Rental Car and Cell Phone: Lenny from Kenny’s met us at the airport upon arrival and at departure. Very competitively priced and customer service beyond compare. He delivered our phone from Sharon at www.queenofsxm.com. She was also very responsive and competitively priced. We highly recommend both companies.

Accommodations: Divi Little Bay – Upgraded to a one bedroom with a washer and dryer in building A unit 304. The room was amazing!! There were two separate rooms so Alan could get up every morning and start his day working without bothering Lynn. Paid $80 for 2 weeks of internet service. The grounds were beautiful. Pools and hot tubs seemed to be clean. We found the bar service lacking in quality and service. The food options at Toucan’s for dinner was lacking and what we had was lousy. We were forced to eat there on our first night because our plan to eat at Mark’s Place before Grand Marche was foiled by the issues with the health department. All in all if we could get that room again we would stay there but there are probably other places that will provide a better overall experience.

Spa: We both enjoyed the spa at Divi for one treatment each. Seemed fairly priced and service was top quality.

Lunches: Pinel – Yellow Beach – Steve has helped us for 3 years now. We were there 3 times and had the grilled Mahi Mahi twice and then tried the Tiger fish the third time. What a treat!! They grilled the entire fish and served it complete with head (including menacing teeth) and tail. There was one large bone which we used a butter knife to remove the flaky white fish filet from the bone. It was outstanding!!
Orient – KonTiki – we were sad that our favorite bartender on the island was no longer there. We think his name is Fabrizio. It had more of a snooty feel this year. Although our waiter Gi was very nice to us. Their calamari was outstanding.
Simpson Bay - Karacter – First time Alan had salad with seared tuna and Lynn had a salmon wrap. Both were fantastic!! Had our first Amstel Bright (they had a bucket special 6 for $12) and it quickly went to the top of the beer list along with Carib. Second time we shared a plate for two of amazing coconut shrimp, chicken satays in peanut sauce, the same salmon wrap Lynn had the first day and a terrific tuna melt. It came with two glasses of champagne for $32.
Bay Rouge – Chez Raymond – We had shrimp kabobs and conch stew. Both were very good. However the highlight was the “Raymond Special” drink that chef Raymond was making. It had a little bit of every liquor plus some fruit all blended together. They have 2 for 1 happy hour at 3:00 so we had a couple more then.
Friars Bay – Second restaurant (Friars Bay Beach Café?) – we shared a fabulous salad that had crab meat, hearts of palm and grilled pineapple with a very light dressing.
Greenhouse in Phillipsburg – Salads and fish sandwich very good.
Blue Bitch Bar in Phillipsburg – Very average pulled pork. Would not recommend.
Andy and Cheryl’s – Read many posts about how wonderful this place is. We found the food to be OK. If not for Andy and Cheryl’s infectious personality we would have thought it was not at all worth it. This may not be fair because we really wanted breakfast and thought we had read that they served breakfast until noon, but when we arrived a little after 11 we were forced to do lunch which we were not ready for.
Sunset Beach Bar – After checking luggage went there for salads and shared a pizza. It was a great way to finish a wonderful 2 weeks!!

Dinners: L’Estaminet – Our favorite by far!!!! Carol (hope that is the right name) and her crew just provide a fabulous environment. Alan had the Sea bass and Lynn had the Salmon special. The presentation was as good as the food. Still doing the Tiramisu shots at the end of the meal which is Kaluha, Bailey’s, cream and cocoa.
L’Escapade was closed because electrical issues which was disappointing.
La California – Arrived just as the sun was going down. Very nice setting but the bugs started biting so we moved away from the plants and the beach. Had Caesar salads that were the best we have ever had.
Bamboo Bernies – Very good sushi in Maho.
Safari Grill – Had great 4 cheese pizza (including goat cheese) and salad at the bar twice as we were leaving Orient.
Jimbo’s – Had carry out one night which was very good. Great diversified menu. The two bartenders were very nice as we waited for the food. Especially Lucy who made a great Margarita as her first drink as a Jimbo’s employee.
Italian place across from Jimbo’s - Tutta something – Nice setting. Nice bartender. Horrible food.

Grocery stores: Grand Marche (next to Mark’s Place) was very disappointing. Seemed like it was not clean or stocked. Really liked US Market in the Grand Case area, very French and expensive but clean and lots of options. Our favorite store though was Market Garden on the main road at the corner where you turn to go to Pelican. It is well stocked with fresh fruits and veggies. For quick one item pick up we found more of what we were looking for at the small store at Belair than at Divi.

Video Rental: Went to Island Video along the main street next to The Mailbox. Pay $25 for membership which is refunded when you cancel your membership. Movies were $4.

Excursion: Took the Lambada boat tour to Prickly Pear off the coast of Anguilla. About $200 for the two of us. So much fun because of the wonderful crew. The sea was very rough that day. We got to snorkel some, but it was very rough. Coming back the captain shut down the engines and we just sailed for about an hour. It was so peaceful and so much fun. Well worth the money.
We also walked up to Fort Amsterdam almost every day as part of our exercise routine. Very beautiful views.

Beaches: Pinel is always our favorite. Enjoyed snorkeling. Simpson Bay – Karacter was probably our second favorite. This is because it is so laid back with great food and service. Orient – KonTiki, LeString, The Beach Bum (we cant remember but it used to be Bryce Paradise), LaPlaya, and Club Orient were all nice. Friars Bay and Bay Rouge – surf was too rough to snorkel but worth another visit. Plum Bay looked great if you had your own chair and umbrella. The surf was so calm. Little Bay off of the Divi beach was great for snorkeling. There is a tiki hut around the bend where there is a submarine and some canons from the fort. It was interesting that our first afternoon while we were sitting on the Divi beach waiting for our room to be ready a security guard asked the lady next to us to put her top on. Later Alan asked him if there was another area in the resort where topless was acceptable and he said no because of all of the kids. Just seemed odd for St. Martin.

We felt safe the entire trip but were not out late. The motorcycles and some of the crowds of young people in Grand Case were a little unnerving but no one bothered us.

We don't have our return scheduled yet but will be working on that very soon. We already miss it!!!