Second trip to SXM-- last time we stayed on the French side, this trip the Dutch side because we got a great deal from Cheap Caribbean (599 for a one BR Suite for a week).

Flight down (USAir out of Providence to Philly then on to SXM) uneventful (the way I like my travel!).
Met at the airport by a rep from Unity Car Rental, and again no problems. A lovely white Toyota Corolla, if you can imagine.

Then off to the Flamingo, where we had a nice suite up the hill from the main part of the resort. It was clean, nicely decorated, and more than adequate for our needs. (Me, my husband, and our 17 year old son on the sleep sofa.) We had breakfast every day in the room, using their coffee maker and picking up cereal and OJ at the Peli deli nearby.
My only surprise re: the room was that there was no daily housekeeping service. They came only once all week, on Wednesday, to clean and replace towels and change the sheets. This was okay, though, as the room had a washer-dryer. We didn't use the washer, but dried our towels every day and didn't mind the lack of fresh ones. Still, I thought that was unusual!

First night we walked down the road to find someplace local to eat (our son was sleeping off the early am flight time and its resultant migraine). We ended up at Indiana Beach, and felt the food was fine, not great. They had an excellent guitarist who played Jimi Hendrix (and others) as dinner music -- a surprisingly pleasant performance!

Next day we ventured out to Baie Rouge, and tried some snorkeling, but the water was very cloudy and we couldn't see much at all. All week the weather was showery and windy, but the clouds would blow over quickly. We had lunch at Baie Rouge under the umbrellas at Chez Raymond as a shower blew through. A tasty hot dog! We noticed several nude sunbathers down the beach to the left of the restaurants, and also got the impression that gay nude sunbathing was not discouraged. (I don't remember seeing many same-sex nude couples at OB.) But maybe they were just buddies... certainly nothing offensive at anytime at any beach from any proclivity!
That night we went to Sunset Beach Bar for burgers. Very lively, good band.

Monday sand gravity grabbed us good, and we stayed at Flamingo's beach and pool. Nice little beach, very nice "edgeless" pool. Calm water for kids there.
That night we enjoyed Harmony Nights at Grand Case-- lots of energy, several street bands, many people strolling and relaxing. We dined at Le Tastevin with friends, and had a lovely meal. My husband raved over the tuna sashimi appetizer, as did our friends over the lobster risotto. For dessert the kiwi emulsion was spectacular-- essence of kiwi in a cold "soup" with a light mousse on top. An expensive meal, though, especially after the euro-dollar conversion.
Wednesday Orient Beach (a day with fewer cruise ships than other days). Windy, a shower at the end of the day -- but pure heaven. The sun felt marvelous, the people-watching was great. Life doesn't get much finer. We lunched at Baywatch (ribs, calamari, meatball sub, all very reasonable especially after Grand Case the previous night). I bought my absent daughter (in Rome with her school Latin class trip) a swimsuit at Luis', and walked the beach, and can't think of a better way to spend a vacation.
That night we had an okay meal at Hot Tomatoes. Nothing great, nothing wrong.
Thursday, figuring we couldn't do any better than the day before, we returned to OB for another lovely sunny windy day. No showers this day. Lunch was moules in creme at Bistro Belge, in Le Village d'Orient next to Tap Five. You gotta try these mussels! A huge serving of shellfish in a rich cream chowder flavored with onion and parsley, served with french fries, for 15 euros. Add a Stella Artois (or two) and the ambience of locals with their dogs wandering in and out, and I think I know why I love St. Martin....
Supper that night was at Paris Bistro, good lamb tenderloin , rare tuna and a burger for the boy. Seemed expensive after the mussels, though.
Friday my husband and son played tennis at the court at Flamingo, and we didn't do much after that tremendous exertion on their part! Another day at the beach and pool, with dinner at Johnny B's Under the Tree -- so tasty, easy and reasonable we had supper there again the next night. That day (Sat) we had to leave our digs at the Flamingo and move for two nights to the Royal Islander La Terrasse. We checked out of Flamingo by ten, then left our bags at RI and went to OB again. We came back to find that the room we had reserved, another one BR suite had been upgraded to a two BR -- enormous, new, clean, all kinds of bells and whistles, two bathrooms (and yes, daily maid service). The parking was convenient, and the grocery downstairs was great. Lovely pool, but after we spent the next afternoon there I had had enough of the airport and planes. They are exciting, but noisy, and you have an omnipresent tang of jet engine fuel.
Sunday, our last full day of vacation we returned to OB for dinner, and found to our disappointment that Bistro Belge was closed. So we tried Cotes Plages, also in Le Village, and had a wonderful meal, reasonably priced for the French side. They offer tapas in addition to an appetizer menu, and in fact the couple near us had shared one order of tapas (for about $5) and a couple drinks, and never ordered a dinner -- and were not harassed by the waiters at all for occupying a table all night (they were there before we arrived, and still there when we left.). So I had a goat cheese mousse tapas, and my son had shrimp, then we had lovely main courses of scallops in puff pastry, duck in mushroom sauce with mashed potatoes (heavenly) and tuna again for my husband, followed by a creme brulee trio for dessert (vanilla, coffee, and banana) and a chocolate cake. Our son had a Nutella Crepe at the ice cream and creperie just down the block.
Last day we checked out, left our luggage at the RI, and despite my urging to hit another beach, I was outvoted and we spent the morning at the pool. RI offers a shower room of you have to check out early -- it's huge, clean, and lovely, so I still think we could have gone to the beach.
Unremarkable flight home via Charlotte, and now to plan the next trip....