General Comments:

This was our tenth or eleventh trip since 2000 and all that I can say is that a good time was had by all. This year we spent the first 4 days at Villa Bali Hai in Blowing Point, Anguilla. We then moved to the Royal Islander in Maho for the remaining 5 days.

As I stated in a previous post, the weather was the worst that we have ever had. It does not mean that it was a total washout because we had a couple of nice days and still came back with decent tans. There was about a day and half where I would say it rained HARD all over the island. Most other days while overcast there were peaks of sunshine. We were told that there was a depression hanging out around Jamaica that covered most of the Caribbean.

Travel:

Our travel both to and from the Island was pretty much flawless except for one bump in the road that was not much of a problem. We flew Jet Blue direct from JFK and all flights were on time and we arrived early in both directions. Since we did not want to drive from Connecticut to JFK in the teeth of the morning rush, we stayed overnight at the Hampton Inn near JFK and parked at Smart Park JFK ($135.00 for the 9 days).
We used Funtime ferry from SXM to AXA. They were waiting at the airport when we arrived and the trip to Anguilla was smooth.

Our bump in the road came when we were to take the Shauna ferry back to Simpson Bay; the bump being that they did not show. We had a verbal confirmation but there was no ferry at the specified time so we onto hopped the public ferry with no problems. While on the ferry, we called Michael at Unity Car Rental and he sent someone to Marigot to pick us up. All that I can say is that Unity has incredible customer service!

Accommodations:

Villa Bali Hai was very nice and with four people there was plenty of room. I would not call this villa ultra luxury but it is in nice shape and is very comfortable. The villa is on the water facing SXM so we had a great view with our own private pool. Life is good!

Royal Islander was very nice and it’s obvious why it’s highly rated on this board. It seems like they are constantly working on the property and we have no complaints at all. They had us in a ground floor room (room 1111) and all was good, with the ground floor room we had a large patio where we could all sit comfortably. We had a one bedroom unit with 2 people in the bedroom and 2 on the pull out sofa bed. There was enough room for all and we had no issues at all.


Anguilla:

Beaches Visited:

• Rendezvous Bay was the destination on our first full day. We walked the beach then took a dip for about an hour. Lunch at the Dune Preserve ended up being just about our most expensive meal. Lovely beach and a nice afternoon.

• Day 2 took us to Little Bay in the AM. Little Bay is a tiny beach with cliffs all around. The only way to get to the beach is to scale a 50 foot cliff or take a boat in. We went to Crocus Bay and had Calvin bring us to the beach ($15.00pp). Crystal clear water that is flat as a tabletop. This is one of my favorite beaches.

• Day 2 afternoon took us to Shoal Bay East and what else is there to say this deserves to be one of the top 10 beaches in the world. Drop dead gorgeous.

• Day 2 also took us to Meads Bay where we made dinner reservations at Straw Hat. We took a swim and although the beach is very nice, for some reason it’s not our favorite. Can’t give a reason, it’s just not our favorite.

• Day 3 took us to Cove Bay and an afternoon at Smokey’s Beach Bar to have lunch, take a dip, and listen to the Musical Brothers. Very nice afternoon.

• Day 4 brought another visit to Shoal Bay East and some time at Gwens, listening to the Scratch Band. We hated to leave.

Restaurants:

• Dune Preserve: Several rum punches and 4 plates of Ribs were goodbut the bill was $200.00 FOR LUNCH for 4 people.

• Villa Bali Hai: We had our housekeeper prepare dinner for us consisting Creole Chicken, rice & peas, and fried plantains. This was my favorite dinner, real Anguillan comfort food.

• Tropical Sunsets: This beach bar on Shoal Bay East has good local food. It was the first time I had tried curried goat and I loved it. Lunch and a 4 rum punches ran about $80.00 per couple.

• Smokey’s on Cove bay: Good lunch, my ribs and Gail’s “Smokey’s Burger” were very good and we had the music of the Musical Brothers to boot.

