Sorry I didn't post this sooner but the holidays came so quickly!<br><br>Went to St. Martin for two weeks with my mom. The trip was FABULOUS!! It was 30C everyday with a beautiful breeze and only a few cloudy moments. We stayed at Cap Caraibes which is quite nice, only a minute walk to Orient Beach. Because it is new, the rooms are very clean. The bathroon and balcony are spacious and the kitchenette comes with a coffee maker, microwave, cutlery, bowls, cups, glasses, plates and small refridgerator. We found the beds quite comfortable. Good water pressure ... lots of hot water. The air conditioner is relatively quiet and cools the room very well. The rooms themselves are pretty soundproof too so you don't hear much of the construction (there's lots away from the beach) or other people. You have to ask for a pot and pan at reception (say hi to Delphine for me!) Cap Caraibes is VERY quiet at night but Grand Case is only a 10 minutes drive for drinks or dinner.<br><br>Beach chairs and umbrellas are free on Orient at La Playa Beach Bar for guests of Cap Caraibes. Just show your guest card. We ate at La Playa and Baywatch (left a FAN 590 Sports Radio hat there) ... both excellent. Also, with a Cap Caraibes guest card, you can charge things from a lot of places on the beach to your room. Very convenient.<br><br>If you want to rent a car, try Mickey at Tropicana. I think his cell number of the French side is 27 37 58. We had a new Corolla for $150 a week, which he delivered to our hotel. His website is www.tropical-tropicana.com.<br><br>You also have to try a place called Le P'tit Cul-de-Sac Pizzeria in Cul-de-Sac, just north of Orient Bay. Fabulous pizzas, salads and sandwiches for great prices. Also ate at Le Piccolo Cafe in Cul-de-Sac (excellent), L'Alabama (for my mom's 63rd birthday) and the Sunset Cafe in The Grand Case Beach Hotel (both superb). Had ribs at Talk of the Town too (yum). If you like crepes, you must try Chez Nawel. It's a five minute walk from Cap Caraibes, on the main road right outside the entrance. Excellent crepes, gelato, coffee, etc. <br><br>Two good super markets in Marigot ... Match on the main road and US Import/Export Mart on the Road to Nettle Bay. Great wine, cheese, bread, etc. (we had a lot of all these!)<br><br>FYI: when we were there, we received only four television stations - two French, one local and CNN-financial so don't expect to keep too up-to-date on international news. (Who's there to watch TV anyway, right?)<br><br>Trip to Pinel Island was nice ... the beach is spectacular and there are a couple of excellent restaurants. We went snorkelling at several places, including Green Caye, Dawn Beach and Anguilla. The best place was an undeveloped beach we read about on this forum ... great coral just 20' off shore! Take the road to Cul-de-Sac, turn left at the school and go over the hill to a beautiful stretch of sand and sea. <br><br>Phew, I'm sure there's more but time to go Christmas shopping! Thanks to everyone here for all the excellent advice ... my mom and I put at least 700 km's on the car as we ate, drank and caught some rays around this beautiful island.<br><br>P.S. We experienced absolutely no threat of crime at any time during our trip. The only weird thing that happened was a person showing up at the hotel to rent us an upgraded car who turned out not to be Mickey but someone trying to steal his business. Other than that, we felt very safe.<br><br><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 1/15/01 03:33 PM.</EM></FONT></P>