Trip Report Feb 14-March 1, 2008
Summary: This is our 7th trip in the last 10 years and the first time we’ve taken another couple with us. Our best friends joined us for the first week of our 16-day stay. Unfortunately, they brought the flu with them.
Rented the car from Tropical Tropicana for the 6th time. The check in was smooth once we got to their office (just up the road that you turn on to go to the Pelican) but the drive to their office was all about waiting in traffic and took a while. They told me they are trying to set up a more efficient check in process for their repeat customers where you don’t have to go to their office. No details…we’ll see.
We rented the Seaside Retreat for the second year in a row. This very private Villa is located in Beacon Hill the second to last house on the point and sits on a 30ft cliff overlooking Simpson Bay with spectacular day and night views. The owner added a Penthouse Suite taking up the entire second floor, which is where Cheryl & I stayed and it really seemed like a whole separate villa. We were very impressed.
At any rate, our friends stayed in the villa and enjoyed the pool the first day trying to get well and Cheryl & I headed to Cupecoy where to our delight, there was plentiful sand on the main beach where Danny & John set up shop. The sand and beach remained the entire trip!
Unfortunately, after a week, when our friends left, Cheryl got a bad case of the bronchial flu. Two trips to the doctor and 2 prescriptions and a couple days of convalescing at the villa at least got her well enough that she felt like she didn’t miss anything. I took advantage and grilled jerk ribs or wings for our afternoon snack. I’m getting as good as Danny & John at Cupecoy.
This trip was different in that we took our first timer friends to a lot familiar places the first week and when Cheryl got sick we laid low the second week.
New places: We did try LaGondola. It was OK; we probably should have waited for a day when we were feeling better. Neither of us ate a lot and several staff came over to make sure everything was Ok with our meal. It was much better as leftovers when we were feeling better. We’ll say it was just us and definitely try it again next year. We also tried dinner at Skipjacks for the first time and it was just so-so. We ate there because the Celine docks there and we’d just taken the lagoon sunset sail. Speaking of Celine: we’ve done it before and Neil and his host were always great with lots of narration and great tidbits about boats, houses and the island etc. and the open bar drinks flowed. We thought our friends would love it. Well, Neil got there a little late, seemed distracted and just wasn’t into it and there was very little narration and we even had to ask for another drink. Several people sat for long periods with empty glasses. Even our friends said they wouldn’t do that one again. Don’t mean to bash Neil, we sailed with him several times and will do so again, this one was sub-par. We also tried LaPetit Auberge in the Marigo Marina Royale and enjoyed that. Our friends thought the service was slow and it was, but we explained “island time” and overall it was a good dining experience. And of course, we can’t forget the Maho Medical Clinic which was also a new experience.
Repeats from previous trips: We ate at Lal’s, probably our favorite place, 3 times, Halseys once, even Lee’s where I swore I’d never go back and much to my surprise, the service wasn’t bad and the meal was good. The Greenhouse. This is a tradition for us, the food is exceptional and the service is great. Ricks; (to try to catch a Creighton game) every time we go there we say we’ll never go back…and we said it again this year. Turtle Pier and The Summet for breakfast when I didn’t cook my famous veggie omelets with Bloody Mary’s.
Hi-lights…Happy Bay, where we spent a very wonderful and relaxing day with about 10 or 12 couples spread out across the beach. No local gawkers this time and there was a local guy serving drinks, cooking and renting chairs. The Butterfly farm. The Tiko Tiko cruise is always a blast where Philippe served one of the best meals we had on the trip. Cupecoy, our favorite beach where the sand was plentiful the whole trip. Sand Gravity…need I say more? Hearing that schools were closed in Omaha because of minus 7 temps and 30mph winds; it was windy but 82 on the island. What could be a better hi-light than just being there? It never gets old does it?
Bummers…. got into a minor fender bender; major bummer. Also, we know not to take a lot of expensive jewelry. Cheryl’s birthday was a few days before we left and I bought her a matching necklace and bracelet. She wore them down there; kept them in the safe the whole time we were there and put them on for the trip home. Sitting on the plane in St Maarten, she gasps, realizing her bracelet is not on her wrist. It’s insured, but she was bummed. And…going to my car at Cupecoy at the same time as some guy was trying to break in. I yelled, he ran, no damage. (Maybe that should be a hi-light) And of course everyone getting sick but we all made the best of it.
Editorial: We did hear and read about a couple that got mugged near the start of the path to Happy Bay but not until after we’d taken the same path. The path is getting very overgrown and an ideal place for the bad guys to hide, and we even commented about that on our hike in. It’s too bad they just don’t open the road. I know this would make the beach more populated and destroy what makes it so great but it really may have to come to that or just cross it off our list of must do’s. It would really be a shame.
Happy Thoughts: Have already book the same villa for next year. I think we found the perfect home base for us. Will be posting some pictures or another photoshow as time permits.
