This is our trip report to St. Martin thru GWV/Boston. We stayed at the Hotel Mt. Vernon on Orient Beach. We flew out on Saturday at 6 AM. We flew Icelandair. They were very accomodating. The flight was very good without incident and we were given breakfast and there was a movie. We arrived in SXM at 9:30 AM. We picked up our rental car at the airport thru AAA car rental. Alain was waiting for us. He took us to our car and we were driving to the hotel at 10 AM. My husband drove us directly to the hotel without getting lost. We arrived before the shuttle and were given our ocean front jr. suite. The room consited of a king size bed, a refridgerator and a tv. The bathroom did not have a hair dryer. Our adapter would not work and we blew out our hair dryer from home. We had to get a hair dryer from the front desk. The room was basic with a beautiful view of the ocean which we could see from our bed. We had a balcony with a view of the beach and the pool. It was in the Aruba bldg and we felt this was the best bldg to be in. There is some climbing from the beach to the hotel which is on the mountain. It is not a steep climb. We are in our late forties and we did not have a problem at all. As a matter of fact we enjoyed the walking. OB is a delightful beach to walk and about 1 3/4 miles each way so we did enjoy the daily walks we took. We took the meal plan that the hotel offered at $99pp. This consisted of all your drinks including alcohol and three meals. The food was very good. They allowed us to have anything on the menu without restrictions. We also had breakfast included in the hotel price which was just basic but there was someone there everyday to make omelets. What made this hotel really special was that there were about 20 couples on the flight that stayed at the hotel and by the end of the week we were like a family. Especially the people from Watertown, MA. We even had a pool party where everyone got a chance to mingle and it was alot of fun. There really was not any entertainment in the hotel. They should have had at least Karoeke where people can have a few laughs. But there were only 60 rooms booked the week we were there and they were on just a skeletin crew for staff. We took a day trip to St. Barths. The ride over was a little rough as we were going against the current at a high speed. The island of St. Barths is very beautiful. We had lunch at the Le Select Restaurant which is the Jimmy Buffet Rest. We had hamburgers which were good and not very expensive. We took an Island tour for $10 pp. This was good because we got to see the entire island and were able to take some great pictures. The only negative was that we were dropped off at St. Jean beach where we decided to have dessert at Le Pelican Rest. Well this was a rip off. We ordered ice cream and one piece of chocolate cake. THe waiter kept coming back to say they did not have this and offered us the desserts that they did have. The menu said desserts were $10 each. The bill ended up being $54 for an ice tea, a diet coke and two small desserts. This island is for the rich and famous. We bought some beautiful jewelry at Joe's Jewelry and Carribean Gems and the prices were very good. We ate at some really good restaurants in Grand Case and one in particular Sol E Luna which was near our hotel. It was Al fresco and the food was very good, We had a great time and would go back again in a minute. The weather all week was beautiful and the water near our beach was a little rough. We walked down to the Club Orient and went in the water there which was very calm and warm. We also ate at Pedro's which had a steel drum band and some sexy dancers who were very photogenic. We highly recommend eating at Ka Koa on OB. We had lunch there seven years ago and went back this time for lunch. THe food is really good and the prices are reasonable. You eat right on the beach. There was shopping at Maho plaza in one shop next door to Cherie's Rest. This man had beautiful pareos for 3 for $10. He had some good prices on beachwear and stuff. In Phillipsburg you can get some really good buys from the vendors and they will bargain. We also went to the Sunset Bar and watched the planes. They had a great band called The Jet Band. There was dancing and a fun crowd. There is so much to do you cannot get bored. We also ate at Bananna's on prime rib Tuesday. Food was good, but the service was not great. The Boathouse Rest. in Simpson Bay also had good food and the service there was good. The food on the French side was the best. We ate at Kalafornia Rest in Grand Case. The waitress there rents a room in the hotel Mt. Vernon and met us on the beach. She told us about the restaurant. We went for dinner. It was very good. It was on the water. We ate outside. At the end of the meal they take your picture and give it to you. There is also a gift shop there with so some really unique stuff. We would have bought some lamps there but we did not want to take them back on the plane. There is some really nice shopping in Grand Case that is open at night so after dinner you can stroll restaurant row and read the menus of other restaurants. You can also visit the shops. They stay open late at night.
.