• Straw Hat: We had a very nice anniversary dinner for Scott and Kathleen food and the atmosphere was excellent and we had music with dinner. 4 dinners and a nice bottle of wine for around $250.00.

• Sand Bar: This neat bar is located in Sandy Ground and offers cocktails and tapas right on the bay while you watch the sun fall into the ocean. The only drawback was that it was cloudy and brutally hot that night with no breeze. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was very nice. We left there and jumped into the pool at the villa.

• Gwens: We had lunch for 4 (Ribs all around) a few rum punches each while listening to the Scratch Band. Let me tell you, these guys are good! I wish they had a CD. I don’t remember the bill because we had to run to catch the ferry for vacation part 2 in SXM.

St Maarten:

Beaches:

• Of course, Orient for 2 days. We lounged at Club O with lots of SXM friends and enjoyed happy hour at the Perch. A day at Club O is a social experience and we always have a great time.

• Happy Bay: We trekked to Happy Bay one morning followed by a little dog that kind of befriended us. At first we were the only people on the beach and our new found friend took to digging holes about a foot deep. We couldn’t figure out what he was doing when he came up throwing a crab around. It was a riot. After a couple hours there were a few more people on the beach and we headed to Grand Case and Calmo’s for lunch.

• Baie Rouge: At least we tried to get to Baie Rouge. It was raining lightly when we got there and we waited in the car to see if it was going to stop. Guess what, it didn’t stop. We decided to go to the Marigot Market instead and that’s when the sky opened up. Gail & Kathleen proceeded to browse the vendors while Scott & I sat at the Arawak restaurant and had a Carib or 3. It continued to pour for the entire afternoon and I do mean pour with thunder and lightning. We headed to Palm Beach to see if we could get lunch, but EVERYTHING was closed on Orient and the only people on the beach had Carnival ponchos. WASHOUT!!!

• Simpson Bay Beach: We went to Karacter for some beach time and lunch on our last day and we all LOVE this place. Great food and nice atmosphere; we decided that we will spend more time here on our next trip.

Restaurants:

• Andy & Cheryl’s: Had a great lunch with a bunch of friends. All that I can say is we can’t visit SXM without stopping here for Margarita Shrimp for Gail and a stuffed Grouper Burger for me. The Stuffed Grouper Burger is the Grouper Burger with a crab cake on top! Great food and great friends. Life is good!

• Orange Fever beach Bar: Great lunch, great burgers, & great drinks again with friends (Dan & Kathy, Scott & Kathleen, Pete & Pam, and Bob & Linda).

• Pineapple Pete’s: This is a new one for us and after hearing all the fuss about the Lobster Thermador, all that I can say is OMG! Gail had the Lobster and I had the stuffed Grouper. The Grouper was excellent but I should have gotten the Lobster.

• Bajatzu: This is another new one for us. The day that we ate at Calmo’s for lunch we were not very hungry at dinner so we stopped here for a glass of wine and some apps. We were so impressed, we went back for dinner the next night and we now have a new favorite!

• Pizza Pasta: After the day at Gwens and the ferry ride to SXM we weren’t very hungry so we walked here. The food was OK and the price was right, but being from an area like New Haven, pizza is not the thing to eat in SXM. There is nothing like an Italian Bomb at Modern Pizza on State St in New Haven, IMHO.

• Karacter: As I mentioned in “Beaches”, excellent food and great atmosphere.

• Sky Beach: This is on the roof above Bamboo Bernies. All that I can say is, “Way Cool”! We went there expecting to catch the end of the TTOL party and we were the only ones there. Actually, the bar just opened after the rain subsided. The next day we went back There was the sunset looking out over Mullet and on the opposite side there were the remnants of a thunderstorm with a double rainbow. I will try to post pictures in a couple days.

We packed a lot into the 9 days that we had and we can’t wait to return. If I can figure it out I will post pictures in a couple of days.

Steve