Hi All,

Below is a summary of our recent SXM trip 6 September-13 September. We appreciate all the advice and tips we received here. We are a group of four in our mid-40s and early 50s and all first-timers to SXM. We were looking for a combo of relaxation, activities, good food and good drink and we definitely found it.

Weather

The weather was beautiful the entire time we were there. In fact we were able to thread our way through Hanna and Ike and arrive/depart without any weather-related problems. It rained briefly a few times but other than that, lots of warm sun!

Accommodations

We stayed at the Grand Case Beach Club and loved it! The location is great and our rooms (studios with loft – Oleander 115 and 117) were lovely. The staff at GCBC were very friendly, especially our buddy Laurent at the water sports desk, Christine in the front office and Sabrina in the Sunset Café. We especially enjoyed sunset wine and cheese on one of the decks overlooking the lagoon. Really nice!

Food

Because it was off-season, many of the amazing Grand Case restaurants were closed, including Spiga, which we were really looking forward to trying. Oh well. We fell in love with the LoLos. Sky’s the Limit was closed, so we tried Talk of the Town and our favorite, the Rib Shack. Great food and amazing 1 to 1 value (4 full meals with sides, 6 beers and a rum punch = $44! Can’t beat that!). We also ate at California a few times and they were the only restaurant we found that was still offering 1 to 1 other than the LoLos. Good food and very nice atmosphere. We treated ourselves to Hibiscus for our final night celebration. It was good but not great. There was a miscommunication with our order and one of us received a dish we did not order. We were told it was our mistake. Make sure you double-check your order before it goes back to the kitchen. The meals were OK and given the prices they could have been better prepared. The crème brulee sampler, however, is amazing!! We really enjoyed the breakfasts at our Sunset Café but they were no longer doing the 1 to 1 thing and they were closed for dinner,

Beaches

We were able to sample quite a few of the beautiful beaches that SXM offers. We loved Pinel Island and spent an enjoyable day there. We ventured to the other side of the island and pretty much had the entire place to ourselves! Orient Beach is also very nice. Petite Plage at our GCBC was a great place to relax and enjoy the many different water sports that are offered to guests. Baie Rouge is also a nice beach, but you have to walk through a junk yard and mounds of trash to get to the beach. Mullet Bay was practically deserted the day we went which made it all the more beautiful! Finally, you can’t leave SXM without hitting Maho Beach and the Sunset Beach Bar for a little plane spotting. Lots of fun!

Activities

Other than beaches and snorkeling (and eating), we did a few other fun activities. We took the Scoobi Free catamaran over to Prickly Pear Cay off of Anguilla. We were picked up right in the GCBC lagoon and then we headed off. Captain Stephan and his assistant Claire were very friendly. It was fun to lounge on the nets in the front of the boat as we sped across the water. The island is beautiful with lots of reefs making for some really great snorkeling. Our group of about 15 pretty much had the island to ourselves and they served us a delicious lunch.

We also did the 12 metere regatta in Phillipsburg. This was a lot of fun and a good workout, though you could opt for a less strenuous position (like bartender?!). Our crew on the True North boat were cheeky and a lot of fun. We all learned a lot about tacking and other nautical skills. We lost to Stars and Stripes by less than a boat length.

Money

There is a definite difference in the cost/value of almost everything between the French and Dutch sides. Everything on the French side is more expensive with the exception of food at the LoLos. We didn’t spend much time on the Dutch side but when we did, we enjoyed the ease of using US dollars without having to find a 1 to 1 deal or covert the prices in our heads before paying. We also loved the 1$ beers on the Dutch side. We used cash for almost everything.

Safety

Finally, a topic that is discussed quite frequently: safety. In doing our research on this trip we read a lot of frightening accounts of crime and violence in SXM. At some points it had us second-guessing our decision to go. We’re pleased to join the growing chorus of those who have recently reported that there was no crime or other problems to report! Like others we kept our wits about us and used common sense wherever we went. We really appreciated the nightly security presence at the GCBC. We walked into Grand Case nearly every night and never had a problem. We would pass by groups of locals hanging out and never experienced any issues. The fact that we were a group of four could have been a factor.

All in all a wonderful, relaxing and peaceful vacation in paradise!