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Caribbean Travel RoundupNewsletter - Paul Graveline, Editor |
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Trip 7/98 Edie and I have returned from trip #18 to St. Martin. In a word: Wonderful, relaxing, exciting, paradise found....Well one word never seems adequate when I describe this island <g>. I will try to get you all updated on all of the news, gossip, weather and happening down island...next stop...the friendly island....... Weather The first thing you notice when you get off of the plane..its hot! The locals tell me several record high temperatures have been set recently..I also heard on the radio that the entire Caribbean is about 3 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year. Average daily highs were in the low 90's. The lowest temperature I saw during our 10 day stay was 83 degrees late one night. Of course that steady 14 MPH wind makes it delightful especially at night. Overall we had terrific weather with only one day somewhat rainy. Brief rain showers at night were only a welcome addition during our stay. News Every trip seems to bring a story or three that grabs the islands attention and amuses the tourist. This trip was no exception. Let me tell you a tale of...tinting. Yes that's right... tinting as in cars windows. All other earthly problems pale to insignificance when compared to the evils of having a car with tinted windows. Well maybe not but someone in Holland determined that to be the case. At first glance the logic seems sound. People could be transporting drugs or illegals in their heavily tinted cars and the police cannot see in, which could also pose a safety problem for St. Martin's finest. Also the drivers cannot see out as well causing potential hazards. (Hmmmm...passing 5 cars going uphill should also be considered a potential hazard but that's another story!). Any hooo...the word came down from Holland (with little discussion) that as of July 1st it would be illegal to drive a car with tinted windows on St. Martin. The first day this law went into affect over 200 drivers were given tickets. Gosh, that must have kept St. Martin's police force of 3 officers and a bicycle awfully busy <g>...Two problems immediately arose. First there is the problem with the fact that the French side of the island has no such law and the French did not appreciate being ticketed when they drove 100 yards down the road onto the Dutch side. Secondly, when locals went to the car dealerships to get untinted windshields and glass for their vehicles...you guessed it...none available mon! Dealers were on the radio saying no one had consulted with them about this new law and that it would take several months to get them in stock. Meanwhile locals are getting ticketed everyday for not complying...soon cars begin appearing with NO windshield or rear view glass or windows being spray painted. Your normal chaotic, laughable situation on my beloved island. Soon the government is on the radio and TV amending the law to only apply to heavily tinted windows and giving lightly tinted windows until September 1st to be replaced. Once more St. Martin had done the unthinkable...made the U.S. government seem efficient and well run by comparison! To Be continued.... Restaurant Report No trip to SXM would be complete without sampling the gourmet charms of the island. Here are some of the places we visited during our stay: Cheri's - Not five star but always fun to people watch at. A chicken salad, cheeseburger and onion rings was only OK for $28. As was the case all over the island, Cheri's was very unbusy. LA Croissanterie - You knew I'd go here for breakfast and croissants, right? The owner laughed at my T-Shirt which proclaimed "Joan of Arc is alive and medium well!" Couldn't get a free croissant for the laugh though... Tutta Pasta - Had a very good meal of Neopolitan Lasagna and Pasta with peas/sausages..Yummy at $31. Warren always the cordial host gave us complimentary drinks Talk of the Town - Had to take my son and a neighbor to experience authentic SXM cuisine at this popular lolo. A dinner of ribs, chicken, rice and peas, crab, johhny cakes for 4 came to a very reasonable $35. The ladies now call me Mr. Bruce so I have transcended that boundary and have become a regular... Brasserie De La Gare - Had a disappointing (semi burnt) goat cheese pizza. The evening was somewhat rescued by a creme carmel flamed on top at our table which was really excellent. $30. St. Germain - located next door to the Le Crossanterrie, we had an excellent breakfast of apple crepes and French toast for $16. Its a nice way to start the morning, reading the chronicle and the French coffee is guaranteed to wake you up Don Carlos - one of the best meals this trip. Believe it or not even after 17 previous trips, this was my first time at this restaurant. A very pleasant first time experience. The Cuban black bean soup was perhaps the best I've ever had. The chicken Caesar salad and snapper in lemon butter were also excellent. At $30 this place is a definite keeper. Yvette's - Located in Orleans, I have never had a bad meal here. This trip was no exception. The curried goat meat and Chicken Stew (St. Martin style) were up to Yvette's normal excellent standards. Le Bistrot NU - Located on a back street in Marigot, this was also a first time restaurant experience for us. Edie and I give it two thumbs up. The curried chicken was good and the grilled tuna was very good at $32. The French owner was beside himself as France won a very close world cup match to advance. I hope the poor fellow survived France winning the world cup a week later. Needless to say the French were (rightfully) extremely proud of their team and talked of little else. Viva La France!!!! Indiana Beach Edie and I ended our eating Odyssey with a dinner of French onion soup, goat cheese salad and spaghetti bolognaise which was only fair at $31. The service was slow but because it was our last night on the island, we had ample time to enjoy the view across Pelican bay..... Snorkeling There seems to always be 3 spots that are favorite locations