Just returned from the island. It was a bit of a disappointing trip this time around, mostly because so many things seemed off or went wrong. I’m going to categorize it into little segments, because I’m too exhausted at the moment to do much more than that.
Flights: this started the whole thing off on the wrong foot. Rather than drive the 3 hours to ATL this time, we decided to do the connection from our hometown airport in Knoxville (TYS), through Atlanta. We thought it would save us the 2 extra overnights in Atlanta (there and back) to catch the early morning flights. We were wrong. Delta had a flight attendant call in sick in Knoxville that Sunday (May 26) morning, didn’t have a backup flight attendant nearby, and had to fly one in from somewhere else - which ruined a lot of people’s day. They weren’t able to get a substitute flight attendant to the airport for 3 hours, which caused us to miss our SXM connection in ATL. We spend the first night of our vacation in an ATL hotel. Notified both Lesley and La Vista Resort that we would be arriving a day late.
Arrived on the island the next day (Monday, May 27). Flight was uneventful.
Return flight home on June 5 (Wednesday) was also delayed at SXM airport for almost an hour due to storms somewhere along the route between SXM and ATL. The flight itself was uneventful other than the delay, which caused us to again miss our 9 pm connection from ATL to Knoxville. The 11 pm flight was sold out, so we ended up yet again spending the night in an ATL hotel and flew out to Knoxville this morning. Flight home from ATL via Delta was uneventful.
Car Rental: Lesley Bruce (Kennys car rental) was ready and waiting for us when we finally arrived. We’ve been renting from Lesley for a long time and always look forward to his big smile when we land. We are able to relax knowing our car is ready and waiting for us at the airport (no shuttle for us), and drop-off is a breeze. We had a brand new car this time, which made us a little nervous, as we didn’t want to be the first to put a ding on it. But we had no mishaps and returned it in good shape. A good start to our visit is seeing Lesley and his photos of his grandson.
Stay: we stayed at La Vista Resort this time. We’ve stayed with them many times in the past, though our more recent stays have been at BSV. We stayed in a one-bedroom deluxe, 2-bath unit on the hill (as opposed to the beachfront units), which was lovely. Unit was sparkling clean, well stocked, view from our balcony was fabulous, housekeeping service was daily. Unit contained 2 TV’s, one in the living room and one in the bedroom. Our parking space was right outside our front door, which was very convenient. The Hideaway Restaurant onsite served breakfast and lunch only (not open for dinner at this time), bar drinks were quite good, and the pool was amazingly clean and relaxing on the days when we were just too tired to make it to the beach. All sorts of tubes and noodles were provided for the pool. The staff at La Vista have always been superb. There are smiles all around and no annoying sales push. If you forget your reading material at home, there are tons of books to read in the front office library. Thankful that La Vista has a backup generator. They kept us lit and going throughout the very annoying blackout last Sunday, and the rolling blackouts that intermittently followed. GEBE needs to get their act together.
Meals: we ate several meals at the SMYC, simply because it’s fun, convenient, and the food and drinks are good. Service is always with a smile. Parking is sometimes an issue, but we manage most days.
Other places we ate:
Secret Seafood House:(our first time there): we went on a Wednesday night when they offer the live music of Bobby Jagger & Gianfranco. It was a fun time. Ed had the grilled snapper fillet with scalloped potatoes and fried plantains. I had chicken alfredo with garlic bread. We enjoyed both our meals AND the music. Lots of sing-alongs, a bit of dancing, and it was a decent crowd. The only complaint I have is that the music was a quite loud in the beginning; it was hard to talk or hear over the music. I don’t care for having to shout while I’m eating dinner. They did eventually turn it down a bit as the evening wore on, and all was well.
Roma in Maho: (also our first visit there): probably the best meal we had on the island.
