In 10 years of going to St. Maarten, this is definitely our most memorable trip for a variety of reasons. Not all of them good!

Airfare: I flew American out of Raleigh to Miami to rendezvous with my wife who flew from Tampa on my birthday, November 19. We spent the night at the Miami Hilton on Hilton honor points (great room!) and flew to SXM on Wednesday morning. Great flight, left on time and arrived on time. Through customs was a breeze. Return trip was American through JFK to Raleigh. It was smooth, fast and convenient. My wife on the other hand flew through Miami to Tampa and it was a nightmare.

Car rental: Tropical Tropicana ( Tropical Tropicana ) once again. Mickey was there to meet us as promised with 2 gently damaged Toyota Corollas. We needed two cars this year because there were 7 of us. As it was nearing 4PM we headed directly to the Villa we had rented and returned to the office the next day to complete the paperwork. We did have a problem with the trunk lock but took the car by and when they couldn’t repair it they gave us a much newer and nicer car at no charge, no paperwork and in about 5 minutes. Dropped both cars off at the airport as requested and another satisfactory car rental was accomplished.

Groceries: For the first time we used Shop and Drop ( Shop and Drop ). Jeannie was very helpful and accommodating and everything was delivered as promised. While we are used to stopping at the grocery store upon arrival this was a nice change and very convenient. We will use her service again.

Phones: Rented two phones from Sharon (https:// Queen of SXM ) so that we would have a phone for each of our groups. While they were rarely used and not so easy to understand how to use, it was nice having the comfort of knowing we had them if we needed them.

Accommodations: We stayed at the Villa Harmony ( Villa Harmony ) for 11 nights in Terres Basse. This was our first time at this villa owned by Georges Kreiss. While sometimes pictures can be deceiving, these pictures did not do this Villa justice. Everything was as nice, or nicer than the pictures showed. This villa, in a gated community, has a main house with two full bedrooms (king beds), two baths and a brand new kitchen and a separate building with a bedroom, sitting area and two bathrooms. It also has a large infinity pool, large outside seating areas and an upper roof deck area with amazing panoramic views. The villa is very private and we were able to enjoy ourselves completely until (now comes one of the memorable parts) the second night at about 3:30 AM when there was a light knock on my bedroom door telling me (in a whispering voice) that we needed to get up as the villa was on fire. A little more urgency might have been advisable! Two of the girls were up talking late when they heard a small explosion and the electrical service caught on fire and we lost all power. Apparently rats had nested in a panel and caused this issue. While the girls started throwing clothes and things into suitcases, I raced down to the front gate to get security while the other guys tried to put out the fire. Problem – the security guards only speak French. I was able to get them to understand my plight and they called the French fire department and followed me up to the villa. By the time the fire truck arrived we had put the fire out with sand, rocks and brooms. They confirmed that there was no longer any immediate danger and that we should contact the owner. While Mr. Kreiss did not arrive at the villa until 7:00 AM (he hadn’t received our message), he worked tirelessly the entire day with an electrical company to ensure that the service was corrected safely. Additionally, plumbing work was required to repair the water service due to the plastic supply lines that had melted from the fire leaving no water. Mr. Kreiss was gracious enough to bring coffee due to the fact that we could not make our own. By the end of the day we were back up and running. Other than that I would highly recommend the Villa harmony and look forward to staying there again.

Activities: We visited Orient Beach a couple of times and I have a hard time remembering when the water was that warm and the wind that low.
Lagoon cruise with Neil through JMB was a great time as always. Met Island Gem and her husband David for the first time.
Visited Le Sand at Nettle Bay. While they have a C/O section they don't make you feel comfortable about using it. They wanted to put up tarps to shield us from the rest of the beach and restaurant area. That did not interest us at all.
Visited the Hidden Forrest at the Lotterie Farm. A beautiful setting and a wonderful lunch.
Sunset Bar and Grill a few times to watch planes land and drink free beer.
Visited the Royal Islander La Plage where we have purchased week 48 starting next year.
Party at the Villa with Tamara and some of her friends.
Many days hanging out at the pool at the Villa in our private setting.
Many nights of gambling at the Casinos.


Dining: Ma Ti Beach - Chicken cordon bleu with fresh pasta and the rack of lamb were both fabulous. The owner Laurent is always a pleasure. This is our favorite restaurant on the entire island. Pizza Pasta – The lasagna was excellent as always. Bamboo Bernies – The dragon roll and spring rolls were fantastic. Satara’s - Excellent Thai food although they were out of a number of items due to the menu changing over the following week. Spent some time talking to the Owner Brian. A very nice guy and we hope he does well. The place is rather large and we were the only ones there. The Celine Dinner Cruise – One of our favorite events that we haven’t missed in 10 years. Neil is such a wonderful man and Tamara tending to the guests was great. A new stop this year was Aux Quatres Vent. I must say I was not impressed. While the atmosphere and the service were nice, my beef was very fatty and grissly. Very unenjoyable. My wife’s fish however was wonderful. Lee’s Roadside Grill - Split a 3 pound lobster and it was very good. Our friends had the fresh fish and said this was their best meal of the trip. Pineapple Pete’s – Lobster thermidor and crab stuffed grouper. The Stone – Incredible as always. Andy and Cheryl’s – Always a must and as enjoyable as it ever was. Love visiting with Cheryl. Papagayos – Great sandwiches on French bread. The Carousel for dessert. Sarafinas – Awesome pastries and quiches. Steaks on the grill at the Villa from Market Garden – This may have been our best meal of the entire trip.


Mishaps: We had told our friends numerous times NOT to leave anything in the car. While they typically heeded this, one day when they were out alone, they set their Galaxy tablet between the seats while driving and forgot to take it with them. Yep! Gone! Luckily the car was not damaged and besides his tunes, everything else was pretty much replaceable.
One day upon returning to the Villa from Orient, the same friends discovered that they had inadvertently left the sliding glass door to their bedroom open. Yep! A cat got into the room and left a cat s*** right in the middle of their bed. In spite of all this we all had a GREAT time and we will all be returning. SOON!