We arrived to sunny skies last Tuesday, November 27, via Delta Airlines from Atlanta. Flight was full, but uneventful and arrived on time. We pretty much breezed through immigration without any problems. We have carryon only bags, so didn’t have to hang around waiting on luggage. Found Lesley immediately waiting for us outside, he quickly brought our car, did 5 minutes of paperwork, and we were on our way. Lesley is the best! Always dependable and on time.
We are staying at Beachside Villas this time around and it looks wonderful! Gardens are growing back and the staff has done an amazing job of getting the units in order. It’s super nice having a/c throughout the entire unit now rather than just in the bedrooms. We are in unit #1 at the opposite end from the pool, which is fine for us as we prefer to be away from the pool area. It’s just quieter and less people walking by. Just our preference; we know others prefer to be closer to the pool. In all honesty, we’re just happy to be here, the unit number doesn’t really matter. One note though is that our unit does not have a grill — not a big deal to us as we don’t grill (or barely cook, other than breakfasts) while on island. I noticed several other units without grills also, not sure why. And other than measuring spoons, the unit has just about everything we need — though we’re still trying to figure out the intricacies of the TV remote. We should have it down pat by the time we leave. Haha! Craig (Bob) from Packlight dropped off our umbrellas and cooler, right on time as promised. Ran into Elizabeth (islandgem) that evening and was finally able to say hello in person. Turns out she is staying right next door to us!
We followed our tradition and had our first dinner of the trip at Pineapple Pete. Ed had the lamb shank and I had the garlic shrimp. Both meals were very good and service was warm and very friendly, as always. We stopped at Carousel for gelato afterwards. We were going to stop at happy hour at the Palms prior to dinner, but traffic was a bear and by the time we got down that way, it was late and time for dinner.
Wednesday dawned on a gloriously beautiful day. We had breakfast at the Yacht Club, where the staff welcomed us back with warm hugs and huge smiles. There were (are) several big yachts in the lagoon. It’s good to see them back. As we were a bit tired from our travel the day before, we spent the rest of the day at our unit getting unpacked and just enjoying the wonderful view. There was some seaweed in the water at BSV on Wednesday, but it’s been gone since. We haven’t seen any at Orient, at least not at the Club O end, which is the only part we’ve visited thus far.
Wednesday night dinner was at the Palms. Ed had the ribs and I had a delicious chicken breast with mushroom sauce. Service there is always with a smile.
Thursday we decided to forego breakfast and head straight to Orient. The road to the Perch Lite area of Orient is much improved now that they fixed it! No more teeth-jarring ride through tons of pot holes.
The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. So clear! We were able to see Saba, St. Kitts and Statia from our BSV unit, as well as St. Bart’s from the road above Orient. The Club O section of beach was very clean and there were approximately 75 chairs taken that day. Cedric stopped by to chat for a few minutes. He’s doing a great job and said his goal is to have all the chairs filled soon and to have ALL yellow umbrellas on the beach; “no blue or orange ones”.
We had lunch at Perch Lite and the ribs were still as delicious as they were in June. While we miss Willie and the original Perch, we actually like the food better now. It’s also nice to see some of the staff from Papagayo working there. Tables were busy and everyone seemed happy. Service was great.
Returned to BSV to shower and rest, then decided to just have a simple light dinner in the unit. The sun and beach takes so much out of us sometimes, but in a good way. Going to sleep listening to the waves is beyond perfection. It feels like nature’s lullaby.
It rained some during the night, but Friday we awoke to mostly sunny skies with just a few clouds. Stopped at Zee Best for omelets on our way to Orient Beach. Food was very good and service was efficient. It was a bit breezy at Orient, but still nice. We lunched again at Perch Lite. Happy hour is now between 1:30 and 2:30. The parking lot was pretty full. We were going to stop at the Hole in the Wall in Maho that evening to catch up with Bill and Elaine, Elizabeth (islandgem) and Linda (jazzgal) after having dinner at the Yacht Club, but fatigue caught up with us after having a few drinks at the YC, so we returned to BSV instead and called it a night.
It rained rather hard Friday night into early Saturday morning, but was clear by the time we woke up. Thus far, we’ve had no rain at all during the days. Today (Saturday) we had breakfast in the unit and spent the day on ‘our’ beach in front of BSV. Had a nice swim and later walked next door to El Zafiro for lunch. Last time we ate there, we didn’t care for it, but it’s within a very short walking distance, so figured we’d give it another try post Irma. It’s still a ‘no go’ for us. Food and service were mediocre— Ed had a bacon cheeseburger with salad and awful coleslaw and I had the Caprese salad which was not the best I’ve ever tasted. The mozzarella cheese slices were somewhat wet and slimy, as though they had been sitting in water (there was even a little puddle on my plate), and the so-called pesto topping was terrible. They sat us at the worst possible table, even though there were many empty ones in better spots. We were sitting right next to where work was being done; the smell of paint was quite strong and workers had to keep moving by us. Service was slow and not overly friendly, though not rude. It was expensive for what we got. We won’t go back.
We had an absolutely fabulous dinner at Vesna Taverna tonight, which made up for the lunch. Ed had a wonderful piece of fish (sorry, I can’t recall the name of it as it was in French) and I had the Greek special (little tapas of several different Greek dishes) which were delicious. Service there is always so special and it’s become a favorite of ours since first trying it in June. I don’t know what took us so long. We just love the owner and her staff.
I’m bad with figuring out how to post pictures, but you’ve all seen most of what there is to post about BSV and most of the places we’ve eaten, including several photos that others have posted of the lamb shank from Pineapple Pete. Suffice it to say that we are beyond happy to be here yet again and that each trip over the past 12 years has brought its own special moments and created some beautiful memories. There’s no place quite like it. We wander near and far and always end up back here.
We have another week yet, so I’ll attempt another report later. Oh, yes, and as others have noted, the island is lush and green and looking pretty darn good. Still work to be done, but it’s happening everywhere. Even saw a group of workers at the Royal Palm yesterday. Everyone seems to be upbeat and energetic and glad to have us here.