for snorkeling on SXM. Green Caye, Pinel island and Bae Rouge. Having a couple of "rookies" along on this trip, Bae Rouge won hands down over the other 2 sites. The snorkeling near the Rock "arch" on the North side of Bar Rouge was the best I have ever seen it over the last 10 years. Calm waters and extremely clear conditions made this a highlight my son and our neighbor will always remember. Twenty Something Report Normally a report of this nature is about 20 years out of my league but I not only had two twenty something boys with me on this trip but also we were visited by my twenty something Niece. She dropped in for a couple of days from St. Kitts where she is studying to be a veterinarian. Curiously enough, she took the opportunity on the island to go to McDonalds, Pizza Hut, etc. to get caught up on American fast food which is not available on St. Kitts. I found this very ironic to say the least. Anyway the twenty something crowd did some serious research on where the best places to hang out and meet other singles on the island are located. Their favorite place was Indiana Beach because of the number of other people their age group, best music and ambiance. Coming in second was Sunset Bar located next to Millenium on the beach in front of the airport. Curiously enough, they did not like Music News Cafe not only because it was dead but also because they thought it was not a "safe" atmosphere. Another thing missing in St. Martin was the all night coffee shop that they are used to in the U.S. They did find a bakery shop somewhere in Marigot that was open until 3 AM but did not catch its name. One other comment: the two guys were impressed by the gal/guy ratio which favored the guys. The fact that my son is fluent in French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese was also a big plus especially with the French ladies<g>. Commercials The locally made commercials on the St. Maarten cable station are an absolute "must see" TV. This may sound crazy but all of us were rolling on the floor watching them. They are absolutely hilarious and I highly recommend them. We especially liked the commercial advertising the local lottery which has three winning lines: Big D, Middle D and little D. Big D was a muscle bound guy who flexed his physique. Middle D was an average guy who shrugged and little D was a wimpy guy who could only give an anemic thumbs up sign. My kids wanted to go to the local cable station and try to get an autographed poster, but we ran out of time. Another interesting aspect of local TV was watching the local news. Basically it was someone with a camcorder supplying the footage most of the time. If you get a chance, check out the local St. Maarten cable station for a cheap nights entertainment. To emulate Little D, Edie and I give it "two thumbs up"! Butterfly Farm As always we visited the butterfly farm to get our usual dose of tranquillity and to learn new facts about these most beautiful creatures. John once more supplied new and informative information in a very humor laden English style. We were amazed how much the flora has grown since April which now requires daily trimming to keep it in check. Edie and I always recommend this stop for people who love nature. Other News Another item of local interest is the stories that LaBelle Creole is paying former employees various sums of money to end the labor dispute. Claims of "hush money" being given surfaced several times in the local paper. Whether or not this is true remains to be seen but the good news is that it appears that the impasse at LaBelle Creole appears to be heading toward some sort of resolution. The other local news that was the subject of discussion was the fact that tourism is way down this summer from normal levels. The news on the street is that the local St. Martin department of tourism did not advertise enough this year in South America to pull that market in. Additionally, the outrageous prices that American Airlines is charging is really hurting American tourism to the island. Considering that the Tower airline deal to St. Martin has fallen through many locals are again voicing their discontent with American Airlines stranglehold on competition to the island. Stay tuned! Well that's about it. Another 10 days spent in paradise. We did a lot, met a number of friends, made new ones and generally had a great time. What else could one ask of a vacation? Perhaps another one? Let's see who may days till Edie's February school break?...Better give our travel agent a call pretty soon.....
Trip 5/98 After we cleared customs and picked up our luggage (both were fast and no problem) our Conquest representative greeted us by name. We were impressed but later discovered that we were the only couple with pink Conquest tags (Le Flamboyant bound) so I guess we were not too hard to spot. The bus driver took our bags and led us to the bus. The trip to the hotel gave us our first indication of the state of St. Martin vehicles. Even the new ones are in bad shape. First gear and turning off the air conditioning was needed to climb the only hill on route, and this was with a total of four people on the bus. The Hotel The Flamboyant has a lot going for it. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained. Every morning we saw staff grooming the beach and gardens to remove any garbage or wind blown debris. The beach on the lagoon is not bad. The hotel supplies beach towels and chair pads and there are many cabanas for shade. The lagoon is a good spot to try water sports that many of us could not master on rough seas. The hotel has, tennis courts, kayaks, wind surfing, small sailboats, paddle boats, and snorkel equipment at no charge. Water skiing, scuba diving, and wave runners are available at extra cost from the Sea Dolphin dive shop, which is on site at the hotel. The hotel also has two pools. One is by the bar, and seems to be the centre of activity at the hotel. It has large speakers playing a mix of good but loud music and is constantly interrupted by announcements from the hotel staff. The other is identical but more secluded, and also has a Jacuzzi. We