TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Half way

Aloha all,
We have been here a week now and have another 6 nights to go, so far all has been great mixing work with play and being able to visit with our island friends here and there. A bit more work today so taking it easy at our Atrium unit which gives me more time to post this. We have spent some time at Cupecoy but there has not been any sand at Shore Point and that is where we prefer to be there, hoping some comes back. We also have spent days at GCBC, Friars, El Zafiro and Mullet. All have been fantastic, first time we have been to Friars in a long time where the rocks getting in and out were not an issue. We love the food and vibe at Friars BBC and it certainly did not disappoint this time, well taken care of everything was excellent. We would go there a lot more if they had pads for the chairs. GCBC actually had some rocks to it made it a bit more difficult to get in and out of the water but that is still such a great place to relax. Food and drink of course fantastic as well, it is becoming our favorite place. While there at GCBC and ran into Bruno having lunch, his chef from Dreams is now at Rainbow so we may have to give that a try if we have time. At El Z it was more about a quick stop for a bit of beach and mostly lunch as it was a limited time day, food was very good and it was enjoyable there. We had been to Da Watering Hole at Mullet for cocktails in the evening and dinner once there since they opened it up, yesterday we did our first beach day there since the renovations they have done. Mullet was calm with very little wave action and that makes it a very nice place to spend a day. The added bathrooms are fantastic to have even if they do cost to use($2 or $6 per day), they are clean so worth it. The were doing a brisk business all along the beach.

Dinner so far we have gone to The Palms, twice plus some stops for drinks. We love it there, and Greg and Jo (along with Lal) are some of our favorite people. Food of course fantastic. We have been to Lal's of course as well, and probably going back tonight. Tough to beat. We have also for the first time actually eaten more than apps at Barcode, dinner was very good and I am sure we will go back at some point(Megan, glad you joined us!). Astra is another we have been to before (when they first opened) and had cocktails and apps, had dinner the other night and it was excellent and is another place worthy of a return visit. So far we have had no "wasted meals" where we feel like we wasted one of our few precious meals on island settling for something that was less than very good.

A couple notes, lots of available occupancy on island, I heard when there that GCBC had only about 8 rooms rented at this time and I can tell that the resorts such as Atrium are not near full. Great time to be here. I am going to miss this when the fear subsides and others start traveling as well. Glad I am not locked up like a Canadian!
Cheers!
Todd

Thanks for the report. I have not been a big fan of Rainbow in the past, but if Bruno's chef is there, perhaps we should check it out!! What is Bruno doing these days, since he is not involved in any restaurants currently (that I know of, anyway)..

The beach at LTC near Rainbow
Is worth checking out.

The atmosphere and service is really great, as is the food!
We had such an enjoyable time there
yesterday. They include beach towels and water in their
price for very comfortable chairs.

We were lucky with parking, but I guess that
could be a problem.

That is unusual, to include towels and water. What is the price?

Hi Todd and MJ!

Thanks for an enjoyable report. Dining at GCBC is on my list for next month.
Any recommendations as to what to eat there?

We have never been to Mullet when it’s been calm. Always plenty of wave action, especially in the Fall months. It’s such a pretty beach though.

We look forward to a somewhat quiet trip next month. I’m sure, with covid easing and more people getting vaccinated, that the island will be busier with each subsequent trip. 😊

Enjoy your last six nights!

If I recall correctly, a pair of chairs at LTC, including one umbrella, two very nice towels, and two bottles of water in a bucket of ice, were $15 last November. Todd, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Carol and Georgia, the chairs were 20 euros.

Thanks Terry! I didn't remember. Not that I would, as I let the guys handle the finances when I'm on vacation!

OK, sounds like a decent deal...

very reasonable if padded.

For lunch at GCBC we have had salads, burgers, club sandwich and a special pork rib and all were excellent.

Same 20 euros ($25 USD) at GCBC for chairs and umbrella. Friar's if eating there chairs are only $10 but no pads.

Thanks for the report. From a locked up Canadian living vicariously through these reads.