Hello everyone,

I'll add pics as soon as I can get through them.

Our trip to St. Martin began with the planning stages over a year before we went. Mary and I had dated for almost 2 years and had known each other since we were in grade school. We went to NYC for Valentine’s Day 2016 and I asked her to marry me while we were on top of the Rockefeller Center. We soon began looking for the ultimate honeymoon location and had booked the room in June 2016 for July 2017. We hadn’t even started planning the wedding but we had a place to go for the honeymoon! Annemarieke with Gobeach Vacations helped us make the reservations.

We were married Friday, 7/7/17 surrounded by family and friends. My brother got ordained and performed the ceremony and my sister offered the prayer. We had a great reception with our favorite band playing for us and the night flew by. When the reception closed we went to a bar with our closest friends until 2:00am. Then we drove to Lexington, KY and arrived at 3:00am. It was getting to be a long day! We laid down for a short nap at 3:30 and were up at 4:30 to head to the airport.

Lexington’s airport is small so 1 hour before an international flight is fine and we were in the air at 6:00 headed to Atlanta. We landed at 7:10 and had 2 terminals to cross for an 8:00 flight on the SXM. We made the flight with a couple of minutes to spare but by then we were tired. Rest was impossible on the 1st flight as we were in the row in front of the exit row and our seats didn’t recline. We repeated the same horrible seating on the 4-hour flight from ATL to SXM.

We arrived in SXM a little after noon on Saturday and after making our way outside met our contact for where we were staying (Nettle Bay Beach Club – Ski Beach). We were to follow him to the villa after meeting Lesley Bruce to pick up our rental car. Lesley wasn’t hard to find and we were soon on the road. At the villa we were met by 100% Villas representative Judith Toppin. She was helpful in getting us acclimated to the resort, villa and area.

We got to the villa and cleaned up a little and changed into swimsuits and took a short walk over to Dreams for lunch. It was windy so they had the wind block curtains down but it was still nice. Included with our villa rental was a coupon for a free lounge and beach chairs but we never used them, instead preferring other beaches. Mary had the club sandwich and I had the French burger. I ordered the burger well done as I was going to share with Mary (I prefer medium) but it was barely cooked to medium. Overall I was a little disappointed with Dreams. Our 1st server was not friendly and the food was only so-so. We checked out their gift shop but left empty handed choosing to look around elsewhere for souvenirs.

We went back to the villa and took a dip in the ocean. There is a sign to beware of sea anemones and there is rock in the water but we were prepared with water shoes and took a quick dip. Long enough for me to drop my phone in the ocean and set a general tone for me of the next 10 days of “why does God hate me so much?”. I did see some glass but not enough to worry about even walking barefoot on the beach. For the price and location, the villa was great. Little to no seaweed on the beach.

The villa refrigerator was stocked with a 6-pack of Heineken, some eggs, bread, butter, apple juice and other basics but we decided to go to the store and stock up on what we liked. Another villa rental perk was that we had a 5% off coupon at any Sonops grocery and there is on within walking distance of the unit but we went out to explore a little and ended up shopping at Carrefour in the Cupecoy shopping center. It is very small and termed an express mart so choices were limited but we found everything we needed and were back to the villa by 6. We decided to take a nap before supper and laid down soon after. That was the end of us that day! We woke up around midnight, got undressed and went right back to sleep.

On Sunday, we had breakfast in the room as we did every day. Then off to the beach! The first day we decided to try out the nearest beach, Baie Rouge and Gus’s Beach Bar. Anthony Bourdain said it was his favorite place to eat with toes in the sand. He must have been drunk as I didn’t care for it. They were out of burgers so I had a chicken sandwich. Thin and tiny chicken strips on small loaves of split bread. Our server was nice though and for the “experience” I can say I did it. We paid $15 for 2 chairs and an umbrella. Little to no seaweed on the beach.

