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Days 1-3 so far, so yummy the captain 18 hours ago You guys have always been so helpful. Here is giving back by way of trip report.

Day 1 was an LONG one. We just happened to wake up at 03:00 and couldn’t fall back asleep. Arrived JFK at 0530 for an 0715 boarding & ontime departure at 0800. Arrived on aa1959 out of JFK. Arrival was early but a 10 min wait for our gate to clear. No bags to grab, so we quickly hooked up w Leslie. Always a fair pricing and super convenient service! This was the 2nd time we got a car with the plate R1.

Checked into Maho, jumped into beach attire & we were enjoying rum punches at the Driftwood an hour AFTER touchdown. This is why we chose SXM as our go to simple vacay. All our other trips are heavy planning so SXM is relatively easy.

After our traditional welcome drink (sadly without our firstborn who’s in Uni), we headed back to the pool. This was the busiest Ive seen the last Terasse pool. The economy seems to be booming this year if these numbers are any indication!

First nights dinner: Beirut. How had we driven past this so many times? Well, we have no picky eaters on this trip (but he’s missed!)! We didnt have reservations and given the long travel day, we forgot it was Valentine’s Day. We arrived at 1700 and they were super accommodating. We ordered kibbeh, kebabs, garlic shrimp ….2 apps, 2 entrees and 1 cocktail. Also included was a bowl of lentil soup, so darn goooooooddd.

$123 not bad and we were plenty full. Needless to say we were exhausted. Got back to Maho and were in bed by 2130.

Day 2 Sunday. Walked over to the Deli for a pair of coffees. Lovely chatting with the girl behind the counter.
Then I drove the ladies up to Grand Case. Besides enjoying food, our daughter is a girly girl. She loves styling her hair, skin, makeup , scents…..just the day before she was raving about perfumes. So we surprised her with a perfume making class at Tijon. The owner Mimi met us at 10:30 and for 90 minutes, the ladies donned lab coats and methodically concocted their own potions. I attended as the photographer and it was a nice activity I’d recommend.

By noon, we were going to head to Hercule Resto for takeout Haitian Creole food. But I tapped Mimi for ideas & she recommended Villa Royale. OH MY GOD. Their food was SO GOOD. Got to talking to them and they warned us that Carnival was about to start in Marigot and would block our return to Maho (Daughter had a 3 hr online class at 1400). So we grabbed 3 platters of food and took the long way east, through the French Qtr.
2 platters of griot, one with mushroom rice, the other with plantains, and 1 grilled chicken platter w rice & beans. $55 and we have leftovers…You HAVE to try this place. Plus it was very pretty inside though Im unsure if it was just for Valentines Day.

While daughter did her class in the room, we walked around Maho VIllage then hung out poolside.

Later that night we enjoyed JAX for the first time. 3 cocktails, a chateaubriand and the grilled salmon….$209. It was good for a steakhouse but….I dont think their ovens are hot enough for a fantastic sear with a nice charred crust. Just my opinion. The service and drinks were fantastic. Aike was a great server.

day 3 Monday. Shopping in Phillipsburg…thanks for the DK Gems recommendation. My wife is awesome. Wanted to get her something special. She only had me donate $1000 to the Dk Gems fund. She really is a cheap date!

A few cruise ships in town but it didnt seem overwhelming. Trying to see if I want to bring home some liquor….Have a look at how pics. I got to see how the pricing is for these bottles!
She needed to get her new ring sized so we paid then headed to Reveil Matin for brunch around noon. Breakfast wrap, an omelette and avocado toast, 3 drinks….$80 We can now say we’ve been to both locations.

Afterward, we got back to Maho and hung out poolside for a bit before heading out to Bistrot Caraibes for dinner.

Rode up to Grand Case and that was a helluva meal. I’d never ordered a full lobster before. I’ll sometimes get tails with a steak. The ladies ordered shrimp, salmon. The guy tells me to choose a lobster.. Im a noob. Perhaps they should have said, you sure you want this big one on your first run?

Nah, I got a 7.5 pound lobster, half Thermidor, half grilled. We shared. It was delicious. And 1 cocktail…..$500. USD.

The guy let me choose 7/5 lbs LOL. Too funny.

I have left over lobster…anyone want any? I am STUFT. If I dont get rid of this, I need to search out someone in need! Im serious. If no one here is suitable and wants, were are the local homeless?

Lets see if I can throw up some pics

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Chicken Pesto Pasta SXMScubaman 19 hours ago OK I'm spoiled. My wife makes the best. She grows her own basil and makes pesto from scratch. We have it often at home but will be on island for 4 weeks and will need my fix. I have never seen it on a menu on island before so I'm looking for recommendations to find a restaurant that has it. Dutch side restaurants only.

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Olympics Ice Hockey Final jonmar 20 hours ago The gold medal game is Sunday at 9:15am local time. Does anyone know of any restaurants that will be showing the game? I know there was a sports bar in Maho last time I was on the island but can't imagine they open that early on a Sunday. Any info would be great for the Simpson Bay Majo area.

Thanks.

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Saint Martin Beach Resort future to be decided SXMScubaman Yesterday at 04:09 PM LINK

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Beach day, then Bistrot, Terasse, d’Alelier logistics the captain 02/15/2026 08:45 PM Staying in Maho but looking to do beach days up at Friars and/or Orient.

Then we have reservations at bistro Caraibes one night, Terasse another night and D’Atelier. But we are trying to avoid running back to Maho to get dolled up again and run back north. That would be hellish!

So I proposed that the ladies bring an outfit and we change /prep somewhere up in Orient. Is there a place we can change and get ready up that way?showers, bathrooms, etc?

We are bringing chairs and umbrellas but would be happy to patronize or pay an establishment for the access to a place or times off and prep for dinner.