rarely spent time at either of the pools, but the beach was good for short term lounging. There are scheduled activities for each day, but we preferred to be on our own. The hotel staff were always friendly and helpful, and seem to work long hours. Entry to the grounds is controlled by a security guard who activates a railroad type gate to allow vehicles to pass. We also noticed security cameras throughout the grounds and on the beach. The Room Our unit was a "lagoon view junior suite" on the second (top) floor of a four unit building. The room was fairly large with one king size bed and a 10" or 12" television. Who really cares about the TV, but a larger one would have been appreciated on those rainy nights. The kitchen was outside on the balcony. It had a two burner (with one knob) hot plate, a small bar fridge, a dishwasher, a coffee maker, a toaster oven, and a toaster. The lagoon view units come at a premium, but the other units could give you a nice view of the gardens, or the parking lot, or the road. So, if you don't get a lagoon view, ask specifically, what the view will be from your particular unit. The room was a little run down. Nothing major, just some dents, a difficult to flush toilet, and generally showing its age. The room was fine, but probably due for a renovation. Hotel Food It was Sunday, and we got settled in at around 2:30 p.m. only to find that the restaurant did not reopen until 7:00 p.m. All we had eaten that day was breakfast on the plane, so we were STARVING. Everything nearby was closed. We were waiting at the gate for the restaurant to open at 7:00. The food was fine but not close to anything else we had on the French side. For breakfast buffet is the only offering. It was once again ok. but grossly overpriced at 88f. We preferred to have toast and coffee on our balcony, but may have eaten there occasionally if a lower priced a la carte alternative was offered. They do offer various meal plans that help get the cost down, but the real problem was that we wanted a lighter breakfast and did not want to eat at the hotel too often. Monday After the previously mentioned breakfast at the hotel, we picked up some supplies (water, soft drinks, beer etc.)at the strip plaza nearby and lounged on the lagoon beach until lunch. Lunch at La Parilla across the road from the hotel. Very good food and nice atmosphere, friendly staff and complimentary rum liqueur after. Having now eaten twice on the island I asked if there was a reason why we never received the bill until we asked for it. It was explained to us that the bill is produced as soon as you indicate that you are finished ordering, but it would be considered rude to try to rush you out by giving you the bill. From then on some indication that you wish to leave, such as a simple nod to any of the wait staff, would bring the check. Dinner at Jardin Tropical beside the Texaco near the hotel. Since we had a large lunch we ordered individual pizzas. These were large and we used the leftovers for lunch the next day. They were different than the pizza we are used to in that the cheese was very strong and rich tasting. They were still very good pizzas. Tuesday Breakfast at Le Swan. Juice, coffee, croissant, and French bread. Car Rental - Checked out some nearby car rentals and found the best deal at Executive Car Rental at the hotel. The car came equipped with a security device needed to start the car and "the club". We are glad that we did not arrange the rental in advance. This way we got to see the car and check it over before renting it. Some (most)of the cars are wrecks. On the next Saturday we saw several broken down cars that were probably just rented by new arrivals. Having a bad car forced on you is not a good way to start your vacation. Gus rentals tried to tell us that the insurance was compulsory, which of course, with a gold card is not true. Prices seem to vary widely, so if you have the time, shop and negotiate the prices on everything you want, including liquor and day trips. Dinner at La Parilla. We had steak and shrimp that was again excellent. Creme brulee for desert was fabulous, but one each was too much. (We ate them anyway) Wednesday Now that we had a car we went into Marigot and had breakfast at Zee Best. The owner is from Montreal. This is a very popular spot for breakfast and it is easy to see why. The owner really makes you feel welcome and the food is perfect. We took a drive up to Grand Case area to see our second and third choice hotels, the Alezia and the Grand Case Beach Club. Our first and continued impression of the drivers on this island is that they are BAD, they do not know how to drive or park, and show no courtesy whatsoever. We will probably stay at the Alezia next time. It is not on the beach, but now that we know our way around, the location will not be a problem. The Grand Case was also nice, but the Alezia was luxurious and very quite (dead) on both of our visits. Lunch back at the hotel on our balcony. Dinner at Le Swan. Burgers, fries, and beer. Thursday Split the day between the lagoon beach and Baie Rouge. Baie Rouge was our favorite and we returned there many times. It has two beach bars and pretty good snorkeling. You can rent chairs and umbrellas, but at $5 each, we bought a beach umbrella that came in handy at beaches with no facilities. Next to Orient beach, this was the only one that had more than a couple of people on it. It was not crowded, but it was nice to see some other people around. The parking here was patrolled by security guards. We never saw or experienced any crime while on the island, but it looks like there must have been some problems, and they are taking the action to protect their visitors. Dinner at Tatoo right outside the hotel grounds. Oriental Chicken and by far the best fajitas that I have ever had. We liked this place so much that we returned there for our farewell dinner. Oriental chicken again and Prime Rib on the barbecue. For desert, we shared a creme brulee made with coconut milk. While scouting places during the day for dinner later that evening, Tatoo and others appear boarded up and out of