This was our 1st experience with a clothing optional beach and Mary jumped in by trying topless while others further down the beach went complete. I kept my trunks as I felt that we were too much on the “main” beach for me to join in. Mary enjoyed it and that set the tone for the rest of her trip of “where can I get naked in the sun?”. The beach wasn’t crowded with maybe 50 people.

For dinner, we decided to try our next-door neighbor, Mezza Luna. We were still on US time of eating after work and arrived before they opened so we decided to take a drive into Marigot and check it out. Being late afternoon Sunday everything was closed but we had an ice cream at stand on the marina and looked at the boats. We then went to Fort Louis and although my beautiful bride was dressed too nicely we went up and did some exploring and picture taking.

We went back to Mezza Luna and had an appetizer of spicy Bruschetta and for main courses I had a medium rare steak with potatoes and Mary had fire roasted vegetables. The steak wasn’t of great quality and the potatoes had been cooked a while earlier and weren’t very good. Mary’s vegetables were ok as well. I would give it a 3 of 5 overall. There was quite a bit of seaweed on their small beach. Their credit card machine couldn’t read my CC and I didn’t bring cash so I left Mary and ran back to the room to get cash. Why does God hate me #2? After paying we left and on the way out I dropped our villa and safe keys in the sand but didn’t discover that until we had made it back to the villa (why does god hate me #3). Back to Mezza Luna where we couldn’t find the keys around the table (God hates me) and I am headed back to the car to look again when the waiter spots only the tip of the key sticking out of the sand. Whew…

On Monday, we had a knock at the door and 100% Villas dropped off a couple of pastries from the bakery, La Parisienne Patisserie, across the street. They were very good with our fruit breakfast.

We decided to try Cupecoy beach where Dany is set up and paid $20 for parking, two chairs and an umbrella. Mary and I both decided to go nude and it was a great experience. I don’t know how we’ll ever go back. It is so nice to not have wear wet swim wear after taking a dip. The beach had no seaweed and there were about 10 people there. Dany had cold beer. We didn’t know about ordering lunch when we arrived and missed getting any lunch. A deeply tanned islander named Lyly approached my wife and expressed concern of here freckled skin and sun damage. She said she had homemade tanning oil for sale for $10 a bottle and it would help to protect her skin from damage. Mary has lived all her life with freckles and, although she is not a redhead, it is in her genes as her sister and son are. She doesn’t kid herself that there is any tanning that is “safe” other than strong sun protection

That night after 2 disappointing meals we decided to play it safe and have BBQ at Fat Tony’s in Cupecoy. It isn’t fancy but the beer and food are good and the owner Rick is a nice guy. We met a man who had went to college in Lexington with a man from our hometown that we knew. I had pulled pork and Mary had a small portion of ribs and pulled pork. Alice’s Potatoes (potato salad) were very good!

Tuesday morning, we walked over to La Parisienne Patisserie and got some quiche and pastries and took them back to the villa for breakfast. 5 out of 5.

We decided to try Club Orient and took off across town. We arrived and checked in at the office as to which way to head to the beach. They didn’t charge for parking. We enjoyed our day on the beach and had pizza at Perch with Willie for lunch and then stuck around for the 2:300 – 3:30 happy hour. Every water chair was filled so we had to take a couple of 2nd row chairs. $20 for 2 chairs and an umbrella. Little to no seaweed on the beach.

For dinner, we went back to Fat Tony’s as they were having steak night. I had Rick cook me up one medium rare and it was better than Mezza Luna’s. Mary had smoked chicken and it was good. Over-all Tony’s was a 4 out of 5.

Wednesday I wanted some small cash bills so we made a trip to Cole Bay where there is a walk-in bank to make some change. We also stopped at the Harley Davidson dealership to pick up a bandana for some friends. We ate lunch in the villa of some lunch meat and headed to Cupecoy beach. Less people than before, maybe 6 there. The cruise ship Allure of The Seas was heading out of Phillipsburg that afternoon and we were impressed by its size, being the 2nd largest ship in the world. I can’t see the “allure” of cruising with 7,000 other people but still, it’s a HUGE ship.

