Just back from my second trip ever and first in ten years to SXM. This trip (and the island) was very different from the first in many ways...including I got married there this time around...but I loved SXM just as much if not more than last time. Here are some highlights, lowlights and general observations. Thanks to everyone on TTOL who helped with our planning. I (and now my wife) really want to see SXM thrive and prosper into the future. We had many conversations with locals, business owners, and tourists during our trip regarding that topic...related to the economy, independence, Luis, Lenny, rapid growth, etc. I don't have a good point of reference because I never saw the island pre-Luis, but it sounds like it may have been a different (more magical) place back then. Who knows? Often the human mind wants us to remember things and times more fondly and a bit different than they really were and we harken for those fantasies to exist again. We know they never will. My wife and I love SXM as it is, but wonder what it was if there are those who think it will never be the same or as nice. We watched a video in the museum of the destruction and rebuild after Luis, but it was filled with current day tourism propaganda as well. In talking to those who lived through Luis...you can hear and see the emotion in their faces as they recount the experience. Similar to 9/11 for Americans. In any event, a common belief among all we talked to is that the rebuild of Mullet Bay will be a key to SXM's future. My fiance and I are now two among the countless who hope they get it just right and it doesn't take another 16 years. No high rises please.


On to the trip report...
Flights: AA, BWI - MIA - SXM, SXM - MIA - BWI. Other than Miami continuing to be an absolute train wreck for international returns (seriously, do they want people to not return to the states???), our flights were uneventful. Can't say the same for all of our wedding guests as we had some lost luggage inconveniences, but it's to be expected with 36 travelers. We will continue to avoid MIA at all costs for intl travel. Would have this time, but AA must have stopped service through San Juan as they changed our flights on us a few months back.

Rental Car: Tropical Tropicana. Absolutely love Mickey. Used him ten years ago too. Has not changed. Great rate on some type of soft top jalopy jeep. Met our needs just fine and we drove the whole island many times over. Mickey greeted us at the airport arriving and departing, and we saw him throughout our stay. Invited him to our wedding, but he had to work (or so he says). Highly recommend him if you don't need a pristine auto during your stay. Methinks no one does on SXM.

Hotels (disclaimer - we do not travel for the hotel experience):
1. Sonesta Maho for our wedding, first three nights for us, and for most of our guests. Despite all the warnings and mixed reviews we had read in our year of planning, they did us very right during our stay and events. Rooms were fine, service very good (Lazette and Carla superb!), pool nice, beach is back, planes were a novelty not an annoyance for our guests, location was perfect for our purpose, ceremony/cocktail hour/reception were great. We now love this place and see so much potential for its future.

2. Royal Islander La Plage for our "honeymoon"...wife's timeshare trade (from Disney/RCI) for the rest of our week on SXM. Again, perfectly adequate. Good pool, Tortuga Cafe is nice, same beach as Maho, effecient response to repair request, did have some clothes/shoes stolen from our ground level terrace during the night (bad move on my part to leave it out, but still disappointing).
We would (and may) return to either of these properties in the future. Of course, they will always hold a special place in out hearts which might bias our opinions some, but we know our guests enjoyed their time as well.

Eats: Hit and miss all around. Some stops were planned, some spontaneous. Didn't hit everything/everywhere we planned, but a good mix nonetheless.

Bamboo Bernie's: Dinner. Very good sushi and cool ambiance. Would return for sure.

Sunset Bar and Grill: Not gonna win food awards, and certainly felt more "commercial" than 10 years ago, but we had three meals there (one lunch, two dinners, inclusive of a party for 36 people the night before our wedding) and everyone loved it. Ramses and his staff were great to us. It's a magical place for me...has been for 10 years since I was last there and will continue to be. A few guavaberry coladas or cold beers make this place seem like paradise if you concentrate hard enough.

Fashion Cafe: Became the go-to for us and our guests for morning coffee and breakfasts. Again no awards, but a quality morning joint for a caffeine revive and conversation to start the day.

Ocean(Westin Dawn Beach): Hate what this hotel has done to what was my favorite beach on SXM which probably flavored my overall view of the meal. Very good black bean soup, good service, but otherwise unremarkable dining experience.

Zee Best (Los Lagos): Breakfast on an early Sunday afternoon...good time for breakfast the day after a wedding. Fortunately that's all they serve on Sundays and it was very good. My wife loved hers.

La Tastevin: Stellar all-around for 7 of us.

Fish Pot: Great setting, overpriced. A bit disappointing. Had their Lobster Thermador. Good. Wife got talked out of what she really wanted by the owner.

Grand Case Lolos: More magic for me. Quintessential SXM and what I love about travel.

Brother Jimmy's: Perfect for the gringo in you. Perfect for the cheapskate in me...had a free round of drinks and 10% off coupon. We don't eat meat but found options...fish, etc.
Came to find the same person owns this place, Bamboo Bernies and Tantra. Expat. We are rooting for his success in all of it.

That's probably all worth mentioning. Others we had planned to get to in Marigot and P-burg but how the days fly. Next time.

Beaches:
Maho, Mullet, Cupecoy, Dawn, Friar's, Orient, Shoal Bay (Anguilla) Nothing revolutionary here. Like/love them all for different reasons (planes, Rosie's, Gwen's, etc). Miss the old Dawn Beach and Scavenger's for sure, but c'est la vie, right? Mr Busby's "beach boy" (aka Charlie Brown) put me in my place a bit when I got too sentimental about the change. "Scavengers didn't belong there either," he said.

Gaming:
Casino Royale
Helps when you are surrounded by old friends and laughter and the drink service is quick, but they still took my money 2 of 3 nights.

Etc:
Hiked Pic Paradis. Views (and homes) were stunning. No lurking machete-wielding deviants that we saw.

Weather throughout was fine. Hot at times, cloudy at times, rained at times (not much until final day/night), breezy at times. Kind of like 10 days anywhere. Often sunny and perfect...including for our party at Sunset and wedding evening <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

The bottomline to me about SXM is this...There is a whole whole lot more we love about SXM than we dislike. But, travel, like politics, sports, music and religion, is so subjective. For that reason, we are hopeful that SXM, its people, businesses, government, and its state pride (or current lack thereof) will all come together in the coming years to give worldwide tourists more to love about this place without damaging what most readers of this board already do...or have at some point in its past.

Thanks again, TTOL!