TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Trip Report for a Short but Sweet Trip

Trip Report – quick VERY Last minute trip for 5 days

We just HAD to get out of NJ!!! So Sunday 2/22 we checked the airlines and found the last 2 seats on the Delta flight from JFK leaving Thursday 2/26. We booked them!

Next, find a place to sleep…
We called Jim Ruos of Caribbean Island Travel Services. Jim & Mary have been booking our trips for at least 15 years. Jim was able to get us into a Beach Chalet at ClubO where we wouldn’t have to move during our time there.

OK, now can we find a car on such short notice? In High Season? A few quick messages with Leslie Bruce of Kenny’s Car Rental, and he was able to hook us up with one of his friends for a car. Rodeal rentals were great to deal with and they met us at the airport with our car and all the paperwork was done in the parking lot.

Off to ClubO! Love the new Causeway, and taking the Scenic Route through the waterfront area of Marigot saved us some time with traffic. I think it was only about a 40 minute trip. Check in was a breeze, and it was nice to be welcomed back. We had a small grocery order waiting for us at the unit delivered from the Boutique. It’s nice to have cold water & beer as soon as you get in.

The beach was very windy this trip. Several of the days, the umbrellas were either not set up or not opened. It was full and busy on the whole beach except for the times the wind drove people away early.

Meals:
Lunch twice at Andy & Cheryl’s. The Mussells and Grouper were divine as always. Cheryl does a great calamari too.
Had our French thin crust pizza at Orange Fever. Love that.
Aloha was by far the best lunch we had although I forget what we ate. We shared a pina colada that Paul claims is the best he’s ever had.
Dinners:
Papagayo the first night. It was fine. Love the ambiance and the dancing. We will miss Nancy.
Into the Village the 2nd night to La Table d”Antoine. I had a delicious duck breat and Paul had a steak of some sort. Both meals were very good. Had to dodge the rain shower a bit mid-meal, but we saved the wine!
3rd night was Grand Case. We did not make a reservation, so were turned away with a sad smile from Bistrot Caraibes. We were able to get one of the last tables at Le Tastevin and had a lovely meal looking out at the boats and lights on Anguilla. We usually go to SXM in November, so we’re not used to needing reservations.
Back to the Village the 4th night for Le Piment. This time we made reservations since we had seen the line waiting to get in there the last time we were in the Village. This restaurant has become one of our very favorites on the island. Last November, we went there 3 times. They did not disappoint this time either. I can’t remember what we had, but it must have been duck and beef since we had a nice bottle of Chateau Neuf du Pape with it. They have a very nicely curated selection of wines at fair prices. We shared a wonderful Tiramisu that was a special dessert that night. Usually don’t go for desserts, but I’m glad we made an exception here.
Final night we went back to the Village again to Cote Plages. No reservation, but we were able to snag a table. We got there about 7, and after that they did turn some people away. We both had snapper. Paul had the whole fish (filleted at table), and I had the one from the menu wrapped in very thin pastry. Both were very good.

It was very good to get out of the awful NJ weather for a few days. We missed a couple of snow storms while we were gone. I had hoped that we would be done with winter, but it snowed the night we came back, delaying our flight for 2 ½ hours. And as I write this, there is even more snow falling and they’ve shut down the State!

We will be back in November for a glorious 2 weeks!

Great to hear you had a good time and a little reprise from the weather. As I look out at the falling snow I just might take the leap as you did.

Nice report and always fun to get away unexpectedly and on short notice! Thanks for allowing us to enjoy your escape from winter.

Thanks for sharing what sounds like a great late winter break from the NE. You hit some of our favorites - Club Orient & Papagayo, Orange Fever and Le Piment. We hope to get to Le Table d'Antoine next trip.

Kathleen,

Great trip report Kathleen! We go down in April! Maybe catch you guys at the Hook this summer!

BobandJEana

Thanks for sharing your quick trip with us. Even five days as a reprieve from ol' man winter is a wonderful thing. Aloha is our favorite lunch on Orient too! Glad you managed to get away.

Oh what a great thing to pull off! We all "need it bad"! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Nice report. Love that you were able to escape to SXM, even if it was a short trip!

Lucky you, wish we could get away from the snow too. IF you checked luggage, was there a cost with Delta?

We did check luggage and there was no charge because we have and paid for the tickets with a Delta credit card. Otherwise, I believe there would have been a fee.

Thank you.

Delta $25 for checked bag

Very nice, Kathleen. And aren't those last minute trips wonderful!! Glad you made it and all things worked out for you. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for taking time to post a nice report.

Thanks for the report.
How did you like the location of the beach Chalets? Which one were you in?

Just curious, what's up with Nancy at Papagayo? She's leaving?

We were in 94 and did not like the location at all. It was about as far from Papagayo as you can get. That being said, we were happy to get ANY place at ClubO on such short notice. We probably would have slept on the beach. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />
We prefer the location of the waterfront units or the studios.

Nancy is going back to France in July. That was one of the reasons we wanted to get back this trip: to say goodbye.

Sounds like a lovely getaway. Thanks for posting.

Yes, we also like the location of the Studios and the Waterfront Chalets. Shortly after the Mini-Suits were built and before the Studios were air conditioned we stayed in the Mini-Suites one trip, but then it was back to the Studios. We were considering the Chalets to have more space.

Thank you for the reply!

A short trip is better than no trip! Thanks for the trip report,