here is my poor attempt of a short but sweet trip report. my mistake was actually jotting down daily summaries over the course of our one week trip, hence an overload of details. it was somewhat amusing to my travel companion/boyfriend, but after nearly eight years of being together he does understand me to a degree and he knew that sharing our trip with ttol was important to me. it’s my way of saying thank you, as ttol has been a very good resource for us and was a big influence on this recent trip. this trip was filled with a lot of firsts and we had a great time exploring the dutchside more, since we had a habit of dining mainly on the frenchside on our previous trips. hopefully some will find this helpful or at the very least find our experience to be an enjoyable read.

air:
jetblue nonstop, jfk to sxm. our gate was at terminal five. check-in and security went smoothly. the main runway is currently undergoing construction and another runway was closed due to high crosswinds, so with only one runway operating we weren’t surprised by delays. to pass time, we went to new york sports grill to officially begin vacation with a classic bloody mary, which was surprisingly good. we didn’t realize until after we ordered that they have a bloody mary menu with some interesting varieties. we made a mental note to try the habanero mix next time. went back to the gate to find out that we had more bloody mary time, so we walked across the way to revolusion, which was nowhere near as good for about the same price of $10 each. although take off was approximately two hours passed the scheduled departure time, we arrived in sxm about 1.5 hours late because the pilot “found a shortcut”. i have no clue what that means, but no complaints there. customs was quick and our luggage was the first ones to come out!

jetblue nonstop, sxm to jfk. check-in and security went smoothly again. as tradition goes, we purchased a few bottles at duty free for carry on. my boyfriend and i were not seated together, which was not a big deal to us, although we had the option to upgrade to rows 10 or 11 for more legroom with two seats together for $40/passenger. it wasn’t until after we boarded, with both of us in middle seats and both quite uncomfortable, that we decided to upgrade. we weren’t aware of it at the time but good news, after boarding the fee to upgrade for more legroom decreases to $25/passenger. landed approximately 45 minutes early at a different terminal than previously, so we did not have to shuttle to customs. it was a quick process for us, although travelers carrying foreign passports were fingerprinted and photographed, which obviously required a bit more time. luck was on our side again and our luggage was one of the first to come out on the carousel.

random jetblue info: jetblue is charging $7 for pillow/blanket, one check-in bag per passenger up to 50lbs with a $50 overage fee and $30 fee for an extra check in… so if you think you’re close to the limit it seems wiser to check in another bag. i must’ve perfected packing because we were right on the edge at 49.5lbs. also, my boyfriend fortunately had no problems with his boarding pass (middle name not listed) not coinciding with his passport. it was a concern of mine after a recent thread about consistency in documentation.

ground transportation:
kennys- despite the delay out of jfk, lesley bruce was there to greet us as we exited juliana. thank you, lesley! paperwork was quick and efficient and within minutes we were off to enjoy the island. once again, great customer service as expected.

blythe’s tours/ car rental and transportation service- our first sxm cab experience and it was very pleasant. we took a taxi from esmeralda to grand case beach club and back when we went on the scoobi too day trip, since we weren’t sure about the parking situation, not to mention how much alcohol consumption we’d be doing. cost one way was $15. as already mentioned this was our first taxi ride on island, so no point of comparison. i can say however that the service was much faster than i expected for island time. both ways the wait was about 10 minutes or so. blythetourcarrental@hotmail.com for more information. ask for winston- very friendly guy.

accommodations:
we booked at esmeralda and once again enjoyed our stay. check in/ check out was smooth. we stayed in an end unit, #546. two units were unoccupied and the other end unit was occupied by a very friendly couple from upstate new york who we plan on meeting up with again in the near future. they are owners of amazin glass co of albany and all week they had to look at a cracked glass panel surrounding our shared pool; sight for sore eyes when it’s your profession. minor issues worth mentioning, the entry lock was a bit tricky and toilet had a mind of its own, but all in all esmeralda was very nice. we packed our rackets and unfortunately only got around to playing once, partly due to occasional brief showers making the court too slippery but mostly lack of motivation due to drinking. all it takes is one carib. the one day that we did play we reserved the court for 7pm and were instructed to get the key at la plantation, which we did and discovered there was a rock (temporary assuming) and no lock on the courts. fyi: courts are complimentary for esmeralda guests until 6pm. after 6pm there is a $10 fee (lights).


this was the walking path from esmeralda to coco… i enjoyed this scenic walk to the beach. coco was relatively quiet in comparison to kakao and club o. we only spent a few days during the week on the beach, as we were busy running around doing other things, but we both enjoyed the beach time that we had.

dining:
breakfast:
l’astrolabe- continental breakfast was included with our stay at esmeralda. since we’re not big breakfast eaters, we opted for this most mornings, served 7:30am-10:30am. i’m still impressed that we had breakfast every morning, as the boyfriend likes his sleep.

