First a link to the beginning. Our first 4 days on the island for those who might have missed the beginning.
http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/s...part=1&vc=1Sorry it took me so long write the remaining report. Our friends arrived on island from NY as planned on Saturday, January 3. Ed & I had breakfast at the St. Maarten Yacht Club while waiting for their plane to arrive. I had the eggs benedict, which was delicious. Ed had the western omlette, also very good. Loved watching all the big yachts come in; I have never seen so many yachts on the island before. Wow, just wow! Even got to see the Jobs' family yacht. Picked our friends up from the airport and checked into the Royal Palm. We all went to dinner at Pineapple Pete's. I can't remember what the others had, but I once again enjoyed the stuffed shrimp. I can't help myself, it's my favorite. We really enjoy PP's. The service and food is always reliable.
The trip report gets a bit confusing from here because I got pretty sick Saturday night and woke up Sunday morning with a terrible bronchitis-type cough, fever, and aches all over. Ed ended up taking me to the St. Maarten Medical Center ER where they examined me, gave me IV pain meds, an albuterol treatment, and prescription meds for fever and expectorant. I have to say that it's never fun to get sick on vacation. I also have to say that the SMMC treated me very well. I was brought back to the nursing station within minutes, then back to the treatment room, where a doctor came in, again within minutes. The male nurse who started my IV and took care of me was excellent. Upon checkout, we were shocked to get a bill of only $100 USD! I can't imagine what any of that ER visit and treatment would have cost someone in the USA without insurance. We paid it in cash and were on our way. I wasn't feeling much better by Tuesday, and after speaking with Elaine, we decided to pay a visit to her doctor, Dr. Deketh, with the Mullet Bay Clinic in Maho. What a nice man! At that point I felt so bad, I just really wanted to go home and be in my own bed, but he (rightfully) pointed out that it would be much better for me to recover in the sun and sea of SXM than it would for me to go home to the arctic air that was passing through East TN at the time. I did just that and though I lost a few days, I felt much better by Wednesday evening and was glad I stayed.
Since I didn't write down a day-by-day summary after that, I'll just tell you my impressions of our last week:
We weren't impressed by the Royal Palm. While the view was lovely and the unit okay, there was a constant smell of exhaust-like fumes coming from the vents the entire week. We complained to the management, but were told there was nothing they could do. Another person we met on island told us she had experienced the same smell and another long-time resident of Royal Palm told us she had been complaining of that exhaust-like smell for years. We also noted a musty, mildew-like smell from time to time upon entering the unit. We probably could have lived with that alone, if it hadn't been for the constant exhaust smell. We were in the back bedroom, so there was no screened balcony door to open to air it out. Ed finally ended up sealing off the vent in our bedroom with duct tape, which worked, but made it hot and stuffy in there at night. Let's just say it wasn't conducive to helping me get better any faster. And while some people love the location, we found it a bit too busy for us; though admittedly, it was very convenient to be able to walk to the Yacht Club for lunch when we wanted to. The beach was too rocky for me also. We probably won't stay there again.
Restaurants: We ate at Lee's again one night, but I was the only one who ordered fish and the only one who semi-enjoyed my meal. Our friends had the ribeye which was terrible, fatty, tough, and a LOT of gristle. Probably won't go back again unless it's for fish.
IZI was a standout meal, as usual. We had a very nice bruschetta and caprese appetizers to start with. I had the Shrimp ala vodka and it was delicious! The others had Chicken Parmigiana (also delicious), lasagna, and a NY strip steak. We were too full for dessert, but I managed to take a piece of Tiramisu back to the condo for a midnight snack. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" /> IZI remains one of our favorite places. They were crowded and busy that night and the waitstaff was hopping, but we still got decent service, great food, and that lovely limoncello shot they give you at the end of the meal. No complaints from any of us. We will definitely return on our next visit yet again.
The Greenhouse. We had another good meal here after our friends arrived. It was Prime Rib Thursday, so the other 3 each had that and were happy with their meal. I had the crab cakes with rice and plantains. The crab cakes were on the small side, but just right for me that night, and very tasty. Frosty, tall 2-for-1 happy hour drinks always makes the Greenhouse a winner.
Aloha on Orient: It was so good to see Natalie up and running again. The lunches at Aloha are always good and the quiche was quite special. The only thing we didn't care for was it now seems you need to reserve a beach/lounge chair there ahead of time. We had to rent from next door and it wasn't quite as nice. Some of the chairs were reserved, yet remained empty all day. It didn't make sense to us and I hope it's not going to last.
