Trip Report - SXM
November 9 - 17, 2009
Another great trip to SXM is complete. Kind of hard to get back home up here in the Colorado mountains and have to wear so many clothes <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" /> but we’re looking forward to some skiing this week.
TravelWe used frequent flier awards on American. Had to overnight on the way down in Miami but that was OK. Stayed at the MIA hotel right there in the airport. Nice rooms and very convenient and not our first time doing that. You CAN get from Denver to SXM in one day on American but you have to leave at 6:00 AM in the morning and you don’t get in to SXM until late that evening. When you figure you then have to clear customs, wait for your luggage, get your rental car and drive over to the French side (where we stay each time), it would be close to 11:00 PM or later when we arrive at our hotel (L’Hoste). No thanks - we’ll leave a day early and spend the night in MIA. On the trip back, you can make it in one day. After all, you’re picking up three hours of time difference. American was “on time” (within reason) both coming and going. No complaints.
Marius of St Louis rental car was there to greet us when we arrived with a nice little car that served our purposes quite well. We again recommend Marius at St Louis rental for your rental car needs in SXM.
AccommodationsWe stayed at L’Hoste (again). Certainly our favorite hotel on O.B. As always, our room was clean, cool, and nicely furnished with a king-sized comfortable bed. The bathroom had a new hair dryer which was a nice touch. Brand new balcony sliding doors that open and close so much easier than the old ones. The external roll down shutters are now “push button“ controlled for another nice touch which is also new to us since last year. Although we didn‘t close the shutters at all since we were on the second floor and like to sleep with the curtains parted just a bit.
As always, the staff at L‘Hoste was wonderful - friendly, efficient and they make you feel like you‘re “home again“. Sarah, the manager, invited us down to the pool bar for drinks the first night we were there and we got to meet some new friends. The morning breakfasts were served at LaPlaya instead of under the pool cabana as was the norm in past years. They haven’t yet finished the kitchen remodel yet but Sarah says the breakfasts will move back to the cabana / pool area shortly. We found the security to be very good and never once felt uneasy about strolling around the grounds even during the evening.
Food / Restaurants <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />
We noticed that The Bounty in Grand Case was closed the entire time we were there. Don’t know if they are closed permanently or perhaps just closed for the season. Sure did miss the wonderful cheeses and pate’ that we usually stock up on our first day there.
We dined on fresh baguettes and cheeses, etc.and wine from Tap Five for a couple of nights in our room since we were still occasionally feeling pretty full from our lunches at Andy & Cheryl’s. Just love Andy & Cheryl’s new place. Much roomier and all of the fresh paint, etc. is really nice. Andy was his usual fun-loving self and Cheryl looked fabulous. Morning coffee with Andy and others during our morning beach walks is always a highlight of our SXM trips. We ate lunch there maybe five times during our stay. The mussels a’la Andy were wonderful along with the grouper burger, the beer- battered scallops, and other menu items (not all consumed in one day mind you).
We tried three of the restaurants right there in Orient Village for three of our evening meals. Cote Plage was excellent - Sea Bass and the Filet Mignon were perfectly done. The little Italian restaurant was also very good. The servings are exceptionally generous. Lastly, the Safari Grill was also very good with an excellent pizza, spaghetti and an excellent flank steak.
We made our usual stop at Spicy in Grand Case one evening. Sophie greeted us and made us feel welcome. She looks well and you can tell she’s been ill but her outlook is positive. The meal, as usual, was outstanding. Two of us had the lamb medallions which were cooked to perfection and beautifully presented. For appetizers, the escargot was to die for. We shared a crème brulee’ for dessert. I can’t remember the wine selection but it was also excellent. The new paved parking lot is very nice but wish they would turn on the lights at night.
The night the “rains came” we all stayed in our rooms and I walked over and got a pizza from Tap Five which was very good.
BeachesNot much to report here. We hung out on O.B. for all of our days there and didn’t get to any of the other beaches. The water was nice and warm and there was plenty of beach to go around.
MiscellaneousStopped by to see Luis, and our two friends who were with us, bought two suits each from him. They both LOVED the fit of the suits. Joan said she was waiting for Luis to receive his new fabrics before ordering another suit. He says the new fabrics should be in shortly.
Drove to Marigot for the Saturday market and enjoyed just cruising around. Stopped by a quaint little French dress shop and the girls each came away with some really nice treasures. Joan in particular picked up some good looking designer items that she just had to have and that look great on her.
Stopped by to see Deepti at DK Gems in Phillipsburg but she was not there. Kamal was, and it was good to see him again.
Euro versus the dollarA LOT of variation here. Sophie at Spicy gave us one to one for cash. Many of the other restaurants were 1.5 or 1.4 to one. Other places on the beach come down to 1.1 to one for cash. It just varies all over the place. It’s nice to have cash so that you can take advantage of the lower exchange rate. I came prepared with more cash than usual this time and it certainly paid off.
OtherSaw some “old friends” that we hadn’t seen in maybe six years. Karen (of Bill & Karen) came running up to us on the beach yelling our names - quite a surprise. We had shared beach time with them years ago and gone to Grand Case together for dinner one night. It was SO very good to see them again. Met a lot of “new” friends also. I had my TTOL flag up and attached to my chair at Club O and quite a number of TTOL’ers stopped by to say hello. We have quite a fraternity here, don’t we. It’s a pleasure being associated with this group of great folks.
All in all, another great trip to SXM. We’re already having “withdrawal symptoms” but we take solace that next year may bring another opportunity to travel back to the “Ilons” for another SXM “fix”. I’m open to e-mails for any questions anyone may have.
