TravelTalkOnline Forums Trip Reports (Read Only) SXM Trip Reports and Photos Trip Report to Princess Heights, SXM

Trip Report – May 26-June 2, 2001<br><br>We have just returned from one of our best vacations in the Caribbean ever! This year we decided to take a trip down to St. Maarten (Dutch side). My wife & I relied on our Travel Agent to choose a property for us since we had no clue of where to stay. She actually chose a small property called Princess Heights overlooking Dawn Beach since we were celebrating our 1st Anniversary.<br><br>Reading on the message boards and newsgroups, it was very difficult to find out any information about the property. We still decided to go to Princess Heights since our Travel Agent did recommend it. My wife & I felt it was absolutely necessary to let everyone out there know what a wonderful & quaint Princess Heights actually is!<br><br>We arrived very late on May 26 (last AA flight)…It was almost 12 midnight when we arrived at Princess Heights. Upon entering the suite, all we could say was WOW!!! What beautiful accommodations! In addition, there was a wonderful platter of cheese, meat with a French baguette & bottle of wine waiting for us. As if that was not enough, we also got a start-up supply of beverage in the Refrigerator. This was not expected at all, but Emil told us that all guests receive the beverages, late arrivals get the platter and the wine was for our Anniversary Celebration.<br><br><br>The next morning, we woke up to the most spectacular sunrise over Dawn Beach. What a nice Surprise! This is where we saw the actual beauty of our surroundings…The suite was facing the ocean overlooking Dawn Beach. This place was exactly what we were looking for… The one bedroom suite was beyond our expectations, especially for the price we paid! It was spacious, comfortable, immaculately clean and luxurious with its’ marble interior, furniture, and not to forget the great kitchen. You could actually see the ocean from all points of the suite except from the bathroom!<br><br>Since it was our first time on St. Maarten, we decided to get some suggestions from the Concierge. Saskya, the receptionist at the Front Desk was a delight! She gave us wonderful suggestions from Restaurants, Beaches, nightlife, day trips, and everything else that there is to do on St. Maarten.<br><br>There is no restaurant on property & Dawn Beach is about a 3 to 4 minute walk from the property. The pool overlooking Dawn Beach was breathtaking. It did not bother us that there was no restaurant on property since there were three restaurants on Dawn Beach, we stocked the refrigerator with wonderful treats from the French Side and they did offer a room service menu (thank god because I like my breakfast delivered to my suite when I am on vacation!). <br><br>Just a few of our Favorites were as follows:<br><br>BEST BEACHES <br><br>Dawn Beach<br>Cupecoy<br>Baie Rouge<br><br>BEST RESTAURANTS [img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img]<br><br>Le Pressoir (Grand Case) – Went there for our Anniversary Dinner…We had the most divine dining experience. Our favorite.<br>Le Tastevin (Grand Case)<br>Tropicana (Marigot)<br>Zee Best (Marigot) – For Breakfast. We think they had the best Croissants on the island!<br>Layla’s on The Beach (Nettle Bay) – Great for lunch on the Weekend. You must try the Accras & Frog Legs (absolutely wonderful appetizers).<br><br>BEST BARS & NIGHTLIFE [img]/images/icons/cool.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/cool.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/cool.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/cool.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/cool.gif[/img]<br><br>SSBB – Sunset Beach Bar – We have never seen the planes land so close to us! What a sight!<br>La Bodeguita del Medio (Marigot) – You should not go there until after dinner…Great place to mingle with people from the island.<br>Sopranos (Maho) - Great little piano bar…We even experienced a women (seemed like a prominent resident of the island) sing some jazz & blues songs with the pianist…She had an incredible “whisky” voice! <br><br>BEST CHALLENGE [img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img]<br><br>12-Meter America’s Cup Regatta – What fun! For a truly unique experience, we decided to do the sport racing challenge aboard the actual America’s Cup Race Boats. My wife & I do not have any sailing experience, but we went our way on opposite teams and can you believe it, her boat won! She's been rubbing it in ever since! [img]/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]<br><br>And of course the list goes on & on when it comes to the island of St. Maarten/St. Martin.<br><br>We normally do not post Trip Reports, but we felt it was necessary to post this report especially for people to know about the property we stayed at. This is the perfect spot for rest & relaxation! In addition, the staff at Princess Heights added that special touch to make this vacation a truly memorable vacation experience. Even the Housekeeping Staff was very courteous and knew us by name. If anyone is interested, they do have a website – www.princessheights.com.<br><br>With the combination of a beautiful island, the different cultures on the island, the friendly people, and truly wonderful places…We will definitely go back to St. Maarten/St. Martin next year! <br><br>We are truly sad that we had to come back so soon! [img]/images/icons/sad.gif[/img]<br><br>We hope this helps someone for their next vacation…<br><br>