February 17 - 26. Had a great time as usual.
Stayed with friends the first two nights at Club O (thanks Mark and Kathleen) and then moved to our room at the Sapphire for a week. Couldn't get an exchange this time with RCI so we went through CheapCaribbean.com. Keith Bunkin was our rep and he did a great job. We didn't find out where we were going to be until the day before, but we had no worries because they guarantee the room. Would use them again. A few small problems with Sapphire...We ran out of hot water on most days and two days we ran completely out of water. I feel sorry for anyone who was soaped up in the shower at that time. Also we repeatedly asked for the safe to be unlocked so we could use it and a remote be brought up for the bedroom tv. Neither were ever accomplished. The girls at the front desk were very nice and said it was a maintenance issue. Nothing too bad though, it certainely didn't make a difference in our vacation. We didn't use the pool because we would rather be at the beach. We did go to the bar one night and had drinks and a pizza. The bar tender was great and they had a two man steel pan band playing that were great also.
We rented a car for Marius at St. Louis Car Rental. Had a little mix up as to where the car was supposed to be dropped off. But all in all was a good experience and we would use him again. We rented a phone from Sharon Harris, that also was a good experience and would use her again. Her husband was very nice.
We went to the Cliffhanger Bar twice. The sunset is amazing. Also went to the Yacht Club for drinks but didn't see Neil. Nice location, we watched the bridge go up and all the beautiful boats go through. Also went to Rics and had a very nice waitress. Can't remember her name though. We had ribs at Lido's. Very good and you can't beat their prices! Had breakfast almost every day on our way to Orient at Le Creperie in Marigot. Best latte's, crepes and Croissants on the island in our opinion. We also ate a couple times down on the boardwalk in Phillipsburg (beautiful!) at Touloulou Mango's. Great food and on our last day there they had a two man band singing and playing that were really good. We ate a couple of times at French restaurants. One was in Marigot and one in Grand Case during Harmony nights. Our friend Mark is the expert on the french dinning, sorry I can't remember the names. Another french restaurant we ate at was our first night there. We ate at Le Fish at Orient. It was reasonably priced and the food and service were great. I almost forgot, we ate at Peg Leg one night. Great, great food and Shaun is such a nice guy. We really enjoy eating there.
I lost one of my diamond stud earrings while we were their so we stopped in at DK Gems and met Deepti. She was very nice. Amit helped us and they gave us a good deal on a new pair.
We met Contessa and Larry for the first time. It was nice to meet them, especially since I enjoy all of the recommendations that Contessa gives on the board. Thank you!
It was pretty windy on some days so we decided to give Cupecoy a try. What a nice surprise. There was a decent sized beach, didn't have the wind and the water was great. The gentleman renting chairs and umbrellas was very nice. It was great to walk to the beach from our room instead of having to drive. We spent a couple of days there when it was too windy at Orient.
Maho has come a long way. It is so nice and clean. And the shops stay open late. Didn't spend allot of time there but it's nice to see it looking so nice.
Well that's about all I can think of. Can't wait until our next trip! Shane and Susie