First of all, I have to say thank you to all of those who have posted on this board for the last several months. I found this site a while ago, and initially was paranoid to "join" with respect to cyber security issues, etc. However, the information I've received from several of you has been invaluable and I felt the need to say thanks and also contribute.

I have been in love with SXM since my honeymoon 14 years ago. We bought at the Flamingo then, and have been back several times (5+) since. Other than a stint living overseas and the birth of our 2 kids, we always think to come here first.

That said, we traveled this year with our two kids (8 and 6) and our neighbors and their children (10 and 8). Our neighbors had never been and also fell in love with the beauty, peacefulness and sense of calm that takes over you.

Flights:
We flew in and out on AA on Friday due to frequent flyer availability, and the flights were relatively empty and less chaotic than Saturday flights. The airport construction has started, but our flight wasn't impacted, nor was luggage retrieval an issue, so I didn't pay it much mind.

Car Rental:
We have used Mickey with Tropicana Car Rental for the last couple of years. I like how they meet you at the airport with your car (cooled down), you load your luggage in, then you drive back to your resort and check in, while in our case, my husband, Brian went back to do the paperwork. This is especially convenient for Pelican/Flamingo resorts as their office is right on the same road. We've never had a problem with them, we pre-arranged everything by email, Mickey is great and the Platina is fine for our needs.

Flamingo Beach:
Anyway, while Brian handled the car stuff I endured Flamingo's slow check-in. I reminded myself I was on island time (and happy it wasn't Saturday check in), but I'll tell you, if they can fix this notoriously frustrating experience, they will immediately change their guests 1st impression. We were placed in an beautiful ocean view room (my understanding is that owners get those first) and they were kind enough to place our friends right next door (they were traveling on an exchange). Needless to say, the kids loved that!! I was impressed with all of the changes going on at the Flamingo: painting lots of places to keep it fresh, a building was being constructed to give housekeeping more room and during our stay, the contruction was steadily moving along. The GM Jules James has done a wonderful job maintaining the resort, adding features that the typical traveler expects (but we never used to get at Flamingo) - newspaper delivery to your door, beach waiters, etc. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay there.


Anyway, I digress... after checking in, and a quick snack poolside, the ladies left the husbands and kids floating and
we went for provisions. I particularly liked Grande Marche last year, so I chose to return there for our supplies. During the week we also went to Ram's, and I still prefered Grande Marche. The selection is wonderful, the meats were fresh and the prices were totally reasonable. I always look forward to purchasing "Cubito" Cuban coffee, it was in stock and it was fabulous the next morning.

Friday night we returned to Mark's Place - more of a sentimental favorite as we first went there many years ago, and have loved the Crab Farsi - but this year something was different. The Farsi was a weird reddish color, the flavor was different, and we didn't finish it. The chicken sate' we ordered for the kids came out dry, but our beers were nice and cold and the service was good. The guys enjoyed the ribs and the rice and peas, but I was so bummed out by the crab farsi, I'm not sure if we will go back next year.

Saturday, I sat on the beach early am, read the paper and soaked in the beauty of St. Maarten. I was chapped about paying $2 for a 9 oz. cup of coffee, but the view was too nice to stay annoyed... Traveling with kids is a blast IF you make accomodations - give them ample time to sleep, don't schedule too much and if you have picky eaters, feed them what they like to eat, at least some of the time. So, the kids slept in, then we had a low key day at our resort. For dinner, we fed them frozen pizza, the adults ate frozen indian food, and we just relaxed. Perfect start.

Sunday:

After my favorite cuban coffee..we were off mid-morning to Le Gallion. This is one of our favorite beaches to soak in the local flavor of the island... and it didn't disappoint. We had a good lunch at the "Tropical Wave" beach bar. Great burger topped with sprouts, cheese on a fresh bun... topped it off with a nice espresso, great day. This is a great beach for kids, little to no waves, crystal clear water, we will return every year as we love the locals bbqing, playing music, etc.

We had diner that night at Hot Tomatoes. Great atmosphere, nice presentation, average food. Avoid the conch fritters, wings were good, avoid creole chicken. Ribs were good, moist with a slightly sweet sauce, but still good. The kids loved the brick oven pizza (it was good). Avoid dessert ($5.95 for 2 scoops of ice cream is nuts)... we went to Scoops instead. Remember what I said before about feeding the kids what they like... the challenge is finding the balance between edible kids food and wonderful adult food. This is tough and still a mission for us.

Monday:

We savored some more of the cubito coffee (can you tell I miss it???) and went into Phillipsburg for the day. The selling point for the kids was the ability to get the trash and trinkets souveniers they like, but they still were tortured by how long it takes for Mommy to browse. One mission I had was to stop in and meet Deepti. I had no intention to buy anything, but I came out with a beautiful opal ring for myself and some pretty but purposely small sapphire studs for my 6 year old (I know, I know...way over the top). Deepti is as wonderful as you all said she was. I never felt like it was a hard sell, rather she and her employees made it a pleasurable experience. I just saw something I liked and it was priced fairly. Simple as that. My friend also bought a pair of earrings, and we commented that we would defintely return next year. I smiled when I saw Ed and Sandra's picture.. reminded me of each and every one of you who referred them so easily.