business. Not true, later you may find that they are open and actually quite nice inside. Also, there seems to be no schedules, places are closed some nights and open others, so don't assume they are out of business just because they are closed one night. Friday Made the trip into Phillipsburg. Do not attempt to drive on Front Street or Back Street. These streets should be for pedestrian traffic only. We parked by the Great Salt Pond and walked from there. A cruise ship was in and the streets and stores were very busy. Note that by now we consider ourselves "true islanders" and resent the "cruisers" invading the leisurely pace of our vacation. Had lunch at Everything's Cool. The owners are from Toronto and will take Canadian dollars at par (we did not bring any). The food was fine and they also have a nice beach. Phillipsburg seems to be 80% jewelry stores, and 10% T-shirt stores. The place was a bit of a zoo, with people at each storefront trying to lure you in with discount flyers and sales pitches. It should be experienced if only to contrast the laid back and relatively tranquil atmosphere of the French side. Dinner at Messillana in Marigot, was very good. The balance of our vacation was more of the same (lounging and eating). We checked out several beaches but only sunbathed and swam at Baie Rouge, Baie Longue, and Grand Case. A special treat for me was scuba diving for my first and second time. The first dive after some instruction in the pool was at Creole Rock off Grand Case (30ft. deep). The second dive was at the wreck of the Greogory II off of Cupecoy Beach (60ft. deep). Thierry at the Sea Dolphin dive shop was a very good instructor and made me feel comfortable and safe. Dawn beach looked to be very good for snorkeling, but was too rough on the day that we were there. We settled for beers at Scavengers Beach Bar. The weather was perfect for the first week, but the second week brought rougher seas and nightly storms. We had scheduled a day trip to Anguilla, but the trip was canceled due to a problem with the boat. (I think we were relieved.) The sometimes severe storms at night made us reluctant to drive to Grand Case to try the highly rated restaurants there. Other places we ate included: At the marina in Marigot: Jean Dupont Les Cocotiers Le St. Germaine Other Marigot: Le Charolais Grand Case LoLo (rib shack #2) All of our meals on the French side were excellent. Dutch Side: Sambuca deserves a special mention (a BAD one). Dinner was very average, about on a par with the Olive Garden. We went there for breakfast one day and had the worst, rudest waitress that I have ever encountered. Wouldn't you know that this was the only place we ate that added a 15% service charge to the bill. It is probably the only way they would ever get a tip. Cheri's was not very good. We ate early and on the weekend, so it may be better at night when there is more action. They are near the airport, and on the weekend the smell and taste of jet fuel was quite strong. Tips and suggestions A boat trip around the island and lagoon may be the best way to see all of the beaches. Try a four wheel drive vehicle if you plan to travel off of the main paved road. Time Share salespeople can become irritating. We seemed to get them in bunches a few times. They usually start with "Do you speak English? How are you enjoying your trip?" If you reply, "I am really enjoying it except for all the people trying to sell me timeshares" and experience a stunned look or prolonged silence, then you have probably ferreted out another salesperson. They will promise you the world if you just sit through their 45 minute presentation. My vacation time is too valuable for whatever they are offering.
Trip 7/98 Just returned from 3 weeks and 2 days in paradise. We left our house at 4AM on June 30 in order to make a 7AM flight out of Philly. We had to change planes in Miami. We left Philly on time and arrived early in Miami. However, the flight out of Miami was delayed over a hour due to heavy air traffic in NY, which the flight originated. When we arrived in SXM I was impressed. An airline employee met me at the bottom of the stairs with my wheelchair and escorted Ed and I through immigration. We went to the head of the line and were through there in no time. When we reached the baggage area, one of the baggage handlers who works there came over and told me to identify our luggage and he would take it out to our car. I told him we had to find our car and he said he already knew where it was parked. Service like this is nice <g>. We arrived at Pelican just before 4PM. We were supposed to have a studio unit, but because of my handicap the staff put us in a 2 bedroom unit in the D building. It did make it easier for me to get to and we were able to park right in front of the unit. The unit was lovely. The kitchen was NOT equipped very well and had no toaster. Sylma (our island friend) came to our rescue by lending us a toaster oven, which we used for the duration of the trip. This unit was really very nice and just across the street from a pool. After we settled in Sylma came by and brought us all the stuff we keep on the island, i.e. my hair dryer, beach towels, etc. along with some groceries which she always gets for us to have upon arrival. We settled into this lovely unit and spent the next 5 days there. We did NOTHING special, but spent the whole day doing that <g>. I am doing this report in parts so that I can report on each place we stayed at, the restaurants and shopping, and some personal comments. Each Friday during our trip Sylma would arrive in the morning and take all our dirty laundry, which she did, then returned it cleaned and folded the next day after we settled into our next unit at our next resort. This trip was an adventure and really quite enjoyable, even if we were like criminals on the run <g>. On Saturday, July 4 we checked out of Pelican, Sylma stored our freezer and fridge stuff, as well as our luggage. We spent each Saturday between check out time at one place and check in time at the next place, hanging out at Frank & Nina's house. The Pelican is nice, but my only