Getting There. Usually we go in November; sometimes we worry about the weather…first time going in April; didn’t really worry about the weather. Nor’easter came along the day before we left (April 16th). Poured all day; flooded basement. Vacuumed up the water in between final packing! We planned to leave for the airport by 4 a.m. (but, we were still vacuuming up water).

Finally got on the road and discovered the rain had turned to SNOW. It was virtually a blinding snowstorm on the way to the airport; thought for sure the flight would be cancelled. Finally made it to Philadelphia; parked the car; hopped the shuttle (after stepping out of the car into four inches of slush). Got inside; flight was still ON TIME..hurray! Boarded the plane (AA); and proceeded to wait for about one hour while they de-iced the planes that were lined up…(yep, we weren’t the ONLY one getting de-iced). By this time we knew we would not make the connecting flight in San Juan.

Sure enough, got to San Juan, and the connecting flight was long gone. Got sent to another line to see if we could get on another flight….by this time I was getting very nervous. However the man at the counter was very kind (I think he saw the building panic in my eyes). He managed to get us on an American Eagle flight. Arrived in St. Martin hours late, so naturally our car rental was not there..that’s another story (see car rental!)

Car…Rented from St. Louis. First time we did and Marius and Arleen were wonderful folks and very accommodating. We called them after arriving and even though their office was closed for the day and the cars were locked up, she came to the airport with another car so we could get to our hotel and told us she would arrive 9 a.m. the next day at the hotel to give us our rental car, beach gear and phone. We finally arrived at Les Balcon in Oyster Pond and checked in. Arleen arrived the next morning with our Getz, beach chairs, umbrella and our phone. Everything was perfect, she was very efficient, and within minutes we were all set!

Accommodations. Les Balcon d’ Oyster Pond.. We went on recommendations from TTOL (Elaine) and couldn’t say enough wonderful things about the place. The bungalows are lovely, along with the gardens, the pool and the views. We stayed in No. 2 which was on the top level. Lovely clean room, kitchenette, nice balcony, gas grill. Carine and David were wonderful. They were warm and welcoming and could not do enough for us. Each morning we had our croissants and coffee on the deck while watching the “sucriere” birds landing in a bowl of sugar water we had provided! The birds are small yellow/black finches. In the evening the coffee was replaced with a bottle of wine!

Dining. Since this was the first time we had access to a kitchenette, we did enjoy some meals in the room. We only went out for breakfast once. We walked to Captain Oliver’s one morning for breakfast. It was very expensive for the quality.
It was buffet style and was $15 per person. We would not do that again. Very mediocre. Lunches were at The Perch, Tex-Mex and Baywatch. Best part of Tex-Mex? Free shots of Tequila (food mediocre). The Perch had very good barbecued items (hamburgers, chicken, fish, etc., with fries and cole slaw, very reasonable.) Baywatch for grouper sandwiches and salad (kisses were free from Cheryl!).

Dinners. On the nights we dragged ourselves off the beach too late (and after too many Presidentes) we would just pick up a rotisserie chicken or pizza. We had the most wonderful pizza from Mama Pizza located in Oyster Pond right down the road from Les Balcon. They have a lovely seating area or you can get take out. We ordered two pizzas; one pepperoni and one with ham, onions, spinach and the French standby CREAM…both were wonderful and very reasonable (about $23 for two)…we actually froze some leftover pizza for another night.

One night was Le Fregate (also down the road from Les Balcon). My husband had duck breast and I had chicken cordon bleu. We shared a salad with warm goat cheese. It was a very good dinner. However, the reason we would most likely not go back is the addition of the “service charge” and the notice that the “tip” was not included. We have a huge problem with this. We eat out often, and always reward good service with an appropriate tip. To add this onto the bill is very presumptuous on the part of the waiter. If it’s a “service charge” why don’t the servers get it? It’s not a tax or a law, or else everyone would charge it. It’s simply a way to get more money from the traveler; and to “put you on the spot.” Nevertheless, we did leave an additional gratuity.

Da Massimo. This was a very nice pizza/pasta place located near Captain Oliver’s. It was delicious! My husband had linguini with a bacon/onion/fresh tomato sauce. I had a strip steak served with a salad and a delicious combination of potatoes, onion and oddly, raisins, but it was so tasty! They also serve pizza, which looked very good. We will definitely eat there again.

Dinghy Dock..One day for lunch; hubby had a chicken sandwich, I had ribs. Both very good. It was nice sitting there and watching the marina action. We never did make it there for Happy Hour though! Next trip.

Tabba Khady. First time here. What a lovely place! Nice menu and good service. I had a Thai beef dish which was very good. We shared pork egg rolls for an appetizer..very tasty. My husband had shrimp and scallops in a garlic cream. No room for dessert!

Mark’s Place. We have fond memories of Mark’s Place when he was located in Cul De Sac. In fact, we ate there many times in 1985 during our first visit to SXM (it was our honeymoon). We went this year after a long absence. It was as good as we remembered! In fact, it was one of the best meals we had during our ten days. Still wonderful island-style family cooking. I had the creole chicken and hubby had shrimp in a creamy garlic sauce. We shared a tomato salad. Everything was top notch, fresh, and delicious.

I’m still dreaming about the mashed potatoes that came with my dinner…lol.

Sol e Luna. Our last night treat. This is an absolutely beautiful restaurant. It probably is one of the prettiest places on the island for dinner. We sat on the porch. We had a crab cake appetizer with a garlic aioli and a cup of gazpacho. Excellent. Next, I had jumbo shrimp in a green peppercorn sauce with lobster risotto. My husband had linguini with shrimp, scallops, calamari, clams, mussels and salmon, in a spicy red sauce.
We shared a wonderful dessert of carmelized bananas/puff pastry/chocolate mousse..We were definitely getting our spoons in a tangle, each trying to get the “last drop.” lol….

Beaches. Orient everyday! In front of the perch for Happy Hour. We loved just trying a different frozen “adult” beverage each day. The beach was great each day. We only had one day of cloudy weather, but no rain. We did try Cupecoy one day, but there was absolutely NO beach on the day we were there.. We do enjoy Cupecoy, and still think it’s one of the prettiest beaches, but there was just no place to set up camp.

Driving. Suicidal.

The End.