Since Deepti's store is close to the cruise ship dock, she referred us to a waterside resturant for lunch and I regretted that I didn't think to put the kids in swim suits under their clothes and let them swim while we waited for lunch. They did enjoy splashing in the water -that will be a way to keep them occupied while we browse next year. The place we went to was "something B's", Johnny B's - whatever, and they also had lockers you could store stuff in. I forgot to check if it was a keyed locker or what... The lunch was a hit... the rib chicken combo was great, and the kids gave the hot dogs "3" thumbs up <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" /> . We will definitely return... Leave Deepti's, go to the crusie ship dock, turn right, follow Heineken umbrellas. 2nd place on your right???

Oh... Front Street construction. It's a construction zone. Dirt, covered holes, etc. The stores are doing a good job keeping their places neat and clean, but avoid cruise ship day, and it's no big deal. Some have commented that it's a mess - how can construction possibly be neat? Expect to park far away (we park way down at the bottom where Front Street meets that other road perpendicularly... (sorry don't know the name) and walk back. When it's finished, it will be a wonderful first impression for cruise visitors, plua make it a more enjoyable shopping experience. They have put in a outdoor smoothy/frozen drink bar - I didn't stop this visit, but it gives off the relaxing island aura that Phillipsburg didn't have before.

On the way out of Front steet, stopped at the Riva store. Best prices, but the selection was average this visit. I think the vendors scooped up all the cute kid outfits!!

Late afternoon, back to our resort for swim time. Ate spaghetti in our room for dinner. Perfect. Cheap. Kids were happy, we relaxed on the patio for some alone time.

Tuesday:

you know by now...my wonderful cuban coffee, then down to our resort beach. Went in to Ace for beach rings, toys. We brought down a good selection (floats, rings, sand toys), but the large rings were a big hit, so we needed one more. Thanks for the tip about Ace's...

That night, I grilled on the Flamingo's outdoor grills... it was fun drinking mojitos, and tending the fire. Easy, relaxing day after our shopping expedidtion.

Wednesday:

Ahhh... that coffee is so good... then we're off to kill the kids some more with shopping in Marigot. I swear one of these years I will get one of those beautiful tablecloths that lady sells... but never mind that, I did find another lady who is a local artist and she makes these cool necklaces out of chrome and various colored stones. They made great souvenirs, and the recipients loved them. We let the kids get a couple more trikets, then we went over to Orient (Bikini Beach) for the day. Very active, and the kids loved it. We rented wave runners, my son and husband parasailed... the kids definitely want to return here next year. I was amazed once again by the colors... the beauty of the water made me realize I need to hunt down a special lens for my camera before next trip. The polarizing sunglasses highlights the colors incredible, my camera never seems to capture it.

We had lunch at Bikinisme Beach Bar. I had the greek salad (pretty good) my husband had a caesar w/ plantains mixed in (yum), and the kids loved their chicken tenders (eventhough they were highly seasoned). Calamari was fantastic. Our server topped off our meal with a rum, mint and sugar shooter - awesome! Will definitely return.

Dinner that night we went to Pizza Pasta. Last year we tried Cheri's (overpriced, average food, and bizarre stage show) but got to catch the "mini" show the Casino Royale (??) puts on in the street. I was hoping to let our friends and kids see it again, but we missed it. (FYI - 9pm it starts.) Anyway, our dinner was good. This is a very small restaurant, so be sure to call ahead, even off season.

Thursday:

After coffee, we headed up to Pinel island for a little snorkeling. My daughter was a bit afraid this year, so I didn't get to go far, but the rest of the group saw bunches of fish and conch and enjoyed the day. We followed the recommendation of the restuarant to the left - the food was wonderful. Thanks for the tip!! Late afternoon, back at our resort. We packed and ordered in Domino's for dinner that night. I swore I would never order Domino's when all those great restaurants exist, but finding one to suit everyone's needs gets tiring after a while. This was just a EASY solution.

Friday:

I pondered bringing back the Cubito, and realized I didn't need the hassles with Customs...so my husband did the early check-in (10:00) and was back by 10:40. That is definitely the way to do it. We had a wonderful lunch at Turtle Pier (the kids loved the live lobsters for sale, the fish swimmig right next to the table) and the food was good. Huge kids menu... we'll be back there for sure. Flights home were non-eventful, and we are already making plans for next year...

Again, thanks to you all for all the tips. I'll still be on the lookout for kid AND adult friendly restaurant recommendations.


Cheers!!

Donna