Ok. I've attempted to incorporate pics. I composed the report on my iPad and cut & pasted pics. However, not sure if successful so I apologize if the report comes out in a strange format.....anyhoo.....here you go!!

SXM Trip Report 1/18/14 – 1/25 2014

Last fall, a relative of ours asked if we were interested in using their timeshare if we covered their maintenance fee. We jumped at the opportunity as we had not been back since 2007. This was our 8th trip. Since the unit was a 2bed/2bath, we decided to bring a newbie couple.

Saturday 1/18/14 – Our 7:00am Jet Blue non-stop flight out of Boston was on time and without incident despite the impending snow predicted. We were nervous Nellies all week watching the forecast. Apparently, we missed the snow delays by a mere 2 hours! Whooo Hooo!!

We did car rental through Starlight Car Rental as they were onsite at the Belair. Theirrates seemed reasonable. Kevin was waiting for us right outside with the car. He handed us the keys and we were off to the Belair to register the rental with Shanyra. I must say, the service, professionalism and vibes that we received were top notch. Shanyra & crew run a great business. It was seamless.

During all of our past trips, we’ve always stayed at the former Pelican. However, this time, it was Belair Beach Hotel. I must say, I was a bit skeptical as some of the online reviews were mixed and highlighted the outdated elements there. I’m glad that I don’t take reviews too seriously. We were pleasantly surprised. We checked into our ground level, beach front unit. OMG – what a view! What a spot! Outdated? Maybe a bit. Who cares? It was super spotless and very comfy with a great outdoor sitting area with about a dozen paces from the blue Caribbean. We would stay here again in a heartbeat for sure.



After an easy check in, we headed over to the Grand Marche for supplies. Yes the booze prices are decent. However, we thought that the wine prices were outrageous. Of course, we do live in Southern Maine so we are used to the NH Liquor Store’s bargain prices. Whatever….vacation so we stocked up on bottles of everything. Haha!

After jumping right into the ocean and sipping ( ok no sipping…downing ) some Pina Colada’s at The Gingerbread Café’s happy hour, we decided to eat at an old favorite/casual place The Green House in Pburg. Service and food were great…nothing fancy but great fish, chicken, wings, etc. Parking in the lot behind was a breeze as well.

Sunday 1/19/14 – Breakfast was cooked in the room, consumed al fresco with Bloodys & Mimosas while viewing the blue water and sky. This is not reality! We all work quite hard so this was an unwind, happy moment. We dragged today….did not leave the condo until 11:30am. We decided to head to Mullet Bay for our inaugural beach day. After 7 years away, it is still one of the prettiest on the island. I must say, the last time we were there, lots of garbage, cans, debris, etc. were present. Not this time. Not only did they tear down all the ruins but it seems that there are more garbage cans for waste and that people are working at keeping it clean. Kudos to whoever is taking care of it. We live in a beach resort community at home so we often volunteer for beach cleanup. It’s a good way to give back to something so special. Oh and Rosie’s ribs for lunch are still delish!
Our newbie friends really wanted to see the planes land like the zillion or soYouTube posts so we headed to Sunset Beach Bar for a drink. YIKES! Not what we remembered. It was insanely loud with some obnoxious people present. It looks bigger than before with a stage, dance floor, some sports bar looking thing, etc. Getting served was almost impossible so we left! Not good! Too bad as we used to love hanging out there.


Since the Patriots were in the AFC championships, one in our group wanted a sports bar. We headed over to SPN Bar at Pineapple Pete’s for game, wings, drinks. Fun place with big screens. Unfortunately, the Pat’s lost…..lots of NE fans present too. Great staff there. In fact, I lost my driving glasses there…nothing $$ but needed for driving. The staff went out of their way to help look for them….nothing. They said to come back the next day and check in. Sure enough, there they were the next day fully intact. I was psyched! Good job guys!

It was then back to Phillipsburg for dinner at The Holland House. The atmosphere, food and service were great. Oysters, Shrimp, pork, fish, etc. were all delicious with some niceplate presentation. We were pleased. We also hung out at the bar. Nice spot. This was the only time during the whole trip that we experienced mosquitoes. Luckily, the staff provided spray for us.

Monday 1/20/14 – Up for an early swim and then it was the same breakfast routine on the porch. We then headed to another favorite beach Orient Bay. Since my partner and I love the beach at Club Orient and all over tans, we decided to plop our friends off at the new Bikini Beach as nude is not their bag of donuts. Apparently, Bikini just re-opened….looks nice but I swear it was further north on the beach years ago. We had a nice quiet, relaxing time at Club O. The water was calm and crystal clear. Thanks to this board, we all decided to meet at Orange Fever for a late lunch. It did not disappoint. Their pizza, ceviche and burgers were excellent….best Pina Cs on island too. Also...very, very reasonable bottles of wine for a restaurant. We really did not want to leave.


Just before sunset, we poked around The Divi for a bit and hiked up to Fort Amsterdam. This is something we do each visit as the views are remarkable. Gorgeous sunset too! What a historical treasure (I’m a huge history buff).



