Here is our trip report for Nov 17th to Dec 5th.
Much of this was written on our flights back home, finishing up probably is not done yet but wanted to get it posted. Very busy upon our return to the cold NW.
FLIGHTS Originally MJ was to be in Miami for a meeting (this prompted the trip) so I figured I would purchase a ticket for her from Miami to SXM and I would meet her down there using FF Miles. All set up, meeting gets cancelled. After making changes we ended up with a routing that had us meeting in Miami and then the rest of the trip we would travel together. MJ had a routing going through DFW and then to MIA before the final flight to SXM. I had a routing to SEA then to MIA and on. My flight to SEA ran late so I was going to miss my connector in SEA, scrambled for a new routing. On Alaska Miles, Horizon Air running late causing the issue, end up on Continental PDX to EWR and then down to SXM direct from EWR. Worst part is I ended up with no upgrades and a middle seat to EWR, at least I made it.
Trip back went as planned on AA. Direct to MIA from SXM, spent night at hotel in concourse G and then left next morning for DFW and back to PDX. The flight from SXM to MIA ran late but was no issue to us, although many missed their connectors.
Customs in MIA went smooth although the walk was long. We brought back 8 bottles and declared all, along with other purchases totaling approx $1400, we were waved on as we normally are.
All flights were full, or overbooked the entire way.
CAR RENTAL Used Unity again, about as easy as anything can be. I arrived about 20 minutes before MJ was to arrive. Went out to see if I saw a Unity person and they were just about to leave so I jumped in the van and off we went. They helped the other couple before me, then me. Got a Corolla deluxe and was off back to the airport to get MJ. The time from leaving the airport, getting car, and getting back was almost exactly 15 minutes. Can not ask for any better than that.
Key note with Unity that has been a topic of discussion. He told me that with the Deluxe Corolla to not leave anything in it and leave it Unlocked. The spare tire is locked on with a key and the car needs the actual key for a sensor before it will start. This way nobody breaks locks or glass to find nothing.
We would recommend Unity to anybody.
LODGING We stayed at four places on SXM and then the one night in Miami. Will add comments from previous trips to update our lodging opinions.
Les Balcons (
www.lesbalcons.com) Three nights. We were very happy with our stay here, and look forward to going back in Jan to the same place. Felt like old friends from the moment we arrived, David and Carine are very warm people and make you feel welcome. Our unit was down the hill a ways and might be difficult for some to haul luggage back and forth, but to walk was fairly easy. Unit was simple with a loft for sleeping, and a nice sized deck. I want to say it was unit 8 but I can not remember. It was the first one you come to when going down below the pool area. It probably is one of the worst condition places (toured a few while there) and it was still just fine. Some of the units with the updates they are getting will/are very nice. Each unit is owned by different owners and decorated and updated as the owner sees fit. To see pictures go to their website and take a look, what you see is real and not a brochure shoot like you get at other places.
Flamingo Spent a week here. We ended up in the Flamingo Beach building which is a smaller building by the pool. We had a very nice one bedroom unit that had a washer and dryer in it, most units do not have this I would note. It was not huge but plenty big, very nicely furnished and we enjoyed our stay. Maid service was supplied every day and the people were very nice and helpful. Biggest issue was the time to check in or check out. They would have four plus people behind the desk yet only help 2 guest at a time and it took way too long. Have purchased used cars from dealerships faster than they could turn people. Seemed to me that they have a very unorganized process they follow. All very nice people, and we would not hesitate to stay there again.
Divi Spent a week here. I have always been a Divi supporter since our first trip there when we got a one bedroom deluxe unit in what I know now to be a building that has been redone. This was the brochure room I am sure and I would still say that it was the most pleasant room we have yet to stay in at any time share. This trip my inlaws traded for a studio there and since they are close to 80 years old I wanted to stay close so I purchased (rented) a one bedroom unit from redweek.com. A month or so later after changing my trade parameters on RCI to a week in Jan they end up getting me a week at the Belair for the same week I already purchased at the Divi. Almost gave it up, almost decided to sell it, but then a voice told me that after some of the poor reviews of the Divi that I should probably hang on to it just to be safe. Glad I did. The first studio that my inlaws were given was unacceptable. Walked next to the one bedroom they assigned me and it ended up being a studio and while nicer than the previous studio it was not up to par to what I would expect. I left them behind and walked back to the front desk which was not crowded and told them what I found, being as nice as I could be. They found me a one bedroom and the only studio that my inlaws could move to would be the one they tried to assign to us. Went to find the one bedroom, it was at the very top of the hill in the unit as far away from anything as you could get. I figure it was about a quarter mile from the parking lot, about half up a fairly steep hill and they do not allow you to drive in. It was also in poor condition but better than the other two options so being a young 42 years old we took it. No too many would want to survive the hikes, especially considering the weather at times. The Divi complex looks worse than I remember from three years ago and in talking to others that own there they say it has gone down in the last year. Most of this referenced the condition of the outside of these buildings, knowing that they are gutting a building at a time to bring up to par. They need to increase their speed and get the place looking better, at a distance it looks great but up close it is in poor up keep. Not happy with this place, should be the nicest on the island but would not consider staying there until they are done with all the buildings so there is no chance I would end up with a room that has not been re done. We ended up giving up the Studio unit not wanting to pay the $50 tax and etc and went with the room at Belair for my inlaws. I have now stayed in a hotel room that was lousy at the Divi, moved to a hotel room that was very nice, stayed in a great one bedroom room, and in a mediocre one bedroom unit and saw two studio units that one was nearly acceptable and the other was not. No more Divi for us.