For dinner, we decided to dress up and go to Temptation in Stars Casino in Cupecoy. Here were about 10 people enjoying dinner. They had replaced their regular menu with a smaller summer offering on about 6 appetizers, main courses and desserts. 3 courses were $45. Quite a deal. Appetizers of Onion Soup for me and Heirloom Tomatoes with Mozzarella for Mary. Main courses of Spicy Chicken Stir Fry and Mary had Short Rib Ragout bolognaise. Dessert was Rice Pudding with almonds and tropical fruits for me (the rice was wild rice and I didn’t care much for the harder consistency) and Flower Pot Banana Cream Pie for Mary. Everything was excellent and we got to compliment Dino on the excellent meal and ask some questions about the preparation of a dish. The server was excellent and the piano player was too. 5 out of 5.

This was the day that Gayleen McEwan, 57-year-old woman from New Zealand, was killed at Maho Beach taking part in the holding onto the fence during takeoff ritual.

Thursday, we had breakfast and lunch in the villa and then went to Cupecoy beach. For dinner, we went to Rendez Vous Lounge in the Porto Cupecoy shopping center. After looking at a beautiful yacht we sat down to eat. Bruschetta with cream cheese and sun dried tomatoes to start, Chicken Alfredo for Mary and I don’t remember what I had. I found the restaurant to be as forgettable as the meal I had. Mary’s Chicken Alfredo was good and huge. We took home half. No desert as they were out of everything other than brownie. The server was distant and not friendly. 2 out of 5.

Friday, we had reserved the Gourmet cruise on Tiko Tiko so we had to be at Papagayo at Club Orient at 9:00am. It was a full ship of 14 including Phillipe and his one-woman crew. The clouds were looming dark above us when we set sail for Tintamarre and I was sure we were going to get rained out as we got a misting rain the closer we got to the island but then the sun broke through just as we made land. It was a hot day and we spent most of it in the water but a few of us hiked over to the other side to see what was there. Seaweed, mostly. On the beach side, there was no seaweed. I had fish and Mary had chicken for lunch. They do a great job for having to prepare everything beforehand or onboard. The alcohol flowed freely and we had a great time. I traded Jose from Puerto Rico hats before we parted ways. He now has a great Siesta Keys hat and I have a BMW M Power one. New friends were made that we hope to see again.

When the cruise was over several of us went to Papagayo as it was happy hour (2 for 1). We hadn’t tried Guavaberry Rum yet so we had a colada each. That led to the bright idea to have another. After a hot day filled with alcohol that is all we needed to really put the buzz on! We decided to stay and have dinner and sober up before the drive home. I had Beef Stroganoff and Mary had Pork Sliders. The Stroganoff was so good I almost cried as it brought back memories of my mother making it when I was young. I’ll have to pull out her recipe and give it a try. When we got back to our car I discovered that I left the lights on during the morning rain and rush to make the boat and the battery was dead! Workers at the guard building were helpful and pulled over his car to jump the battery. The car didn’t have enough juice to do so and he grabbed a golf cart which has batteries chained in succession and that boosted us right up. I gave the helpful gentleman some cash and we were on our way. 5+ of 5!

It was also July 14th, Bastille Day, and celebration in Marigot was still in full steam when we arrived back at the villa. From all the way across the bay the music bass thumped until late in the night. We got a firework show from across the bay that was good.

Saturday, we made a trip over to Marigot to do some market shopping but no one was out as everything from the previous night was still in place as it was to be a weekend party. No Secret Spot T’s for me (God hates me #4). We went into the mall and on the bottom floor saw some souvenir T’s and made note of the prices before going out for some bargain hunting elsewhere in town. On Rue de la Liberte we found a wholesale / retail shop for T’s and such and made off with 3 for $10 plus a beach bag for a good price I didn’t remember. We stepped into the sunglass shop next door but the products didn’t seem kosher to me so we left without buying anything. Back to the mall to pick up some small items that the T-shirt shop didn’t have and then back to the villa to grab lunch, change clothes and hit the beach.

