TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Trip Report July 17 - July 31

July 17-31

Getting There:

We live 30 miles outside of Philly, but prefer flying out of Newark as we can get a direct United flight. We left Friday and stayed at the airport Hilton, which included the 14 days of parking. Our flight the next day was uneventful, no problems with our Covid tests, etc. We left 30 minutes late, however, arrived on time in SXM.

Accommodations:

Our first week was spent at Club Fantastico, with Chloe, Thierry, and a full house for our first few days. Of course, we enjoyed our stay, had wonderful breakfasts and plenty of “adult beverages.” Always a good time at Club F.

The second week we stayed in Dutch Cul de Sac at Paul & Carol’s place. First time for us, as it had been recommended. Can’t say enough good things about staying here. Of course, it was a bit of a hike to Orient Beach most days, but we dealt with it ! Paul and Carol are a lovely couple and could not do enough for us. They have three rooms available. Our room was spotless, comfortable, with a large, walk-in shower, and just steps from the pool and outdoor lounge area. Upstairs from our unit was a great room with large screen TV, stereo, comfortable seating, and large kitchen with everything we needed to cook in on three nights. I enjoy cooking on vacay! We were kept company all week with Paul and Carol’s three lovable dogs and a friendly cat.

Beaches:

Well it’s always Club O beach for us, however, one day we did go to Cupecoy. We hadn’t been there in years, however, we did not enjoy it as much as in the past. For one thing, we a lot OLDER, and the rocks, steps, etc., did us in ! Ha Ha. Plus, the water is iffy. If you don’t find the right spot, it’s hard to enter the water. We did rents chairs and had ribs for lunch. The ribs were, in my opinion, not very good. I know lots enjoy Dany’s ribs, but this whole day was just a bust.

Orient, for the most part, was sargassum-free. Cedric had the seaweed cleaned each day.

Shopping:

I am retiring at the end of this year, and felt that it called for something special from DK Gems! Lol.
We went to see Jeff. I had lost a couple of small diamonds from my wedding band and had intended to just replace those. However, Jeff, in his infinite wisdom, came up with a beautiful redesign/update of my ring. We added white diamonds and we added blue diamonds and the result was spectacular. Larry, since he celebrated his birthday on July 20th, treated himself to a bracelet. We were both very pleased with our purchases. Additional shopping was the Marigot Market. Larry likes to always choose a T-shirt from Secret Spot. We stopped in at Juggie’s Place and purchased some Magic Spice and had a Mango Colada with Juggie. Next stop was Rima and purchased some trinkets for my neighbor who was caring for our cats, and also Ma Dou Rum and Vanilla.

Restaurants;

Of course you never have enough time to visit all the restaurants you have on your list ! However, we did not, by any means, go hungry!

The Perch: Several lunches at the Perch. They still do a good job. Shrimp Caeser Salad, Burgers, Ribs and Happy Hour.

Bo Pizza: In Orient Village, makes a good pizza. We had pepperoni.

La Trattoria: In Orient Village. First time visit ; not very impressed. We shared an arugula salad with prosciutto. Osso Buco and Chicken Parm. The Osso Buco was a bit fatty and the chicken parm was good, but nothing special. We shared the chocolate lava cake (since it was Larry’s birthday). It came with the best vanilla ice cream I’ve ever had.

Rancho del Sol: Shared veggie eggrolls. Had hangar steak and pasta Bolognese. Both were very good. A little chocolate mousse ended the meal, along with some banana vanilla rum shots. Always a good meal here.

Le Telegraph: Lunch here. I had an absolutely delicious bowl of cream of cauliflower/leek soup. It was out of this world, honestly, I could have just had a big bowl of that soup. Larry had French Onion which he enjoyed. We also each had a very good burger to go along with the soup. Two frozen drinks – very good.

Good Morning: Orient Village. Delicious fresh sandwiches for the beach one day. Always good.

Le Piment: A favorite. You always can count on a good meal here. Started with drinks; including a fresh strawberry mojito that went down very easily. Larry loves their duck breast. I had steak. Both came with those wonderful cheesy potatoes and veggies. I had the crème brulee for dessert, Larry had coconut ice cream and lemon sorbet.

Mark’s Place: Had lunch here on moving day to the Dutch side. Drinks, mushroom chicken, chicken sandwich.

Reveil Matin: Had a bountiful breakfast here. Wow is all I can say. Fresh squeezed OJ, delicious coffee, eggs benedict and sausages wrapped in crepes and a pile of fresh fruit! A bit pricey for breakfast, but, it filled us up for the whole day ! Highly recommend.

The Palms: We’ve never been to the Palms on any visit, but it won’t be the last time. We were lucky enough to make plans with Elaine and Bill who joined us for dinner and made it more special. The cocktails were out of this world! For dinner I had the ribs, and Larry had the filet. Both excellent meals.

Le Croissant Royale: Stopped for breakfast. Omelet, bacon, crepe, fresh OJ. Always a favorite, from the La Croissanterie days.

Wai Plage: Checked out the beach bar and it is really a beautiful space. Very lovely. We went on a Thursday night (only night open for dinner) and they also had live music. Larry had lobster and I had steak. Both were very good; missed Christelle as she was in France.

