TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Trip Report July 2nd-10th

My first trip report ever. Flying JetBlue to the island, the trip was much more expensive than we normally used to pay. One way cost us what a round trip used to be before Covid. Anyway, it is what it is. Arriving on the first flight down at 7:30 am out of New York we arrived to find PJA still under construction. The jetways are not up and running nor is anything at the arrival gate. Landed to walk down a stairway to buses to the terminal. Got through customs no problem.

Rented our car and off we went staying at The Royal Palm-Hilton Vacation Club. It is fixed up quite nicely with new kitchens and bathrooms. That's the good. The bad, loud neighbors across the road at a new bar. Along with the latest post Covid tax.... a $25.00 dollar Resort fee. I know all the hotels and resorts even in the U.S are doing it. Hopefully it will gradually fade out as the economic situation gets better. We picked up some provisions and relaxed on the terrace after a delicious dinner at Lee's.

DayTwo: Headed over to Cupecoy for some beach relaxation and some sun and surf. We were the only ones there on the beach. Lots of sand. Enjoyed some of Danny's delicious cooking and drinks while relaxing. Lots of rocks at the beach. Only one way in and out of the water. Water was fairly calm and we enjoyed ourselves followed by a nice quiet dinner at Green House.

Day 3: Took a drive to Baie Rouge and enjoyed some beach time on the west end. The water was absolutely beautiful. However there are no beach chair rentals so we sat in the sand. However, thanks to some help from the members here, we found a beach chair rental. The chairs served the purpose and we decided to use them to go to Happy Bay the following day. Continuing on Baie Rouge, we took a walk to where the villas are. Some of the them had been rebuilt, but most are still under construction. That evening we had dinner at a Pizza joint . Wasn't bad and the prices were decent. Forgot the name, but it is near the strip mall where the pharmacy is at when going towards Cole Bay.

Day4: Getting into our car, we heard another couple talking about Happy Bay. They didn't seem to enjoy it. What I heard, was that it was a hassle to get there, the walk from Friar's Bay and they didn't feel comfortable. I didn't bother to ask, so we scratched that and headed to Orient for the day renting chairs and the yellow umbrellas from Patrick. Besides, the fact that we didn't bring our walking shoes was another reason. It was quite crowded for summer and we had a great day. We stayed mostly at the Club Orient section. We met a very lovely couple there named Kris and Nigel. All though we didn't sit together, they told us to see Patrick about renting chairs.

During our stay, we decided to eat at The Pirate's Cove about a quarter mile from where we were sitting since we took a walk along a stretch of Orient. Very lovely people and great service with reasonable prices. We also walked to the other end of the beach and really felt sad to see Club Orient still so battered by Irma. We are hoping it will be fixed up again. Unlike Rouge and Cupecoy, the water was unusually warm at Orient .

Later that night, after a fabulous dinner at IZI, we went to visit our friends at Jewels and Beyond (Formerly J&N) in Maho. Aniel and his staff are such wonderful people. Their prices are reasonable and Aniel is always willing to make a deal happen.

Day5: Another day spent by Club O where we met our new friends Kris and Nigel and hung out and enjoyed one another's company before heading back to our hotel and getting ready for a nice casual meal at the Yacht Club. Another great place to eat with great staff and reasonable prices.

To cut it short, the rest of our 9 day vacation was spent relaxing on Orient and enjoying ourselves and having a lovely time meeting and talking with our new friends and other folks who enjoy the Club Orient beach vibe. We also at IZI again that night.

On Saturday; our 7th day it rained and we decide to get a jump on our packing and do a little shopping in Phillipsburg. Dinner at The Palm that night for the best ribs ever! That Sunday, our last full day; we were back on Orient for more R&R beach time.

Day 8: this is always the hardest and the saddest. We left the island to return home. The flight was on time and no major hassle.

In conclusion, I have to say the island is slowly coming back to normal. We really enjoyed our stay and look forward to returning as soon as possible. I do hope the airfares start dropping soon and the hotels eliminate the daily resort fees. The people on the island are still as friendly as we remember despite the hardships they endured from Irma. The roads on the French side have really improved. The roads on the Dutch side are like driving on the moon with all the craters. All though I sense the island is still not quite there yet in terms of Summer Tourism, I'm hoping the airlines will do their part and offer more reasonable fares in the future and that the government will get PJA and its terminals up and running very soon.

A special thanks to Carol for answering of all of my wife's questions and to all the members here who chimed in as well to answer and those who answered my questions about Happy Bay. We still plan to give it another shot. Thanks everyone! BTW, I told Kris and Nigel to join TTOL. Looking forward to seeing them at Gunnison in August.

Thanks so much for the report! I added some returns, to make it easier to read.

With regard to Happy Bay, it is kind of a hike from Friar's Bay, yes. If it were more accessible, nude use would basically not be possible.

Enjoyed you report. Thanks.

A note about airfares. Just made our reservations for next March. About $300 more per person than last year. Ouch!

Is there a beach at the Hilton?

Royal Palm has a beach, yes. However, it is a man-made beach and due to the questionable quality of the water in that area, we never go in the water there. Same beach as Buccaneer.

Many do swim at that spot with no consequences but we were told years ago by islanders it was simply NOT a good place to enjoy the ocean. Poor? Sure! Beaching? Sure! But swimming? Not so much. Because of their island knowledge and experience we always opted to swim elsewhere.🙂🙂

The Flamingo Hilton has a nice swim able beach. I've swam in that beach for over 20 years and still have the same amount of toes and fingers I was born with.

Scuba--The BEACH is beautiful, although very coarse sand, since it's not a natural beach. But you won't find me going in that water.

Thanks for the lovely report! Did the owners of J&N sell??? We really liked them!!!

They did not sell, same owners. Anil is still there with his family. Lovely people and Anil is such a great guy. He did tell us they changed the name to Jewels & Beyond. We love them all!