We went back to Cupecoy beach and again just sparsely populated. We got to see the Carnival Fascination heading out to sea.

For dinner, we went back to Porto Cupecoy and try Ernest and Fidel Café. It is a beautiful bear and due to slow season, they were down to the chef, maître de and server. All of them were friendly and the maître de was fun to interact with. He is a, “look a squirrel”, personality and runs about like a mouse on meth! We shared an app that I can’t find on their menu but it was 4 samplings of chicken and lime, refried beans and bacon, a smoked pork and Pico de Gallo, and bacon with melted cheese served on some bread kind of like nan. For the main course, I had fresh caught Grouper and Mary had Plantain lasagna. Mary’s dinner was a loaf of lasagna that was huge so we took home half. For dessert, we split a Chocolate Volcano which was very good. Overall a 5+ out of 5.

Sunday, we had breakfast in the villa and went to Club Orient as it would be family day on other beaches and we were enjoying the clothing optional way of island life. On our way over we stopped at Ace and picked up a Styrofoam cooler for $5 for the next day. Willie was not bartending. Friends that we made on the Tiko Tiko cruise were heading into town for some shopping and let us use their front row chairs so we didn’t have to pay. We had pizza again at the Perch and enjoyed mixed drinks of Lemon Breeze during happy hour. We tried the Guavaberry Colada again but the bartender wasn’t as good of mixologist as the Papagayo bartender. We enjoyed the beach until 5:30 and headed to the villa. We decided to eat our leftovers from previous meals and stopped at Sonops for a baguette. That late on Sunday they were sold out. On a whim, I decided to try the gas station that is attached to La Parisienne Patisserie bakery across the street and they had bakery baguettes! An FYI is that the bakery sets day old baguettes out the back door for free every morning for those that don’t mind day old bread. Leftovers with beer and beach, 5+ out of 5!

Monday, breakfast in the villa. Beach at Cupecoy. I prefer Bud Light beer but had bought Presidente from Dany all week but I had Bud Light that needed to be consumed before we left. I put this in the newly acquired cooler and grabbed the 6 Heineken that was in the villa when we arrived. When we arrived, I told Dany I didn’t need any beer today but to make up for lost sales he could have the Heineken gratis while I still paid for parking, chairs and umbrella. He was happy with the deal. Lyly again approached Mary about her skin vulnerability to sun damage and that her oil would help. She was a sweet woman and I judged her concern to be sincere. We decided to take a bottle of her oil and arranged to meet her in the morning before we left as this was our last day in paradise. A family including young boys and men joined us late in the afternoon and we could tell that “mom” wasn’t too pleased that they had mistakenly found a clothing optional beach. I guess “dad” convinced her to stay as they eventually settled in. The teen boys came past us and went into the ocean. The younger boys eventually joined them but one used his hand as a shield so he wouldn’t see us as he walked by and when he got even with us on the beach he took off running for the water! Funny! We enjoyed the beach until late in the afternoon.

For dinner, we went to Sale & Pepe on the Dutch side and sat on the patio. After 9 days on the quiet French side it was different being back among the lights and noise of the Dutch side. A bread was served with olive oil and pesto. I couldn’t determine what the pesto was as it was very strong so when Chef Davide came to visit I asked and was told it was a black olive pesto. Once I knew it was easy to tell. I would pass if offered a second time as I found it too strong. For an appetizer, we had Affettato all'Italiana (meats and cheeses). For dinner, I had Chicken Parm and Mary had Chicken Alfredo. We both had leftovers and took them in case we would have time to eat them before we left the next day. For dessert, I had Carmel Crust Crème Brulee and Mary had Chocolate Mousse (normally served with coconut but she opted to leave that off). Everything was very good. We had a young assistant waiter that was great. He was married and had a young son. He spoke 5 languages. He wanted to go to school to make a better life for himself. He was fun to talk to and made the end of our meal more enjoyable. 5 of 5.

