This was my 4th trip to the island but first for my friends. Flew AA JFK_SXM. Flight was early! Of course we picked the wrong line to wait in for customs but every minute counts while your on vacation. Booked a car with Kenny's and he was right on time. Older car, white of course but it worked so thats all that mattered. We stayed at the Royal Palm. We just rented not timeshare. Room was perfect for 3 adults. Lots of room, view was fantastic. I would stay here again if traveling with my family or another couple but a little too large for a couple. The staff was comical. It seems nothing was what it was advertised as except the 2 for 1 happyhour!! We<br>were actually told by the front desk that we would not be receiving daily maid service because our rate was discounted and '"for what your paying you dont get maid service". Normally this would piss me off but hey were on vacation clean towels would be nice. God love the maid the day we left we tried to clean up somewhat but all that sand adds up!!!<br>Had lunch this day at SSBB waiting for our third members plane to arrive. Cheeseburger was awesome. Dinner this night was at HOT TOMATOS. Food was good. Escargole appetizer was out of this world!! Portions pretty large. Next off to the Dolphin to make our first donation.<br>Day 2 Decided to go to Happy Bay. I've never been there before but have read many wonderful things here on TTOL.<br>First of all 10 min walk seriously its more like 15-20 hike up hill !! Flip Flops are not the ideal choice here. [Linked Image] However the beach was awesome and our favorite by far! I will definately make this journey on our next trip. 3 other couple and us. Wonderful!! Back to the Royal Palm for the daily happy hour. Met some nice people here. Mudslides were to die for!!! Dinner was at Cheri's. I've eaten here before so I new what to expect. Food was average but cant beat the dinner show. Fun atmosphere. Stopped in Casino Royale and won back my lossed playing blackjack!!!<br>Day 3 Off to Baie Plumes. This was a Sunday and it was more crowed than we had expected. No shade spots left so stayed short time and moved on over to Baie Rouge. Got chairs and let the sand gravity take over. Pretty crowed but great people watching. 2 ships moored out in the bay. Had a good laugh watching the over weight gentlemen trying to climb back into his dingy from the water. Everyone around us was cracking up!! Dinner tonight was at the Royal Palm. By far the worst food we had. Should of known when we were the only people having dinner. Ordered the seafood grilled plate. The fish was lukewarm at best. Sent back and came back warm and dried out!! DO NOT EAT HERE. <br>Breakfast was free the next morning so why not right??? Should of known coffee all gone and only croissants. Which was fine but not what was advertised..par for the course here.<br>My friend decided he wanted to do the Rhino wave runner thing he tried his best to talk us into it but I knew I would get sea sick. Sure enough the guys at the dock didnt even try to talk us into when advised we would get sea sick other than to say hey that makes the day more interesting with a laugh! He enjoyed the tour alot. He said it was a rough ride and his butt hurt the next day! but would do it again! Picked him up and headed for Orient. As luck would have it a huge rain cloud burst open and we made a mad dash for Baywatch. Unfortunately they were closed. Moved over to the Pirate and had some good laughs with 2 couples from Kentucky. Lunch was good and nice cold beers. I've heard from here about the beach erosion but was really surprised how bad it has become. Walked down toward Bikini but refused to pay full price for chairs at 3pm with more storm clouds lurking. Guy wouldn't even budge on price. I have to say this beach was a disappointment. It's just to commercial for me. Rained again and we were off back to the RP and happy hour. Last dinner on the island was at Boathouse. By far the best meal!!!!<br>Started with Coconut shrimp melted in your mouth, calamari was awesome also. I had steak which melted in your mouth. My friend had the special Mahi-Mahi stuffed with crabmeat and it was out of this world. Third entree was seaffod pasta. More seafood than pasta. Wonderful dinner. Service was iffy at best with some attitude. Only major complant was the screaming from the table behind us when a cockroach ran over their foot and headed our way. It was pretty big. Off to the Pelican casino and broke even. Back to the RP to enjoy the lagoon lights one last time.<br>Next morning off to airport where my friend flew the new airline Caribbean Sun. Checkin for him was slowwwwww but his flights were fine. We did the early checkin thing at AA and off for a few last hours in the sun. Kenny met us right on time back at the airport what a nice guy. Would rent from him again in a heartbeat. <br>Overall loved the island all over again and gained 2 new recruits to ST Maarten's charm.<br>Hope I didnt bore you guys too much. Love this board and learned some new things along the way.<br>Jackie