I really can’t remember what we did on what days, so I am just going to group our activities into categories. I hope I don’t bore you. So here goes:

Lynne and Steve’s trip report on our first trip to the island of St. Martin June 14-26:

FLIGHTS:

We flew from Pittsburgh with a layover in Charlotte. Uneventful. Everything went smoothly. Our flight was scheduled to depart at about 8:30 a.m. and we arrived 2 hr early as they tell you to do. It was a good thing we did. I don’t know what was going on, but the Pittsburgh airport was packed. This was on a Wednesday! We waited in line after line and just made it to our gate as peopled started to board. When they tell you to get there 2 hr early---get there 2 hr early. This has never happened to us, but you just never know. We arrived in SXM about 3:00 as scheduled. Went right through customs. Luggage was already unloading. We sent the boys (13 and 17) to collect our bags---why do they love to do that?---and we were on our way. Dwayne and his little son Dwayne from Unity were waiting for us with sign in hand. They took us to the “office” to sign the papers and we were off. Michael gave us a map and great instructions on navigating the island.

Flight home was also uneventful except for an almost one hour delay in Charlotte because of the rain. No problems otherwise. I was worried, but our 10, yes 10, bottles of Ma DouDou arrived unharmed and unbroken. Yes, they were in the checked luggage. More on the factory later.

RESORT:

We stayed at the Sunterra Royal Palm. Beautiful property. Beautiful views. Beach view on one side with plenty of boats docked at night and draw bridge views on the other side where we watched the boats come and go. We had a 2 BR/2B unit. First we were on the 4th floor. They are remodeling the entire resort so our first unit was not yet remodeled. New furniture though. They were working on units all around us and we kept having minor leaking problems. My husband tried to get us moved with no luck. Finally one morning the ceiling above our bed developed about a 5 ft crack and was leaking a blue liquid all over our bed and there was a very large crack in the dining room as well. Finally I went down and spoke with the manager, Diana, and she moved us ASAP and even gave us a one-day credit on our bill because of the inconvenience. She said that a unit just opened up on the 5th floor the day before. Well….I thought someone just checked out, but boy was I wrong. The unit was just finished being redone and we were the first ones to stay there!! Maintenance was still “tweeking” a few things as we moved our belongings in. It was absolutely beautiful. Granite counter tops in the kitchen as well as in the bathrooms. Ceramic tile in the entire unit, as well as the shower stalls, that looks like stone. On vacation we really don’t spend much time in our suite, but it was nice to have such a beautiful unit when we were there.

There are a lot of activities at the RP. Bingo several days around the pool. Do you know that in SXM it is a crime to call BINGO if you really don’t have BINGO? Oh, yes. And they throw you into the pool if you do this. Some were even thrown into the pool when they did have BINGO…the caller made a “mistake” and thought the person did not have BINGO when they really did. I wish I knew the guy’s name that ran the game. He was so entertaining and funny. He warned people not to call BINGO unless you can dance….and to claim your prize you did have to dance. A lot of fun. On other days in the evening there are locals that set up stands to sell their goods out by the pool. Free rum punch set up in the lobby some days. Only once did we stay at the resort the entire day. Just to relax from all the running around.

I do have to say though that the staff at the front desk at the RP really needs a class on public relations. Except for a few people they were not very friendly or helpful at all. The less they have to do for you the better. I won’t get into specific incidents, but most were really extremely rude. Maintenance and housekeeping were; however, very nice and very friendly. It’s amazing what you can get just by being nice and “sneaking” the staff a few Heinekens. I won’t go into detail to protect the innocent. My husband is always up for making new friends and drinking a few beers.

BEACHES:

ORIENT: Went there three days. Absolutely beautiful. The boys loved the trampoline in the middle of the ocean. It was $5/hr or $10/day. Keep on the wrist band that they give you when you pay. It is the same color, orange, everyday…if you know what I mean. We sat in front of Bikini Beach Bar every day. No problems bringing our cooler and munchies. It was $36 for 4 chairs and 2 umbrellas. They would not bargain with my husband for a discount. I told him that he sucked at bargaining. He got mad and told me that next time I could try. Well, I did. I offered the guy $24, which he took. Hubby laughed and told me that from now on I could do the bargaining. (Side bar: I think the locals have a “thing” for blond girls. I’m just saying. No offense intended, but we found this to be true almost everywhere we went. I’m sure being nice and engaging in conversation didn’t hurt either. I talk to every one about every thing.) We ate lunch at Bikini two days and walked over to Tap 5 for takeout pizza on our third visit. WOW! Delicious pizza!! This is a must.

