TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin A Grand Case day

Yesterday we stayed close to “home” and had a beach day at Grand Case Beach Club. There’s a well manicured path that leads from our hotel to the petit plage side of GCBC. Our hotel dog, Jack, literally chaperoned us for the day. He hopped up when he saw us headed for the path, and led the way to the beach. He slept by my husbands chair all morning and guarded our towels when we went up to the restaurant for lunch. Mid afternoon when we gathered our things to leave, Jack hit the path to lead us back home.
Grand Case is such a lovely beach and the petit plage side of the GCBC is small and calm. It felt very French. Chair service was excellent and we rented snorkel gear.

You can’t win ‘em all when it comes to food, and y’all, my lunch was weird. The menu described a lobster roll that maybe had flavored condiments on the side as a play on a hot dog. It was a literal interpretation of a hot dog. Lobster in a bun with yellow mustard and Heinz ketchup squirted all over the top, and pickle relish by the tons. I couldn’t eat it. And it was painful to see beautiful lobster covered in ketchup. It was literally doused in the ketchup and mustard. Oh well. My husband’s flank steak with chimichurri was delicious.

The water was fantastic at the beach. A few low storm clouds kept at bay throughout the day.

Dinner at Ocean 82 more than made up for Weird Lunch. We had a fantastic waterside table. Lobster and mushroom ravioli to start, followed by the Caribbean seafood hot pot in coconut curry sauce, the beef Wellington special with scalloped potatoes, and the duck breast with fig balsamic reduction. Everything was unbelievably good - the duck was out of this world. The Wellington was finished with a truffle jus that just blew our minds.
Desserts were lava cake with fresh cream and a special blackberry Madeline with pistachio whipped cream and pistachio ice cream. A+.
Of note and not surprisingly - the cocktail program here is on point. They made a perfect martini and we had after dinner Old Fashioneds at the bar made with Buffalo Trace and pure cane sugar - made to perfection and priced more fairly than you’d find at our hometown in Tennessee. Ocean 82 is truly a special place and the service, atmosphere, and food are a treat well worth the expense. Another beautiful day for which we are so grateful.

One of our group had that lobster hot dog last year; I think it was Todd?

taraavo--I don't recall you saying where you are staying, but it looks to be Esplanade?

That hot dog does sound like 'a crime against lobster'. Glad that Ocean 82 made up for it!

Too bad that lobster had to die to be reserected as a hot dog. Just plain wrong.

Yes Carol. It has been a wonderful experience so far. I’ll do a hotel post when all is said and done.

Great! Looking forward to it!

you had me at the lava cake....everything looks beyond delicious! Thank you for photos and the update! Enjoy today!

Such a nicely written report - very enjoyable read. Thank you!

I have a vague memory of something that I was disappointed in there at GCBC and that may have been it, sounds much better than it was kind of deal. Usually Sunset at GCBC is another favorite place for a day and lunch, they have some nice cocktails there as well. Pretty much anywhere on Grand Case can be a favorite if the waves are not up to the buildings and walls. LTC and Captain Frenchy's would be my other picks.

Wish I was there rather than our Pacific NW weather this winter, might hit 50 degrees for a high!

"might hit 50 degrees for a high"
Wouldn't that be nice. Been a wet cold spring here too. Can't wait till our May 12th redeye.

Esplanade is a special place. I am looking forward to your review after the rebuild. Room 16 is/was our favorite

Jazz Gal - thank you. I’ve enjoyed your reports over the years as I love a nice diary style report.

Thank you!