Emilio’s: Since we were just down the road from Emilio’s while staying at Paul & Carol’s, we decided to go there. First, it’s a lovely space. The building, the stonework etc. We had delicious, creative cocktails. For starters, we had Creole Shrimp and mini crab cakes. The shrimp was really outstanding, Larry mopped up every bit of the sauce with his bread! My crab cakes were very tasty too, with a bit of a spicy topping. Larry had the duck, and I had shrimp risotto. Dessert was ice cream (a very decadent chocolate). While loving this meal, and the setting, we did not find it extraordinary – just our opinion.

This & That:


Weather was pretty good for the most part, however, every day started cloudy/overcast, but did clear by afternoon. Some days were high in humidity (we usually come in Nov/Dec). Traffic was, well SXM traffic, with all the scooter riders still sharpening their weaving in and out of traffic skills.

We had out Covid testing done at Bellevue Pharmacy in Marigot. Cost was $47 US. We spent about 90 minutes there, although we had an appointment ! However, everyone did a surprisingly great job considering all the chaos and questions.

Flight home was uneventful. Landed in Newark, and drove home (about two hours) arriving at 1 a.m. Another SXM trip in the books. Until next time…..

Thanks for the report. Sounds like some lovely dining!! Makes me hungry for something other than the salad I'm having for lunch!!!!!

Sounds like you had a great time.

Reading your report has made me hungry......but sadly, no place around here to match the goodies you described. So glad a good time was had, and until next trip - glad you have the great memories of this one.

Thanks for the report, Cleta. I like how you organized it. Does this mean no Nov/Dec trip this year?

Thanks for sharing this lovely report!! We've had Emilio's on "the list" and we've heard it's just ok, food wise. Wonder if we can go for drinks and a couple of apps??? On testing, I thought since you were staying on the French side you didn't have to pay? We were fortunate back in April, it was free in Marigot.

I'm sure you could stop in Emilio's for drinks and apps. They have a nice bar and it' a beautiful space! On testing, we were told that initially the French side was doing the testing for free, but were told that they had to start charging for it, whether people were staying on the French or Dutch side. Bellevue Pharmacy, was, however had one of the lowest fees on either side of the island.

Linda, We would love to try and come in Nov/Dec this year too. However, we will have to wait and see since I'm retiring at the end of the year, and we plan to sell our house and relocate to Florida. So we don't know how busy and/or crazy we will be then ! Lol. I would love to get in another trip, though, and see everyone. Money and time is what you need; now I will have the time, but less money

Enjoyed reading your trip report. I can see and "taste" many of the places you mentioned. Congratulations on your retirement and move to Florida. We retired there 22 years ago and have not regretted it one moment!

If you do decide to stop for drinks and apps, you should try the Creole shrimp - the sauce is delicious. And they certainly don't skimp on their drinks. My Margarita was excellent!

[quote=daily2]
[ We retired there 22 years ago and have not regretted it one moment!
Thanks. Now that I'm looking at mid-life from the wrong direction, taking care of a house in the NE has become a real PITA (mowing, raking, snow blowing, et al),

To no one in particular, I had Sunday brunch at Emilio's in June and was underwhelmed. The location is lovely and they had things set up for Covid in a very organized fashion. But I didn't think the food was worth the price and won't return for brunch. Perhaps dinner is different; I dunno.

Linda--We went there for dinner, once, when Dino was still there. I was underwhelmed then.

Nice

Thank you for your nice report!

Thanks for the information!! Wifie loves creole shrimp!! We will find our way there in October into November this year!!!

Lovely report Cleta. I am beginning to like the summary reports after the trip better than day to day as they present a better overall picture of your visit. It sounds like you have a busy time in the months ahead.

Hi islandgem
Just returned from Flamingo last night to JFK. We received the 48 hour test at Belleve Pharmacy on Thursday with appointment. Looked to be a long morning but we were out of their after 1 1/2 hours. Not bad. Very nice people. Same thing about 74 euro. Probably 84 US. Like they say ez pezy its St. Martin. We had a great 12 days in St Martin. Take care Ron

Suprised you didn't use the one next to Hollywood casino since staying at Flamingo. 75.00 and results delivered to front desk same day.

Thanks for the recommendation!! Hopefully we'll find our way there, You know the "List" gets longer everyday and there aren't enough days to fill those in!! We're going the end of October into November for a few weeks. I'll let you know if we make it there!!

Hi G
We stopped by the one by Flamingo and there were at least 60 people waiting in line.
So we went to Belleve a few days earlier and made appointment.
Not to bad, we were first to get tested and had breakfast nearby.
Maybe next time by Flamingo.
Hopefully this will be past when we return next year.
Take care
R

It's easy for your list to get longer. We tried some new (to us) places and liked them all. But didn't get to all the ones we had hoped to visit. Maybe next time.

oh the list...it does just keep getting longer. In July, we tend to revisit old favorites with a few new ones sprinkled in. When we go in October, we force ourselves to only go to new places which has brought us to many new places which we then introduce to the family in July. This past July, we broke the vacation mold and tried Vesna Taverna and Big Fish for the first time--enjoyed both very much. As others have said, too many choices, so little time.