TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Returning in May

Hello all,

I will be returning to the island on May 24, first visit since Irma. Wondering if anyone can let me know what’s open at Orient bay ( Palm, La Playa, Bikini, Kontiki, Waikiki, Or Pedro’s) and what supermarkets are open on the French side. Also- are most of the restaurants in Grand Case open? Such as Calmos Or La Auberge Gourmande?

Thanks , so excited to return !

Palm Beach, LaPlaya and Pedro's are NOT open. LaPlaya they are supposed to be opening possibly in July. The other two, as far as I know, no definite plans to reopen. Waikiki they are supposed to be working on. Not idea when it will reopen. Bikini, Kontiki, and Kakao are open, as well as L'Astrolabe at Esmeralda, Café Plantation, and most of the restaurants in Orient Village are open.

Most of the restaurants in Grand Case are NOT open. There are only a couple of restaurants, Rainbow, and a couple of smaller ones, open on the water side in Grand Case. Grand Case Beach Club is currently open, but is supposed to close for renovations around June 1. Calmos is NOT open, allegedly supposed to be reopening around the end of this year, although no repairs have been started there, to my knowledge. Auberge Gourmande, as well as most of the rest of the LAND side restaurants, are open.

Thank you!!

Also, in addition to those on Orient Beach that Carol posted above the "Perch Bar & Grill" is open for lunch and drinks at the southern end of the beach (the former Club Orient beach area). But, it's no longer right there on the beach front, but has been rebuilt back towards the parking area and cabins. Highly recommend grabbing a bite here and supporting this place. The grill stays open until 3:30 p.m. or so. Just note that this is a clothing-optional place so a lot of people eat and drink here in the buff. Great cheeseburgers, and both inside and outside 'open-air' seating is available.

And that day is my Birthday too.

Sammy--thanks for the correction, not sure why the Perch slipped my mind.

Some open restaurants in Grand Case: Bistrot Caraibes, L'Auberge Gourmand, La Villa, Le Cottage, Piazza Pascal, Spiga, "something" Cerise's, the old Il Neptuno- the new name slips my mind,Le Pressoir, the Lolo's, and I think there's a few more that I'm forgetting now. Certainly a good variety to choose from!

We will be there as well!

Thanks for all the replies!
Another question- how about Baie Rouge? Anything open there ?

Non that I know of

Also will be there in May for our third time since Irma.
Can’t get enough of St. Martin.
carib cheers from the frozen tundra of Maine.
doctorj
28 sleeps left.

Please know that 'Perch' only accepts cash and when I ask when they might be able to take Credit Cards they did not know. I got the ribs for $12 yesterday and they were very good.
I dined at Bistrot Caraibes three nights ago and as always the lobster thermador was amazing. I ask the owner about "Oceans 82" across the street and he said it would be open by July.
And since I am staying in the village I frequent Le Petit Casino for food and bottled water to take to the beach. However I found Super U to have an outstanding selection and lower prices. But it still helps to patronize the smaller groceries.

Agreed, overall, Super U seems to have the best prices on the island. But if you're staying in Orient Village, walking to the grocery store has a certain appeal for a quick grocery stop!

I heard a while back that Waikiki was not reopening. Is that an unfounded rumor?

Isn't Waikiki the restaurant on the beach at Esmeralda?? Wait, I think maybe that's Coco?? Old age setting in. The restaurant at Esmeralda on the beach is definitely under construction, whatever the name is!

Coco beach, Carol. I also was under the impression Waikiki was not reopening.

I don't think Perch Lite will ever take credit cards. My impression is that these people are entrepreneurs opened to serve us & help us be able to stay at that end of the beach. We are grateful to Cedric & the group for being there & cash is ok by us. They haul the food & drinks everyday so it's fresh.

jeepers--OK, Coco.. CRS setting in!!!!

Yes Carol_Hill, your correct I actually walked to the grocery in the village about one hour ago. For about a second I thought about driving back to Super U and said, nah too far and not worth the time or fuel in the car. If you every get a chance or maybe you have try the panani at the Yellow Sub, they are fantastic.

How is the airport ? All back to normal again ? Or still a lot of work left to be done? And how is Marigot - most places open ?

Marigot looks great. Not so for Grand Case.

The airport is far from being back to what it was but at least they are using some of the inside building. Not long ago everything was under tents.

The airport? Not at all back to normal, but functional. When your plane lands, there's no jetways to disembark. You go down the old-fashioned outside stairs and board a bus that takes you to customs & immigration. Depending upon how many planes are landing at that particular time, this can go fairly well or take a while. The day we landed -- a Tuesday -- the lines were decent and we got through in about 20 minutes. Then, it's over to baggage to claim your luggage and you're on you way.

When leaving St. Martin I would suggest getting to the airport about 2 hours before your flight takes off. Any earlier is basically unnecessary, and cutting it too tight can be stressful. The airport has 24 temporary service windows set up covering the various airlines. Once you find yours, you can check your bags and get your boarding passes. Then, it's over into another room for security (and another checking of passports) before you enter into a larger room where you can wait and have a bite to eat before heading down to your departure gate. The bathrooms in this area are quite small, so give yourself extra time if there's a line going into the ladies' washroom. From here, you can head down to your respective gate where there is additional seating before you get inline to exit the facility and board your flight. Once again there were no working jetways when we we there last month, so they typically board the planes with two elevated stairways in the front and from the back. To their defense the people working here are doing the best they can until things return to normal someday.

Didn't visit Marigot, but I'm sure others on this board can fill you in.

Just a note to Carol's posting on 4/19.....Grand Case Beach Club is not closing..we will be there the week of May 25 into June and will be staying there. They were only going to close the Sunset Cafe....Now they have recently posted on their facebook page that they will not be closing the Sunset Cafe ....see below which we are thrilled about!!

Great News...Sunset Cafe will be changing hands, but remaining open! Full information to follow shortly! Do expect some changes and perhaps a hiccup or two, but a great and experienced team is getting ready for June !

31 more sleeps before we are there!!!

Sorry, I meant just the restaurant was closing, but that wasn't what I said... Anyway, that's good news that they will remain open. Wonder who will be taking it over? Wouldn't it be wonderful if it were Bruno from Dreams!!

Thanks for all the great information everyone!!
Wondering if Anse Marcel beach is open to the public or only people staying at the resort ?
Thanks!

All the beaches in Saint Martin are public beaches. As of the end of March, there was no resort in Anse Marcel.