complaint is that it is a hilly property and not easy to negotiate in a wheelchair. If it's Saturday, it must be moving day <g>. We checked out of Pelican at 10AM. Sylma arrived promptly at 9:30 AM, stored our luggage in her car promising to deliver it to us at our new "digs". We spent the time between moves visiting Frank & Nina at there home. This would become a weekly ritual. Around 4PM we checked into Divi Little Bay. I must comment at this point that each resort did whatever was possible to accommodate my handicap. None of the resorts are truly handicap friendly, however, each resort did go out of their way to help me. At Divi we were assigned a lovely one bedroom unit just opposite the pool. The living room faced Great Bay and the bedroom faced Little Bay. All the units here have been rebuilt after the storm and the resort is lovely. The unit had a bathroom plus a half bath. The bathroom in the master bedroom had a jacuzzi tub plus a separate shower. My only complaint here was that the kitchen was a galley type and not too wide so I had a bit of a problem rolling through in my wheelchair. However, this property was perhaps the nicest kept of all we visited. Each morning the gardeners were out with hoses watering the vegetation. The hoses were not the usual garden variety, but rather more like a fireman's hose. The grounds were lovely. One cute and funny incident. When we checked in I was informed that they had 2 hadicapped parking spots and they gave me a photocopy of the universal handicap sign. However, the spots we always taken by cars without any handicap indication. I figured that since I got a photocopy of a sign, the cars parked illegally probably got a photocopy of a parking ticket <g>. The security at the resort was VERY good and no one was allowed to visit us without the front desk calling us first. Also, since the parking spots were not generally available to us the guards had us park right in front of the office so the walk to our room was short. They also permitted Ed to drive me to the door. Most days were spent by the pool for me and in the ocean for Ed. It was also a nice spot to watch the cruise ships come in and leave. The units were nicely furnished and pretty well equipped. At this point we had been on the island since Tuesday and not been food shopping yet. Sylma did see that we had milk, coffee, bread, butter and a few other things. For the most part we just ate out. This is the first trip that I cooked only ONE meal. Annie was right about the kitchens. July 11. Well, if it's Saturday it must be moving day <g>. Sylma arrived promptly at 9:30 AM, cooler in hand, and took all our fridge and freezer stuff, along with our luggage, promising to meet us at our next location at 4PM. We left Divi around 10AM and did a rather quick shopping trip. Went to Gold Coin, my store of choice on the island. I don't buy much jewelry, but do add to my Swarovski collection rather regularly. This trip I did want a new watch. I need a watch with a black face and gold hands because my vision is not too good. I found a lovely Seiko that I like and got it at a price I felt was good. While I was there I did add to my crystal collection and also bought my friend a piece for her upcoming birthday. We also stopped at the Windmill shop and bought the grandkids tee shirts. I also bought some for myself. Where else can I get tee shirts 3 for $10. I wear them when I'm home and if I get a stain on one I just throw it out. After our short shopping trip we again hung out with Frank & Nina. They are good friends and we really enjoy their company. Around 4PM we headed over to the Flamingo Beach. We were originally supposed to get a one bedroom unit on the second floor. However, Sylma's sister, who is also a friend of ours, works there and said that the elevators are forever breaking down and we should request a ground floor unit, which I did. The person at the registration desk was very nice and did give us a ground floor unit, apologizing for the fact that it was a studio and not a one bedroom. This unit was LOVELY, The living room area was huge. Of all the places we stayed, this unit was the most handicapped friendly. Our deck had 3 steps that lead down to the beach. We were in the unit less then 15 minutes when management had a ramp installed so I could get down easily. Sylma arrived promptly at 4PM with our luggage, food and clean laundry. Sure wish I had this woman here <g>. Today Sylma arrived with her sister Sylvia, who works at Flamingo. They both made sure we had EVERYTHING. Ed wanted a couple of extra pillows. We ended up with SEVEN! One thing I really liked about this place was that the towels in the bathroom were bath sheets instead of those small bath towels. My body doesn't fit in bath towels! Annie are you listening? The TV in the living room area (there were 2 TV's in the unit) was closed captioned. Of all the places we stayed, this one was the nicest in terms of being a bit roomier and easier for me to get around in. Divi was probably the nicest unit, but I prefer to be on the airport side of the mountain. Ed is having some vision problems so night driving is a problem so we stayed close to home base in the evenings.
Trip 8/98 After 9 cruises in 6 years, this was our first land trip in a decade. We booked through Liberty travel which resulted in a lower airfare portion then if we had booked the components separately. After reading the various comments on this board, the RT airfare of $575 pp seemed reasonable, (using American both ways) from Newark to SXM with a stop at Miami going down and San Juan returning. The land portion for two totaled $644 and included 5 nights at the Mont Vernon hotel, located at the northern end of Orient Bay, a full breakfast buffet, transfers to and from the airport, a coupon book full of $10-off coupons (more on this later), and a rental car from Hertz for two days. The rental car did not include insurance, which cost $13 per day with a $500 deductible or $20 with no deductible. After seeing how isolated the resort was, we added two days onto the rental car, at a cost of $20 per day. With full insurance, the