Our first trip was November 1985. It was our honeymoon! My husband choose SXM at random, we knew nothing about the island. We stayed at the old Marina Royale ...It was in Marigot right on the marina and we had a second floor balcony...Everyone was so "French" we felt like we were completely out of our element...! We learned fast however...We learned all about haute cuisine that trip...I remember a restaurant in Marigot called Le Buccaneer where we had our first taste of french food..We rented a "mini moke" and had a blast...we visited all the beaches..When we stopped at Baie Rouge we discovered some folks were "sans" bathing suits! Well, we were shocked (however, we quickly jointed them) and never looked back. SXM was a very different place in 1985...there was nothing on Orient, but Pedros and Club O..it was so much fun...We spent the rest of the trip on Orient...Lots of great memories...we are making our next trip in July..staying at Club O..cannot wait..our first summer trip..yah!!