TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Trip Report May 19-26

Friday May 19 was moving day to Beachside Villas.

We were fortunate that BSV wasn’t busy the week we were there and allowed us to drop our luggage off early in the morning so we could head to Karakters for the day. Vicky met us at 8:30am and secured our luggage while we headed out. We were in unit #10 again and it was just like we left it in December. It’s a two bedroom unit with the master and living room looking out over the gorgeous beach and Simpson Bay. The sand had recovered somewhat from what previous posters had noted but there was still a significant ledge you needed to navigate to get to the lower beach/water level. We wore a path down pretty quickly and proceeded to relax and enjoy. Weather was great the second week except for the wind. The seaweed was pretty light half of the week and really heavy for a day and zero for another. Emanuel and his crew were out bright and early each morning raking the seaweed up and removing it. With the exception of the heaviest day, there was a clean beach waiting for us by 10am or earlier. They really did a great job!

We split our time on the beach between BSV and Karakter’s (new umbrellas and cushions!) every day except one when we went to Philipsburg since it looked like a cloudy day early at BSV. Found a new beach spot and restaurant in Philipsburg called Big Bastard which will be our new hangout. A couple from Canada opened it in December and have a nice menu along with comfortable beach loungers.

Restaurants on the Dutch side were much less impressive for us with the one stand out being the Bamboo House. The pictures don’t do it justice for the hillside views but their food and service were equally impressive. We ate at Moulin Fou, Sale y Pepe, Jax, Karakter’s, Z Best Bakery (Bake Shop), Reveil Matin and pizza delivery from Pizza & Co. We didn’t have any issues with service for any of the meals with the exception of Pizza & Co. I was told 40 minutes for delivery but one hour and 15 minutes later the driver arrives with our cold pizza. Two best meals this week were Bamboo House and Karakter’s. Karakter’s Tuna Tartar with fries is as good or better than Orange Fever’s! I hadn’t had a burger at Karakter’s in awhile and was really impressed by their Bacon, Gouda and jalapenos rendition.

This was our first time spending a full week on the Dutch side and it was great for somethings but not so much on others. The Village at Maho was dead the nights we were there. We were the only diners at Moulin Fou (7:30 PM) the night we were there until we were on our way out and saw another couple at a table. It was a little busier when we went to Jax but still very quiet and low key. I understand it’s the low season but it felt very deserted.

We were able to checkout late at BSV since there wasn’t anyone checking in our unit on Friday May 26 which allowed us to enjoy a couple extra hours in the sun before our flight. Dropped off the car at Hertz and had another delay trying to turn the car in. We waited 30 minutes before they were able to check the car out and then we waited another 15 minutes for the shuttle bus. When it became apparent the bus wasn’t coming back a worker decided to take a older van that had been sitting unused to transport us to the airport. He dropped us off, along with two other couples at their arrival location rather than at departures. We then dragged our luggage the 200 yards to the departure entrance. Not a good showing at all for Hertz this trip.
The flight home was uneventful but I will note my entertainment screen was working on my seat! Unfortunately, for others, it appeared many of the other screens weren’t working. Arrived in Atlanta on time, walked the mile to immigration where we saw the long line of passengers waiting to get into the U.S. Fortunately, the Global Entry line had zero occupants!

Overall, the second week was the most relaxing and stress-free mostly due to our staying at BSV. This was our sanctuary while we did nothing but enjoy the views, read and recharged.
Beachside Villas continues to impress! It’s an older property but is meticulously maintained by caring and friendly staff. My wife was constantly noting how nicely the landscaping was kept and the seaweed removal efforts were nothing beyond heroic. The week spent here was relaxing and uncomplicated, as it should be. While I didn’t take advantage of the grill this time, I did use their laundry service. We had a washer in our unit at Orient Bay but due to the water issues we couldn’t use it when we needed. I dropped my 4 or 5 pounds (they charge by the pound/kilo) of laundry off on Friday and had it back the following day. $12 was very reasonable as was the turnaround time.

We’ve got some tough decisions to make while we plan our next trip in November but BSV will definitely be part of the equation.

Ben--thanks for the report and the lovely pictures. "Overall, the second week was the most relaxing and stress-free mostly due to our staying at BSV. This was our sanctuary while we did nothing but enjoy the views, read and recharged." You got it, Ben!! Looking forward to enjoying that sanctuary very soon!!

Another nice report. Nice to hear good reports about Karakter as I will be checking in to Horny Toad one week from today for five weeks, and I love tartare.

Great report. That 2nd week at BSV is always a relaxing treat.

Outstanding report