cost was $40 a day plus gas. The flight down was un-eventful and the plane arrived on time. We did not realize that there was no direct tube connection to the terminal and that an outside stairway was necessary. Regulars obviously are aware of quirks like this and don't mention it in their posts. I feel that stuff like this should be mentioned just to alert people like us who have never traveled to the Island except by cruise ship. The transfer from the airport to the hotel took some time as the driver was taking 4 traveling parties to 4 different hotels and we were last off as the Mont Vernon is all the way to the north. The air conditioning on the bus wasn't working (what else is new in the Caribbean). The Mont Vernon is charmingly set on a hill overlooking Orient Bay and the sea. We had a large spacious room with a wonderful view of the water and the Orient salt pond. The room had a nice recessed terrace which allowed us to sit out at night in our best Club Orient attire and observe the view. Be warned however that the hotel is located on a VERY hilly plot of land which means that it is the equivalent of 5 or 6 stories high just to go from the beach area to the main building. To move around the resort the choices were to use the direct steep stone stairways cut into the hill or the meandering gently sloped roads used by the hotel service vehicles. Most people parked their cars on the perimeter road running around the resort at the level of their building and walked along the service road to their room. Also, all the rooms were in 3 story buildings, similar to a motel, with a single plank bridge from the pathway to the outside walkway of the building. When we walked from where we parked the car we had to walk uphill past our room which was at the South end of the building to the North end of the building which connected the pathway to the building walkway, cross over to our building and walk back down the outside of the building to the southern tip. The other two levels of the building were reached by stairways from the plank level. The hotel did have an enormous fresh water pool with a walled off wading section for tots and a large beachfront on Orient Bay. The surf was quite rough hitting the hotel property, not as gentle as down the Bay by Club Orient where we hung out most of the time. We observed that most of the people staying at the hotel were French family groups, children and all. The mothers with young kids had a ball pushing the strollers up and down the mountain all week. The hotel staff spoke French and English but most of the French guests didn't speak anything but French, which was another reason we hung out at Club Orient's beach. The hotel was wired 220V with round plugs and a grounding pin. The hotel didn't have any adopters available, neither did the store located on the hotel grounds. We eventually located an adopter at an electronics store in Philipsburg; the gizmo didn't accept the grounding pin so the store gave us a spacer. This meant that it was a loose fit and the plug had to be held in and wedged while being used. We overheard the few other Americans in the hotel planning shopping trips to buy European-spec hairdryers. Not a friendly situation; if the hotel wants US citizens to fill it up in the low season, Xenophobic stuff like this is not the way to go. Since we did not get our rental car until the next morning we ate supper at the hotel the first night. The hotel offers a supper buffet , with a different theme each night. This meal at best could be described as adequate and just reinforced our desire to extend the rental car contract for the full visit to get the desired mobility. The food was OK, the desserts terrific (the chocolate croissants went FAST!!) The breakfast buffet was better (no crepes, though), with the chocolate croissants going even faster than at the night buffet. Breakfast ran from 7-10 in the morning, the dinner buffet ran from 7 - 10. Friday morning, after securing the rental car, a new clean Hyundai Accent with auto and working a/c, we headed into Philipsburg to acquire trinkets for the lady and toys for hubby, along with the much- needed 220-110 converter. The Monarch was in port so the streets were crowded. We found out that only 4 ships stop in St. Martin during the summer, the Monarch on Friday, The Fascination on Mondays, and another Carnival ship and RCI ship on Tuesday (or Wednesday, not sure.) This is another reason why the island economy is so bad. The crowds thinned out a few blocks from the dock pier, which also has to hurt the merchants on Front street at the fringe. After securing diamond studs, a Canon APS camera and the converter, we stopped at the BK by the dock for LARGE sodas and headed back to the hotel to prepare for the beach. After parking at the edge and hiking up the hill to our room to change into beach attire, we hiked back down to the car and drove to Orient. Be aware that there are 3 entrances to Orient Beach; the road marked Orient Beach/BooBoojams leads to a part of the beach that is not connected to any hotel and is nearly deserted and full of seaweed. We eventually found the correct access road, marked Club Orient/Bayside Stables (no, we weren't in Queens) and parked behind Pedro's. Since this was our third visit to Orient, we immediately turned to the right, passed the large sign and got into proper dress mode. Because of the reefs, the surf was more gentle than at the hotel and there was very little seaweed present. The beach was fairly crowded because of the Monarch people, many of whom walked up and down the water's edge pretending not to notice the attire of most of the people on the beach. We paid $5 each to rent a beach chair; we had brought towels from our hotel pool. The fellow running one of the concessions had taught his dog how to play soccer and they had a fun time with it. Unfortunately, I could not photograph it, for the usual reason. The dog was REALLY good and could dribble the ball and pass it back to his owner (or servant, if you asked the dog, assuming it could speak). After several hours we headed back to the hotel, parked the car