MULLET: I think we went there two days. Loved it. Another beautiful beach. I can’t remember the cost of the chairs and umbrellas. It was very close to the RP. Nice waves for the boys to boogie board. Loved Rosie’s. The ribs were I think the best I have ever had. Hamburgers and fries were delicious as well not to mention extremely reasonably priced. $2 Coors Lites. I was very impressed that the cook put on plastic gloves when he handled the food. (It’s the little things that count.)

BAIE ROUGE: Went there twice. Gorgeous. Again, I forget the cost of the chairs and umbrellas. Ate at Chez Raymond. Raymond, Junior, and Marko are such a hoot. Delicious food. We had chicken sandwiches, burgers, fries, rice, ribs. Prices are reasonable. When they blow the conch shell at “tree” o’clock it’s 2 for 1 happy hour. Steve got to the blow the conch shell signaling happy hour. Well, let’s just say he gave it his best shot. He better keep his day job.

BAIE LONGUE: We saw the sign and stopped in just to see what it was like. We did not stay. The day we were there the water was extremely choppy with big waves. I don’t know if this is the “norm” or not. I did not see any restaurants or facilities. Not many people. I can’t comment any further, as we really only stopped by. And yes, the beach IS long.

PINEL ISLAND: Loved it there. Gorgeous scenery. Very laid back atmosphere. Very relaxing day. The boys did a lot of snorkeling. The calmest and warmest water of all the beaches we visited. We took our cooler, but still purchased munchies and some frozen drinks. The boys were a little bored after a while, but I am so glad we went.

KIM SHA: This is the beach at the RP. Nice to look at from our balcony and that’s about it. Where we tried to go into the water it was extremely rocky and you needed water shoes on. I don’t know if that is the case on the entire beach or not. A lot of rocks and shells on the beach. Sand is not very nice either. ‘nough said.

RESTAURANTS/NIGHT CLUBS:

First let me say that we are more “beach” people than “restaurant” people. We would be on the beach by 10 a.m. and would not leave until they started collecting the chairs at 5 p.m. After driving to the beach and being there all day we really did not feel like venturing very far for restaurants, so for the most part we stayed in the vicinity of the Royal Palm and really there are too many eateries there to even count. These are in no particular order.

PINEAPPLE PETES: One of our favorites. Service was quick and extremely friendly. Live band during dinner. It was Father’s Day. Food was excellent. Sorry, I can’t remember what we all had, but I can say that we had no complaints. Boys played pool while we waited to be served. Loved the way they bring this large bottle of water to the table in a “cooler” like a bottle of fine wine. Steve wanted a certain T-shirt, but they did not have his size. They tried getting him interested in different ones, but he was stuck on this certain shirt. Don’t you know there were 3 staff members searching high and low for this shirt. We kept telling them not to bother, but they would not give up. They finally found him one. They brought it up in the bag and told him how lucky he was to get the last one. There was only one catch. It said CREW on the back like the ones the staff wears. Well, as far as Steve was concerned that was just a bonus.

THE WHARF: Very good food. Mahi Mahi and steaks were good. Excellent swordfish. Nice atmosphere. Moderately priced.

PEG LEG: I know this has been the subject of great debate, but I can only tell you our experience. This was WITHOUT A DOUBT our very best meal of our entire 2-week stay. We went there twice. I do have to say we felt it to be a little pricy, but worth every cent. I had the petite filet mignon. “Like butta baby.” Steve had ribs. They boys had a steak salad and a sirloin. We had to return again because every one wanted the filet after tasting mine. This steak just melted in your mouth. My younger son said it could not be a steak because it was just too tender. The staff was so extremely friendly and oh my so efficient. Steve and boys always have to get T-shirts and they have some great ones there, ie: “The weather is here. Wish you were beautiful” “Take me drunk, I’m home” There are many, many more. The one waitress welcomed us back, as she remembered us from our first visit. The boys played darts as we waited for our meals.

Sorry if I’m too wordy and boring some of you. I try to be more brief.

PIZZA PASTA: Excellent. Prices are good. We all had different pasta dishes. Each was delish. Went back for lunch one day for pizza.

