We stayed in the Orient Beach area of SXM for nine nights beginning March 15. Our last visit had been in January 2014 so we were interested in changes that might have occurred in the interim. Our goal this visit was just relaxation so we made no trips outside the Orient/Grand Case area.

Orient Beach seems quite different, almost sterile, without the funky old buildings which have been replaced by what looked to us like glorified storage sheds, half of which were still vacant. Change is hard; we missed Baywatch and the other places.

We were a little concerned about the demonstrations that had occurred the week before and whether our vacation would be affected. As it turned out, the first week was marked by a long meeting between the aggrieved tenants on Orient and the local government, which seemed to indicate some progress.

One of the demands had to do with improving the road that leads to both the restaurants and Club Orient. It was truthfully in terrible shape. By the second week though it had been smoothed and made it easier to get to the beach. Someone had apparently listened.

This visit we spent an equal amount of time at restaurants in both Grand Case and in Orient Village. Some quick reviews by a guy who is basically a meat and potatoes type:

La Villa in Grand Case was, as usual, great. Both of us had the flank steak special which seemed odd for a French restaurant but we loved it. The sauce was great and the steak was as tender as short rib meat.

We also dined at il Nettunio because we had heard that it had reverted back to it old traditional Italian fare. Wrong! As the waiter told us, it was really a French restaurant and the menu was likewise. Not very good at all. We had steaks that were extraordinarily tough.

We also eat at another favorite in Grand Case—Spiga—that as usual was wonderful. I had ravioli filled with beef short rib meet covered with a brown sauce. Great!! My wife had chicken stuffed with cheese. We both agreed this was the best meal we had this stay.

Our first night we were tired and went to the Yellow Submarine in Orient Village. Good hamburgers and somewhat indifferent service.

We ate twice at Little Italia in Orient Village. The first visit I had a pepperoni pizza—good—and my wife had eggplant parmigiana for an appetizer which was huge and a steak for an entrée. Our second visit my wife just had the eggplant parmigiana and I had penne pasta with bolognaise sauce. Enjoyed it.

Our favorite place in Orient Village was Le Piment where we have dined on previous visits. I am not a lasagna guy but their beef lasagna is great. My wife enjoyed gnocchi accompanied by small eggplant parmigiana.

We really like how the commercial area of Orient Village has developed the past few years. There are severall other interesting restaurants we will try on future visits. There is a good vibe there.

The weather was just about perfect—the only rain of note was on our last day.

Wished someone had informed you about the "old" iL Netuno now a very French restaurant and called The Neptune. I know several people that have dined there and have not had good experiences. Glad you had several other great dining experiences.

Gary--thanks for the report! Sounds like Il Nettuno is not the Il Nettuno of old. Where did you stay??