TRIP REPORT 12/23/04 - 1/2/05 Christmas/New Years

Hi everyone. We just returned from 11 fabulous days 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, before the first hurricane! The island was not as green as last year, and traffic was heavy (but not intolerable), particularly around Marigot, and on Front Street in Phillipsburg. We tried to take the lowlands route whenever possible, to avoid the Simpson Bay backups reported here. I will break this report into sections for easier reading. Feel free to post any questions for more specifics on any topic.

FLIGHTS
Flew American Airlines from JFK in New York. No problems on the way down, except some turbulence, but MAJOR headaches on the return flight. Remind me to NEVER TAKE A CONNECTING FLIGHT again. We were scheduled on a 10:15 a.m. American Eagle flight to San Juan, with a 2-hour layover till our next leg on AA to New York. The American Eagle flight left almost hours late from SXM, and caused us (and many others) to miss our connecting flights in San Juan. Several people had to stay over till January 4 because of no available flights on the 2nd to New York, Boston, etc. We were lucky to get a 9:30 pm flight direct to JFK. Spent the day at the El San Juan Hotel to kill time. American Airlines gave us a big $30 voucher to McDonalds for our troubles. Got home at 2 am Monday, then went to work/school --- will definitely be writing a letter!!!!

ROYAL ISLANDER/MAHO AREA
The resort was great as always, and the flowers on the property were truly beautiful. Be aware that they have installed new internet hookups in the rooms that use Broadband. Unfortunately, we were unable to hook up our laptop this year because we did not have the proper cables or software with us. The beach was almost nonexistent , with one row of chairs across at low tide the first few days. The rest of the week, there was about a 5 foot drop-off from the bottom of the steps to the sand—you couldn’t even get down to the beach on some days. La Terrasse seems to be in full-swing, with new Italian fashion shops and a café open for business. The grocery store in La Terrasse, Food Express, is wonderful—has all the brands from home (they carry liquor also). We had a horrific experience in the Tortuga Restaurant --My daughter ordered chicken, took one bite, and didn’t like it…….. so my husband asked her if she wanted anything else, and she said a hot dog. When the waitress finally reappeared 20 minutes later, and we tried to send back the chicken, the waitress said “why didn’t you tell me sooner-? I could have served it to someone else”!!! –-- no, I’m not kidding. Then, she said we would have to also pay for the hot dog. Needless to say, we didn’t eat there again the entire vacation! A new pharmacy has opened where Escada used to be (near the entrance to the old Mullet Bay)—they seem to be well stocked, and are pleasant to deal with. Many people on island had the flu, including 5 in our group (the pharmacy was sold out or Robitussin).

RESTAURANTS
Temptations -- Our second time here, and maybe the best meal of the trip! Great food, great service, and nice décor.—had the salmon—it was excellent

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

L’Alabama – Usually our favorite restaurant in Grand Case—food was not up to par this
time (had the duck); service was impeccable as always, and dessert was great

Sebastiano – best pasta on the island, as always – service was the best we have ever had there, and this was Christmas Day, when we usually go and get poor service; price is 1:1; they have a new menu—no more Marco Polo appetizer, but
they still have the Zuccoto dessert- yum! (Grand Case)

La Gondola – best new find – the best service we had on the island—very attentive wait-staff, and excellent Italian food (by Atlantis Casino)

Turtle Pier – had the ribs, which are usually the best on the island, in our opinion—not up to par this year – not sure why (near airport)

Pizza Pasta – went twice – excellent traditional Italian food and pizza; owner, Ilde 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). Also,since Surf and Turf closed, Ilde’s husband Dario is now here as well, and has brought some of his great dishes, including the osso bucco (Maho area)

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

Croissanterie – Le Saint Germaine was closed New years Day, so we ate here instead—OK crepes, and great croissants, but we prefer the crepes at Le Saint
Germaine (Marigot Marina)

Lee’s – maybe the best lobster we ever had – wow! Live music added to the experience; last year we got the ribs and didn’t care for them—get the lobster!!




NEW YEARS EVE- MAHO
Le Charolais – excellent food—terrible service—perhaps because it was New Years Eve; will give it another shot on a non-holiday night; great live singer; watched the street action and dancers from our table; unfortunately we had an obstructed view of the fire-works, but we had a great time, nonetheless; went into the casino after dinner,and it was much less crowded than other New Years Eves, with $10 minimums, instead of the typically higher minimums on previous New Years.


SHOPPING
MARIGOT – couldn’t buy anything– much pricier than last year
PHILLIPSBURG -- renovated cobblestone streets look great, but traffic was terrible as always down Front Street; I had read they close the street to cars when cruise ships are in, but it was open both times we went down;
last year, had a great experience with Deepti—bought a couple items; unfortunately was disappointed this year; several weeks before our arrival I sent by e-mail a photo of a bracelet I wanted copied, asking Deepti if she could do it; never heard
from her prior to my trip, so I stopped in the store; she told me she got my e-mail but was too busy with Christmas business to respond—no problem; she then asked me what by budget was and how many carats I wanted.; she said she
would work up a price in a couple days and call my hotel—never heard from her; sorry Deepti, you lost a nice sale; managed to buy a few baubles in other stores

MISC.
Not as many stray dogs as last year
Not as many butterflies as last year
Island was not very green
Very little rain this year, compared to last year (probably why island is not green—duh!)
Car rental from Michael at Unity – great service and reliable car, as always
Saw more stars on the island than ever – Denzel Washington, Enrique Iglesias, Anna
Kornikova, John Travolta (Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes supposedly
coming the week after we left)
Orient Beach was the widest we have seen it in years—the last couple years, the
waves were lapping at the rocks at Pedros steps—there was actually a relatively
wide sandy section in front of Pedros; sat at Waikiki Beach this time—great
hamburger at restaurant there
Sunset Beach Bar now rents chairs and umbrellas, and they added a few new decks
for watching planes and sunset
There is a new nightclub, as some have reported here, called More, by Port De
Plaisance; we have a large number of teenagers in our group every year; they
usually hang at Bliss and Bamboo Bernies; this year they said More was just as
good as the others; they spent New Years Eve at Bliss


Overall, we had another fantastic trip. Unfortunately, my husband was one of the ones who got the flu, so it put little damper on his trip. He and my daughter never got to dive as planned. We spent most of our time relaxing by the Royal Islander pool. I worked out in the gym (Good Life Spa) every day, and played tennis once.

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 help to some future travelers. I am posting this on GoBeach and Traveltalkonline, so I apologize to those of you who frequent both boards for the repetition.