TRIP REPORT 12/23/05 – 1/8/06 Christmas/New Years

Hi everyone. We just returned from 17 glorious 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! I will break this report into sections for easier reading. Feel free to post any questions for more specifics on any topic.


FLIGHTS
American Airlines direct flight from JFK, New York to St. Maarten on way down. Connected through Puerto Rico back to JFK on return – no problems to report.

ROYAL TURTLE HOTEL
Stayed here one night prior to our timeshare weeks. Nice clean bed and breakfast type hotel. Good deal at $150 per night including breakfast for the 3 of us

ROYAL ISLANDER LA PLAGE / MAHO area
The resort was great as always, and the flowers on the property were truly beautiful. The beach was actually in existence our entire stay. The waves were the calmest we have seen them in the last 10 years—just perfect swimming conditions.

This year we were able to use our laptop, with an Ethernet cable that we brought, in the room (last year we had an old laptop, and they did not have the proper cable connection for us). They charge $50 per week for internet.

Parking in La Terrasse was a pleasure --we never had problems finding a parking spot in the La Terrasse garage across the street.

The gym in the Maho hotel has all new equipment, including 2 elliptical machines and 6 new treadmills. However, they have a new policy that only Sonesta Maho guests can use the gym. They actually put a card slot in the door, in which to put your Sonesta room key. However, it seems that as long as the spa is open, you can just walk in through the spa entrance. It was an annoying new policy, especially since I had booked 5 massages at $95 apiece in the spa.

RESTAURANTS <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/chef.gif" alt="" />
Temptation -- Went twice this trip! Great food, great service, and nice décor; enjoyed the spinach ravioli appetizer (twice)
Mario’s – Still excellent food and service overall, but last two years, duck was not what it used to be (not very meaty and somewhat dry); excellent escargot as always
Mary’s Boon – went for shrimp night on Tuesday – always great ; love the second helpings and the honor bar
L’Alabama –Our favorite restaurant in Grand Case—as always, great food and service
Sebastiano – best pasta on the island-- had excellent lasagna bolognese; service was the best we have ever had there; Christine’s daughter Silvana is now running restaurant; Christine opened a restaurant on Anguilla called Caprese (sp?); Christine was eating dinner in Sebastiano that night (doesn’t come over very often), and she said she misses seeing all her old customers
La Belle Epoque – went twice for the best escargot on the island, and great pizza
Turtle Pier – went once for dinner and once for breakfast – very good ribs
Tiramisu (Maho area) – new chef since last year; best mussels I’ve had on island; Went in group of 12 and everyone enjoyed their food; good service as well
Pizza Pasta – went twice – excellent traditional Italian food and pizza; owner, Ilde, is currently on another island. Daughter Selena is now running restaurant;
They were still honoring the 10% off for Royal Islander guests
Le Saint Germaine –we dream about these crepes!! (Marigot Marina) – went twice
Lee’s – maybe the best lobster we’ve ever had – wow! Live music added to the experience; in the past, got the ribs and didn’t care for them—get the lobster!!;
extremely slow service, but it was Christmas Day, in their defense


BEACHES
Maho –– very calm water this year, and plenty of sand both weeks
Mullet Bay – beautiful sandy beach with calm water
Orient Beach – nice and wide this year; great hamburger at Waikiki Beach
Pinel Island – 2nd time there – very relaxing – no waves; ok snorkeling


NEW YEARS EVE-- Maho
Private casino party in old Maho Hotel. Some friends were able to secure a table for our group of 11 at this party through the Casino Royale host. A nice buffet including wine and champagne at $75 per person; great view of the Maho fireworks which were shot off a barge just off the property in the water; the street in Maho and the Casino Royale were the emptiest we’ve ever seen on New Years. Had no trouble getting a seat in the casino just after midnight; blackjack tables were still $10 minimums, where last year they started at $15, and seats were 3 deep. Nothing like that this year. Perhaps the people (particularly locals) are going into Phillipsburg instead for the fireworks. Anyone have a comment on this??

SHOPPING
MARIGOT – bought a bag and belt in Desmo at 1:1; Longchamp still pricey
PHILLIPSBURG -- New boardwalk has added so much charm to town; also a new little plaza on Front Street (beach side) where you can get smoothies and relax; tried to go to Da Livio twice for dinner, but it was closed both times—anyone know what happened to them???; Deepti at DK Gems was a delight as always; had lunch at Pasangrahan (sp?) Hotel – a very lovely setting for breakfast or lunch, and good food

MISC.
Not as many stray dogs as prior years
Star sightings – Enrique Iglesias and Anna Kornikova were in Casino Royale again this year; friends saw Kevin Klein and Phoebe Cates in the Maho Pharmacy; supposedly Sylvester Stallone was on island but did not see him
Golf course in best condition since hurricanes; saw more people playing than ever
Sunset Beach Bar – despite all the negative press on this board, still one of my favorite spots on island. Heinekins and Caribs were $3 apiece, and one night Heinekens
were actually 2 for $3
Daughter went scuba diving twice with Dive Safari – well-run operation w/ nice people
Saw Gendarmes on roads for first time ever looking into cars as we passed; car rental company told us to keep rental agreement with us at all times; felt safer than usual

Overall, we had another fantastic trip. 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.