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Ruby Bute
jeepers
Yesterday at 10:01 PM
Sadly Ruby Bute has passed away. Condolences to her family & friends.
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Entry Form
islandgem
Yesterday at 08:47 PM
I am in the process of filling out the entry form and have completed the first section, but the website will not proceed to the next questions. I have tried my computer and phone and the website doesn't seem to be working. Has anyone else had this problem? It says 1of 4 completed, but NEXT when clicked will not proceed.
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Club Orient beach
sunluver
Yesterday at 07:17 PM
My wife and I just returned from ten days in SXM. Had a great time and met so many fun-loving people. Enjoyed doing Rum shots at 2:30 on Club O beach. We tried so many different types of rum. Thanks for all the new memories.
My one concern though, is the condition of the beach itself. It seems to be slowly eroding away. The last day there the water was washing under all the chairs that were set out. So many rocks just inside the waters edge making it hard to walk into the water. But we all prevailed and made it into the water each day. Just don't want our last bit of beach to disappear into the water.
Hopefully the powers at be, will let Cedric clear back some of the growth to allow a much larger beach back from the water. The interest is still there for this section of beach that so many people still enjoy, I remember in the days of the past a much wider beach there, I'm sure the vegetation has grown over much of the old beach and makes it seem so much smaller. Heading back next year.
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Tuesday, November 5
fabila
Yesterday at 02:26 PM
Spent a perfect day at Orient Beach—sunny with a refreshing breeze and calm waters. Took a stroll down to the south end for lunch at Chez Leander. I had the shrimp and lobster in garlic sauce, which was absolutely phenomenal. The butter garlic sauce was so good, I had to ask for bread just to soak it all up! The meal also came with rice and peas, plantains, potato salad, and a fresh salad—everything was delicious. David had the red snapper sandwich with fries, which he really enjoyed. We also treated ourselves to two Royal rum punches. Chef Z and his wife Rochelle are super friendly and made the experience even better. Highly recommend! The menu indicates a 10% service charge will be added to the bill.
The plan was to meet friends at Fat Tony’s for their Tuesday steak special, but the music turned out to be too loud. The singer and steel drum player made it difficult to talk, especially for our friend who wears a hearing aid. So, the group moved over to The Spaghetti House, where everyone could enjoy a quiet meal and catch up over delicious pasta dishes.
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Tuesday, November 5
jomarc
Yesterday at 11:56 AM
There’s plenty of blue sky this morning, so we took a small walk up to Grand Case Beach Club. With only one cruise ship in port today, we decided to take a trip to Philipsburg. We enjoyed a drink and some BS at Juggie’s and dropped off a few toys for the Annual Christmas Drive. Juggie is a very genuine and kind man. We enjoy lots of laughs here, and always meet many nice people at the smallest bar in the world.
Our next stop was at DK Gems, where the entire staff treats us like family. A big thanks to Raj, Deepti and Jeff for their assistance and patience while we shopped. We bumped into Betts and Diane again today, and, no, we were not stalking them, lol. After a couple of drinks and a couple of purchases, we left for lunch.
Lunch was at Krave, where we ordered a Krave burger and a Chicken Sandwich and French Fries. It was nice to see Karan, and Krave was packed with customers.
We stopped by for one more drink at Juggie’s before heading back to Grand Case.
After a long day of shopping, drinking and being in the sun, dinner was takeout from Spiga, I had Risotto Frutti di Mare and Marc had Pappardelle Bolognese. Both meals were excellent.
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Mr and Mrs Nobby's early musings.
Nobby Aristotle
11/05/2024 06:04 PM
We arrived Saturday after getting off a transatlantic cruise in Barbados and overnighting on a concrete bench at the airport ( it was outside departures ahead of our 5.30am flight via POS and not bad - a giant fan kept us cool and the skeeters away.)
We spent two nights at the Simpson Bay resort - not bad although the woman server in the sports bar was unbelievably rude to customers and her fellow staff - before moving into a beach rental just down from the Horny Toad.
Our first impressions are exceptionally positive.
We have grown tired of the poor attitude among hospitality staff in islands like Barbados and Antigua which are very rundown outside the resorts. Local food is stodgy, expensive and with poor choice.
It's totally the opposite on SM - they actually seem to appreciate tourists and what we have seen so far of restaurants and choices is very good.
The beach is fantastic - low key developments, some building work on newer places and a couple of great beach bars. Pristine clear waters. And clean.
We have found our perfect bar with great margaritas - Dinghy Dock's happy hour is fantastic.
Good potent skinny margaritas made with their own lime mix and not some over-sweet catering variety. Three of those plus two Coronas for 20 bucks gets my vote every day - including this historic one 😉
Excellent HH food - great wings and fish dip in particular - and great staff in Jamelia and Ash.
We also like the fact that unusually the music is kept low key and not at ear-splitting volume.
It is our perfect holiday drinking spot.
We managed the long airport perimeter walk to watch some planes land then continued round to Maho calling in at SXM Cigars to pick up some stogies. Fantastic selection. Good prices. Knowledgeable owner.
Then continued walking around the airport to Dinghy Dock for a well-earned livener.
