Trip Report April 2012

We were really quiet this trip. Usually we’re zooming around the island checking out restaurants and beaches and flying to other islands for a fast adventure but this year sand gravity and healing time near the ocean hit hard. We’re happy to report that in times of solitude and reflection St. Maarten can be wonderful too….

Some observations:

Weather was great but windy at times. When the wind finally died down it got insanely hot. We loved every moment.

Lots of mosquitoes. I had my repellant and mosquito milk but goofed up on my third night on the island and didn’t put enough on. Did I ever get bit. I looked like I was walking around with a bad case of chicken pox. If you’re heading down to the island soon heed the warnings on TTOL and make sure your insect repellant and mosquito milk are as important as your sunscreen. I was an itchy mess and I’m really worried about Dengue Fever. So far – so good.

When you travel to St. Maarten isn’t it nice to “go home” at least once on your favorite island? For us it was a visit to Pineapple Pete’s on Simpson Bay. This has become our “home away from home” on the island and the food, entertainment and excellent service didn’t disappoint us. When we finally peeled ourselves off the sand, watched the sunset, showered, changed, chatted a bit and then drove to Pineapple Pete’s it was well past 8p.m. The Lobster Thermidor was gone but I got my favorite crab stuffed mushrooms – yay! We had a great time eating and rocking to the music. We also went to the official grand opening of the SPN Café and Sports Bar next door. We liked it so much we went back again. Please see my earlier post about the food and the experience. Pierre Ferland has another winner.



We were lucky enough to catch one of the last Harmony Nights before the end of the season. We just love Talk of the Town and the vibe through out Grand Case. The shopping from the street vendors is fun too. I talked hubby out of buying the $6,000 painting. LOL! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" /> It’s amazing what you can buy from a table on the street! We also stocked up on some new flavors of Ma DouDou. Their orange/ginger mixture tastes like Grand Marnier.

Karakters: This place rocks and is one of our favorite places to go. It’s also a TTOL favorite so I don’t have to describe how great our lunches were but I will talk about our Friday Jazz/Tapas excursion. The ambience, food, great service and fabulous jazz on the beach with tiki torches is so extremely enjoyable I smile just remembering it. The owners were on Curacao opening up their new restaurant. Let’s hope they don’t take their bus and leave St. Maarten….





We wandered into Phillipsburg one afternoon and planted in front of Taloula Mangos and their live band. I posted earlier on a “best island lobster thread”. They had a sign offering a grilled lobster dinner for $29.95 with salad and your choice of rice or fries. It was delicious and tender – perfect! The view wasn’t bad either. There were lots of cruise ships in port that day including the Oasis of the Seas. After a good day of shopping and an incredible lobster dinner all the ships put on a show as they honked their horns and headed out to sea. We had an outstanding day.




Orient beach was fabulous as always (we visited all our favorites) and we made a special trip to Dingy Dock. It was definitely worth the drive and we enjoyed the pour your own happy hour for 3 bucks. Doesn't 'pour your own' feel strangely dangerous when you’re doing it yourself at a bar? You can’t see the sun going down on this part of the island but the golden rays glinting on the water and boats looks so pretty.



Speaking of sunsets –they were gorgeous this year. Now you can see why sand gravity hit so hard this trip. We were caught several times heading home in our bathing suits in the dark!





Driving around the island one day we went past Le Shore and Le Sand on Nettle Bay. I had read about Le Shore on TTOL so we turned around and went in. Wow! We caught them in between lunch and dinner so we didn’t eat but the menu looked fantastic. I love what they have done with the area. It’s like a five star European experience with a really pretty beach. After we walked around we curled up in one of their huge wicker chairs for two and watched the waves lap up on the beach. Tres Romantique!

That was the first week when we had fun – then the trouble started with family issues back home. I can’t say enough about Sharon at QueenofSXM cell phone rentals. Day and night she answered our calls and put extra time on our cell phone immediately so we could deal with family, doctors, hospitals and airlines in Canada. Sharon’s calming voice provided us instant relief and I don’t know what we would have done without her or the cell phone. The staff at Caravanserai was wonderful. Ozzie at the front desk, Violet and Minerva in the office were amazing as our holiday turned upside down. I know many people have had a lot of frustration over the years with the timeshare resort but when you really needed some help and understanding– they provided both. Much appreciated.

We cut our vacation short and flew back home early. We are happy to report our family member is doing better. We can’t say enough about trip cancellation/interruption insurance and renting a cell phone. It’s tough when you lay out the cash but when you really need it – you are thanking your lucky stars.

Until our next visit to our favorite island here’s another sunset to look forward to. We sure are…..