![[Linked Image]](/images/icons2/groovin.gif)
![[Linked Image]](/images/icons2/tonguea.gif)
This is our trip report to St. Martin thru GWV/Boston. We stayed at the Hotel Mt. Vernon on Orient Beach. We flew out on Saturday at 6 AM. We flew Icelandair. They were very accomodating. The flight was very good without incident and we were given breakfast and there was a movie. We arrived in SXM at 9:30 AM. We picked up our rental car at the airport thru AAA car rental. Alain was waiting for us. He took us to our car and we were driving to the hotel at 10 AM. My husband drove us directly to the hotel without getting lost. We arrived before the shuttle and were given our ocean front jr. suite. The room consited of a king size bed, a refridgerator and a tv. The bathroom did not have a hair dryer. Our adapter would not work and we blew out our hair dryer from home. We had to get a hair dryer from the front desk. The room was basic with a beautiful view of the ocean which we could see from our bed. We had a balcony with a view of the beach and the pool. It was in the Aruba bldg and we felt this was the best bldg to be in. There is some climbing from the beach to the hotel which is on the mountain. It is not a steep climb. We are in our late forties and we did not have a problem at all. As a matter of fact we enjoyed the walking. OB is a delightful beach to walk and about 1 3/4 miles each way so we did enjoy the daily walks we took. We took the meal plan that the hotel offered at $99pp. This consisted of all your drinks including alcohol and three meals. The food was very good. They allowed us to have anything on the menu without restrictions. We also had breakfast included in the hotel price which was just basic but there was someone there everyday to make omelets. What made this hotel really special was that there were about 20 couples on the flight that stayed at the hotel and by the end of the week we were like a family. Especially the people from Watertown, MA. We even had a pool party where everyone got a chance to mingle and it was alot of fun. There really was not any entertainment in the hotel. They should have had at least Karoeke where people can have a few laughs. But there were only 60 rooms booked the week we were there and they were on just a skeletin crew for staff. We took a day trip to St. Barths. The ride over was a little rough as we were going against the current at a high speed. The island of St. Barths is very beautiful. We had lunch at the Le Select Restaurant which is the Jimmy Buffet Rest. We had hamburgers which were good and not very expensive. We took an Island tour for $10 pp. This was good because we got to see the entire island and were able to take some great pictures. The only negative was that we were dropped off at St. Jean beach where we decided to have dessert at Le Pelican Rest. Well this was a rip off. We ordered ice cream and one piece of chocolate cake. THe waiter kept coming back to say they did not have this and offered us the desserts that they did have. The menu said desserts were $10 each. The bill ended up being $54 for an ice tea, a diet coke and two small desserts. This island is for the rich and famous. We bought some beautiful jewelry at Joe's Jewelry and Carribean Gems and the prices were very good. We ate at some really good restaurants in Grand Case and one in particular Sol E Luna which was near our hotel. It was Al fresco and the food was very good, We had a great time and would go back again in a minute. The weather all week was beautiful and the water near our beach was a little rough. We walked down to the Club Orient and went in the water there which was very calm and warm. We also ate at Pedro's which had a steel drum band and some sexy dancers who were very photogenic. We highly recommend eating at Ka Koa on OB. We had lunch there seven years ago and went back this time for lunch. THe food is really good and the prices are reasonable. You eat right on the beach. There was shopping at Maho plaza in one shop next door to Cherie's Rest. This man had beautiful pareos for 3 for $10. He had some good prices on beachwear and stuff. In Phillipsburg you can get some really good buys from the vendors and they will bargain. We also went to the Sunset Bar and watched the planes. They had a great band called The Jet Band. There was dancing and a fun crowd. There is so much to do you cannot get bored. We also ate at Bananna's on prime rib Tuesday. Food was good, but the service was not great. The Boathouse Rest. in Simpson Bay also had good food and the service there was good. The food on the French side was the best. We ate at Kalafornia Rest in Grand Case. The waitress there rents a room in the hotel Mt. Vernon and met us on the beach. She told us about the restaurant. We went for dinner. It was very good. It was on the water. We ate outside. At the end of the meal they take your picture and give it to you. There is also a gift shop there with so some really unique stuff. We would have bought some lamps there but we did not want to take them back on the plane. There is some really nice shopping in Grand Case that is open at night so after dinner you can stroll restaurant row and read the menus of other restaurants. You can also visit the shops. They stay open late at night. ![[Linked Image]](/images/icons2/cheers.gif)
![[Linked Image]](/images/icons2/cool.gif)
![[Linked Image]](/images/icons2/grin.gif)
