TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Sunset Bar has gone downhill...

We ate at Sunset Grill at 9am. There were like four customers there, so I know the waitress wasn't overwhelmed or anything, so just odd that the service was that bad. She seemed like she wanted to be anywhere except where she was. And the previous night, again with few patrons, she had the same attitude. Every place else we went to, the service was fine or very good. BEST service was The Green Monkey. It was awesome. Great little bar/restaurant.

We'll take The Perch anyday over SBB. SBB is way too crowded, parking is inexistant, service is poor, Maho beach doesn't cut it for us and finally, once we've seen 1 plane fly over our heads, we've seen them all.
Just our opinion.

David--So, there was the same person who waited on you both times and she had a poor attitude? Gee, one person who has a bad attitude can happen in any restaurant..

Where is the Green Monkey?

Funny, I sometimes take it as a challenge or make it my personal goal to get a server to lighten up and have a better day. No matter what, I am going to get a smile or laugh out of them. And you know what? It works.

Leona,

The Green Monkey is a right turn at the end of the driveway and up the hill past the Cliffs and Rainbow to the Ocean Club on the left. I think as a patron, rather than a guest at OC, you have to park across the road and walk in. There's no parking to speak of for visitors, or at least, not that we could find, but then, we all know I'm directionally challenged. We enjoyed breakfasts there a few times but often as not they don't open early when we're up, dressed and out and about and hungry.

True. The food wasn't particularly great either, though, so it was kind of a disappointment. But most places we've gone to for meals on this trip have been pretty awesome. Best is The Perch and The Green Monkey.

There's also free parking just before the gate where you enter Cupecoy Beach. Past the gate, it is 5 bucks and the gate closes at 5pm. But the free area before the gate is gree and is open to the street so it's easy to go in there and back out. Just a short walk, a few yards, to the retaurant. Just watch the cars !!!

OK, as far as great food at a beach bar, normally it's just good and satisfying, not great, but I get where you're coming from.

Sunset Bar is an institution in itself. They know people are going to go there regardless of food or service. However we like the casual food there and drinks while watching the planes and people. Service is slow but it is usually crowded when we go and I wouldn't want the wait staff's job in a million years working there trying to keep up with everyone coming and going and walking off to take pictures, etc. Sunset Bar is what it is. We always make a stop there every single year We do miss the old days of the old grill and the guy cooking who remembered your order despite a grill full of food

It has always been tough to drive through in that area (been going to BSV since 2007?). Now with no beach to walk on people are using the concrete walls which is tricky or walking in the road. Cars and taxis as long as we have been staying at BSV always stop in the road so people can take a look. But not only that we have been there when planes have barely made the fence. In April taxis were pulling into Alegria to pick up and drop off people. Not sure about July as we didn't use a taxi then. Everyone is enjoying and who can fault that? so we take our time driving through. No need to rush! We are on Island time! AND it isn't our island! It is what it is. Plenty of other areas to stay in with less traffic although we have been over by Pelican etc and didn't like the congestion there. One Happy Island! Can't wait until April!

I look at it more as a safety rather than time issue. I am always waiting for someone to fall in front of a car or bus

We have always enjoyed our time at Sunset whether Neil had it or newer owners but the bathrooms have always been the pits! Hopefully the bathrooms will be upgraded.

Most of the time we go to not only watch the planes but it's also a good spot for people watching. We typically have a cocktail or two so for us food nor whether there is a beach or not is not the reason we go there. When we have eaten at Sunset it was when you could walk up to the cook, place your order and go back to pick up. I can't ever remember using waitress service.

Has it been difficult to get a drink, yes sometimes but it isn't like we haven't had the obstacle thrown at us many, many times over the years in NYC.

We never tire of seeing the planes land and take off.

Well it sort of ends up being both safety and a timing thing. People driving through the area know that it is congested so most will drive slow. They aren't in a hurry and understand the fascination with this location. But some are in a hurry to get from place to place and don't want to have to wait for loading, unloading or folks to get out of the way. The frustration can lead to safety issues. I honestly haven't heard of any mishaps since that girl who was hanging on the fence got blown into the taxi. But THAT is a whole different issue. With a bigger and better bar in the area there is no doubt going to be more traffic although I am hearing that some locals and regulars are starting to avoid the area because of issues with Alegria. I drive in LA and it is just as crazy there. Although I have a green light to turn left, pedestrians also have a walk light to cross. Crazy and dangerous! Cars and people don't mix well! We stay at BSV and the cars and people don't bother us. We just are very careful and patient. Hopefully the beach will be back soon as it is not really possible for most folks to walk the beach on those rocks.

We love going to sunset beach bar. We are on island time once we get to our rented condo on friars bay! We order the blue cheese burger & the burger that has an egg on it. Love people watching. Love watching the jets land! I get teary eyed when you can see the front lights as air France starts across the bay!!! I also get teary eyed as westjet hits the runway but that's for a different reason. ( westjet is there to take us home.)! We don't mind waiting for service it gives us longer to watch the sky. Sunset really nice from there as well. Never had unpleasant service.

