Happy New Year!

We are planning our first trip to St Martin at the end of February 2015. These forums have been wonderfully helpful. I still have a few questions to fine tune our visit and would appreciate any feedback from more seasoned visitors.

Place to stay: we are focusing on self catering in the area of Orient Beach. Have found a nice condo in the Mt Vernon complex - Guadalupe building. Does anyone have any experience there that can weigh in on if it's a good spot. FYI, we plan to rent a car and head over to Grand Case for dinner a few nights during our stay.

Day trip: I like the idea of visiting St Barth's as it is so close. Any recommendations on what to do there for a day trip?

Thank you