First of all,,,A huge Thank You once again for all that commented/responded on my earlier pre-trip posts. Your information is always appreciated.

We flew out of Toronto on Jan 7th on Air Canada direct flight to SXM. Cost 600.00 per person return. The flight was awesome!!
Upon arrival, we went directly to Unity Car Rental,,got our Toyota Corolla from Mike and headed to Maho market on way to Sapphire Beach Club. Got the essentials (Beer,,vodka,,gin,,rum,,,oh yeah,,a little bacon, eggs, etc.)
As you all know, I was very hesitant accepting a RCI exchange into the Sapphire unit 250,,as the second bedroom was apparently small, trundle bed, etc. (We were travelling with a couple who have never been to SXM)

I was very pleasantly surprised when checking in to find out that the Sapphire Beach Club had listened to my concerns and had us booked into 285,,the penthouse.
Check in went smooth,,,staff friendly,,,room amazing!!!! Our own pool overlooking the water,,our own jacuzzi off master bedroom. Second bedroom overlooked Porta Cupecoy as well as the balcony off the kitchen. We had outdoor barbeque to boot. Really nice!! Huge living space,,,,three bathrooms,,,just a real nice surprise.
Needless to say that started our week on a good note!!
We had dinner at the resort pool restaurant that evening and the Red Snapper I had was excellent.

The next day we were off and running, although not real early, we just could not pull ourselves away from our private pool,,mimosas,,etc. lol.

We took our "newbies" to Sunset Bar and Grill for the thrill of watching the planes,,always great to watch their reactions. After a few hours there, we headed to Buccaneer Beach Bar for the best burger on the island.
Later that night, when we thought of eating again, it was late, so we went to ESPN,,near Pineapple Petes, or maybe even part of it,,and again, the food was awesome. Fish and Chips to die for,,,total bill for all 4,,,,around 70.00 each,,but of course we had drinks with our meal.

Monday,,we headed to Karakters Beach,,,absolutely amazing stretch of beach!! Great day there,,,food again,,,awesome,,best coconut shrimp I have had,,beer cold,,,the service however was very very slow,,and when we moved away to beach to take in some sun,,,no one came to even get our bill. Could easily have walked away,,but of course we did not. But,,my first time to Karacter and we will be back.
That evening went to Toppers for lobster. I personally was disappointed with amount of lobster for the price. Uncle Harry's in previous visits was much better and more. We all had lobster at 33.00 each, plus drinks, etc. The lobster was okay,,but we certainly didn't see much of it. Although we met a guy named Dexter who pointed us in the direction of The Red Piano,,,where we saw the most amazing band. We only intended to go for one drink,,and we closed the place, a totally awesome "find".

Then on Tuesday we travelled to Orient. This is my third trip and I always do the driving,,and I got mixed up twice. I believe some of the round a bouts,,,or corners or something has changed!! (At least that is my story),,,anyways,,it took longer to get there than expected, but we did see a lot of the island on the way. Ate at Kokoa (spell?) beach bar,,,but the sun was slipping away on us,,,so we packed up and headed back to the Dutch side. On Orient beach I came out with tons of very bad bites,,,not sure what it was,,but lots of them!!

That evening we had the all you can eat ribs at pool bar at Sapphire for 12.00 each,,,good,,,then headed back to Penthouse!!

Wednesday we went on a day sail on the Passatt out of Simpson Bay Yacht club. 89.00 per person, very laid back, pleasant,,great day,,did some snorkling,,had a very nice lunch served,,choice of Mahi Mahi, or garlic chicken,,and of course lots of rum punch!! Really enjoyed it and would recommend.
When we got back, we walked around Simpson Bay area,,then had lobster at Skipjacks. The meal again was okay,,,but lobster was not as good as Uncle Harry's. Now,,I wish I would have tried Uncle Harry's again this time, even though things have changed. Just did not quench my desire for good lobster on this trip.

Thursday we took off to Phillipsburg for some shopping. Went to the Greenhouse for lunch and just sat and people watched. Bought a few items for folks at home. We had some wings,,fish and chips,,,our friend had the black bean soup and said it was really good. Because we had had lunch so late,,we simply ordered food from pool bar at Sapphire when we got home.

Friday was a day that we had decided we were going to just laze around our penthouse. We discovered the beach right in front of resort for the first time. We had been told there was no beach,,but in fact it was so beautiful and pleasant. Wished we had ventured out there earlier in the week. It was an entire day around the resort, beach, our penthouse pool, etc. We walked up to La Gondola for a supreme italian dinner. What a lovely dining experience!! Bill worked out to around 130.00 per couple,,,not bad at all considering drinks, apetizers, etc.

Saturday morning had to check out by noon. We went next door to the Ocean Villas for the $8.00 breakfast. Should have gone earlier in the week. It was such a friendly atmosphere!! The folks were Canadian that owned it and they told us so much about what happens at their resort during the week, that we are sorry we missed some of it,,,but "note to self",,remember that place for next time,,,and there will be a next time!!!!
After breakfast, we sadly ventured on,,,packed up, checked out,,no surprises at check out,,the standard 50.00 timeshare tax,,and electricity surcharge,,total extra was 140.00.

Would stay at Sapphire again in a heartbeat!! We found all the staff to be very friendly and accomodating. It was nice to be at a different area. Cupecoy and Mullet is beautiful and I will admit I had not really ventured out there before.

We left the resort,,,headed out for lunch,,took car back to Mike and were back at the airport by 3:45,,flight to leave at 5:35. Just a little delay as baggage conveyor belts were not working, so our flight was delayed approx 20 minutes, no big deal!!

Cannot wait now till our next visit,,,the other couple that have travelled almost everywhere, but not to SXM,,now understand our love of the island.

Happy travels to all of you,,,and again, always thankful for your opinions, advice, etc.

P.S. Todd,,we did make it to the Dream Bar at Caranvaransai,,but not to have drinks ther,e etc....just not enough time in one week for sure,,,,just might have to consider a two week vacay one of these times!!!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />