First trip report have read so many - hope I can remember all the details

Friday August 15th
Delta JFK to SXM - great flight arrived early around 12:50
Unity Car rental waiting for us took 1/2 the group to Royal Islander and then came back for rest - went to do paperwork and back at Royal be 2:00
Food in both rooms - thanks Jeannie - she split the groceries without even asking
made sandwiches and off to the beach - great weather and a fun couple hours between pool and ocean to start the vacation
All nine of us off to Jimbo's for diner - first time - won't be the last - great service - above average food - the ribs were great
Back to Royal were some went to Casino and I went to Piano Bar Sopranos with my daughter - great time Spencer was very good and the girl bartenders a blast

Saturday August 16th
Rainy day on and off, but better than working a lazy day at beach and pool - lunch in room and off to IZI for dinner - great time - wonderful service - food good but not great, but overall a good time - off to Carousel for gelato - very good - back to Royal and another night at Casino, and back to Soprano's for me

Sunday August 17th
Nice weather and another day at pool and beach - with 9 of us ranging from 12 to 82 - it is perfect spot at Royal Islander to be able to bounce back and fourth - Lunch at Royal Islander was very good, great service as usual
Dinner was in Grand Case at Aglio Olio for pizza - wow great service and some of the best pizza I have ever had - thin crust - we will be back thats for sure - once again back to Casino, I spent the night in - wife won 6 out of 9 nights so that helped pay for some of the vacation (always helps)

Monday August 18th
Dropped some off in Philipsburg and the rest of us were going zip lining, but my 12 year old niece got car sick and I had to bring her back to get cleaned up, I did drop the others off for zip lining, so my day consisted of 5 hours of driving on the island - had fun except for the clean up part - but again beats being at work
Monday night was off to Cheri's for our annual birthday party for my son - he loves it - food decent and service was very good - had a great time as usual - off to casino for some and Sopranos for others (including me)

Tuesday August 19th
Back to pool and ocean, quick ride to Blue Mall - just to check it out (not much there) lunch at Sunset Beach Bar (packed) service and food was good
At dinner we split and my in laws took the younger ones to Pizza Pasta - they said service and food were very good, while my wife and I took our daughter and her friend to Pizza Pascal (Grand Case) - service was outstanding, but we were all disappointed in our meals, it was our first time - we usually do Ill Nettino, but with new owners we decided not to - once again, wife to Casino and me to Sopranos

Wednesday August 20th
Rainy on and off but not bad in the morning, lunch at Driftwood (excellent) and a quick ride to Philipsburg to pick up some alcohol and cigars, some other items also
Dinner for me and my father in law was at La Rosa - very good food and service - will be back while the rest went to 3 amigos, they said food was very good service just so so - the usual nightcap of Casino and Sopranos

Thursday
great weather day, although we talked about going to Mullet, never seemed to happen, tough getting people to want to go elsewhere, the beach to Royal Islander seemed wider than most years, so I think everyone was happy just being lazy - worked for me - Lunch was split, some back to room, some to Drift and others to Sunset
Dinner was at Sopranos, good service, food okay - will probably not go back - then again wife and in-laws to Casino and me to Sopranos

Friday August 22nd
Same great weather and another lazy day around pool mostly as the red flag was out - lunch in the room
Dinner was split the kids to Ascot - said not very good and wife in in-laws to LaGandola (first time since David sold it) - we all thought food and service was poor - will not be back - the usual night casino and piano bar

Saturday August 23rd
Last full day - so it was lazy (I think everyone was getting depressed about leaving) - we did not get to the pool until almost noon - lunch at Royal Islander - great weather and a day for beers around the pool
Dinner was at Boca Marine - first time and a great time - great food and very good service, also reasonable prices - all 9 of us liked our meals - we will be back

Sunday August 24th
Check out by 10 and at airport by noon - not a bad flight but a little bumpy - got home safe and we all agreed there is nothing like Sint Maarten - hopefully we will al be back next year

I know it sounds boring not going to other beaches but it worked for us this year
Things I noticed:
Bridge has helped traffic a lot
Seemed busier than has last few years in August
Food did not seem to be as good as usual - maybe we picked the wrong places