Our fourth trip to the island and the best so far…
Air Travel
Took USAirways from Washington Dulles via Charlotte (using FF miles). Trip down was entirely uneventful, and, thanks to doing midweek travel, the plane from Charlotte to SXM was not even half full, and we sailed through customs. The trip back was a bit hairy. We had just a one-hour layover in Charlotte, and we had an unexplained delay taking off from SXM, as well as an unexplained delay in landing, leaving us about 30 minutes to get through immigration, baggage claim and customs, and go back through security to get to our gate. Fortunately, we managed to get on our connecting flight with about 10 minutes to spare.
Our delayed departure from SXM must have been due to shifting winds, as we ended up taking off over the water instead of toward the big mountain. Very strange, but I’m sure the folks on the airport beach enjoyed it!
Weather
The weather was nearly perfect our entire visit. The only day it rained with any consistency was the day we had already planned to go to Phillipsburg to do some shopping (see below). There were also a few evening storms, but nothing of any significance.
Car Rental
We rented from Kenny’s for the first time, but definitely not the last. We got a perfectly fine Toyota Corolla at a really great price, but the best part was that Lesley meets you at the airport, you fill out the paperwork right there in the airport parking lot, and then you’re on your merry way. You return the car the same way. Lesley is a great guy and gave us his card with his cell number on it…said we could call him anytime. Fortunately, we never had to take him up on this, but it was nice to know he was there.
Accommodations
After staying at the Villa Lady’s “Grand Case Cottage” (or its twin) for our previous visits, we decided to give different GC accommodations a try, and stayed at Hotel L’Atlantide. What a great choice it turned out to be. It’s in a great beachfront location right on GC Blvd (next to La Marine). It’s on a lovely section of the beach where there are no rocks or coral, so swimming is pleasant. We were in a street-level studio unit with a balcony that puts you right over the beach. The room was pleasant and the kitchenette was pretty well-equipped with a small fridge, four-burner stove, and the all-important blender and coffee maker. We also had a direct-line phone and color TV with the full range of U.S. stations (including HBO, so we didn’t miss “The Sopranos”). This is not a fancy hotel by any means, but you do get daily maid service and a clean, comfortable place right on the water. We recommend it highly. Hyppolite (yes, Herman Wouk fans, you read that right) is the manager and is very nice.
Beaches
As usual, we stuck with GC beach and Orient Beach (Club O end) for the entire trip. The beach at Orient is definitely back. There were 3 rows of chairs and umbrellas across most of the beach, except for the area in front of Papagayo’s, where there was just a single row. Orient was gorgeous and nearly windless on Sunday and Tuesday. The wind was pretty bad on Friday.
Shopping
We have never really done a lot of shopping while on SXM, as sand gravity does not usually allow it. However, David expressed an interest in going to Phillipsburg to see about getting me a “birthday bauble,” and who was I to argue?? This was our 4th visit to St. Martin and in all that time we had never been to Phillipsburg. The day we went happened to be the only "ugly" day on the island with intermittent rain and clouds all day long. There were two cruise ships in port that day and we were astounded by the number of people roaming Front Street. We ate lunch at Everyt’ing Cool and it was practically empty…guess those cruise shippers don’t do too much eating off the boat. Anyway, it was our intent to visit DK Gems because they are TTOL sponsors and we've heard great things about them. On the way to DK we stopped in at a couple of other shops and there were a few customers browsing around. However, when we went into DK the place was packed with customers and now we know why; great customer service, great quality and great prices. We were given exemplary service by Raj (Deepti’s brother), who spent a lot of time with us, offered us refreshments, and never tried to steer us toward an item that we weren't interested in. After spending a lot of time in the shop and finally choosing a couple of items, we negotiated a good price with Raj and we shook hands on the deal. Then, when we told him that we were TTOLers he came back and gave us an even better price. He introduced us to Deepti who was very charming and very happy to meet TTOLers. The entire staff was gracious and poured some champagne to help us celebrate our purchases (and to make it a little easier to spend all that dough!!). If you're looking for a very pleasant shopping experience we recommend DK. (not to mention that the jewelry we bought is beautiful—a diamond tennis bracelet plus a pink sapphire ring—I was overwhelmed by my sweet husband’s generosity as well as the beauty of the pieces)
Eating
We dined at Restaurant du Soleil, Chez Martine, L’Alabama and Le Cottage (all in Grand Case). For the most part, our experiences were very positive. Restaurant du Soleil is an absolute gem…tiny but on the beach and excellent, beautifully presented food. The wine list was a little short, but we were really pleased with the Burgundy we selected, which was served at the perfect temperature. Chez Martine, now under new management, was really great. We had a charming waiter who is from Quebec…he went to St. Martin for vacation and decided to stay. If only we all had that kind of courage! Anyway, the food did not disappoint, and we tried a different vintage of the wine we had enjoyed at Restaurant du Soleil and had fun trying to discern the differences. L’Alabama was also terrific as usual.
Dinner on our final night was at Le Cottage. We were enthusiastically greeted by Stephane and staff, but it was a very busy night (it was on a Tuesday "Harmony Night”). We ordered our appetizers and dinners, and we ordered a bottle of wine. We waited for our wine, but it had been forgotten. In fact, when our appetizers arrived Stephane asked if we would like a glass of wine and he was surprised to hear that we had ordered a bottle which we had not received. He never asked what we ordered, but instead asked a couple of the waiters who finally told him. When he came out with our bottle it was not properly presented, and in fact, after he poured it, we noticed it was the wrong vintage of the wine we had ordered. Unlike years past, the wine was not served in proper stemware. The food, as always, was creative and beautifully prepared and presented. However, we also go to Le Cottage because they generally have the best wine selection and they know how to present the wine. We were disappointed by this aspect of the evening.
We are most pleased to report that rumors of L’Isle Flottant’s demise were greatly exaggerated. I had mentioned this great little outdoor café on a recent TTOL thread and another TTOLer reported that they had lost their lease and were closed. WRONG! They are open and doing a brisk business as usual. So we did get to enjoy the chocolate croissants and café au lait as usual.
Nightlife
We got a little taste of Grand Case’s nightlife such as it is. Calmos Café had live music a couple of nights, but our favorite spot ended up being Au Bou Las Bas. They usually had live music, as well as a sweet resident dog (a feature we can never resist). Harmony Night was a lot of fun. A few bands (one of whom marched up and down the street most of the night), and lots of street vendors with food, adult beverages and crafts. What was most interesting to us was the fact that there seemed to be more locals than tourists enjoying the evening. So it’s a good thing for everybody. The restaurants were doing tons of business and everyone was having a ball.
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