Tuesday was our last day and I made the short trip over to Cupecoy Beach to meet Lyly to get the oil. Back to the villa and we had the last breakfast and finished packing. At noon, we headed to the airport for our 3:00pm flight. We left the car in the lot for Lesley and made it through security easily. BY 1:30 we were sitting at the Taloula’s Flights bar having some great drinks that the bartender wasn’t stingy with the alcohol. 5 of 5. Three drinks for each of us and we were ready for the flight home! We hit Johney Burger for lunch and ate it at the bar. 3.5 of 5. Mary got a Blue Bitch Bar t-shirt from the bar before we left.

We met up with 2 couples we had taken the Tiko Tiko cruise with at the airport and said our goodbyes even though we were all on the same flight back to ATL as we knew we would all be separated once we arrived and headed to our gates. Dennis and Nicole from Connecticut surprised us with a bottle of rum just as we were about to board the plane as a wedding present.

The flight was pleasant enough but we paid extra to move to a bulkhead seat but the plane had been changed somewhere and we didn’t get the seats we thought we would instead being 3 rows back from the bulkhead. I watched Mr. Church and Fences (I hadn’t seen either yet) to kill the 4 hours. As we were pulling into the gate the 2nd movie ended. Good timing!

We had a 3-hour layover between flights so we made our way to terminal we were to fly out of and found a Buffalo Wild Wings which was good enough for us without a whole lot of looking or walking.

Our flight home was on time and we landed in Lexington at 11:30pm and arrived home about 1:00am. We had both taken a vacation day for Wednesday and spent the morning sleeping late and then unpacking, getting a new cell phone, doing laundry and opening wedding presents that we received the day of the wedding.

I’m not sure that we will go back to St. Martin. The flights from the mid-west were expensive ($900 each). We loved the clothing optional beaches and they are few and far in-between in the states so if we want to enjoy the freedom of naturalism again we just may have to. We’ve heard there is a place in Indiana that we will investigate.

Great review! Thanks. Congrats on your marriage.

Thank you for the great trip report!

Thanks for the report. I can't really tell, it didn't seem like you really enjoyed yourself that much, except for the c/o bathing?

Congratulations on your marriage! I loved the trip report. The longer the better. Also liked the rating system. Hope you return someday. We just bought our tickets for February, our 18th trip.

Congratulations on your marriage - may it be long and happy - and on your discovery of SXM and all it has to offer.

I smiled as I read your restaurant reviews - but only in that you went from one end of the spectrum to the extreme other end from Fat Tonys to Temptations. We have enjoy both and their convenient location as well since we generally stay pretty close to that general area.

I find it interesting in that we've been visiting this island annually for over forty years and feel pretty much like we know the island and what it has to offer. And then I read your first-timer's trip report and discover a restaurant I've never heard of that I recall, and that another which we usually enjoy as a breakfast stop, Ernst and Fidel, is serving lunch and dinner too. How did we not know that?! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> We appreciate so many of the good restaurant offerings on the Dutch side that allow us to avoid travel through the often congested Maho-Airport-Simpson Bay areas where we so often have to fight the traffic at the dinner hour and then deal with parking issues, too.

Thank you for taking the time and making the effort to do such a thoughtful, thorough and very well written trip report. Much appreciated, for sure!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

What a great & informative review! Congrats on your marriage..may it be long and happy. Hope you will give SXM another try. Thanks for all your time in posting a thoughtful review.

Congrats on your marriage! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" /> I also got the same impression as Carol that your vacation wasn't as expected. Outside of Temptation, which is excellent, your other dining choices were just okay. SXM has over 300 restaurants, many which are 4 star and you did not go to any. Had a hectic wedding night eh?? LOL

Congratulations and thanks for the report.

Thanks for the report. I've dreamt of dropping--err, chucking my phone as far as I can into the sea!

Thanks for the detailed trip report. I'm so sorry about some of your eating experiences; I have had some superb meals at Dreams. I truly hope you will give St. Maarten another try as there are many wonderful restaurants on the island.

