TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Last trip to SXM 2012

So it has been a long time sine our last trip and we are going to visit in January 2024 on a Celebrity cruise. Would like to bring our group of friends who have never visited SXM to Orient Beach and I need help with where to have lunch. We liked going to see Andy and Cheryl at Baywatch and having a great lunch. Now I see so many places that are not familiar to me and even though I have checked out some of the menus, I would rather hear from some of the SXM Lovers on this board.. I still see some familiar names here and glad to see you have kept coming back. Thanks for your help. Diana

Sadly Andy and Cheryl's Baywatch is long gone. IMHO, We love the food and beach guys at LaPlaya!!!

trangermom--are you looking for a place with a kind of 'grunge' vibe like Andy & Cheryl's and American food? Most of the places along Orient now are more upscale places and most serve French food.

I'd agree with Carol on the "more upscale" vibe. We ate at Orange Fever and Le String. Both had enough of an old 'grunge' feel within the building itself that reminded us of the older places, however the clientele and food is definitely a step above. This isn't a "better or worse" take on things, just I too miss the Andy and Cheryl vibe but I could see us sliding right in to feeling at home in either of the two we frequented this past trip. We did return to Le String on several occasions as we preferred the food and the the fact that if you ate there the umbrella and lounge chairs were thrown in for free.

Here's an interior shot of Le String

I would suggest Orange Fever. Waiter JC is a hoot and relates with humor.

Scuba--so long as their visit is not on a Tuesday!

I believe his normal day off is Wednesday

Oh, duh. I thought someone posted his day off was Tuesday. My bad.

if you sit inside at Chez Leandra you get that old vibe like "C&A" place!!!

Thanks for all the information..I look forward to being back on the island that we started visiting in the 1980's through 2012, Greatest vacations ever.

So if you only were visiting the island off of a cruise ship would you take your friends who have never been there before? We used to spend most of our beach time on Orient Beach but I haven't seen any pictures of what it looks like now. We used to watch the cruise ship people walk up and down the beach getting an eye full. I don't want to be those people! Any suggestions? And what about front street for shopping? I know once we see the island again we are going to want to come back like we used to.

Why not. Orient is something that has a lot to offer. Not just the nude section.

Will be on that same Celebrity cruise in January. Renting a car and going to Gutside for lunch.

You might want to spend some time at the new Dinghy’s bar on Simpson’s Bay. With a stop for a libation at the Driftwood on the way back to the ship to catch some of the planes.

Tim--why would they want to also stop at Driftwood to see planes, when you can see planes from Dinghy's?

At the Driftwood you can see them land over the beach and then take off a short distance away. There’s nothing like the sound of those engines as they are taking off. Plus it’s a funky place to be with the planes, the beach and ocean and the local color.

I like Driftwood ok, it's just such a difficult place to find parking.

Nice, throwing in the loungers/umbrella!!! I LIKE THAT for sure!

What I don't get, is that the people from Driftwood don't ask the vendors to park in the "sunset" lot and free up what little spaces they have!! It's common courtesy among business people!!

I usually park behind the pharmacy. It’s kind of a walk but occasionally drop into the casino and play a $20. See if I can pay for my drinks at the Driftwood. Can you park in the Sunset lot without going into the business there? For some reason I never like the walk from the Sunset to the Driftwood. Dodging the cars and the people.

Sure, you can park in the Sunset lot, if you PAY them.

That’s what I thought.

If you stop and have a drink at unset your parking would get validated.

Isn't it a small world? Looking forward to the cruise and also being back to St. Martin. We are going with a group from Florida.

The sunset/Morgan lot is not free, a couple of dollars, free if you are eating at Sanbar or Morgan. Sometimes we park on White Sands road and walk it in, on/off the curb-sand!! Not so bad!! LOL!!!

Love the idea of parking behind the pharmacy before placing a $20 bet for drinks before going to Driftwood. Any suggestions on a quick 50-50 bet?

One hand on a blackjack table.

I just usually play the slots. It’s also an opportunity to use a decent restroom before heading to the Driftwood because as we all know the Driftwood’s “facilities” are not a strong point…

If there is a downer, it's the Port-O-john!!! That's one of the reasons we go for a quick dip and a cocktail with app, because we are so close to BSV!!! But on an up note, the bathrooms at Sandbar are really nice! Food is good truck food!!

If you're willing to pay, why not the garage under La Terrasse - woudn't that be a shorter/easier/safer walk?

It’s been a year since we were last there but we weren’t allowed to park under La Terrasse unless we were staying there or at RICLP. We actually were asked to back out onto the main road and find another place to park. And yes, this was after the construction materials were all removed. The guard at the booth said that was their new policy.
Perhaps they’ve gone back to their old policy of pay to park?

Lancer, I was going to ask what typical charges are for loungers and umbrellas?

I'm not a garage person!!! It's a NYC thing!!!