. I highly recommend Magali Bartho if you are looking to rent a house. Also, Augustine was amazing. Johnny on the spot everytime we used her to drive us. She has a nice new van that held my 6 people and our luggage. Plus its neat and clean., i also recommend Mickey at Grand jewelers.

We will miss this place that is so important to us. The week was mixed with many emotions and feelings. But we know we love it there and we will return. Thank you all for reading. Have a great summer and enjoy whatever you do. Hopefully it will include SXM.

I did forget to mention that on the way back our spirit flight was delayed 8 hours then cancelled due to a sick flight attendant. They then flew in a rescue plane at 1am which got us back to the states at 4 am. Then spirit could not get me back to Myrtle Beach so I had to drop a,grand on 2 one way tickets on American. That was the shittest part of trip. 25 hours in airplanes or airports to get home

Thanks for the report. When there is a hiccup on a very limited service airline, it can create all kinds of problems.

How odd, regarding Orient and seaweed! We were there Saturday morning the 23rd, stayed for a bit and it was way too windy, so we left. No seaweed on the beach as of when we left, although we didn't go in the water, so perhaps it was there in the water and I just didn't see it. We were there one other day--maybe Monday the 18th??--and it was BEAUTIFUL that day. We went in the water and it was gorgeous that day, with no wind, and no drop off going into the water. On the 23rd, I noticed there was a HUGE cliff going into the water, so I didn't even try to go in the water. We had a couple of days of seaweed at Beachside, but they cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and the beach was clean yesterday.

Regarding Spirit, that just really takes the cake, that you miss the connection on Spirit and then they STILL won't get you to your home airport?? Ridiculous!!

we were there 6/13-6/23 .. spent most of our days at club O . it was one of the best vacation we had in St Marteen since 1984... the people were beyond amazing, the weather was fabulous, the water clean and warm. we did not experience any seaweed in the area we were sitting ...but there was a lot of seaweed further north (?) past Pedro's, in fact we could see it as as we landed on Wednesday the 13th. departure at airport was just such as swift as arrival. BUT, I did not buy any alcohol or cigarettes, thinking I would get them at the airport. BEWARE the pickings are very slim. VERY SLIM..so i would suggest to purchase the duty free before you leave. We could not believe the progress the Island has made in just 9 months !!! if anyone is thinking of going ..GET ON THE PLANE AND GO !!
you will be pleasantly surprised

we were there 6/13-6/23 .. spent most of our days at club O . it was one of the best vacation we had in St Marteen since 1984... the people were beyond amazing, the weather was fabulous, the water clean and warm. we did not experience any seaweed in the area we were sitting ...but there was a lot of seaweed further north (?) past Pedro's, in fact we could see it as as we landed on Wednesday the 13th. departure at airport was just such as swift as arrival. BUT, I did not buy any alcohol or cigarettes, thinking I would get them at the airport. BEWARE the pickings are very slim. VERY SLIM..so i would suggest to purchase the duty free before you leave. We could not believe the progress the Island has made in just 9 months !!! if anyone is thinking of going ..GET ON THE PLANE AND GO !!
you will be pleasantly surprised

Since your delay was over 4 hours and was an international itinerary you are entitled to compensation from the faulting airline. I hope you pursue it. Lots of info you can Google search about it.

Already in the works

Good luck

I really don't understand why you had to buy tickets to get you the rest of the way home from FLL. That is just NOT acceptable. Did Spirit say they would reimburse you the cost of your ticket on AA?? If I had no other choice, for that kind of money, I think I would have rented a car..

We had spent several good days at the Club O end of Orient last week (though we did get rained on one day). The seaweed came in strong only yesterday (Monday) at that end. We could smell it from the parking lot. Most of it was still in the water; it was the most I’ve ever seen there. There were bits of it beginning to wash up on the Club O beach, but it was impossible to swim in the water. I imagine the Club O guys had their work cut out for them later in the day or this morning. Up until then, the Club O Beach was immaculate.

OK, I wasn't sure why we didn't see the seaweed on Saturday, if it was there.

Very obvious why every one hates Spirit. What a shame, hope you get compensated. I would fight them to the end! Glad you had a great vacation. Happy Anniversary.

Great trip report, thanks!

Excellent trip report, thanks !! Happy Anniversary.

Spirit told me they have 24 hours to get you back to your original departure city. I could not wait 24 hours due to work. So I bought the AA tickets on my own and had to swallow that loss

I must have missed this earlier but very nice write-up and thank you for your time and effort.

So very sorry your trip ended on the wrong foot....... I’ve often said, it’s not the initial problem that puts a black mark on the trip but the way the problem is handled in the end. Next time will be better, I’m sure, as I’m sure there will be a ‘next time ‘ and hopefully sooner rather than later.

Thanks for the trip report. What a way to end your trip!
Maybe the information below will help.
https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/flight-delays-cancellations

OK, thanks for the reply. What a terrible way to end your vacation but glad the vacation itself was good!

Thanks for the trip report, and Happy Anniversary. Sorry for the way your trip ended.