bikini beach bar- after a failed attempt on monday to go to andy and cheryl’s (closed), we ended up here around 10:30am. my boyfriend ironically opted for the continental breakfast and i ordered french toast and bacon. total bill approx $27. not a breakfast i’d recommend, but at least it held us over until lunch.

andy and cheryl’s- our first attempt was for a late lunch around 3pm and they just stopped serving, second attempt was monday to discover that they were closed, and third attempt was a success (i had the front desk call to see if they were open on tuesday before we strolled on over). based on recommendation (thank you, peconic) we both ordered the philly cheesesteak omelet, which by the way is not listed on the menu, but andy was very nice about whipping it up for us when i inquired. it was delicious but gigantic! zero desire for lunch that day. the bloody mary was also good. it was missing the salad (olives and celery), but still went down nicely. loved the homemade hotsauce! we chatted with andy for a bit- very friendly and fun to chat with. also, andy and cheryl’s has been mentioned more than a handful of times regarding service not included. 15% service was included in our bill. waddling to coco after the massive breakfast at andy and cheryl’s seemed exceptionally far.

lunch:
karakter- open 10am to 8pm, closed tuesday. we arrived about 1pm and found parking no problem with a few more spots available. i felt fortunate after reading about the parking issues, although I have to say that in general the boyfriend and i get very lucky when it comes to parking even at home. we ordered tuna over greens and a grouper special served with mashed potatoes stuffed in green bell pepper and salad. i LOVED the mashed potatoes in the bell pepper and plan on borrowing this idea. i can see why karakter is a popular choice. we loved it. carol hill’s description of finer beach dining (real plates and flatware vs typical paper plates and plastics you’d expect for al fresco dining) was pretty accurate. with a couple of drinks each, i think the total bill was about $75.



pedros- fish sandwich w/ fries. nothing spectacular but good enough that i’d go back. i considered ordering ribs, based on some ttol recommendations, but it was a late lunch and i wasn’t craving ribs at the time.

mark’s place- we ordered chicken sandwich w/fries and green salad and also the chicken & ribs platter w/ rice and peas and salad. very good, although the platter portion was generous, maybe too generous. ordered ting to wash it down.

lee's- we both ordered the grilled mahi mahi sandwich w/ fries. i think the lobster tank/tub is a new addition? i don’t recall seeing it there last may. i finally saw the marlin in the lot that someone posted about. It’s not as obtrusive as i envisioned, but it does take a valuable parking spot.



lal’s- a place i wanted to go to but never made it. i was really hoping to try the chicken frankies based on the recommendation by todd, who was spot on with his suggestion for lou malnati’s when we were in chicago. next time…

dinner:
spicy- spicy was our first dinner. my high hopes led to a big disappointment and i probably wouldn’t return. while sophie was very friendly, the food didn’t impress me as much as i had anticipated. appetizer= beef carpaccio, main= special grouper and lobster thermidor (first time trying), dessert= gratin w/ fresh strawberries and raspberries. bottle of wine. the bill totaled approx $200. regarding service: there was a recent post about spicy and confusion over the tipping/service policy. count me in with the confused.


cito’s, aka largo one (located in small lettering on his sign, the name that cito wanted his place to be called originally but the sign guy made a mistake and has yet to come back to fix it)- sunday night, after live music at calmos, we walked down to le cottage and were disappointed to find that it was closed. so strange enough we opted for a super casual dinner instead and ended up at cito’s (thanks, marcg). ordered a chicken platter and garlic shrimps, both with sides of rice and peas and salad. a couple of caribs each and ended the meal with a homemade coconut tart… all for $35! considering that we tend to splurge for dinner, we were amazed at the satisfying meal at such a reasonable price. we also had the pleasure of sitting down for conversation with cito and his childhood friend. four years into his business and we wish him the best! what a nice guy. will definitely return.


marios- favorite meal of the week. once again got lucky with the parking, a spot waiting for us right in front. we dined waterside as requested. appetizers- gazpacho w/ artichoke guac and shrimp ceviche, portabello carpaccio w/ arugula, goat cheese and aged balsamic. entrées- grouper special and chicken in mustard sauce. we went with intentions of ordering the duck, but when it came time to ordering we changed our minds and will order that next time around. dessert- upside down banana coconut tart with coconut ice cream. meal, cappuccinos, bottle of wine, and port equaled a hefty bill (as we expected) of $264.

le shore- gorgeous dining atmosphere. appetizers- salmon trio (tahitienne, ceviche, tartare) and beef carpaccio. entrées- chicken and gnocchi. dessert- tiramisu. beverages- cappuccinos, port, bottle of wine, and a special cocktail- pomegranate, vodka, lime juice. the meal was very good but with all of the dining choices we wouldn’t rush to go back. bill came to approx $200.