Back to the condo for the complimentary wine & cheese party accompanied by a Steel Pan band. That really set the mood. Instead of venturing out, we opted for the all-you- can eat ribs BBQ buffet that they offered. The food was just ok….Rosie’s ribs beat these. There were also some neat artists and vendors that set up a mini craft fair in the lobby. We all conversed extensively with this super nice lady who lives on island ( name? ) who hand makes soaps under the name Sent-Tee…bought several bars. They are delightful and so was she.

Tuesday 1/21/14 – We had to mix things up for breakfast. Luckily our favorite bakeryCafé Atlantico in Simpson Bay is still there. Their Ham & Cheese and Almond Croissants are to die for! I’m not sure why this place doesn’t get the recognition other similar places get. We’ve tried all the other popular spots….this place has the best in our opinion.

Marigot Market day – we had fun shopping for art, souvenirs, etc. Lots of Gendarmes present which I think is a good thing. We also climbed atop Fort Louis….again, less garbage than we remembered there as well. Checked out Marina Royale and the proprietors were literally begging people to come in and eat at their respective establishments. It was waaaaay quiet from years past. Glad to see Tropicana is still there.

We all then headed over to Cupecoy for more beach time. There was a good amount of people and the water was not too rough. After a few hours, we were all sunned out so we explored The Blue Mall. This was not here back in 2007. What can I say? First off, this is not the experience I’m looking for on a Caribbean trip. Secondly, the inside is dark, very, very few patrons and very few tenants that we could see. We also explored Porto Cupecoy and had a light lunch at Aux Quartre Vents. Nice spot. Salads were good.

We headed back to the condo for some appts and wine on the porch while getting ready for Harmony Night in Grand Case. Unfortunately, it started raining when we arrived. I felt bad for the street vendors but they seemed to manage just fine. Although we had an 8:00pm rezzie at one of our favorites Spiga, we arrived early due to rain. They were able to seat us early on the porch. There was lots of wind and rain so they pulled the clear plastic drapes down. It was kind of cozy and romantic. Dinner was brilliant as always….fish crudo, beef Carpaccio, caprese salad, ciopinno, fish, veal, etc. This place never disappoints!! Awesome staff too!


Once dinner ended, the rain was over so we headed back to the street fair. Amazingly, one of the artists remembered my partner and I as we walked by. We bought two of his pieces about 10 years ago. His name is Asif Hakh. We were shocked that he remembered us. We chatted and reconnected. It was a magic moment indeed. He was pleased to hear that his works are still enhancing our home in freezing cold Maine lol! He and his wife are talented artists and wonderful, kind folks!

Wednesday 1/22/14 – A few days prior, we had decided to set aside a day to show our friends the magical, “Unspoiled Queen” known as Saba. We booked the Edge II throughAqua Mania as we’ve done in years past. I mentioned that I’m a TTOL member so they took 10% off our bill. For four people, that was a great savings.

The 90 minute ferry over was calmer than years past. Our newbie friends were mesmerized by the pristine beauty, charming villages and vertical quality of such a special place. We had Eddie for a driver. He was awesome. He told us stories and fascinating facts about the island. We loved the story of how the one and only road was built! He also told us the story of when Queen Beatrix climbed to the top of Mount Scenery. He accompanied her. She even jogged down the entire way!! We also climbed to the top of Mount Scenery ( 3 hours round trip ). Unfortunately, it was clouded over so visibility was not so much. The hiking lodge at the trail head provided bag lunches for us.






After the hike, we strolled around the charming village of Windwardside. Eddie thenwhisked us back to the boat and we were done with vacation from vacation. If any SXM regulars haven’t done Saba yet, I highly recommend it. What a unique place with warm, lovely people and amazing scenery!

We were so spent from hiking that we decided to cook in. We stopped at the Garden Market in front of the Atrium for provisions. It seems new. We liked it a lot.

Thursday 1/23/14 – We noticed several cruise ships pass by early morning so we opted for a people watching day in Pburg. We started the day on Great Bay Beach about half way down on The Boardwalk. It was mobbed with cruise ship people so we enjoyed observing all of the “bracletted” folks stroll along the beach and town. The water was gorgeous today. There were also some entertainers on the b-walk….some better than others. LOL. Bought drinks from and chatted it up with a few of the local beach vendors. We opted for lunch at Taloula Mango’s. The Jerk Chicken and Rib plates were excellent….great drinks, great place to watch the crowds go by and reasonable prices too.

After lunch, it was time to shop up and down Front Street, Back Street & Old Street. We had a ball perusing numerous shops, chatting with merchants and making some deals. We always enjoy a full day here.

Thanks to this board, we decided on Pizza Pasta in Maho. They were so busy that we almost could not get a table. However, the sweet lady who runs the front squeezed us in at the table right by the door. We ordered a few pizzas, a few calzones and wines by the glass. Everything was delicious and reasonably priced.

