TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin TRIP REPORT PART THREE - November 1-December 7, 2022

EVENTS/ACTIVITIES

Cocktail Party – Friends staying in Terres Basses hosted a cocktail party at their stunning villa. It started raining just before the sun set, but the views from their patio were beautiful. I was delighted to be invited, and it was a lovely evening with friends.







Thanksgiving at Horny Toad – It’s traditional for there to be a Thanksgiving dinner at Horny Toad Guest House. The innkeepers provide a turkey (or two, depending upon number attending), and guests bring side dishes. It’s held under the pavilion and is a very nice time. I wish I had taken more pictures. The spicy noodle salad was one of my two contributions, and that’s Innkeeper Doug carving the turkey. There were about twelve of us this year.





Open House at Pelican Cove

“Indi” on this board hosted an open house at her beautiful villa in Pelican Cove. It was catered by Vesna, who did a marvelous job of providing yummy treats.



For the second year in a row (Indi had an open house last year also), we were treated to a green flash. This time, I got a picture of it!



It was another lovely evening with friends.

BEACH

I went to Divi, where I have a timeshare, for a beach day as the water is normally calm there. It was nice to be back at Divi, but I am finding that the more time I spend at Horny Toad, the more it feels like “home.” I like the size and intimacy of Horny Toad compared to the sprawling resort atmosphere at Divi and am considering trying to sell my nonmandatory contracts. My unit is to the far right behind the tree.





EATING

Cool Heure – This little “dive” is one of my favorite places on the island; it’s located on the corner where you turn to go to Happy Bay and/or the back entrance to Friar’s Bay Beach Restaurant. I think mostly locals frequent Cool Heure; as you can see, the menu is only in French with no English “subtitles.” I had the second duck entrée listed, and it was one of the two best duck meals I enjoyed this trip. I wanted to return but it just didn’t work out. If you like French cooking in an informal atmosphere, this is the place!





The Palms

I was still full from the above lunch when I went to The Palms to say goodbye to friends who were leaving the island the next day. I had a nutritious dinner of an espresso martini and pumpkin cheesecake. Greg really makes some delicious desserts!





Emilio’s – I read that Emilio’s had opened for lunch on Thursday through Saturday and a friend and I decided to give it a try. I had pumpkin ravioli for an appetizer and a fabulous duck salad for the entrée. The ravioli had a tomato sauce, which I thought odd paired with pumpkin, but the salad was out-of-this-world good. This dish is tied with Cool Heure for the two best duck dishes of the trip.



The tree trunks have interesting formations.



L’Astrolabe – I had wanted to go to Sunset Café at Grand Case Beach Club for breakfast but was not allowed to drive down to the restaurant. Since I didn’t want to walk down and back up the hill, I went to L’Astrolabe for breakfast. The restaurant is situated next to the pool, making for a relaxing ambiance. The food was very good, and apparently my jeweler thought so too.





Mario’s Bistrot

A friend and I decided to try Mario’s as we hadn’t been to its latest location in The Cliffs. The restaurant is gorgeous. I had the duck, which is supposed to be a signature dish. Both my friend and I thought the food was just okay and not worthy of the high prices charged. On the plus side, the service was informed and attentive.





RANDOMS

A Simpson Bay sunrise.


Fiery sky after sunset.


Yacht “Venus” owned by the Steve Jobs family. He never got to see it set sail before passing.


Pretty colors reflected on the bay.


Garden at Horny Toad.

Wonderful time and a wonderful report. Thank you for sharing. 🙂🎄🎄🙂

Another great installment with outstanding pictures.

Loving the reports! I'm kicking myself for not trying Cool Heure when we were staying at Villa Canoua!! I had just not heard anything about it and was hesitant. Definitely adding it to my very large "to try" list!

Great report, once again...and Fab pictures!!!🍸🍸

Thank you for taking us along with you- your reports are stunningly sublime!!!!

Stunning pictures and report! Thanks so much! Thanksgiving at Horny Toad sounds lovely! Which villa did Indi have at Pelican Cove? We stayed there, but for sure not the same unit she had, as hers was obviously very upscale from what we had. Don't get me wrong, I loved our unit, but that looks very modern. With regard to Mario's, it certainly seems that the reports after they went to the Cliff, have been mixed, at best.

We also were a little disappointed in our last trip to Marios. Not sure when we were last there but thank goodness the company was great this time as the food was a disappointment and even more so given the price. Service was attentive but food just wasn’t as good as we had enjoyed in either of the previous locations although I was hesitant to say so at the time being the non-gourmands that we are.

Nice job, you have added a couple places we will have to try to our list! Cheers!

Very nice. That first duck looked great. I just got back from hunting duck today and I might try to cook it like that instead of stir frying it.

Linda, what is a non-mandatory time share contract at Divi ? My biggest objection to Divi is the hazardous, difficult entrance/exit.

A nonmandatory contract is one in which, if you don't use the unit, you don't have to pay maintenance fees that year. So, when I stay at Horny Toad instead, I am not out any money for not staying at Divi.

I think it is #1. I'm sure she will chime in when she's next on the board here.

Carol, Indi's villa is Number One, Pelican Cove. They've stayed there for the past two years at least, maybe three or more. It's very modern and in a beautiful location.

Georgia and Linda--is it the one on the point, with an almost 360 degree view?

Carol, yes it is on the point, Villa Libre. We have stayed there 3 years and now it's our go-to place!

Joyce--Ok, thanks.

Beautiful reports and pictures!!

Thanks for sharing!

Beautiful pictures!! Very informative report!!! We've taken Mario's off the list a while back. IMHO, overpriced and he's not someone I like doing business with! Thanks for taking the time out to post!!!

I definitely want to try Cool Heure. I assume they accept US dollars. Do they accept credit cards?

Yes they accept credit cards.

Another fabulous report with beautiful photos! Thanks for sharing Linda.

I've been loving your reports Linda. Thank you so much for sharing.