and hiked up to the room to shower, relax and change before heading out to explore St. Martin at night. We drove over to Grand Case, looked in our $10-off coupon book, checked for the Amex sticker (we usually only use Amex, to build up the FF miles, and did not bring a Visa or MC with us from the room.) We found a lovely place, L'Escapade, with dining in the open terrace by the bay. This was their last night (this being July 31) as they were closing for the month of August. The meal and service were excellent, however their Amex machine was on the fritz, so we had to pay cash. Since this depleted our Casino funds, we then headed out at 10 PM to find an ATM machine that would dispense $, not francs. As usual, the Xenophobic French-side machines would only give FF so we headed down to the Dutch side and took a withdrawal from the Windward Bank near Maho Beach. At that point, we decided to explore the explore the Maho beach area and discovered Cheri's cafe. We sat outside, eating our Hagen-Daz from next door and drinking our tropical drinks while people watching. Since this was Friday night, it was crowded and we enjoyed watching singles perform their mating rituals. Boy, that took us back.!!!. Back to the hotel at 1.30 AM only to discover that all the parking spots on the perimeter road were taken; we had to park alongside the beach area, all the way down, which meant a REALLY BIG hike up to the room. Saturday morning, up earlier to hit the morning breakfast buffet while there were still chocolate croissants available, then all the way down the hill to where the car was parked (It goes without saying that we didn't gain any weight on this trip, even with all the rich French food we ate, mountain hiking really burns it off.) We then headed back to Philipsburg to get a spacer so that the converter would work. While there (no ship in port, much more relaxed) the wife stopped in a Touch of Gold and bought a fine bracelet at a very reasonable price. The bb is right, they do have good stuff at good prices, we should have bought the diamond studs here, better quality at the same price. Wait until December, when we return on the Grand Princess, she will have really done her research on necessary trinket necessities While wandering up and down sparsely-populated Front Street, the time share people implored us to check out their developments, with all kinds of bonuses available, including a free trip for two on the catamaran to St. Barts, just for listening to a sales pitch on Monday for 1 hour for the Divi time share project. After another supersize set of sodas, this time at McD (no steps to climb here) we headed back to Club Orient for some more quality beach time. We did not return to our hotel to change, since we weren't changing into anything for the beach (Enough mountain work after breakfast.) The beach was much emptier without the cruise ship people. Pity. I had a camera in our carry-bag; if Ronaldo-disguised-as-a-beagle was there, I would have asked permission to take a picture. No dog, though. After three hours, back to our hotel to get ready for another supper expedition. We headed back to Grand Case again, which was really empty, even though it was Saturday night (we found out later that Sat. is usually a quiet night here.) We ate at a place called Le Cottage, almost as good as last night. It was sad to see L'Escapade shuttered for August, along with a lot of other restaurants. The owner/manager of LeCottage spent his time the front door, imploring passersby to come into his place. After a while, we could recite his shtick as well as he could, without the French accent. Really a shame, the island has to get it's act together. The French families at our hotel were not venturing out at night but were eating at the mediocre hotel buffet. What can you do when you have small children along and the hotel does not seem to have baby sitters available at night. I assume that the people at the other hotels also eat at their hotels and don't explore the Island at night. After dinner, back to Cheri's for more Hagen-Daz and banana/strawberry daiquiris (not as good as at Pedro's, where they use fresh fruit rather than mixes.) The crowd here was also much more sparse, don't the singles prowl on Saturday night?? Since everything is closed on Sunday, we spent most of the day at the beach, a slight mistake. It was much hotter, 100+ rather than 90+ on the prior two days and 5 hours rather than 3, we both got slightly burned on top of our tans and hubby's back went out from sitting in a beach chair for a long period. The back eventually calmed down at 10PM, too late for dinner so we headed down to Cheri's, knowing they would be open later than the restaurants, but got there at 12.05 AM (kitchen closes at midnight) We went next door to Hagen-Daz, got three scoops rather than the usual 1 as they were closing (it WAS supper, after all), and moved back to Cheri's for tropical drinks. We decided to use the casino-coupons in the discount book and went next door to the Atlantis. We got $10 worth of chips for nothing, parlayed that into $45 at the $5 blackjack table and called it a night at 1 AM. We headed back to the hotel, found an open Texaco station at 1.30AM, filled up at $3.50/gallon (I think), gave a dollar to the squeegee guy who hung out at the gas station and cleaned our windows and got back to the hotel at 1.30AM where we did the usual park-hike thing again. Really getting annoyed about that. On Monday, we went into Philipsburg again, after the breakfast/hike act (all the chocolate croissants gone, damn!) Why again to Philipsburg? Because it's there! The Fascination was in port, at least I think it was. I know it was a Carnival ship. We met a 30 something woman at Pedro's in the early afternoon, off the ship, who just reinforced our desire never to set foot on a Carnival cruise, ever. The dining room is always open seating, the food and service bad. This must be Carnival's response to the younger crowd who don't want the usual rigid cruise ship dining times, etc. She was traveling as a third wheel with an engaged couple (friend of both) and complained that