Friday 1/24/14 – We woke up to rain showers. That did not stop us from taking an early swim. It was quite fun in the rain actually. The ocean was warmer than the rain drops. After swimming, the rain finally stopped. We decided to find Go Kart St Martin in La Savanne. The ad in the 2014 tourist map claims “go kart racing adventures with a 100 beer selection specialty bar”. This looked right up our ally! Not only did it appearclosed…it looked abandoned with chain link, broken signs and weeds coming out of thetrack. We were disappointed. Now why would a business that is no longer take out an ad in a 2014 printed tourist brochure? Odd!

The minor let down made us all famished so we drove over to Loterie Farm to lunch at the Hidden Forest Café. Funny – as we were approaching the parking lot, dozens of monkeys appeared on the grassy hill adjacent to the road. There were so cute!Although the food was excellent, the service and vibes here were cold & odd. When we arrived to be seated, the host/waitress lady simply pointed to where we cannot be seated as they were “reserved”. No hello? No how can I help you? Ok fine no biggy. We perused the menu and ordered. Once the food arrived, I noticed a variation of the dish that I ordered at another table. I asked the waitress what that was. She simply said “a special”. I asked her if there were specials today. She replied “yes”. That’s it. Geez. It would have been nice to be informed of these specials. Oh well. Next odd thing was when I got up to find the bathroom. I found one but it said “VIP Only”. Strange. I don’t know about you but a toilet is a toilet. Whether you are Oprah Winfrey or the bag boy at Grand Marche, the same thing happens. What was the VIP thingy all about? Can you say pretentious? I could not find any other toilet so I became a “VIP” for that moment apparently!! Then I inquired to the waitress “so…I’ve heard you have a pool here”. Her reply was “twenty euro each” and walked away. No “would you like to take a look” or “it’s a lot of fun”. She just blurted out the cost and screwed. Oh by the way, all of the patrons at the “reserved” tables must have been magic, invisible people because none of them were ever occupied for the duration of our visit! Like I said, the food is delicious with beautiful presentation. You also cannot beat the unique jungle feel of the place. We’ve been before and our newbie friends enjoyed it as well. However, they either do not care about servingthe guest or the staff is in desperate need of a retrain by some experienced hospitality professionals. Not sure if we’d go back.





After lunch, we wanted to show our friends Happy Bay Beach. We parked at Friar’s and made the short hike over. We were surprised that there is now a small beach bar. I have mixed feelings about that. Also, there seemed to be a ton of beach erosion and rocks. It was still quite pretty and remains a favorite. We spent a few hours there.


All week, I was pestering the group to visit Dreams at Nettle Bay. We never had time for a full day there so the rest of the group agreed to have drinks there late afternoon. Wow is all I can say. I could spend everyday for a week here. Gorgeous. They did an amazing job with the beach, décor and handsome staff. We had a few rounds and then headed off to find Kokomo in Indigo Bay. We looked around for a bit. It seems as though they are building some sort of condos or resort or something above it. The bar and beach look nice. We wondered if that is a man-made beach. It sure looks like they brought sand in.




We headed back to Belair for our final happy hour on the porch. We decided to hitTopper’s in Simpson Bay for our last dinner out. We sat outside and watched the karaoke….some good voices, some hilarious ones. We also bumped into Topper himself who we chat with each time on island. He is quite a character and is from Massachusetts originally like most of us in our group. He runs a great place…food and service were great as always.

Saturday 1/25/14 – SAD DAY!!! We packed up said our goodbyes to the Belair staff and headed over to Mullet Bay for some last hours & drinks in the sun. We turned in our rental right at the airport with a rep from Starlight. Waited in the many long lines and we were post security. Flight back to BOS was on time. We were back in the Arctic once again.

Observations/Opinions/Tidbits:

Phillipsburg- I know that it sometimes earns a bad reputation among tourists. I can honestly say that I disagree with most apparently. The four of us had some of our best times there. We love Pburg and all of her quirkiness. The beach is great for people watching, chatting it up with locals, watching boardwalk performers, etc. Lunch and shopping selections are endless. Even at night, while excising a degree of caution, we had memorable, fun times. We love Pburg!

Island Improvements – As earlier stated, it had been 7 years since our last visit. My partner and I were both impressed with the improved infrastructure….roundabouts, the new causeway, cleaner beaches, less garbage. While not perfect, we thought the island has looked her best! Good job to whoever or whatever is making these things happen.

Traffic – Far less traffic than years past we noticed. Perhaps its due to the causeway or more roundabouts….who knows. We only encountered 2 big delays the entire week. Since some of us work in the Boston area, the backups were child’s play compared to what we see at home.

Crime – We neither witnessed nor experienced any incidents. Saw a heavy presence of Gendarmes on the French side.

Conclusion: We consider the 7 years away to have been 7 years of bad luck! We are hooked once again on SXM and her unique blend of people and cultures. What anamazing trip…..one week is certainly not enough. However, considering our busy schedules at home, we were lucky and grateful for the week in a place like no other. The people, the scenery, the food, the art, the beaches, breezes and all around happy vibes are what will draw us back over and over. We are already planning another visit. The next one will be much longer! We’ve promised each other! Thanks to all on TTOL for your many wonderful recommendations and helpful advice! Cheers!