On reflection perhaps a little optimistic for a 70-year-old with dodgy knees but the much younger Mrs Nobby kept an eye on me.
And that so far is that - we plan a bus trip north at the weekend but at the moment the beach and our apartment's pool are a big draw.
The weather is great - high 20s but cooling down rapidly in the evening.
Any more suggestions for good happy hours at this end of the beach much appreciated.
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November 4, 2024
jomarc
11/05/2024 01:06 PM
It rained during the night and we woke up to ominous looking gray clouds over Grand Case. Did some food and liquor shopping at the local Super U. I really like that supermarket as it has a nice selection of wine, cheese and prepared food to choose from.
Hoping that it wouldn't rain, we took a chance and drove over to Orient Beach. The Club O parking lot has an attendant who operates a rope to let cars enter. We arrived around 10:00 am and the beach was packed. The Club O chairs go all the way to the rocks where Pedro’s used to be. People who bring their own chairs are required to set up on the Papagayo side of the beach. A beachgoer next to us tried to set up his towel on the ground and was dumped off his towel by Cedrick. It was an unpleasant scene to witness. The ocean was a little rough and there was only a slight breeze. We packed up at 1:00 pm.
Lunch was at Le Taitu in Cul de Sac, where we were warmly greeted by Jean. Nicoise Salad for me and Spaghetti Bolognese for Marc. Both price fixe meals were very good. Took a small walk and bumped into friends Betts and Diane at Tijon. The rest of the afternoon was spent in the pool.
Dinner was at La Villa in Grand Case. JC was manning the door and greeted us with his usual exuberance and great smile. La Villa served an amuse bouche of warm cauliflower soup. It was a great start. For an appetizer, we shared Frog Legs, and for dinner, we both ordered the Beef Filet in a foie gras sauce with potatoes au gratin and mixed vegetables. It was a very good meal, and I have plenty of leftovers for breakfast tomorrow. Ended the meal with complimentary shots. We took a leisurely stroll back to the apartment, and called it a great full day in paradise!
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Monday, Nov 4
fabila
11/05/2024 11:21 AM
Another day onsite although today we visited the pool. The surf is the strongest it’s been since we arrived last Saturday, so swimming in the ocean wasn’t an option. With four cruise ships in port, we decided to head out for breakfast so we could get back to Beachside before the crowds descended on Maho Beach.
We went to Tortuga Cafe for breakfast, I have mixed feelings about the experience, so I’m not sure I’d return. Last year, we had breakfast here and had a similar experience in terms of service—though I understand the island pace, the service was still painfully slow. We waited quite a while for our food, and while I get that “island time” can mean delays, it was a bit much.
I was drawn back by the Caribbean breakfast, which features saltfish and Johnny cakes. It came with a small wedge of watermelon (which was fresh and delicious), two eggs any style, and, of course, the Johnny cakes. Having visited Jamaica multiple times this breakfast is offered with ackee which resembles scrambled eggs. Since there is no ackee here I ordered my eggs scrambled to mimic the ackee.
Unfortunately, the Johnny cakes were disappointing—they were over fried and tough instead of light and fluffy, and they had a slightly bitter taste, as though the oil used for frying wasn’t fresh. Considering how long it took to get our food, I wasn’t going to ask for them to be redone. By the time they might have replaced them, my eggs would have been cold.
David’s toast was underdone, not quite toasted. Overall, while the meal wasn’t awful, it definitely didn’t live up to expectations. The view while dining though is spectacular of Maho beach and airport arrivals. Although that early in the morning, you see very little airport activity.
We had a late lunch at D’s Beach Bar—blackened shrimp tacos with mango salsa and mahi-mahi ceviche with taco chips. I also enjoyed two frozen mojitos before we called it a day. No dinner for us tonight.
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Insights into Tropicana?
Rory_Kathi
11/04/2024 11:22 PM
We have been coming to Tropicana for 15 years and our recent visit has left us shocked.
We arrived for our lunch reservation and were promptly seated and provided with water and menus. We placed our orders including wine. This was the start of our black hole experience.
No wine or bread arrived despite others being served around us. Finally a server came back and clarified our order. Shortly after this our wine arrived.
We started with French onion soup which was a delicious rich broth.
We followed with the crab parfait which we have had on many occasions. It was runny and not the usual standard. It also had crab shells in it.
Specials were ordered for our main courses. The beef fricassee in cognac sauce was disappointing. The meat wasn’t trimmed and was tough and hard to chew. The sauce was not even identifiable as a cognac sauce.
The second entree ordered was a salmon tempura on a shrimp and scallop stew in tarragon sauce. The stew and sauce were lovely however the tempura had obviously sat in the kitchen for a bit as it was soggy and unappetizing. Our entree dishes sat in front of us for 20 minutes waiting to be cleared. Multiple staff walked by and noticed this but did nothing.
I can’t even review the desserts as we gave up waiting for a menu and just asked for our bill.
The service and food here have fallen so far. We didn’t even have the opportunity to initiate a conversation about our experience because we really didn’t exist 
Does anyone have any insight into changes at this restaurant? We realize it is the start of the season for them but we have visited at the start before and never had any issues.
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