la vie en rose- this place was new to us and again went on recommendation from someone who seems to love spiga as much as we do (thanks, gakaye). a quick aside, this was our first trip going and not making it to spiga and i’m still bummed about it. appetizer- shared green salad with a very light and tasty homemade dressing that i can’t describe well other than delicious. entrees- grilled snapper in light balsamic and mahi mahi w/ potato crust in light coriander and saffron, both served with sides of steamed vegetables and risotto or potatoes. dessert- trio of crème brulee- passionfruit, mango, vanilla. meal, cappuccinos, port, bottle of wine came to approx $150, i think. some positives other than a good meal was 1:1 (something we don’t usually take into consideration but mentioning because i know some do) and at the end of our meal the waiter sweetly handed me a rose.

la gondola- the night we went there was a computer error causing a delay in our food. basically, our order was lost, so in all fairness i won’t comment on the service. the food was very good. i didn’t jot down what we ordered and it has now escaped my memory bank, sorry, but i liked it enough that i would go back.

pineapple pete- it seemed to be at full capacity, but even still the wait for a table was not long, enough time to get a drink at the bar. we were seated front row for live music (classic rock, pop, and blues) performance of “ronny santana”, whose vocals were strikingly similar to mark knopfler.

appetizer- escargot, entrees- mahi mahi in creole sauce and surf and turf (1/2 thermidor and 8oz filet). . i was hesitant to order thermidor after the disappointment at spicy. i enjoyed it much more at pineapple pete, although my final conclusion is that i’m not a big fan of thermidor in general. i discovered that i prefer my lobster less dressed up. portions are very generous here, so there was no room left for dessert, which translates into me being extremely full. i love my desserts and rarely pass it up while dining out. 15% service was included on the bill.

libations:
driftwood- what better way to get into island mode than with a cold beverage of choice; this is our tradition and i’m assuming we are not alone with this one. there was a parking spot waiting for us in front of driftwood, so we settled in for our free rum punches, compliments of the caribbeancard. the car was in view, so no worries about someone making off with our luggage. i spotted a couple who looked like a couple’s avatar here on ttol, so curiousity got the best of me and i asked them if they were fellow ttol’ers. they were not and had never heard of ttol. oh well.



paris texas- went for a night cap and browsed the menu. items of interest: escargots picadillo, mexican bouillabaisse, margarita cheesecake. we were informed that service was not included… this is after our meal at spicy and adding to our confusion. free wifi here, same network and password as bikini beach bar. desperados, beer and tequila in one. pretty gross.
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pirates in paradise- stopped in as we were passing along on the boardwalk, plus the free wifi. service was good as well as the banana daiquiri.

bikini beach bar- last may we met a very drunk but pleasant woman (from nj) who struck up conversation with us. déjà vu… we ran into the very same woman who was equally as drunk as when we met her the first time. small world.

mr.busbys- nice lowkey place to grab a drink.

buda bar-went after dinner for drinks on orient beach. there was a full moon and lots of dancing. we watched an extremely loaded crew getting into their dinghy and it was scary to say the least. the waves were really crashing in and it was pretty dark out. their boat wasn’t too far in the distance, so i’m assuming and hoping they made it there fine.

treetop lounge at loterie farm- we haven’t been for some time, but after some discussion here (thank you, annie) i wanted to give it another try. we attempted and discovered that loterie farm is closed on monday, no big deal. the boyfriend and i now have a walkie talkie theory. as we pulled onto the road to pic paradis, there were two older men watching people pulling in very intently. i made eye contact with one of them both times when we passed him… it was a piercing and uncomfortable stare. long story short, we both saw him hold something up to his mouth as we drove past and we are convinced that it was communication with the bush people at the top… this conclusion was made while we were sober and i stick by our theory.

dinghy dock- went to happy hour to celebrate (sorry for jumping ahead but more to follow). it was a tame crowd with no one pouring their own. it was my first time there and i imagined in my mind a crazy, wild crowd with people slurring their words and spilling their drinks. it was quite the opposite, but still an enjoyable afternoon drink.

shopping:
someone recently mentioned that grocery stores (not sure if all but some) are phasing out of plastic bags. i forgot and neglected to pack my reusable bags for the trip. for 1 euro i bought this bag from match at howell center. i really like it; it’s light and nice on the eye.
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gulmohars- after reading the positive reviews, i had this on my list of places to go. i got a good laugh when i walked in and realized immediately i’d been there (several times) before. the first time we went there was to buy kalika hot sauce. we sampled a variety of scotch and purchased a couple of bottles. service was exceptional and they were kind enough to hold our purchase as we browsed around philipsburg. bottles were packaged well and went into our luggage.

