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Trip Report 10/26-11/6

Posted By: freedomfighter

Trip Report 10/26-11/6 - 11/09/2021 11:34 PM

This was our 20th vacation in SXM since 2004. I believe it was the best yet!

We used the BinaxNOW AG home proctored Covid tests on Sunday afternoon, before our Tuesday flight. Testing was quick and easy. Had results a few minutes after completing the tests. If you are unvaxed and need to test, these are the way to go. Just remember that your test results are password protected. If you upload to EHAS in that form, they will not be able to view them. I printed ours, scanned them, saved them as a PDF and uploaded that version to EHAS. Had approval in a few hours.

Drove to Miami on Monday, checked into EB Hotel where we had a stay, park, fly package booked. Our best friends met us at the hotel and we had a leisurely dinner at Ruth Chris in Coral Gables, which is maybe 10 minutes away from the hotel. Tuesday morning we all four piled into the hotel shuttle at 7:30 for a 10:30 flight. On this day, we could have left an hour later. However, we were all flying business class and we all have Global Entry/TSA precheck. Both of those save time. American flight was great, other than the HORRIBLE food choices that they were serving. It took a couple of rum and cokes to get rid of the fowl taste of the airplane food!

Immigration was quick and easy. Michael's guys from Unity Car Rental were waiting for us, as they had on 19 previous trips. Unity is the only company I have ever used. Service is friendly, prices are reasonable, and Michael is a great guy! We rented two SUVs and were off to Villa Monte Verde in the Hope Hill Estates part of Orient Bay.
https://www.skyluxuryrentals.com/vacation-rental-home.asp?PageDataID=72339
We have stayed at Monte Verde numerous times, as well as the villas on either side, Belle Vue and Albacore. All three villas have AMAZING, unobstructed views of the water from Pinel to St Barts. All three have 4 master bedrooms (nearly identical), large kitchens, family rooms and private pools with complete privacy. We were there for 11 nights.
We spent our days either at the pool gazing at the amazing view, or on Orient Beach listening to the waves. Took the wives shopping in Marigot one day to keep them happy.

Our best friends love to cook, so they would spoil us with amazing creations each morning for breakfast. I would usually pick up croissants at the Good Morning bakery in the village and my best friend would turn them into delicious breakfast sandwiches filled with cheese, bacon, marinated meats and even lobster! They also cooked for us three nights for dinner. What a treat! We also had Emma from Fabulous Feasts deliver us dinner two nights. Her food is always exceptional! If you haven't given Emma a try, you are missing out! https://fabulousfeasts.com/saint-martin-f-w-i/saint-martin-food-to-go/
We also had dinner at Bistro Caraibes twice. We all loved their fresh red snapper and my favorite, lobster thermidor. Dined at Ocean 82 once. Good meal and great service, view and atmosphere. Visited Le Piment twice for dinner. Food was good, but not quite up to past trips. They are under new management, and sadly, Sarah sold her interest in the restaurant and has moved on. HUGE LOSS for Le Piment in my opinion. Dined at Sao (next door to Le Piment) on our last night. Not my favorite type of food, but Sarah was working there that night, which made it all worthwhile! Had lunch once at Aloha on Orient Beach as per Sarah's suggestion. OMG, the food was delicious, the portions were enormous, and the service was impeccable! We will definitely return to Aloha on future trips!

We used the BinaxNOW proctored tests, again, before our return flight. Uploaded the results into the Verifly app that we all had on our phones. Talk about easy!!!!! I will always use Verifly from now on. Never had to show anyone our negative covid tests at the SXM airport. Just showed them the Pass in our Verifly app and we were straight to the ticket counter. Flight to Miami was great, other than the same awful food selections on the plane. When we landed in Miami the temperature was in the 60s and windy. We were in shorts and t shirts and freezing! Yes, we are Florida natives and proud of it!

Anyway, we had a fabulous time sharing our favorite island with our favorite friends. They, and the fact that it was our longest stay on the island, made it the best trip yet!
If you want to see pics and videos, search johntnorwood on Instagram.
Posted By: jazzgal

Re: Trip Report 10/26-11/6 - 11/10/2021 12:06 AM

The villa looks gorgeous. Thanks for the nice report - sounds like a great trip!
Posted By: Colour1

Re: Trip Report 10/26-11/6 - 11/12/2021 11:34 AM

Nice trip report, right to the point!! WOW that is an amazing villa!!! Sounds like you and your group had the perfect vacation!! Posting photo's here isn't that difficult, if I can do it! LOL!!
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