Hi everyone. We just returned from 2 glorious weeks in our favorite 2nd home. We have been going to St. Maarten since 1984, when Mullet Bay was not only in operation, but the casino was actually on the ocean side! The island was probably the greenest we have ever seen it, with lots of butterflies everywhere. Unfortunately, there were also quite a few mosquitoes due to all the past rain.

I will break this report into sections for easier reading. Feel free to post any questions for more specifics on any topic.

FLIGHTS
Flew Delta for the first time from JFK – had to change in Atlanta (flew on mileage). No major problems with the flights, other than it is just a VERY long day when you don’t fly direct. At the time we booked this flight, Delta only flew once a week to St. Maarten from Atlanta on Sundays. They now fly Saturday, Sunday, and Thursday, with one flight daily. It is quite a change to see the Delta planes coming in over Maho beach now.

ROYAL ISLANDER
The hotel was great as always, and the flowers and trees on the property are beautiful. The beach was sparse with one row of chairs across at high tide. La Terasse had just opened 3 days before we arrived, and only 4 rooms were occupied our first week. They were still doing some construction on the sidewalk and retail stores in front of La Terasse during our stay. The grocery store in La Terasse is wonderful—no need to bring a suitcase of food anymore, or go to any other food store (they carry liquor also). They even had a kid who not only packed the food in bags, but delivered the groceries across the street to our room with a shopping cart. The Tortuga restaurant is not what it once was under Ildi’s ownership-- small portions and long waits for food (go to the Sunset Beach Bar instead)

RESTAURANTS
Citrus -- Wow! Our first time here, and it was fabulous! Great food, great service, and nice décor. We used to go there when it was Bistrol Gormand, which we liked also, but the restaurant is much prettier now; this was my husband’s favorite meal of the trip

Mario’s – Still my favorite restaurant on the island – no one makes duck like this--The sauce is amazing! Great escargot as well!

Mary’s Boon - Went on a Tuesday night for shrimp night—always excellent; all you can eat shrimp provencal, rice, fried cabbage, and fried plantains; The honor bar there really sets this restaurant apart from the others

L’Alabama – Our favorite restaurant in Grand Case—never disappoints; service and food are impeccable; my favorite appetizer there is the escargot and mushrooms in a puff pastry

Sebastiano – best pasta on the island, as always – service was a little slow, but It was Christmas Day

Turtle Pier – went 3 times! Had live music all 3 times with dinner; coconut shrimp are large and taste great, and we feel that the ribs here are among the best on the island; also very friendly wait staff!

La Rosa II – probably our last time here; we used to love it when Enzo ran the place; last 2 years have been disappointing with food and service. No one greets you when you walk in the door-- you just wait by the bar until someone decides to acknowledge you. The osso bucco here used to be our favorite in the world—while it is still tasty, the meat was very tough; Excellent red sauce, though

Pizza Pasta – best pizza on the island, in our opinion. Owner, Ildi, is always a pleasure to deal with. Note that she gives 10% off to Royal Islander guests (she used to own the restaurant Tortuga at the Royal Islander).

La Belle Epoque (Marigot Marina) – best escargot on the island; excellent onion soup as well, but ask for extra cheese; unfortunately, the pizza ovens were not working during our dinner that night, but the pastas were very good also.

La Main a la Pate (Marigot Marina) – probably our weakest meal of the trip; was told there would be a 15 minute wait for a table on a Friday night—waited one hour! Escargot and onion soup were both extremely salty. Skip this one and go to La Belle Epoque instead

Le Saint Germaine (Marigot Marina)– went twice for crepes – we dream about these crepes!!

Sunset Beach Bar – Besides cheap Caribs and $1 shots, this fun bar has very good, inexpensive food. The menu has been expanded to include mozzerella sticks and steak sandwiches, in addition to the great grilled burgers, hot dogs, and swordfish sandwiches. They now give you french fries instead of chips with each sandwich. Great place to watch the jumbo jets land in the late afternoon


NEW YEARS EVE
Celebrated in a friend’s penthouse apartment in the Royal Islander. Brought in delicious food from Pizza Pasta for about 20 people. Watched the fireworks from the balcony in the room. The street in front of Casino Royale was not as crowded as it has been in past years, though the cars still bottle-necked at midnight. The fireworks were not as elaborate as in the past. I was told this was because the person in charge of procuring the fireworks was recently killed in a fireworks accident???



SHOPPING -- WEAKNESS OF DOLLAR
Every store and restaurant was giving a different exchange on the Euro. Below are some of the stores I hit, and the exchanges as I remember them:

Desmo – 1 Euro to $1 – unfortunately, the stock was horrible—not many bags in stock at all

Longchamp – MUCH more expensive than last year, with a rate of about 1 Euro To $1.2; a small tote bag which cost $50 last year, was $63 this year!

DK Gems – Deepti was delightful to do business with. Bought a bracelet for my daughter – Deepti gave us the best price around (mention TTOL) –and my daughter took us unto EVERY jewelry shop in Phillipsburg --- UGH! Hi Deepti!

Sexy Fruits (Grand Case) – great selection of clothes at 1 Euro to $1 exchange

New Longchamp store in Phillipsburg

New Gucci/Prada store in Phillipsburg called “Fifth Avenue"

New Coach store in Phillipsburg – same prices as in the states, but no tax


PHILLIPSBURG
There is a definite upswing happening in Phillipsburg. The addition of several new upscale boutiques as mentioned above, have given Front Street a real facelift. Most of these newer stores are down towards the end of Front Street near the cruise ship pier. On the beach side, the addition of the boardwalk, new colorful stucco sidings on buildings, as well as some palm trees, have given an almost South-Beach like feel (OK, it’s a stretch, but that’s what it reminded me of).



BEACHES
Maho Beach—spent most of our time here – surf was not as rough as usual these 2 weeks; one row of chairs at high tide

Mullett Bay Beach – plenty of sand and palm trees—still a beautiful beach

Orient Beach-- happening as always; waves were lapping at Pedros steps; one row of chairs at Kon-tiki; plenty of sand in the nude section

Great Bay in Phillipsburg – a nice place to spend a day; it’s not Orient Beach, but a great place for families with chair rentals, wave runers, banana boats, and calm water


MISC.
Good Life Spa in Maho hotel – 2 great massages and nice gym

Dive Safari (Simpson Bay) – my husband and daughter got certified – I snorkeled—great people to deal with

More butterflies than ever everywhere

More rain and clouds than ever– clouds rolled in almost every day about 2:00, with showers on and off

Saw police presence in Marigot Marina for the first time

Car rental from Marius at St. Louis-- excellent service as always



That’s about all I can remember. Post any questions here, or feel free to e-mail me privately. Sorry for the long post, but I hope this report will be of some help to future travelers. I am posting this on GoBeach and Traveltalkonline, so I apologize to those of you who frequent both boards for the repetition.