DAY 1: Arghhhhhh!!!
We booked an Expedia trip with the following components: Flights on American Airlines from Chicago to San Juan, Puerto Rico, connecting to American Eagle flight to St. Martin. Eight nights accommodation (including continental breakfast) in a two-bedroom duplex at the Grand Case Beach Club on the French side. Our family consists of a Dad, Mom (that’s me!), FemaleAge15 (FA15) and Female Age13 (FA13), otherwise known as our daughters.
We had about one hour to make our connection in San Juan. We were late leaving Chicago and took a lovely tour of all the nooks and crannies of O’Hare courtesy of our pilot, the driver. Actually, courtesy of the air traffic controllers, who switched our runway, due to weather. We took off about 50 minutes late. I foolishly thought we would make up time in the air, but no, I believe we were actually traveling backwards for a while, or at least that’s what it seemed like to me. There were over ten of us on the flight trying to make the St. Martin connection. As we were landing just about the time our other flight was taking off, surely they would hold the flight a few minutes for 10 plus seats, right? Wrong! The flight attendant names all the connecting gates but ours and says, for those of you traveling to St. Martin, please contact our customer service agents for vouchers for overnight hotel and meals. Arghhhh! As we get off the flight the departures board says they are still boarding our flight to St. Martin. Some folks dashed down there, only to return very frustrated. Turns out (one of the customer service agents let slip) that our flight to St. Martin was oversold so our late arrival was very convenient. This is the first time I had flown AA in years and let me tell you, they sure as he## don’t know why I fly. I will try and explain that to AA when we return. So, hotel in San Juan… okay, how bad can that be? Pretty bad. Best Western Casino Airport hotel. I would rate a low 2 star. High points: the room was clean and had a small, flat screen TV. Low points: view of rusting metal roof, no pool, lousy food, and cell-like room. Where’s the beach? Well, it’s not in the casino, dear. Where’s my two-bedroom oceanfront duplex? Uh, m’am, we’re only a hotel staff, not wizards.
So, we make the best of it and take a taxi into Old San Juan. Even though my tired, grumpy eyes, the buildings are beautiful. The small narrow streets are evocative of the history and grandeur pushed up against the tourist shops and some of the less fortunate asking for money. I’m glad we went and the pigeon park along the bay was fun for the girls. Pigeons will land on your head, arms and back if they think you have food on you. So we go back to the hotel, sleep as best we can. Get Up And Do It Again, Amen (to quote Jackson Browne) at the airport the next morning.
DAY2: Ahhhhhhh….
Here we are at the airport for the first flight of the day, seemingly made for those who were bumped from the previous day… the plane has about 15 people on it and off we go. And here we land… about 40 minutes later. We had arranged to rent a car from Kenny’s. I’d emailed Lesley last night, but he was in New York(?) that week so his brother-in-law didn’t get the message. The Friendly Island proves itself as I ask one of the airport guys about Kenny’s and voila, someone calls and our guy is on his way. The airport is clean, spacious and bright. Our guy, Seaforth, meets us in the parking lot with a dinged car (perfect for us) and we are on our way. Because we missed a day, I asked about a lower rate and he says that Leslie will adjust it at the end. Uhm okay, sure. What about the dings, should we note them on the agreement? No, don’t worry about it; just don’t crash the car, he says. Um, okay. Wow, I am soooo American. And not in Kansas anymore.
As first-timers we marvel at the countryside and hills sloping directly down to the ocean. Lush, green foliage greets us everywhere, probably because of previous rainfall. One thing we notice right away, the Dutch side seems more congested than the French side. As one crosses the boarder, the road is new and, mostly, smooth… until we hit Marigot. Why, oh why didn’t I listen to all that good advice about taking the alternate route into Marigot by the waterfront? There is a traffic jam caused by construction but we do manage to turn into Match, the supermarche (which our girls chime in “Soo-PEHR Mahr-SHAY” about a dozen times for fun). We stock up on the delights we haven’t seen since our last visit to France. Excellent cured ham, saucisson, Ementhal cheese, lovely mustards, baguettes, oh baguettes, can I just dive right into the pile? Wine, why, yes, I’ll have some of that, and few fresh, four-cheese pizzas and… what? I have to leave? Yes, says agent FA13, because Dad is waiting outside in the hot car with the luggage. Poor Dad.
After that it’s a short, gorgeous drive to Grand Case. Topping the hill and, there it is, the view down into Grand Case bay. Calgon take we away…. We’re here!! We navigate our way to the GCBC gates, announce ourselves and they say, “Welcome!” Check-in was friendly and professional with Christine. We were to be in a slightly smaller two-bedroom for the first night and then switched to a larger one the next day. A minor glitch. The resort was heaven. The view of the ocean from the terrace and balcony was so soothing. Right outside our terrace was a grassy spot with two lounges. Each morning the staff would set the lounges with cushions and each evening they would set them aside. The unit itself (the larger one we were move to the next day) had a new, granite kitchen and no fewer than three flat screen TV’s. One for the living room and one for each of the two bedrooms. As we had two teenagers with us, this was a plus. The master had a king bed and the second room had two doubles (not twins). The beds were firm and not quite 4-star quality, but I had no problem sleeping. The unit had 2.5 bathrooms. A continental French breakfast was included with the room. For us it was perfect: strong coffee, orange juice and a basket including croissants, chocolate croissants and crusty baguette portions. The restaurant also serves a full breakfast, but we never tried it.
The grounds were really lovely. If you want a big resort with city-scale amenities, this is probably not for you. There is a new Westin on the Dutch side, which would probably be good for that. This resort had two lovely beaches, incredible landscaping with many places to sit, sun, or shade and great views from every vantage point. The Grand Case side beach seemed more for hotel residents and the Petite Plage side (which we preferred) more for everyone who could find their way into this isolated stretch of beach. There is a small pool that my teens used a lot when the beach was enough. The nice thing about the pool is the shade in the afternoon. After a day in the hot sun, a shaded freshwater pool is like, as I said, Calgon whisking me away to my happy place.
So, we had some baguette sandwiches for lunch in the unit and hit the beach It took a while for our eyes to get used to this different terrain. We found ourselves just stopping to absorb the view. After a Pina Colada by pool and a nap I looked landward from the pool. Up the hillside every afternoon were all colors of goat grazing the steep, rocky landscape. Turn 180 degrees and there’s azure water, powdery sand and seagrape trees. Paradise, Calgon. Paradise. So we pull ourselves away from the pool (which is very small, but, who cares unless you must perform freshwater laps everyday) and clean up for our first dinner.
We never tried the many restaurants I had on the list, though we had really good intentions, which counts for, in a court of law, nothing. Tonight it was the lolo, Talk of the Town. OMG (as agents FA13 & 15 would say) it was great! We had two rib plates with three sides each, a red snapper plate w/sides, an extra side of rice and beans, two sodas and three beers for $36 before tip. They offered one euro to one dollar. The snapper was tender, fresh, and perfectly seasoned. A word about tipping: We tended to tip 20% at places that offered 1-to-1 considering the deal we were getting and if the service was good. We ended up eating only on the French side and found reasonable prices when we wanted. So after a great dinner, we headed back to the unit. We said hi to the guards along the road – there was generally one around the footpath to L’Esplande and one around GCBC. We watched about two minutes of TV and then we fell asle……ep.
Days 3 & 4 to come. Sorry this is so long.
Karen
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