Travel Dates:
Thursday, April 15 – Tuesday, April 27. Our 4th and longest visit to St. Maarten. Another couple traveled with us for most of the trip.

Travel:
Spent the night in Ramada at the Charlotte airport prior to our trip. The hotel was very basic but clean. We used their park and fly option which added $25 to our charges there, but could leave it an unlimited time. We were gone for 12 days and the cost of parking at the airport would have been much higher. We traveled US Air for our flight. Our flight was on-time to SXM and only a slight delay on our return trip.

Car Rental:
Used Unity Car Rental and once again our experience was excellent. Immediately upon exiting the airport, a van took us to the rental office for Unity and the paperwork was very brief. We rented a Sonata which was clean and in good condition.

Traffic:
Twice it took almost an hour to get from the airport area to the turn off to the Pelican. This traffic back up did not seem to be related to the bridge openings. Otherwise it was pretty easy getting around the island.

Weather:
Warmer days than I remember from other trips. Only rain was a 15 minute shower on one day.

Phone Rental:
Rented from Sharon. Finally met her this year! Last year, our Verizon phones did not work, but this time we did have service but it was spotty. Only sent and received a few texts on the Verizon phone but did all of our talking on our rental.

Accommodations:
Moved twice as we had 2 days before moving into our timeshare exchange and 3 days after.
Sapphire: Was the least favorite of the 3 places we stayed, but would stay again if the deal was right! The rooms were large, the view was beautiful, and the grounds were pretty. The entire place could use a facelift, but was not rundown as I was expecting from some other reviews. Practically no beach, but is just a short ride to Mullet. Fred, one of the bartenders at the pool bar, took good care of us!
Pelican Resort: We were assigned D-18 through Interval International and that is the unit that we received. It was an upstairs 2 bedroom unit, decorated like the other Pelican units that we have stayed in. This unit is comfortable in size and a good location close to the casino. The nightlife noise bothered us a little on the first night, but was no problem after that with us running the bathroom fan to drone the noise. I was expecting little view, but it actually was pretty good. Lots of amenities on the grounds. We love this resort and will definitely exchange here again in the future.
Divi Little Bay: Beautiful grounds and gorgeous setting! We stayed in a beachfront studio which was upstairs. The unit is pretty much the same size of a typical hotel room. The décor was nice, but the bathroom needed some updating. Had at least 3 pools, 2 pool bars, good restaurant and a great beach!

Entertainment:
Red Piano- Only went for about an hour. We had heavy eyelids pretty early each night.
Shopping – Marigot Market & Phillipsburg. Didn’t buy much at all. Danny bought a ring for me at the Divi jewelry store!
Hollywood Casino – We are not big spenders here which was good this time as our pockets were lighter when we left.
Sunset Bar & Grill- Don’t miss plane watching here if you are a newbie to the island! It is so much fun watching our husbands act like kids, getting windblown from the planes that were leaving. I got a really good pic of a low plane arriving!
Toppers by the Sea – They offer entertainment most nights. We ate dinner there on the night when they had students from a local dance studio presenting a “Chicago” style show.
Buccaneer Beach Bar – Fireball on Friday night. Adds a little pizzazz to an already fun place to eat dinner.
Zip Lines – The men thought they would like to experience this but changed their mind. Now they are saying they will do it next year. The area is beautiful and was worth our stop here.

Beaches:
Pelican Resort Beach – View is beautiful, and is handy having other amenities close by. Love the atmosphere sitting under the palapas.
Kimsha Beach (at Bucaneer Beach Bar) – This is still our favorite beach. We love to sit back under the palm trees. It is soooooooo peaceful! And it is so close to wonderful food and drink!
Maho Beach (at Sunset Beach Bar and Grill) – Plane watching is as fun as ever! My photography skills get plenty of practice here!
Simpson Bay Beach (at Karakter’s) - What a beautiful area!
Mullet Beach – Our first time here and won’t be our last! Only negative is that they wanted to put away the umbrellas and chairs at 4 pm which is a little early to us.
Little Bay (at Divi) – It was extremely calm the first day and the clearest I have ever seen the water. Little rougher after that, but still a very good swimming beach. Very nice views.

Breakfast:
Topper’s by the Sea – Very good! Loved the eggs benedict!
Alexandra’s (at the Pelican) – Our favorite place for breakfast. Don’t miss the French toast that is made from homemade bread. And those homefries! The prices were extremely reasonable and the food was the best!
Bon Apetit (at the Pelican) – Just had a pastry here and it was very good!
La Gelataria – Our friends ordered crepes (one ham and cheese and the other was fruit) and they said they were very good!

Lunch:
Buccaneer Beach Bar –Still our favorite beach bar! We ate here several times, having burgers, ribs and chicken. I refreshed my memory of those wonderful Guavaberry Coladas!
Rosie’s at Mullet – Very good ribs and chicken but didn’t like the rum punch. Good prices.
Karakter’s – Loved our time here! It was a treat being served in our chairs with real plates and glasses. The coconut shrimp and Malibu Bay Breeze drinks were delicious!
Sunset Bar & Grill – Typical bar food, which is expensive compared to most other places that we went. But we enjoy the planes so it is worth it.
Rib Shack Lolo in Grand Case – Decided to try this place instead of our usual visit to Talk of the Town so we could sit water front. It was good but not as good as TOTT.

Dinner:
Buccaneer Beach Bar – Our first time having pizza at BBB and it was the BEST pizza I have ever had! Thin crust with generous toppings. Actually we all wanted to go back for a second night of pizza!
Mark’s Place – Danny had ribs and I had a fish special. Both were good but not outstanding. Reasonable prices.
Skip Jacks – All 4 of us enjoyed our meal. I had stuffed shrimp. Very good!!
Pineapple Petes – Seafood Gratinee was Yummy! Danny said his seafood pasta was also good. The crème brulee is the best I have ever had!
Topper’s By The Sea – Fun evening! Went for Prime Rib night and I tasted Danny’s and it was really good! I had shrimp scampi and it was very good too. They gave us the opportunity to taste their various flavors of rum and of course, we purchased some of the small bottles to bring home.
Greenhouse (in Simpson Bay) – Went for happy hour and were too full to order dinner. The 4 of us shared calamari, chicken tenders, nachos, and potato skins.
Toucans (at the Divi) – Mixed reviews here. The seafood pasta dish was my best meal on the island. I actually ate this two different evenings! Those that got fish dishes said they were only okay.


Miscellaneous:
Loved having the new grocery store at the foot of the hill to Pelican. Alcohol prices were less than at Cost U Less or the Grand Marche in Philipsburg.[b][/b]