Just a quick question?<br><br>I was there June 9th - 16th and had a fabulous time... the water pressure is less then desired but liveable. But during a conversation in the pool I discovered Canadians don't have it so bad when travelling to SXM.<br>Why on Earth do Americans pay so much money to go SXM compared to Canadians?<br><br>For Example:<br>We paid $1001 CDN/each or about $650 USD/each taxes in & 7 days all inclusive.<br>A couple from Houston, TX paid $2079 CDN/each or $1350 USD/each for 5 days all inclusive.<br>Another couple paid $3350 CDN/each or $2175 USD each for 10 days all inclusive?<br><br><br><br>The hotel is in fairly good shape for being ripped wide open during the hurricane a couple years ago. And rumour has it that it is closing in September for renovations that are needed from what I saw. <br><br>Tiles are loose or missing along the halls and the exterior of the hotel, the air conditioning in my first room was nonexistant, but when we changed rooms we actually had to turn it off. [Linked Image] <br><br>The main pool desperately needs to be drained, painted, and refilled, and the drainage filters at the bottom need covers so things like rings or coins don't get lost in them or peoples limbs don't get sucked in.<br><br>Don't get me wrong this is not all bad. The pool was clean and the chlorine was fine. The pool deck and chairs are nice but it wouldn't hurt to actually wash the seat cushions or have a staff member actually pick up a wash cloth and wash down the chairs and tables on the pool deck.<br>The patrons of the hotel acted like a family because we tried to maintain the cleanliness ourselves and it worked well. Everyone pitched in even the youngest generation.<br><br>The food was great but I am used to a variety of different types of foods, some of my fellow travellers had no clue what Red Snapper was and said they weren't going to eat Turtle [Linked Image]. We were fed 4 times a day and the bar opened at 10:30 as much as some of you said you gotta travel around and try the other spots I had trouble doing so. I went to Cheri's and four other places but my fiance and I longed for the essentially free ribs that were served on the BBQ... Some of the food needed improvement like the scrambled yellow wetness err eggs. But that was remedied by ordering omelettes, or poached eggs or any way you like em.<br><br>I also found that the pricing in the shops was more expensive then anything I could buy at home in CDN dollars. For example some of the food pricing was reasonable but for the so called 'fancy' restaurants a $100 USD dinner was a total rip off! Hence the longing for the free food at the hotel.<br><br>Since I feel like I'm rambling let me quickly make a few suggestions:<br>1. Bring your own BIG thermos type cup/mug, this will allow you to make less trips to the bar and the drinks will remain cold.<br>2. Oceanview is a must.<br>3. Its really friggin [color:red]TACKY</font color=red>to take pictures of naked people when they don't want to be on your film.<br>4. The best way to get rid of these type of people is to go up to them and say "Excuse me could you ask your daughters and wife to take off their clothes so I can take a picture of them?" (Boy he was embarassed when his 19 yr old daughters and wife discovered daddy's Digital Camera.)<br>5. Ask for Rufini at the Great Bay Beach Hotel he is the BEST most attentive server in the hotel.<br>6. Avoid the Dinner/Dancing show it is a pathetic rendition of Tiny Talent Time.<br>7. Take advantage of the planned bus trips into Marigot and Orient Beach it will give you a better feel of where you want to go on your own.<br><br>THE BOTTOM LINE<br>I'd go back for sure! The view is fantastic the people of the island are friendly. The hotel is just the right price and the most of all it was very relaxing lazying around in the pool and ocean.<br><br>Any questions? Or answers please reply or ask.<br><br><br><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 6/25/01 11:18 AM.</EM></FONT></P>