This is our 15 trip to SXM and this time we had the kids (thirty-something parents) and granddaughter along for 10 days of the trip. As usual, we stayed at Beachside Villas.
We cannot say enough about the BSV, as for us, it is a prime location, excellent property, and very well maintained. It is home for us. Having a 2 ½ year old walk into the villa and seeing the look on her face when she saw the ocean and beach through the sliding glass doors was priceless. She also became an airplane ‘groupie’ during this trip.
This report is just a ‘sprinkling’ of our 20 day stay.

Beach Conditions
We were concerned about having enough beach outside of the villa, and were very happy to see quite a bit of beach compared to some of the pictures posted just before we left for SXM. Several days before we left SXM, we had very high waves and rain, and a lot of the beach eroded during the night and continued during the next morning. Later that evening, the beach was coming back again. It goes to show how quickly beach conditions change.

Seaweed
The dreaded Sargasso seaweed came in one day to the point we had almost a foot of it on the beach outside of the villa. When we left, remnants were still coming in, but not as much as the initial onslaught. We spent quite a few days at Friar’s Beach, and the seaweed did not seem to be an issue in that particular area.

Traffic
The traffic and road construction required quite a bit of logistics and planning thereby not allowing a lot of spontaneity, and in some cases, outright avoiding return trips to favorite places due to construction congestion. A case in point was the Carousel Ice Cream place. Our 2 ½ year old granddaughter loved the carousel ride and we would have gone back, but the potential 45 -60 minute trip required timing within the day’s activities, including carousel operating times, and a return trip never occurred. A long-standing tradition to book the 12-meter sailing race required going through the lowlands and around the island thereby avoiding traffic to be on time for the first race time slot.

Amber and I went to Grand Marche’ Cole Bay one day via the lowlands in a shorter time and without the angst (read bored 2 ½ year old in the back seat) of the first trip to Cole Bay via the Simpson Bay route.

Restaurants / Beach Bars

Sunset Beach Bar and Grill
For the first time since coming to the island, we did not visit Sunset Beach Bar and Grill. It has become less of a favorite over the last several years, but we usually visit at least once a trip due to the proximately to BSV. As we drove by SBBG many times going to and from the villa, we saw as little as six people there at night (during previous years it was packed at this time), but saw many people during the prime time for airplane arrivals and take-offs. We suspect the times it was crowded included large groups from cruise ships.

Tahoma
We visited Tahoma Beach one evening around 6:30, thinking we could get something to eat. We were informed the kitchen closed at 7:00, and the bar at 9:00, and too late to obtain food service. They were not the friendliest encounter on the island. A villa resident however, walked down to Tahoma earlier in the day, and was impressed with the setting and the food coming out of the kitchen. They did not eat there, but ‘site visited’ only. Reportedly, the clientele was a very young, hard body crowd. Tahoma’s restrictive operating times did not allow a return visit.

Karakter
Not to create an uproar here, but we visited Karakter’s twice, and both times we were not impressed with the food and the second time it took at least 40 minutes to be served, and again the food was marginal. Other villa residents visited at a different time, and had good things to say about the food and service. It goes to show varied opinions and/or varied quality of service and food occurs at different times, whichever the case.

Friar’s Beach Bar Café’
We are long standing customers of FBBC. We discovered this small and not overly crowded beach and generally French food outdoor café’ on our first trip in 1997.This is a day trip for us, usually arriving around 1000 hours and leaving at 1700 to 1730 hours. The water is typically calm and great for all ages. Food ranges from 12 to 28 euros, and the menu (written on a chalkboard in English and French) has a small selection of American food such as hamburgers, club sandwiches, etc. The lounge chairs, umbrellas, and tables are without cost if you eat at the café. This is not a 1 to 1 ratio place, and does not accept credit cards. I believe the ratio posted this last week was 1:1.35.

Typically, friends Bruce and Judy bring a board game, and we utilize one of the tables to play for an hour or so between dips in the ocean. The meals here are ‘main meals’ to us, and we usually do not go out for dinner after spending a day at FBBC; it is just too much food in one day. During this trip, I had a roasted camembert salad, a salad of goat cheese wrapped in bacon, a grilled skate platter with roasted garlic potatoes, and large grilled shrimp kabob, with green beans, salad, and rice. The BBC’s at Friar’s Beach Bar are one of the best, if not the best, on the island. They compare to the BBC’s Neil made at Sunset and Buccaneer some years back. The staff is very friendly and helpful making the day even more enjoyable.

We attended the FBBC Halloween party, and enjoyed the French karaoke. The participants are far better than experienced at our local country tavern at home :>). The wait staff fixed a bed for our granddaughter comprising of two directors chairs pushed together with a lounge pad in the middle. Squirt guns and prizes were handed out, and buckets of ice for champagne turned into squirt gun ammunition as the night wore on.

A full day at Friar’s Beach Bar Café’ including multiple drinks, (both beer and BBC type and wine with lunch) averaged about $125 per couple, not including tip.

La Rosa Too
We attended Bruce and Judy’s anniversary dinner at La Rosa Too and the food and service was excellent as usual. The filet with peppercorn sauce has been my choice for the last several years and it continues to be outstanding. Cost was about $125 per couple, including tip.

Temptation
Friends Mike, Evan, Bruce, and Judy threw a surprise birthday dinner for my husband (MOB) at Temptation. This was a highlight of the trip, with excellent food, service, and company, ending with a gorgeous sparkler chocolate birthday cake for dessert. The piano player at Temptation played one of my husband’s favorite songs (Crazy by Patsy Cline, a definite age indicator here) in which the two of us had a birthday dance. The mood and merriment was enhanced by several GEBE power outages, all taken in stride by the patrons. As this was a birthday gift to my husband, we did not see the bill, but an educated guess puts it higher than a pizza at the Boat Bar.

Power and Water
We experienced at least three power and water outages compliments of GEBE on this trip. In the past, these have been short in duration. This trip they lasted for as long as 5 hours and affected most of the Beacon Hill area. One suspects the infrastructure is not keeping up with the building and growth. If I remember correctly, the outages occurred during evenings and late at night when nightlife and usage is high. This is my own conjecture; an infrastructure systems engineer I am not.

Celebrity Sightings (sort of)
Professor John the piano man at Sopranos, joined us for a potluck BBQ at Mike and Evans next door at the villas. Mike is well known amongst the group for his homemade calzones and pizza, and Evan for his mudslides.

Bob (Cover to Cover) came by to bring Judy a few CDs, and we enjoyed talking to him for about an hour regarding his life and experiences on the island.

Overall
Prices are higher in most places versus our experience from last year. Liquor prices are also up. No more come on sales for Absolute Vodka at $5.95 per liter on the sidewalks of Philipsburg. Airfare is higher with longer layovers flying back to the West Coast to a small regional airport in southern Oregon. Charlotte NC to southern Oregon totaled 11 hours of airport / flying time. Charlotte NC customs was packed on a Friday night. But we made it through within 40 or so minutes. The kids went through customs at Charlotte on a Wednesday night very quickly.

One tends to take the island offerings for granted after a while, but one of our best experiences occurred one evening when neighbors Mike and Evan joined granddaughter Savanna, Mom and Dad (Amber and Bron), and yours truly in an impromptu chasing of crabs on the beach below our decks. With the addition of Bron, Amber, and Savanna this year, we have new and richer experiences, seeing the island through the eyes of several generations, not just us ‘old fogies’.