And thanks. Love you guys and taking notes for our trip report.

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Pasanggrahhan Boutique Hotel SeaLady29 02/15/2026 03:10 PM Can someone on here verify it actually is open...we were there last in 24 and it was still not recovered from the hurricane..friends have a day pass after a cruise, but it looks as though some people were in a bait and switch, not open when they arrived and out the $, thx

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Brisket RonDon 02/15/2026 12:00 PM Does anyone know if there's a place in SXM serving brisket?

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Trip Report: 2/7 - 2/12 KenW 02/14/2026 09:18 PM THE TRIP: Some of you may remember my January 4th post about our having to cancel a cruise that was to start and finish in SXM (“The trip that was not meant to be”). Surgery forced the cancellation, but the U.S. incursion into Venezuela also happened to force the cancellation of our scheduled Delta flight to SXM. Double whammy. That trip was going to include a three-night stay at La Playa on Orient Beach tacked onto the end of the cruise. Well, with me healed enough to travel and with the credits from Delta due to expire in May, we decided to at least recover the SXM portion of our ill-fated trip. So, we used the Delta credits to purchase flights, and off we went to SXM last Saturday for a 5-night stay.

THE HOTEL CHOICE: In four of the five times we have visited SXM, we stayed at La Playa (or L’Hoste, as it was called when we first ventured to SXM). I was not able to find a room at La Playa for this rebooked trip. Even though their booking system clearly indicated space available at the level I desired, their manager told me by email they were sold out. I found this puzzling. However, she told me that their booking system merely gave me the opportunity to request a room, not to actually book it. She was the final arbiter, and there were no more rooms like I wanted. I found that both strange and frustrating. Turned away there, I went searching for a good alternative and landed on Le Domaine at Anse Marcel. While we had visited the Anse Marcel beach club on a previous trip, we had never stayed in the village on the cove. I booked a sea-view studio with a shower for $460 a night. The room was very nice – spotless with fine bathroom, a comfortable king bed, a convenient kitchenette (which we did not use), and a nice view of about half the cove. The buildings wrap around a big central courtyard. I wonder if a pool was once in the middle where there is now a courtyard.

EATING: We had 5 breakfasts and lunches and 3 dinners on site. We ate at all four options on the property, and all were excellent. The breakfasts at the Beach Club were $19 apiece with buffet and continental breakfast choices. Perfect for us. Walking to the Petit Casino to pick up breakfast was not an attractive alternative. Dinners at Le Gourmet were exceptional. Not cheap but priced well for the high-quality food and service. The chalkboard menu changed enough daily that we both enjoyed three different entrees on the three nights we dined there. These meals were as good as any we have had anywhere. On the other two nights, we took the 10-minute walk to Del Arti Italian restaurant right beside the Petit Casino in the village. Excellent pizza and pasta. We checked on the Blue Sail Hotel Restaurant, but their menu at night was essentially limited to appetizers. We did not try the Nippon House.

WEATHER AND SEAWEED: We saw only brief periods of sun on the first three days. Rains came and went. The beach at Anse Marcel Beach Club provides three very-long rows of chairs with umbrellas (the chairs and umbrellas are free for the hotel guests). Cloudy and threatening weather on Day 1 (Sunday) minimized the crowd. But on Monday, early sunny skies led to a full house on the beach and reservations required at the Beach Club restaurant. Strong winds on Monday and Tuesday also brought substantial seaweed, that stayed piled up in ridges on the sand in front of the chairs, and waves that rebuilt the beach for the rest of our stay. Thursday brought the most sun and waves free of seaweed. Wind seems to be the key to how much seaweed washes in. Unlike the Sargasso seaweed we are used to both here and on Mexican beaches, this seaweed was just a straw-like variety and rather benign.

AIRPORT AND TRANSFER: Our arrival experience at Princess Juliana was quite smooth once we got on the ground. However, air traffic was so heavy upon approach that our pilot was forced to circle for about 45 minutes before getting cleared to land. A bus took passengers from the plane to the terminal. After a 20-minute wait, we zipped through the passport-control kiosk. Apparently, I had successfully completed our SXM entry form online. We booked transfers to and from the airport through the hotel. JR’s taxi service was the provider. His “cousin,” Sebastian, texted me to leave by the exit #4, and there he was. JR himself took us back to the airport for our departure. It cost $90 plus tip each way. I thought it was worth it to book in advance and be sure of the ride – stress-free and comfortable. As for the airport itself, we were very pleasantly impressed. Having not been to SXM since 2017, we did not experience any of the problems many of you had over the intervening years. This is now a modern airport that is finally up to par with the heavy passenger load it serves. No longer a third-world vibe. Another improvement over the old days, phone service through ATT. No stopping to rent a cell phone.

All in all, we had a wonderful time on the island. We did not bother to rent a car as we had on all previous trips. But we were happy with what Anse Marcel offered us and did not miss dealing with traffic.

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L'Auberge Gormand restaurant RonDon 02/14/2026 04:29 PM L'Auberge on the Blvd in Grand Case now has only two seatings 6pm & 8pm.

I remember back in the early 80's all the restaurants in GC had only two seatings: 7 & 9 pm Once, I called for the early seating at one place as the woman told me they had changed from 2 seatings to open seating 5-10 because they found that American tourists wanted to eat early but didn't relax and take the full 2 hours usually alloted. She then said that the staff would sit doing nothing until the next seating so that's why the change. Now it seems there's a return to the past.

I don't know if it's only L'Auberge or if it's all restaurants in GC. I 've only contacted one so far.

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2026 Jerry_R 02/14/2026 12:59 AM RCI trade to Royal Palm. Car booked w/Lesley. AA MIA to SXM. Waiting for departure. 25th trip. Maybe more. June 13-20.

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