TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Trip Report 11/4/2022 - 11/14/2022

First trip report - I hope the format is readable. If I try to clean it up, I will never post !

Background: My first visit to St.Maarten was in June, 1971. Mullet Bay Resort had recently opened and we fell in love with the island and the resort immediately. We became owners at Mullet Bay in 1974 and have returned yearly except for 2020 and 2021. In 1990 we purchased timeshare at Royal Islander. Losing everything at Mullet Bay after Luis was heartbreaking.

Travelers this trip: myself, daughter, son-in-law, son, daughter-in-law, and four grandchildren age 12, 10 1/2, 10, and 7.

Air : United nonstop out of Newark. Return nonstop to Newark. Both flights were on time, no empty seats either way.

Car Rental: Leisure - excellent service, no issues with the car. Seemed more expensive that previous years.

Accommodations : Royal Islander - wouldn't change a thing.

Activities: Beach, pool, hot tub, swings, dinner, sleep. Repeat daily.

Beach: One day at Mullet Bay which we all enjoyed - very calm water, easy in and out, chairs were close but comfortable. So many memories .......All other days were spent at Royal Islander. Several days the ocean was too rough for me, other family members thought it was great.

Weather: Unfortunately Hurricane Nicole affected our first couple of days - more showers and clouds than we have ever experienced. There were two nights of torrential rain during dinner. Luckily we were at Pineapple Pete and Skip Jacks so it didn't affect our dinner. Kids thought it was fun!

Restaurants: Tortuga, Pineapple Pete, Izi, Skip Jacks, Sale e Pepe , Spaghetti House, Hideaway, Le Moulin Fu. Greenhouse, Isola. All for dinner. Since we were a big group we only went to restaurants where we could get reservations and be seated together. Excellent service, delicious food, No complaints. Adult's favorite was Sale e Pepe . Children's favorite was a tie between Le Moulin Fu and Isola. We hadn't been to Izi before and will definitely return. Skip Jacks was lower on our list this time than in previous visits.

Tomorrow will only be one week since our return home and we are already looking forward to our next trip to St. Maarten.

One last note: it was fun to meet Pat and her husband at Zee Best. She encouraged me to write a trip report.

Thanks for posting.

Enjoyed your report! What wonderful memories you're creating for the grandkids.

Thanks for the report. Sounds like a good trip.
How was The Hideaway?

Hi. I added some returns, to make it more readable.

Thanks for posting!! Sounds like you all had a good time.

Very nice, Mimi.And see, writing that trip report was painless, wasn’t it? Told you so. 🙂🙂
Btw, did you ever get your pastries that day?
Glad you had a good time and all went well. Memories will last forever and the time on island with your Grands is irreplaceable.

It was a wonderful trip! We enjoyed Hideaway very much - always try to get there at least once. I remember a couple of Mahi Mahi entrees, also shrimp, and vegetable pasta - no clue at this point as to the rest, but all good. There were three other small tables being served but the wait staff was very efficient. I'm certain there were inward groans when we arrived, especially with four children. But I must brag a little - the kids are all well behaved and the wait staff were attentive and seemed to enjoy interacting with them. A nice time was had by all. Definitely recommend Hideaway!

Thank you for making the report easier to read. I will have to learn how to put in returns (?)

Mimi--No problem. You can edit your own post for a couple of hours after posting. You can put in returns after posting that way, if you want to.

Thanks for your report.

Thank you pat. I can't say that writing the report was painless, but will say it was relatively painless. Will be painless in the future. And yes, we were able to get pastries that day and everyday thereafter. Chocolate croissants were practically inhaled and the order grew daily.

Thanks for the making the effort and posting a trip report. Looks like everyone had a great time -- family time memories will last a lifetime! Hideaway and Tortuga are two places we've never tried. We will have to put them on the list!

Very nice trip report! The memories you’ve made are priceless.

Thanks for the reference to The Hideaway. I’ve completely forgotten about it. We dined there a couple of times many years ago and did enjoy the food, lovely setting, and service. I’ll have to put it on our restaurant list for next trip.