TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Daily Herald Best of 2014 Awards

So many people ask what's the BEST..well the Daily Herald has just posted the the very comprehensive list for 2014. Maybe it should somehow be pinned on top here with their permission.

Here's the link:

http://www.thedailyherald.com/images/stories/bestof/Jan-28-2015-Best%20Of%202014.pdf

As long as you buy and write the ad you can claim to be the best in anything.

Read page 2 of the Awards..tells you how the list was generated..not by paid ads..

Three votes per IP address. It can still be manipulated as all of these tend to be. A lot of the restaurants show up on this forum as good places to go. Everybody has their favorites. None of mine made the list but I hang on the French side.

Congrats to all our friends, I wasn't aware of the voting, I agree with many of the top three. Let's keep working hard to provide the best service to our neighbors & visitors! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Generally the french side is under-represented in these polls, especially the restaurants.

I must admit I am very surprised (and pleased) to see Divi Little Bay the number one resort on Dutch Sint Maarten. I believe the scenic location had much to do with the selection.




Thanks for posting.

Cool link thanks for posting. I think we'll consider this list…

"Best of the Dutch Side"

Reminds me why we love the French side so much.

Looking through all the results, they did seem to be a bit more true this year than they have been in the past, other than the lack of representation of the french side. As someone else said, it's the best of the Dutch side. I still don't get Pizza Galley though... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />

It is just an Infomercial.

SXM??? Wendell

Reminds me of when my wife and I first moved to Ohio. They published the best of awards and Olive Garden won Best Italian, McDonald's Best Burger, and Red Lobster, Best Seafood. I knew we were in trouble. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Perhaps, but friends from Maho Pharmacy, Top Carrot, Loterie Farm, Sarafina's do not need the publicity. Believe me.

Talk about infomercial, I don't watch football but that is one big infomercial
& a comedy this year with inflated footballs. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

I said the same thing when we moved to Kinston, North Carolina. When Ruby Tuesday wins second place in the Best Gourmet Restaurant category, you know you're in trouble!

I was happy to see my favorite jewelry store voted number one. Again!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

I never really pay attention to these. Most of the time i notice that the winners are always the ones that consistently advertise with the publication.

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />


I definitely go by reviews / ratings from my hometown paper, I would miss out on some great restaurants, shopping etc. NYT is my paper to read online.

And I have to say, not my favorites but many on TTOL rave about many of the restaurants ( Dutch side )that were listed as popular in the Daily Herald. That says something too I would guess. Life today is one big advertisement isn't it? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

I actually find these lists interesting and useful. Who cares if its unscientific? Looking at the description for "Best Casino" and some of the subheads, I'm guessing they didn't spend an overly long time editing this <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

PS to GaKaye - at least there's good barbecue in Kinston!

I haven't yet had a meal on the Dutch side (except lunch at Sunset), we'll be there in 29 days and staying for 9 nights. Despite my initial reaction this may be helpful should we choose to mix it up a little.

Still chuckling over "Best French food" award not even being on the French side.

Kings? Sadly, I'm not a big fan of barbecue. The best barbecue I find around here is when someone has a pig pickin'. Now THAT's barbecue!

And I thought that Bada Bling was a jewelry store! (Just kidding). <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/smashpc.gif" alt="" />

Now that is NC slang!

Not sure why the French side was under represented. Maybe the poll was in English and the French had a hard time understanding it. We found it to be quite useful for the other categories other than restaurants/entertainment. Nice to know where many of the locals prefer to shop. Also a handy guide for 1st timers who know nothing about the island. Glad some of you got something out of it...

As far as the French side is concerned, I didn't get around to voting this year, so I don't know how it was set up this year. Anyone that voted, could you write in a choice, or did you have to choose from a list? It seems to me that I remember in the past you could not write in any choices, but the DH just made a list for you to choose from? It seems the french side is always way under-represented in these polls though.

I've never had a Domino's pizza while on the island, but if it's anything like our local Domino's, I can't see how it finished #2, which means it finished ahead of La Belle Epoque, Le Piment, Orange Fever, Mama Pizza, Villa Pizza and many others. Maybe we'll try a Domino's this year, just for comparison's sake.