Belair My inlaws actually stayed in the unit but I spent some time there and thought it deserved a mention. It began with the front desk, took a whopping 2 minutes to get paperwork done and be given a key. Probably easier since they basically have only two bedroom units but nice and they deserve kudos compared to other time share places. The unit they got was #158 on the ground floor and while it is not to Royal Islander marble standards it was clean, nice, spacious, and right on the beach. From their slider it was not 15 steps to the sand, glad I kept this unit. Would stay here again any time.
Grand Case Beach Club Final night. We decided on this place because of chairs on the beach which worked out well. Left Divi at 9:30, got to GCBC by 10am and let them know we were there. Stored luggage and they gave us two beach towels and off the beach we went with a stop for breakfast. Lounged on the beach and ate lunch, next thing we knew it was 3pm and I walked back up to check in. Very friendly and efficient like Belair, they upgraded us to a beach view for no charge and then made sure I had any help I needed with luggage to the room. Room was simple and nice, fit the bill for us well. Check out was at 11am, but we just moved our luggage out to the car (seemed like a secure location to us) and spent more time on the beach and at lunch. Would stay here again, good location and good services. The beach guys took good care of us, once again we felt very welcome.
We found we really enjoyed staying on the French side, it is a completely different experience than staying on the Dutch side. Our favorite was Les Balcons, it was not the pampering you get at GCBC but it is more relaxing in our opinion. The money saved does influence this decision I might add.
The hotel in the airport at Miami is simple but sure is nice to not have to leave the airport. It worked out well for us leaving SXM at 4:30pm and getting more time on the island, a quick flight, then a shower and clean travel the rest of the way to the left coast the next morning.
FOOD I thought about listing everything we ate but did not feel like typing that much. A couple of key things we do to help cut down the expense as well as add to the convenience and enjoyment of the trip is to stop by a store and pick up water, beer, wine, bourbon for me, vodka for MJ, mixers for the vodka, and some basic snackage to help get from one meal to the next. We take a bottle of water each day and freeze it over night to bring with us the next day and drink as it melts.
We ate at:
Oualichi Phillipsburg had the buffet upstairs, very good and reasonable. Ribs, salads, fish, chicken, and other misc for about $10 for lunch.
Bakery by Marigot Market always a must for us when going to the market.
La Main a la Pate Marina Royale, Marigot great dinner, second time there.
Tabba Khaddy Near Oyster Pond - Very good, enjoyed it very much. Will go back again. I had the steak w/cheese and MJ had the Grouper.
Captain Olivers Oyster Pond Stopped in for our usual Roquefort Burger for lunch. Another must stop for us when on the island.
Pizza (not sure of name) Oyster Pond on main road by Oyster Pond by video store. Pizza people did not speak any English, but we were able to communicate and it was fun and worth the effort.
BBB By Atrium Good cheeseburgers and beer. Talked to Neil for a bit, always a good place to stop for drinks and food.
Tequilas Simpson Bay, Lagoon side Upstairs from Rancho, stopped by several times for Fajitas, Chicken Quesada, and of course many cocktails. They really took care of us, and most times we split a food order.
SSBB Maho MJ had some work issues that needed to be dealt with while we were on the island so we would stop by more than normal to work on email on laptops using the WiFi. Good thing is we were there for 17 days, part of being able to stay that long was we had to stay in touch. Had burgers, fries and many cocktails.
Jimbos Simpson Bay, Lagoon side I had the burrito and MJ had the Taco Salad. Reasonable and good food, and good drinks. Stopped back in for drinks a couple of times as well.
Marys Boon Simpson Bay had breakfast there, which was good and reasonable except for the OJ, which was good but $6 per glass.
Peg Leg Simpson Bay, Lagoon side Stopped by for lunch only this trip, I had the swordfish and MJ had the tuna to go along with drinks. Always good.
Guss Bay Rouge Fun day with chairs, waves, drinks, and food. I had the ribs, MJ had the chicken sandwich. Beach was steep and waves were strong this day. Good food and service, a nice change from our normal places.
