TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Which restaurants offer 1 to 1 in Grand Case?

I'm thinking there is a thread with this information?

Thanks!

Timely question though with the strong dollar they all should be in my opinion. As it is they get all their supplies from the Dutch side in dollars.

While I don't have a specific answer the spread should not be much at all since the exchange rate is between 1 euro = 1.14USD to slightly a little more right now. I would be surprised if any place had it more than 1 euro = 1.20 USD.

What was current 6 months ago may well be outdated now since the exchange rate has narrowed and pretty much continues to narrow.

Scroll to "Restaurants" in the SXM-Info newsletter for what was reported a week ago.

While a lot of the supplies probably do come from the Dutch side, I doubt ALL do.

As the others have said, it's not really such a big deal anymore and frankly, I have always thought those restaurants just raised their prices to compensate..

That said, as far as who I know does 1 to 1, La Villa and Spiga do, and I think Piazza Pascal. It depends on whether you're going out there every night, etc, but any more we usually only do 1 night in Grand Case. For me, regardless of 1 to 1, I'd much rather be at Ocean 82 or Bistrot Cariabes.

Hey rural, there are no ports or large airlines to handle goods coming on island on the french side. Everything comes in on the Dutch side hence why all the warehouses are there.

I am well aware of that but I still doubt ALL supplies come via the Dutch side or they are all paid for in US dollars.

How would supplies arriving via Air France from France be handled?

Ok, how about I clarify to 90%. They don't pay in dollars, you are correct, they use the euro so they actually only pay at this point .86 at the current rate. They may buy some fish at the market in Marigot but other than that all supplies on island come in on the Dutch side.

They pay their staff in Euros.
They pay their taxes in Euros.
They pay their rent in Euros.
They pay their utilities in Euros.
I'd be willing to bet that a majority of all of their expenses are in Euros.

You are in France. Deal with it.

I'm fine with it actually. I spend most days on the french side and never complain. Just adding my opinion on what the current rate should be.

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

Buy the mussels....buy the mussels....good deal....they are all from Canada....our dollar is way down compared to the US $$$$$.....good deal....kate <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/canada.gif" alt="" /> anguilla

I do and I love them. Thanks for sharing them with us! PEI all the way

Ed Zachary!
What I just noticed, which I didn't like, is when a business in Grand Case charges my Visa Debit Card in dollars at my request and my bank adds an exchange fee. I called my bank and they promptly reversed the fees. It was just a few cents per transaction but I had no reason to be charged more than the dollar amount of the transaction.

Perhaps I am not understanding, but if it is your bank charging the exchange fee, isn't that a totally different issue?

I know at one time some banks/credit cards would charge an exchange fee or currency conversion fee but that is beyond the control of any restaurant.

As Carol previously said, most places adjust their prices so that your cost comes out the same. Eat at a place because you want to, not because of the exchange rate.

However, you should always ask before you dine, since once in a while a place will offer a poor exchange rate and you should avoid those. We got stuck that way once and now always ask first.

You understood well. What happened is I paid several Grand Case restaurants in US dollars, using a Visa Debit Card. The restaurants asked me if I wanted to be charged in USD or in Euros. I said dollars so the CC receipt I signed was in dollars and my bank still charged me fees which were described as foreign transaction fees! Nothing to do with the restaurants but I wanted to mention it in case someone else faces the same situation.

Ok. I understand. Like I stated, I know some credit cards (I have no idea on debit cards) or banks would change a conversion/currency fee even if charged in USD. I use a Discover card when possible and there is no charge for either.

Do you have any evidence to support this theory? When Le Cottage and L'Escapade offered 1:1 during slow season in the past, they didn't adjust their menu prices. Of the restaurants currently offering 1:1 for cash (Piazza Pascal, La Villa, Spiga, and Il Nettuno), I've compared their prices with their peers in Grand Case and found them to be mostly in line with each other (except for Spiga which has slightly higher prices).

If I understand it correctly, your bank was correct in charging that fee, doesn't matter if the charge was in USD or Euros, because the restaurants uses a bank in "France" and your bank is "US", so it's a foreign transaction coming into your US bank, they didn't charge a conversion fee as it was charged in USD. That's how it was explained to me. Hope that makes sense

Yes it makes sense and what's funny is my bank didn't even try to explain it to me as clearly as you did. They accepted to reverse the charges without any discussion.

L'Ecapade, and "Sky's the limit (lolos) also do, but I agree with Carol, most places just raise the price a little anyway..