artistic jewelers- located on front street. we made a purchase with the assistance of danny babani. he was able to provide a significant discount that most places could not match. i thought this was worth mentioning if anyone is interested in this shop or looking for similar items. we were very happy with the service provided to us.

rimas- we purchased the michael kasprowski map for $12.99. it’s still folded and unopened, but for whatever reason both of us are fond of maps in general, so it’ll be fun to look over at some point.

caribbeancard:
i’m glad we purchased it, as it motivated us to try different places and saving while doing so! the cost of $25 for the caribbeancard paid itself back and some. we didn’t use all of the cards, but the ones we did were honored with no issues. i plan on purchasing the sxmprivilege card and seeing how we like that as well.

pineapple pete- buy one, get one entrée (max value i think of $20). someone mentioned to me to use the card before 6pm, but we used it successfully around 9pm and received $18 off for one of our entrées.

scoobi too- current price is $120 per person. since the caribbeancard states $110 pp with $20off up to five people, it was honored, but my guess would be probably not for much longer. we scored big time here.

driftwood bar- 2 free rum punches with no purchase required

boo boo jam- 2 free rum punches with no purchase required and the waiter who served us had quite the lazy wrist!

mark’s place- buy one lunch, get ½ off the second


entertainment:
scoobi too- day trip, sailed to tintemarre and anguilla. we chose to dock at grand case beach club at 8:45am, although there were other loading areas. at tintemarre, i snorkeled for the first time. there wasn’t much action apparently, but i saw some tropical fish and had a good time. some chose to explore tintemarre, but we were in the water for most of the time and then onboard with the rum punch. our next stop was anguilla, rendevous bay. en route from tintemarre to anguilla, we spotted a humpback whale in the ocean; it was really amazing to see. he put on a little show for us. once in anguilla, a complimentary buffet lunch was offered consisting of salad, stewed tomatoes, bbq ribs, chicken, fish, and vegetable medley. water was free and all other beverages were extra. with all the rum punch onboard, we were more than happy with water. chairs and umbrella were complimentary, but pretty limited as they were also reserved for resort guests as well. we ended up on our beach towels, but we were fine with that. no time for misery in paradise. we had a few hours in anguilla. i had considered walking down to cuisinart resort for a massage, but 1) my shoes were onboard the catamaran (not sure if they offer beach massage or if the spa is indoors) and 2) i unexpectedly ended up snoozing on the beach for most of the time. so much for that idea. on the return sail to sxm, the crew offered very moist and delicious banana bread. we arrived back to grand case beach club just before 5pm. this is a day trip that i highly recommend. excellent crew.
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i fed scoobi with a generous tip. we had a good time onboard and the crew deserved it.

calmos- drinks and live reggae= a good way to spend an evening. free wifi offered here as well.
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ttol party @ sunset beach bar and grill- my first ttol party! a quaint get together consisting of koolgirl, her father, the miller family, myself and boyfriend. we had a good time. my boyfriend and i were headed to pineapple pete for dinner afterwards, so we hadn’t planned on ordering any food at sunset, but wynn mentioned that the grouper fingers with fries and hot sauce on side was really good, so we ordered it and he was right. thanks again, koolgirl, for organizing it. it’s nice meeting people from the forum. next week i’ll be meeting sdchargers in san diego (travelling for work) and looking forward to it.

sxmcooks- fortunately i wrote a separate review with pictures about my experience on another thread, otherwise this report would beat carol hill’s 10 pager. in summary, i highly recommend the cooking workshop with luci frye. i plan on doing another workshop with her in the near future. thanks, ray, for putting this on the radar and passing along this information on ttol.

palm beach- 1 hr massage $80. the massage was given by an attractive, young girl, which matters little to me, but my boyfriend was a bit bummed that he had sunburn and couldn’t get a massage. well, it was very much not worth it… it was extremely gentle, which in my mind defeats the purpose entirely. glad I did it but won’t be rushing back for another. i must say though my favorite banana daiquiri was from palm beach. i prefer it on the icy side and it really hit the spot.

random observations:
filling of the salt pond
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definitely saw some improvements since our last trip in may. regarding the free lot in grand case, the obvious positive is the additional parking in a congested strip and the negative being that it has created space for kids to hangout/loiter. we had to manuveur around people who were clearly not getting out of the way, which is worth mentioning because it was somewhat obnoxious. on a happier note, midas roundabout in particular is a significant improvement. of course, what is sxm without some traffic…
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saved the best part for last:
we did a lot during the week, enough that it defies what many of you refer to as sand gravity. besides all of what i just wrote, most of our week was actually spent looking at property. good news, we made an offer and it’s been accepted! we went to dinghy dock with our broker to celebrate finding a place. my boyfriend and i are looking forward to many more days on island. a very big thank you for those who have helped us in the process and answered my many questions via pm.

hope you enjoyed our week in sxm. the end.