Just got back from our first trip, 6/4-6/9. Now we know why all of you go back so many times. We, too, fell in love with the island, and have already made plane reservations for our next trip, May, 2005. (Thank you U.S. Air/American Airlines fare wars. We got a great deal out of Pittsburgh. Even though we are from Texas, we have family in Pittsburgh and will be able to combine a trip to SXM with visiting family.) All of the information we received from this forum helped make this a special vacation. It was really great to get to meet so many of you at Bikini Beach Bar on Sat. (6/5) afternoon. (Bruce & Kim, Steve & Gail, Paul & Julie, Parrot Dave & Dolores, Coach & Lillian, Jennifer & James, and several more couples, whose names we did not get.)
Flew from Charlotte on U.S. Air. Agree with Ed and Sandra that first class is not worth the extra money. Next time we will fly coach and save the extra money for D. K. Gems.
Rented a car from Hertz. No problems with them. Rented cell phone from Sharon Harris at Royal Palm and will definitely rent from her again.
Rented unit 851 at La Plantation. Room was great and really big. Beautiful ocean view from our front porch. Grounds and flowers are wonderful. Only got a few channels on the t.v., but who’s there to watch t.v.!! Front desk service was great and hotel staff (especially Fanny) was very friendly. Breakfast buffet, included in price of room, was more than enough for us. Lots of nice, fresh fruit.
Spent most of our time on O.B. (Coco’s and Club O), either laying out in the sun or walking the beach. Also took the ferry over to Pinel, which we really enjoyed. Spent one afternoon at Friar’s Beach and took the “hike” over to Happy Bay. Very nice.
Took time one morning (when there were no cruise ships in port) to go shopping in Philipsburg. First stop was D. K. Gems. Deepti was in Las Vegas, but we had a nice visit with her brother, Kamal. We left there with Gary’s pocket quite a bit lighter, and Berne’s ring finger quite a bit heavier. Kamal could not have been nicer. We will be going there again next visit. Also bought the usual t-shirts, shot glasses, Guavaberry liquor, etc. for family back home. We also now know why so many of you are sad when you are down to your last bottle of Rhum Jumbie.
Places we ate:
Baywatch – more than once for lunch – great food – one of our old license plates now hangs above the table we sat at. So glad to meet Cheryl. Sorry we missed Andy. Hope he’s up and feeling better soon.
Le Fish Bar – ate there twice – food was really good and prices were really reasonable. Two appetizers, two dinners, bottle of wine and tip for $36.00.
Planet Orient – food and service were very nice, but a little pricey for our opinion.
Talk of the Town – great ribs and chicken. Thanks to Steve and Gail for this recommendation.
Ric’s Sports Bar – Great ribs. Met several couples from Dallas (us Texans got to stick together)
Pinel Island – great fish for lunch, but don’t remember the name of the restaurant.
Barefoot Terrace (Philipsburg) – nice place for lunch with a great view of the water.
Got to have drinks and watch the sun set at Sunset Beach Bar. Also, had drinks one night at Bikini with Bruce and Kim. Great getting to spend some time with them.
Again, thanks to all of you for all the information you provide on this forum. Hope you don't consider this too long, but we were very excited about all we did.