Thank you all for the comments. As Ernest Hemingway said, "never write about a place until you're away from it, because that gives you perspective". Perhaps I'm still in need of some time to be more appreciative of the island, people and places. And I'm an engineer so I try to present the "facts, and nothing but the facts" in my reviews.

I / we did have a good time. It was our honeymoon and I got to spend it with the most beautiful woman on the island.

Mary doesn't care for seafood or beef so chicken or vegetable dishes are her preference. That limits restaurants that we choose so that she doesn't end up eating salad for every meal. We missed out on some, were amazed by others and disappointed by a few. Sounds like anyplace that has a good choice of eating establishments.

It was also the slow season so ability to impress may have been tempered by staff, food quality and choices available.

Congratulations on your marriage!

It was very fun to read about your experiences...food, nude, and otherwise! It's too bad you didn't find Happy Bay. It is a nude beach as well, and the prettiest, IMHO.

We stayed near (as in, right across the street) NBBC last year to be closer to Happy Bay and Cupecoy. This didn't turn out to be such a good idea for us as Cupecoy was too rough and all but washed out and we had to fight Marigot traffic to get to Happy Bay. We won't stay on Sandy Ground again...live and learn.

That being said, we enjoyed some of the same places you went to. The café on the corner was our go to for delicious French coffee and croissants. We also enjoyed pizza at Mezza Luna our first night, the only time we ate there. You reviewed some I have never heard of as well as some we hope to try in August. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/circle.gif" alt="" />

Great fun to hear a newbies take! And well done on buckling down and writing out your trip! I often find I am so busy playing catch up that by the time things settle down, I have forgotten which day was which and many details. I am going to attempt to journal this next trip to aid my memory! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

I hope you and your new bride have many more wonderful memories...on SXM or wherever your heart takes you! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

Thank you Pat,

Out of curiosity, what restaurant had you not heard of before in all of your visits?

Thanks,

We did consider taking a trip to Happy Bay as facilities and supplies may or may not have been available given that it was low season we just opted to stay at Cupecoy. Next time!

Mezza Luna was a new one to us, but in honesty, we tend to dine more on the Dutch side and avoid dealing with some of the issues so many complain of - par on the dollar and tipping, just for starters.

Again, Congrats and thank you for sharing your experiences.

Autoeng said "I’m not sure that we will go back to St. Martin. The flights from the mid-west were expensive ($900 each). We loved the clothing optional beaches and they are few and far in-between in the states so if we want to enjoy the freedom of naturalism again we just may have to. We’ve heard there is a place in Indiana that we will investigate. "

You might also want to look at Avalon Resort in Hampshire County in eastern WV. (Avalon-resort.com). It's about 7 hours east of Lexington driving time.

We first found Club Orient on a cruise in the late 1990s, and went once a year for well over a decade. We found Avalon in 2001 and having been enjoying it ever since...and we live in Maryland near the Chesapeake Bay.

Check it out...

Do I hear banjos???? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

I've been there, and I don't remember hearing any banjos! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> Avalon gets quite a bit of their guests from the Washington DC area and on the whole, they are a pretty educated, professional group.

Thanks Carol, everyone of course respects each other's privacy and just being on a "first name only" basis among the guests being the norm allows for a lot of privacy as well.

Over the 17 years we have been members I am amazed at the diversity among those who we have become good friends with up in the mountains of WV and eventually shared backgrounds with.

A lot of active and retired members of the armed forces, enlisted and officer, including even a "one star", Government civilian employees of all grades including those from some "interesting" agencies, clergy, including a Bishop and his wife, plumbers, electricians, small business owners, and on and on and even a couple who run a travel board called TravelTalkOnline of all things!

The key ambiance is a recognition that people come in all shapes and sizes, we ALL look better without clothes, and NOBODY even CARES what YOU look like.

When are you and Eric coming back this way?

Bill (and Linda)

Bill--I am sending you a PM...

Actually, Linda and I said the exact same thing to each as we drove up the narrow, winding, mountain road for the last two miles on our first visit!

What we found at the end made it all worthwile...