there were very few singles on the ship, mostly couples and families aboard. This surprised me as I always assumed that Carnival had a large number of singles on board . Maybe the singles were 20 something, which would not appeal to a 36 year old woman. Orient Beach and Pedro's were much livelier with the cruise people, with various people taking pictures with telephoto lenses at the crowd past the sign to the right. No respect for the naked there. This was our last day at Pedro's so we had 2 banana daiquiris each rather than 1, to celebrate. Monday night, we went to Marigot and ate at Jean Dupont's on the water at the Marina. Another fine restaurant, wonderful ambiance. Also full of French chain-smokers, like all the other places. After dinner we walked around the Marina, admiring the view. Romantic place. If some young person would ask me where to propose to his girl friend, this would be the place. Of course, no youngster would ask a 50+ old fart where to propose, what do we know? Down to Cheri's, no ice cream this time, just a final round of daiquiris, people watching so-so this night. We then used another casino coupon for $10 worth of chips, lost it at blackjack, and won $8 at a nickel slot machine. This was a free standing casino 3 miles away from the airport on the road to Marigot. Back to the hotel, park and hike, packing for the trip back home, to reality. Tuesday morning last buffet breakfast, they still had croissants, hooray!!. We also took some fresh rolls from the buffet in a ziplock bag to tide us over until our yummy airline food, due at 6 PM. The transfer bus showed up on time, at 12.10PM The air conditioner was WORKING, hallelujah. To the airport, waiting on the interminable lines, surprised at the $20 per person departure tax that had to be paid there (another little quirk not mentioned on the board here that should be, what if you were short of cash). Our plane took off at 3.30PM for the 40 minute run to San Juan, where we had the fun of running the US customs obstacle course. The flight to Newark took off at 5.10 PM, as scheduled. The purloined rolls in the ziploc bag were a welcome treat as we didn't get supper until well after 6 (probably illegal to bring food into the US, who cares, they were in our tummies by 5.45 PM while still on the plane). Hubby and wifey differ on Cruise vs Land trips. The wife feels that land vacations like this are too dull and much prefers cruising, hubby likes cruising but would go on a land trip like this once in a while. Comments and questions welcome.
Trip 8/98 Linda and I left from Cleveland on American Airlines on Thurs. Aug. 6th at 7 AM. When we arrived in Miami a huge storm came in and we were delayed for 2 hours. Later we discovered that our luggage had sat on the tarmac throughout the storm and when we unpacked everything was wet. But, we were happy to be in SXM and everything eventually dried out. Service from Hertz was slow. We waited almost a half hour for the shuttle to take us from the airport to our car. We discovered that they had only one person working and this person drove the shuttle bus, got you your car, did the paperwork regarding the condition of the car, etc. We really loved our villa at Green Cay. It was perfect for us. Because of our late arrival, we decided to have dinner close to the villa, and chose the Bikini Cafe on Orient beach. At first we though we made a bad choice since there were only 2 other tables with people eating, but the service was very good and the food was excellent. Linda and I both had the steak and lobster special and the steak was one of the most flavorful I've ever had. Dinner with drinks and tip was $60 and this turned out to be one of the best meals we had on our trip. We returned to the villa and finished settling in for our 10 day vacation. Fri 8/7 Green Cay serves you a complimentary continental breakfast in your villa on your first morning there. We awoke and called the office and shortly 2 maids arrived and laid out a very nice breakfast of rolls, fruits, juice, coffee. It was a very nice touch. We went to Phillipsburg to get some food for the villa. I got lost and never did find the Food Center I was looking for. I finally found a decent size grocery store and we returned to the villa and then headed for Orient Beach. This beach was just what we wanted. There were plenty of food and beverage stands, restrooms, beach facilities, etc. and we were glad we chose that beach. Thanks to those of you that steered us in it's direction. Of all the other beaches we saw, I think we liked Dawn beach the best. It was empty, less than 10 people, but it did have Mr. Busbys where we had a drink and talked to some locals. Our villa had a private pool so after the beach each day we returned to the pool and really enjoyed it. Dinner that night was at Le Piccalo in the French Cul de Sac. What a great deal this place is. We dined on the porch and I had the scallop special which was outstanding and only $9.95. Linda had beef tournados which she said was excellent. It was $9.95 also. We split the crab stuffed mushroom caps and Caesar salad. With drinks our bill was $42. We had outstanding service also. This is by far the best bargain we found. Thanks to Jim Rous for telling me about this place. Since we usually ate dinner late each evening, we generally returned to the villa to relax. One thing Green Cay could improve on is their tv channel selections. We did get HBO, but we only got CNN Headline News and ESPN 2. They could drop those and replace them with CNN and ESPN. Sat 8/8 We went to Marigot in the morning to see the market. We enjoyed walking around the various booths and seeing all the things that were offered. We ate breakfast at a place near the market that did not have a sign and no one there spoke English. So, it was an adventure ordering our meal. We both had ham and cheese omelets which were very good. I knew enough French to get us by, but one of my goals is to learn French very well by next summer. After spending the morning at the market we returned to the villa and headed for the beach.
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