Boathouse Simpson Bay, Lagoon side The Mahi was very good.
Hideaway La Vista Resort Had lunch, was good but service was very slow and it was hot that day.
Skip Jacks Between Lees and the Warf on Simpson Bay Lagoon Were the owners of Hot Tomatos and started this new place. Enjoyed it very much, we shared the mussel appt, $12. I had the 16oz Ribeye ($24) and MJ had a Seafood Kabob ($18) that had Shrimp, Tuna and Grouper. Also enjoyed wine, and bourbon for me. Ate there with some new friends that previously ate at Lees and felt the food was a bit better at Skip Jacks than Lees but enjoyed both.
La Rosa Too Maho Very good, they seemed to do a pretty good business.
Kangaroo Court Phillipsburg Enjoyed breakfast there, very inexpensive if there before 9am which is not usually a problem for us. Only went there once because of the difficulty getting parking.
Ms Bs Dawn Beach Had a great day on the beach with chairs and umbrella. Spent time talking to Joan, enjoyed our stay very much as usual. Probably went there less this trip partly due to the construction sounds in the back ground. Still at the top of our list for beaches. MJ had the tuna which is not your basic tuna sandwich, much better. I had the ribs as usual, now rate them as second best on entire island to Baywatch.
Richards Crepes Simpson Bay, Lagoon side Excellent presentation, very good food, and you can eat fairly inexpensive but the prices climb fast on the menu. Worth a stop here.
Chesterfields Phillipsburg Breakfast, basic but very good and a nice setting.
Gingerbread Cafι Little Bay @ Belair Tried the ribs and burgers, good but not great. A good deal not having to drive somewhere but more than I would pay by a buck or two if I did drive.
GCBC Had breakfast and lunch here while we stayed there. Excellent food and service, very very relaxing and enjoyable.
The winners of all were:
Hidden Forest Cafι Lotterie Farm near Pic Paridise Wow, what a pleasant surprise. Almost did not drive down the hill to go there, but what the heck. You do not have to pay any fees if just going to the restaurant, road is a bit challenging but worth the trip. Opens at about noon and everything we saw served was looking very good. I had the burger, best I have had, ever. Blue Cheese and other toppings along with fries. MJ had a wrap that was to die for. All very reasonable and a very pleasant setting and a pleasant staff. Will go back every trip from now on, by far the best lunch on the island that is not on a beach. Possibly the best regardless.
Baywatch Orient Beach Adrian took good care of us each day we were there. Enjoyed days in the chairs as well as several meals there. For breakfast I had Steak and Eggs, a Chili Omlette that were both excellent. Also had regular eggs and bacon style breakfast. For lunch we had the Grouper sandwich, flat out excellent. The ribs, falling off the bone, best I have had on the island. Lasagna, very good and filling, and the favorite was Mussels a la Andy which we had several times. For lunch I suggest you ignore the regular menu and just order off the specials menu. There was a thread a while back that if you could only eat at one place which would it be? Simple, Baywatch. And do not forget to get your kiss from Cheryl, makes my trip complete.
Dingy Dock Bar Began with a happy hour trip, Stefan took good care of us and we began going back again and again. Good place to eat, food is excellent and it is a great place to drink. Good crowd and a good staff. We look forward to staying the entire week at Les Balcons which will have us walking home from there most nights regardless of where we have dinner.
Never had a bad meal, some better than others but not a single place that I would not go back to. And we will keep going back although as we have spent more time there our favorites begin to hold us down for multiple trips.
SHOPPING I do regular business with the cigar shop in Maho so while on the island they take good care of me, Nash keeps me well supplied while on the island. We enjoy his friendship and I am sure he enjoys our money. We did not do a lot of shopping other than my cigar habit this trip, only brought back 8 bottles of booze which were all declared and once again we were waived by with no issue, this time at Miami. Have not had problems in Miami, SJU or Atlanta when coming back to the US with booze. Ran into Deepti a few different times but did no jewelry shopping this trip, she is a very nice person and I am always amazed by her memory of not only who we are but what we have purchased.
TTOL Party at Los Gauchos An excellent job was done by those who organized and Leisa (owner) to put it all together. We enjoyed meeting many of the regulars such as Kipp and Slipp, Sugarae and John, and many others. Look forward to eating at the Los Gauchos and running into those that we met at the party in the future.
We had a great trip and feel very lucky to get to go as much as we have been able to over the last couple of years. We are going back in January arriving on the 9th for another week, not sure of our next trip after that. This island has become very comfortable for MJ & I, we have made many new friends both people that live on the island and people we meet down there. Thank you to all that participate on this forum helping us enjoy our stay even more and help us make it from trip to trip living from thread to thread.
Have a Merry Christmas,
Todd & MJ
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