We sat at the high top bar tables so we could order an appetizer from Mr. Chow, the adjoining Asian restaurant. You can order from either restaurant if you sit at the bar or the high top tables in the bar area. We ordered chicken rolls from Mr. Chow, which were perfectly crisp and very tasty. Dinner was from Roma’s menu. Ed had the regular chicken parmigiana (they also have an ‘ultimate’ one that adds parma ham). He said it was very good. It was also a large serving, so Ed brought some home. I ordered the Pollo ‘Roma’ which was chicken stuffed with spinach-prosciutto-gorgonzola cheese, and was served with creamy mashed potatoes and broccolini. It was absolutely delicious and my favorite dish of this visit. Neither of us had room for dessert, but we didn’t have any problem with the complimentary shot of limoncello they offered post meal.
The Palms: a place we always enjoy. Romaine took good care of us, as usual. Ed had the spicy lasagna and I had the chicken curry. Delicious! We shared a piece of carrot cake for dessert and slogged our way back to La Vista, full and happy.
Vesna Taverna: always a repeat favorite during our visits. We went Saturday for Greek Night and it didn’t disappoint. If you like Greek food, this is the place to go. We had made reservations just to be sure.
Bar Code: another usual haunt for us. We went there on Sunday, though we started out going to Fat Tony’s. Fat Tony’s didn’t have food cooked because of the Dutch-side blackout that was taking place. So we managed a meal at Bar Code. I honestly can’t remember what either one of us ate because things were a bit hectic from the blackout. It was good though; not great, but reliably decent. Drinks are always good there.
Pollo Hermanos: Sadly, the most disappointing meal of our visit. This was a first-time visit and was based on several good reviews we had read on this site. We had attempted to go Sunday night, but they weren’t cooking because of the blackout, so we went back the following evening. I’m not sure if it’s what we ordered, if it was an off night for them, or if it’s just not our cup of tea, but it was NOT good. Ed had the Venezuelan Plate, which consisted of 3 different appetizer type items, and I had the chicken quesadilla . Neither of us cared for the taste or the texture of the shredded chicken; in fact, neither of us finished our meal. Perhaps we should have simply gotten the regular roasted chicken (leg or breast) and called it a day, but what we got was not worth a return visit. It’s a very small place and parking is pretty limited.
Reveil Matin SXM Breakfast & Lunch: one of our favorite places on island to enjoy breakfast. While it doesn’t have the atmosphere of the SMYC (another favorite breakfast spot), the quality and quantity of the food make up for it. The whole staff is very friendly and the menu is extensive. Highly recommend this place. We go every visit.
Beaches: we came into this visit pretty exhausted and stressed, having been dealing with the loss of 3 our pets to cancer over the past 7 months. It’s been a difficult year; our pets are like family members. This trip was actually supposed to be a European trip (Paris and Amsterdam), but we postponed that one to do this one, not being up to a more extensive and tiring one in Europe. As it turns out, what we ‘should’ have done was probably cancel this trip as well and just stayed home. So we didn’t do our usual round of beaches and stuck pretty much to Orient Beach, specifically the Club O end. The water was very refreshing (there was one day when the water was cloudy at the edges due to the demolition of the Papagayo building stirring it up), the beach was fairly clean, the Perch was perfect for lunches, and a couple of the beach dogs sat with us a few times and helped us heal. We got to briefly spend some time with friends who made us smile, which always helps the spirit. But we were undoubtedly fatigued and so spent some time just hanging at the La Vista pool and condo, which is okay - it’s what we needed to do this time around.
Miscellaneous: Traffic wasn’t horrible, it is low season, though there was one day when it was horrible going through Simpson Bay. Not sure what was going on, but we ended up turning around and going in the other direction. Drivers on the island seem a bit more aggressive, but perhaps we just noticed it more. Weather was mostly clear and sunny, though VERY hot and humid (more so than usual for May/June, I think). We didn’t do a lot of activities during this visit. We did visit with SXM Paws one day to spend time playing with the puppies. They are such a wonderful organization. I understand that the CDC is changing the rules about bringing dogs into the United States beginning August 1, 2024, which will affect Paws in a big way.
If you’re interested, there is more information on their FB page, along with a petition if you wish to sign it. SXM is not considered a high rabies outbreak country and the island really needs our help to get the dogs adopted out. The island can only care for so many of them.
So, not our best visit, but that’s mostly on us and the things that have occurred in our personal lives over the past year. The island is still beautiful, the people still friendly, the sea still healing. Next time (November) will be better.
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