TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin French side grocery stores

We will be arriving on Saturday, October 12th for a week, first time back since Irma - can't wait !
We are staying in the cul-de-sac area. It looks like there are 2 supermarket options: Super U and Leader Price.
Which one is easier for non-French speaking folks, at least for the first day essentials.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Super U has a better selection in my opinion. We've never had trouble shopping there & we don't speak French. There's also a lovely little market, I think it's called the Cocci Market. It's on the right side of the road if you're heading in from Orient side.Just past the pharmacy, and across the street is the restaurant that used to be Jam Rock. Might be called Villa Rouge now. Sometimes this market looks closed to me as their windows are tinted.

We think SuperU has better (more) selection that Leader Price.

We love Super U! We prefer the one outside of Grand Case. Great prices, excellent selection, beautiful produce. There are a few things they do not have such as refrigerated milk, but not really a problem for us.

Super U does have a much bigger selection of wine than Leader Price, yes, but LP does have some great specials. I got some champagne to use for mimosas last time for 1.95E!!

Super U does not have much in English, no, but they are a better choice for first day supplies than Leader Price, as LP really doesn't have a lot of that kind of stuff. You could try Hope Market, which does have most of the first day supply stuff and they do have a lot of products in English. We went there to HM on the recommendation of a friend and it was OK, although I personally didn't find it clean. You can also check out Petit Casino in the Village. They have US products, including US junk food and the prices, while higher than Super U, aren't horrible. PC, Super U and Leader Price are all VERY clean, as compared to Hope Market. And depending on where you're staying, you could head over to one or the other of the small Carrefours, either at Porto Cupecoy or Jordan Village. They have lots of US stuff there. The one in JV is better stocked than the one at PC. All the Carrefours are very clean. Based on personal experience, the Carrefour at Cole Bay doesn't seem to have nearly the liquor selection of the one in P'burg, and their wine specials were pretty lame. The Carrefour at Cole Bay isn't far from the French side, but not sure I'd bother with going back there on the first day.

Mid Nov. will be our first trip to SXM since the year before Irma. I do know of the Super U in Marigot, but I am not sure where the Super U outside of Grand Case is. ....Thanks

The 'new' Super U is in Hope Estate. When headed from Grand Case toward Orient, on the right hand side of the road, before the roundabout that goes to Pinel. We were there yesterday. Very nice store, as is the one in Marigot. Has a nice amount of parking also.

Thanks Carol, we will definitely check it out.

If you enjoy French food, then you will find that the Super U in Marigot is perhaps the best supermarket in the Western hemisphere (with the possible exception of two or three stores in Guadeloupe and Martinique). Many items are less expensive than they are in the U.S., and in general the quality is far superior. Shopping at Super U is one of the great pleasures of a visit to St. Martin.

We got the best rack of lamb there one year. And it cost half of what we pay in the USA. Great smelling French soaps, creamiest yogurt, crusty baguette, smelly cheeses, good produce. If you need to know ingredients in packaged items you'll need to read French. I could recognize chicken (poulet) steak biifstek) , etc but not the prep instructions on some boxes. A good reason to eat fresh!

Super U in Hope Estate is one of the better parts of staying on the island. Price Leader does seem to have slipped post Irma and the new Super U is maybe a better resource than ever, especially the bakery. In response to pburke40, there were refrigerated litres of milk on an end cap on sale for for some ridiculous price like 80¢. My next trip, I grabbed the only milk available from that same refrigerator near the yogurt without looking closely. On adding it to my tea, there were chunks sliding into my cup. They do sometimes stock soured milk it seems, as some recipes from eastern Europe or the occasional pancake batter might call for. Didn't get such a great deal on that litre so I stuck to the boxed stuff on the shelf as the special was over.

You'll also find shelf-stable non-refrigerated milk. It's fine to use, but I refrigerate after opening. It doesn't hurt that I speak and read a bit of French, so I know what I'm buying.

Is this the store that used to be Simply?

Can't wait to shop at the newly reconstructed Super U in Hope Estates! It was still under construction when we were last there in April.

We only went there once on our recent trip, as the Marigot store was much closer, but it is a lovely store, just as good as the one in Marigot, although perhaps just a bit smaller, not sure.

Another question concerning Super U. Do they carry a selection of the Bacardi ( flavored) rums? The Bacardi Lime is the one I am wanting.....Thanks

No. I don't think either Super U carries Bacardi Limon, which is what I drink. I did not see it at either store on this trip. We got it at Carrefour. Last trip we bought Bacardi Limon at Hope Market. Super U has GREAT selections of wines. Liquor, not so much.

Thanks Carol. The Bacardi Limon was actually my drink of choice for many years, but, just a few months ago, a friend turned me on to Bacardi Lime ( it has a green lid instead of the yellow one with Limon ) .
I like it even better, especially mixed with Diet 7up ( that's another thing I'm going to have to try to find on the island ).

Oh, sorry!! I actually didn't realize there was a Bacardi LIME. Sorry. I will have to look for it, as I went to Limon several years ago and that's all I drink, except for an occasional Jack Daniels. And I almost always have some type of diet lemon lime soda with it. Diet 7 UP is a whole 'nother situation. I didn't try extensively to find it, but I gave up. I ended up buying a generic lemon lime soda which is sugar free. I found it at both Super U and Carrefour in a liter bottle. The bottle said "Lemonaide" or something like that. The sugar free one said FREE on the label. Not certain if I found the sugar free at Carrefour, but I know I found it at Super U. I bought some with sugar the first day at Carrefour and found the sugar free after that. I never saw any Diet 7 Up at either of the large Carrefours or either Super U. I don't remember if I bought Diet 7Up at Hope Market last time in June or not, but that's where we got first day supplies in June, so I got something similar to it the first day. I personally would not bother trying to find the Bacardi Lime except at Carrefour by Marks or a liquor store downtown, as I doubt you will find it. Possibly maybe the Market Garden? I don't go there, as their prices are outrageous. I am not certain, but I think Booze it Up is gone. Someone said it was closing and we did not see the doors open when we would drive past, although we actually didn't drive through Simpson Bay that often.

Thanks Carol. You'll have to give the Bacardi Lime a try. As I said, I drank Limon for years & just tried the Bacardi Lime a few months ago & actually like it better. I won't spend extra time looking for it though as I still like Limon just fine. Good info from you on the generic sugar free soda. I will look for it at Super U. We are staying at a private villa in Orient Village, so Super U will be right on the way.

Dan--glad to help. Enjoy!!