As astropilot said "there is magic all around us". Living the dream!!

Camera's packed and binoculars!!!! Looking for that all new screen saver shot!!! We have to pack the Cruise ship daily schedule!!! "Wheels up"!!!!

Our timeshare is week 41, which is the second week of October, and the three times we've gone to SXM, we've NEVER seen a crowd or heavy traffic on the road right in front of the airport leading to Sunset. But on the last day of our trip, this time around, just this past Saturday, we decided we'd eat there before heading to the airport. Well, there was a huge amount of traffic and people, so we ate and drank at Driftwood bar, and had a great last meal on the island. (sidenote: We squeezed in an entire day over at Club O, since we didn't have to be at the airport until 4pm, and check out at LaPlage was at 10am. We checked out at 8:15am and headed right over to Club Orient, for the third time this trip! That place is one of the best places on Earth and we love, love, love the Perch !)

Agree! We always stop in for a drink and to watch planes. Then we wander around visiting Marty, Driftwood and will now continue visiting Tortuga (didn't think it was still open!) I still get a thrill with watching the planes come and go! I also LOVE watching the excitement on people's faces as the planes come in! This beach is usually our last stop after checking in luggage for the flight home! Made this place one of our stops on our Walking Pub Crawl from BSV. Shot of the day! Kids looked forward to it! LOL (My problem wasn't necessarily length of time it takes to get food but rather the callous way the bar tender suggested I check out the menu on the other side of the bar for available beers....and of course what I had asked for originally was in the beer lineup.)

We love SSBB. The planes, taxis and people are very entertaining and fun to watch. We've always had great service. Can not wait to return.

Randy & Lisa

Um, we LOVE SSBG. Can't wait to see the renovations next month. The bartenders are great to us- even when drinking free...

I wish they would hurry up and get the webcam back up and running.

I swore I would never post on this forum again, BUT I CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHY?????? Any of you would support and frequent SSBB when RAY SIDHOM and ALEGRIA will profit from it. Do your homework people and find out who is contributing to and will be profiting from the improvements.

Its a small island surround by the ocean. Its an iconic place to visit and have fun.

This is the first time I have ever heard any connection at all between Alegria and Sunset Beach Bar. Can't say I ever even thought of it. The owners of Sunset have owned it for years....and I do not beleive that there is any relationship between them and the owners of Alegria. Personally, I have been frequenting Sunset for as long as we have owned our timeshare at LaPlage....and that is about TWENTY years before Alegria ever came into the picture. I enjoy the food, the drink, and the fun at Sunset for all these years....and have no reason to stop doing this. Oh, and yes....LOVE watching the planes come and go. Should we all stop going to Marty's Dream Bar also...which is right on Alegria property....and we sure know that Alegria doesnt own that bar...just the property it is located at. Should we make Marty lose his livliehood because of it's location.(Marty was there years before Alegria...and Marty is doing everything in his power to stay there with all the court cases against him).

Really? Why don't you help us and back up your claim...TIA

If I'm not mistaken, [email]SSB@G[/email] does not own the land it sits on. Either Alegria or some other entity owns it and leases out to them. The same was true for the Bliss part that Sunset will take over. I would assume that they got a long term ironclad lease in writing before planning their expansion. I know I would given the history of fights over that whole area.

There is a huge connection between the Sunset and Alegria, and January is absolutely correct. Owners of the Sunset Bar, both current and past, have never owned the land the bar sits on. The land is LEASED from Mr. Rafik Sidhom, and the Sunset pays him rent. The government of St. Maarten owns the land which is currently long-leased to Rafik. Apparently he has big plans that do not include the timeshare owners and Marty, and with the blink of an eye and a full pocket of cash, they all disappear in a frantic mad dash. That's what he hopes will happen. Not so! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duel.gif" alt="" />

I'm confused...when you go on vacation to other locations, say the South Shore, do you research who owns what restaurant / bar before patronizing the business? Sorry but I'm on vacation and I like visiting SSBG and could care less who owns the property, who leases the property or what connection they have with other businesses. I'm only on the island 2 weeks a year and obviously haven't developed the connection to business owners that some of you appear to have.

Really?? Based on what?????????? Sunset was there a LONG, LONG time before Alegria bought the right to long lease.

The island is fun and we love it, too, since discovering it back in 1999. I hope all visitors are never confronted with a situation of loss of timeshare weeks such as what happened at the Caravanserai. That's when the fun stopped and it became personal.

Carol, the Sunset had been paying rent to Mr. Manek.

Alegria I guess has the right to long lease to the property now, but that still doesn't mean anything, other than they are now paying rent to Alegria..

We used to hang out at the SSBB every night and it was always exciting. Now we stop over and it is dead by 7:00 PM and closed by 9:00. We asked the manager what happened and he said with all the day activity, they don't need the night activity anymore. It's a shame as I can remember when this was the place to go at night for music and dancing. Now it is just a memory.