TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Not a trip report but thanks to Kathleen

Michael and I arrived on island on Saturday on Jet Blue 1877.
Our plane arrived after KLM, Air France and another large carrier and the immigration hall was FULL! But the lines moved quickly.
The baggage claim was another story.
The baggage handlers were removing baggage from the carousel but not really telling anyone what baggage that was for. With so many large planes in at once, it would have helped to have someone directing traffic. Luckily, our bags arrived on the carousel and 45 minutes after getting on the hateful bus to drive us across the tarmac, we were out the door.
Lesley and Shirley were there to greet us with our wonderful car. A newer Corolla. Off we went to see Sylvain at Select Wine Cellar.
We enjoyed a glass of wine with him and then we bought a selection of wines to bring with us to our room at Divi.
In our opinion, we have the best room on the island. Far from all the restaurants etc, our room looks out over the ocean with the sliding doors not facing Great Bay. It is lovely and quiet.

Jeannie from Shop and Drop had stocked our room. What a wonderful service she provides. There was water already in the refrigerator for me.....and groceries for the next day's breakfast.


Saturday night it was pizza from Gizmos (NOT very good at all but better than it has been) and off to bed.
Sunday morning we slept in. It was lovely to wake up in our favorite place well rested! The bed in our room is sooooo ultra comfortable.

I checked the hours for On Dirait Le Sud. Kathleen had previously said something about this shop in a trip report so we wanted to give it a shot. Like her, our experience was fantastic. The shop closes at 1 on Sundays. The man whose name I didn't get who waited on us was apparently the owner. He could understand English but sometimes couldn't find the English word. Conversely, I can understand French but struggle to speak it. Nonetheless he was SUPER friendly and helpful. We will definitely be visiting there more often. What a wonderful little shop and thanks to Kathleen for mentioning it in her trip report.

We also went to Carrefour to purchase some other supplies. Then back to Divi to unload.
At this point it was around 2 pm and decided "Lupper" was in order (like brunch on lunch/supper). Off to Avantika. If you have never been to Avantika, you don't know what you are missing. I love the food there. It is tasty! I have the cashew stir fry while Michael had some curry dish I can't remember. Delicious!

Back to Divi to lounge about and relax and some delicious charcuterie for an evening snack!

Today is another day! Only one little tiny ship in port so perhaps a day in Pburg? Who knows?

Avantika is wonderful. Great ambiance, inside and out (but if sitting outside bring bug repellent). Good waitstaff, great cocktails. However unless you really like hot, order mild heat. Whew medium hot was real good but almost killed me.

Thanks for the report! Enjoy!

So glad that you stopped by and got to experience it! I follow them on Instagram and the owner posts great little videos (in French). Some of the things he has for the holidays look great!

Happy to read that Jeanne was allowed to stock your room. We haven’t used her for several years cuz the Divi wouldn’t let her in our room one year cuz they wanted us to buy from their little grocery store. After reading this we will be using Jeanne in February!

I was surprised at that also, as I know that was the case in the past.

For not writing a trip report you wrote a great non trip report. Jeannie Gunthanen (Sp?) and Lesley and Shirley are great as are so many other often recommended businesses you mentioned. Hope the rest of the trips go well.

Thanks once again and do enjoy your vacation.

Jeannie told me Divi management has completely changed their view of her services and now actually recommends her to guests.

That's a good change on their part, but cynic that I am, I figure they probably decided it wasn't worth their while to try to do that job themselves anymore. It's a lot of work.

We had Jeannie stock our room in February and again this time. I was surprised that she didn't have to meet us at the room like in the past so it would appear Divi has changed their policy.
It is a wonderful service she offers. It is nice to not have to worry about getting food when you get in after a long day of traveling (and dealing with SXM airport).
The little grocery here at Divi cannot possibly compete with Jeannie's service. They don't offer a fraction of what she does.

Today, 6 ships are in. As I am typing Voyager of the Seas is docking. WHY OH WHY are the passengers of cruise ships so damned loud when they are on the beach here at Divi? Seriously. It is beautifully serene until cruise ship passengers come and are loud and boisterous!!!