Although some of the lovers of St. Martin may not look favorably upon my report and I anticipate being fully trashed here, I must report a realistic viewpoint and assessment of our last trip. First, my wife and I absolutely love St. Martin, this being our 13th trip to the island. The weather, which no one can control, was less than fantastic, very windy for most of the trip, however, the last several days were absolutely beautiful. Not a problem that should be stressed over. We stay at LeEsplanade in Grand Case and would certainly recommend staying with Mark and Christian. They really are hospitable hosts and with the updates after Irma, things continue to look great. Dinners in Grand Case, as usual, were excellent. The top of the pyramid being Pressior, presentation and flavors were top shelf. Orient Beach, fun as usual.

Now the realistic part. It is truly sad to return to paradise and see total devastation, lack of a great work ethic and pride in ones property, a government that stifles initiative, an airport that is in sad repair and people that just don’t get it. It is truly sad what has happened to the island. Knowing well the power of Irma, we were effected in Florida, but certainly not to the extent the island was. The first thing they should do is get the airport up and running, not just functioning, but repaired and running. It is embarrassing to say the least. Grand Case it appears will never fully recover the restaurant’s lost with Irma. Too many vacant and damaged structures in the town. Sad but realistic. Politics plays a large part of this and I am sure that political $$ are the lubricant to obtaining permits to rebuild. Orient Beach, the section by Club O, is sad and really, who wants to sit on a beach surrounded by dilapidated structures. It is depressing. I have never seen so much trash along the sides of the roads and lack of effort by the government to at least look like they could fill a pot hole, let alone trim a weed. However with that being said, the Dutch side looked great, much more recovered than the French side, less the Dawn Beach area. An additional observation: dramatic price increases in food throughout the island.

We love St. Martin, but sadly, will probably not be returning. There are so many places in the world to visit why return to something that is less than what great memories were made of. I know the tourism industry is what they are all about, but come on, you have had two plus years to get your stuff together, get the place cleaned up. Put forth the effort, overcome the obstacles and do something about the situation!