The St. Maarten Yacht Club: We ate several breakfasts/lunch/brunches here during our 2-week stay and met Elaine for lunch here on Friday before heading over to Orient Beach. It was lovely to see Elaine, as always, and I owe her a special note of thanks for all her help during my illness. I'm not sure I would have known what to do or where to go without her. Also to Pat from this board who PM'd me the name of the doctor she has used throughout the years (same as Elaine's). Thank goodness for friends who care. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />
We spent our last night on island having dinner at Fig. We had made the necessary reservations, which was good because it is not a large restaurant and filled up quickly. We had heard so much about Fig and perhaps our expectations were too high. While it certainly was decent, it wasn't as good as we expected. Service was adequate, if a bit stiff. We started with an appetizer special of pork rolls which came with lettuce and mint leaves for wrapping and a dipping sauce. Tasty, but awkward to roll and eat and we weren't given any appetizer plates on which to roll them. Two in our party of four had the duck. They thought it was "good, but not great". The other two of us had the pork loin, which was "okay" for both of us. It was more like a thin pork chop - tasty, but nothing special. The usual suspects of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots accompanied a pile of boiled potatoes, which were flavored nicely, but a bit on the dry side. I had to add some of the dipping sauces to mine to make them more moist. We passed on dessert so we could stop at Carousel on the way back to RP, always a nice treat to finish up the evening.
Last day on island (Saturday, January 10), we ate brunch at the Yacht Club. It has become one of our favorite ways to start the day and the staff is always pleasant, the boats always special, and the food always consistent.
Beaches:
We spent most of our beach time on Orient. The seaweed was heavy and stinky during the first week, though the Club O end was fine. The 2nd week saw much improvement and most of the seaweed had been cleaned up and removed. There remained a slight 'rotten egg' odor at times, but it was tolerable. Our friends remained at the Royal Palm condo/beach on Friday due feeling very tired, so Ed & I spent the last day on the Club O section of the beach. We played simple by having burgers at the Perch and made the most of our last day. Trust me when I tell you that we had to force ourselves off those lounge chairs to go pack up for home.
We did spend one day earlier in the week at Mullet Bay Beach. The water was fairly calm and clear. The only thing that ruined it was when 5 (yes, 5 at once) catamarans pulled in with cruise passengers and we soon had hundreds of bobbing heads in the water in front of us. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" /> Thank goodness they only stayed about 45 minutes! We wanted to return to Dreams so we could show our friends, but unfortunately we didn't find the time to get back over there. That's what they make 'next time' for. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />
Overall impressions:
Weather was beautiful, with only a small (short) amount of rain one day. It was breezy at times, but never where they couldn't put up the umbrellas.
We never felt in danger, always used common sense, and watched our surroundings. Watch out for the ever crazy scooters and the even-worse ATV's that THINK they're little motorcycles.
Lesley (Kenny's) is a breeze to rent from, always making it easy for his customers from start to finish. We simply left the car at the airport as instructed. No hassle at all. We have rented, and will continue to do so, from Lesley for years.
We did our usual phone rental from 'Queen of SXM' Sharon with no issues or problems whatsoever. A good deal, though I do wish her girls would smile a bit more. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> We always feel like we're bothering them a bit.
Traffic was definitely busy over the New Year's, but not horrendous. We did stay away from the Sunset Beach Bar area, which DID look horrendous most of the time.
We used Jeannie's service for the first time, for our first week. She provides a great service with a smile and it was wonderful to have cold beers ready and waiting upon arrival on the island.
US Airways trip home seemed to take forever. People are always more grumpy on the way home than they are on the way there. It was crowded and the plane seats felt like they had shrunk 3 sizes.....or perhaps it was just all the great food we ate on island. We were slightly delayed leaving, but not a big deal. Unlike the way down when they at least sold snack boxes, they only offered drinks on the flight home; not one snack. We were starving. Not to mention the constant hawking of credit cards and merchandise wore very thin. It gets a bit ridiculous. I was never so happy to get off a plane though, even if the temperature on this end had dropped something like 55 degrees. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> And even if US Airways took their sweet time getting our luggage on the carousel. It's all good. What better way to console ourselves for having to leave than to begin planning our next trip to paradise?! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />
