TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Mr and Mrs Nobby's early musings.

We arrived Saturday after getting off a transatlantic cruise in Barbados and overnighting on a concrete bench at the airport ( it was outside departures ahead of our 5.30am flight via POS and not bad - a giant fan kept us cool and the skeeters away.)
We spent two nights at the Simpson Bay resort - not bad although the woman server in the sports bar was unbelievably rude to customers and her fellow staff - before moving into a beach rental just down from the Horny Toad.
Our first impressions are exceptionally positive.
We have grown tired of the poor attitude among hospitality staff in islands like Barbados and Antigua which are very rundown outside the resorts. Local food is stodgy, expensive and with poor choice.
It's totally the opposite on SM - they actually seem to appreciate tourists and what we have seen so far of restaurants and choices is very good.
The beach is fantastic - low key developments, some building work on newer places and a couple of great beach bars. Pristine clear waters. And clean.
We have found our perfect bar with great margaritas - Dinghy Dock's happy hour is fantastic.
Good potent skinny margaritas made with their own lime mix and not some over-sweet catering variety. Three of those plus two Coronas for 20 bucks gets my vote every day - including this historic one 😉
Excellent HH food - great wings and fish dip in particular - and great staff in Jamelia and Ash.
We also like the fact that unusually the music is kept low key and not at ear-splitting volume.
It is our perfect holiday drinking spot.
We managed the long airport perimeter walk to watch some planes land then continued round to Maho calling in at SXM Cigars to pick up some stogies. Fantastic selection. Good prices. Knowledgeable owner.
Then continued walking around the airport to Dinghy Dock for a well-earned livener.
On reflection perhaps a little optimistic for a 70-year-old with dodgy knees but the much younger Mrs Nobby kept an eye on me.
And that so far is that - we plan a bus trip north at the weekend but at the moment the beach and our apartment's pool are a big draw.
The weather is great - high 20s but cooling down rapidly in the evening.
Any more suggestions for good happy hours at this end of the beach much appreciated.

Hello, Neighbor! I will be checking in to the Toad tomorrow afternoon and am meeting friends for lunch at D's Beach Bar at noon if you are in the area and want to say hello. Enjoy your stay and nice to see a report from a newer member!

sounds like a good start to your trip. Enjoy!

How long will your visit last?

Apologies for not replying to your questions but tbh we had such a good time on St Maarten that I didn't want to waste it online.
Our vacation apartment just along the beach from the Horny Toad and nearly opposite the Dinghy Dock Sailors Bar on the bay side was divine.
We spent most of our time on the beach chillaxing and visited Mary Boon's and D's daily for drinks.
Between the splendid drinks and food happy hour at the Dingy Dock and the occasional excellent takeaway Chinese from the Delicious Dishes opposite we rarely ate out as we're more drinkers than high-end diners on a beach holiday.
The only blight on our holiday was on the last night when walking past the Sol gas station entrance. A souped-up car driven by a local youth entered at such high speed we had to literally jump out of the way for our lives and I came down badly on my foot in a pothole.
I was in agony all the way back to the UK but didn't have time to get it x-rayed as I left almost immediately on a sporting trip to New Zealand where I hobbled around on crutches for a fortnight.
It took about three months to clear up fully - probably a small broken bone.
Anyway it hasn't put us off returning and next time we plan to be much more adventurous. This trip was a fly and flop after a transatlantic cruise as a reward for selling our business.
The only other niggle was the traffic but hey, don't we all know that now
I'm sitting here now at my home desk looking down the high street of our 17th century village with the Maho Beach webcam on my giant TV to bring back memories.
And still figuring about the question we asked ourselves when visiting Maho.
Why would anyone want to sit on a crowded beach with the rest of humanity and jets flying overhead when just a short walk to D's bar unveils an almost deserted, pristine beach to die for.
Crazy toons.

Your last two statements.....AMEN!

Glad to hear you had a decent time on SXM. Hope you return.