SOPRANOS: We shared appetizers and pizza. Delish!! Our waiter (I think he was the owner or manager) was so kind and friendly. We tried to go there again, but they were not open for lunch. It may be because it is low season.

JIMBOS: Tex Mex. Fun atmosphere. We had munchies and appetizers. Good.

BUCCANEER BEACH BAR: Excellent burgers and pizza. Best BBC on the island!!!

ZEE BEST: I felt this was an expensive breakfast. Good, but nothing special. IMHO.

TAP 5 PIZZA: As I mentioned above, we got take out at Orient Beach at the restaurant behind Bikini. Best pizza of our visit.

CHERIS: Sat down for lunch. Staff was rude and slow. Tables were sticky. Flies everywhere. Looked at the menu and saw $18 for a lunch-sized chicken salad!! Way too much in a place that had plastic tables and chairs, sticky tables, flies, etc. We got up and left.

PASTA CAFÉ: Friendly service. Good prices. Excellent pasta and pizza. No complaints here.

LEE’S: Went there our first day and did not return. Worst burger Steve said he had in his life. Mahi Mahi was not very good. Very lively at night though. Seemed like people were having a ball there. May be we should have given it a second chance.

LIDO’s: What can I say? Excellent ribs and chicken. Way too much food. Very cheap. This is a must!

THE BOATHOUSE: Loved this place. Very nice wait staff. Excellent food. We sat by the water and watched the fish. Wish we went sooner in our stay, as we would have went back.

SUNSET BEACH BAR: We did not eat here. How cool is that watching the planes?! Way over priced. We bought drinks for the boys and one beer each for ourselves. We had a cooler in the car and parked on the road. We kept going back and getting beers from the cooler. Steve and I went back one night for a few drinks and to listen to the band. All in all, I’m glad we went to watch the planes, but really this place is no big deal.

BAMBOO BERNIES: What fun! Went on ladies night. Free mudslides, beer, and margaritas for the ladies. Great music and dancing. It was packed. Great atmosphere. It’s like you’re in the jungle.

HIDDEN FOREST CAFÉ: This was at Lotterie Farm. Excellent food and presentation. Just delicious. Nothing else to say. Would definitely return. Nice staff.

MISC:

For you runners out there: Our son will be a high school senior and is a distance runner. He was out the door by 5:30-6:00 a.m. every day. He ran past the airport on some days, but on most days he would run past Lido’s (I don’t know the name of the area or roads), make a right, and run up the hill past that little “Jewish trailer/worship site” (great photo op by the way) and past the round about and back. Some days he would turn around at the bottom of the hill and do it again. Great work out.

Boys rented wave runners a few times. They had a blast.

LOTTERIE FARM: Glad we did it. I am 43 and was going to sit out and let the boys and Steve do the obstacle course. I’m really not athletic at all. They boys begged me to go with them so I did. It was challenging for me, but so much fun! It rained a little so some things were a little slippery. It was so humid and hot!!! I highly recommend this. We all had a great time. For all you “older” moms: Do it. You will be so proud of yourself when you’re done.

TTOL PARTY: This was at BBB. Thank you to Robbie for planning this. Steve and I met a lot of friendly people. We only stayed a short time, but enjoyed every minute.

MA DOU DOU FACTORY: Found it. What a nice lady that runs it. Once we were in the general vicinity we found signs and went right to it. We bought 8 large bottles and she said we could have 1 more for free. We also bought a smaller bottle, candy, and shot glasses. These were souvenirs for our friends back home. Stopped in after our Lotterie Farm trip. Same general area.

MARIGOT MARKET: Just OK. Rude vendors. They did not want to bargain. Most were not very friendly. Some got mad when we did not buy from their stand. Some yelled at us not to touch anything we were not going to buy. We did have a very good lunch there at a roadside stand. Glad we went, but probably would not return.

FORT LOUIS: What a view. We took some great pics.

RIMA STORE: Bargains. Bargains. Bargains. They have mainly a lot of jewelry and clothes.

We had an absolutely fabulous time. All of your knowledge on this site really helped me prepare. Steve kept thanking me for being so organized and for planning a wonderful vacation. So I want to say Thank You to all of you for helping me plan the perfect vacation.

We took a bunch of pics and I’m hoping to post them soon….if I can figure out how. But, this is already over due and I wanted to post it as soon as I finished. Hopefully the pics will follow very soon.

Lynne