Since a few have asked me for it, I give you this year's trip report but I warn you, in my typical fashion, it's long-winded so if you get bored easily, feel free to just skim through or move along to something that might be of more interest to you.

After totally uneventful but good flights (667 and 660 on return) from JFK, this was our first time arriving and utilizing the new airport and I give it a big thumbs up!! Lots of open immigration booths manned by pleasant staff and much easier access to baggage claim than in years gone by. On the return leg of the trip we loved the comfortable seating, the functioning AC and the abundance of working restrooms, and then there’s always the Rum Jumbie Bar in the upper gate area. What’s not to like about that?

Lesley Bruce, owner of Kennys Car Rentals was right there waiting for us as we exited the terminal. Good car and good service as always. Lesley, too, gets big thumbs up in my book but then he always does.

Had great rooms at The Towers - spotless, and yes, it's becoming a bit dated but it’s still a comfortable place to call home for our two week stay. And even though we experienced a few occasional showers there was no flooding of the roads in the Mullet area. We thoroughly enjoyed our balcony overlooking the Mullet Beach area and loved to watch the cruise ships come and go to and from town each day. We also liked the idea of placing our pastry order with the front desk and having it delivered nice and fresh from the Carl & Sons Bakery truck each morning.

Had great meals at all of the following:

Halseys – not sure if it was the food, the company or the combination of both but it was a great dinner and an enjoyable evening.
Mary’s Boon – lunch and once again, excellent and then we were Boonies for the day.
Antoine’s - lunch and dinner and both were very good.
Los Gauchos – good steak and great service from excellent wait staff – most enjoyable.
Friars Bay Beach Café – good lunch and free chairs, umbrellas and table and $6. charge for two chair cushions.
Kissing Fish – breakfast twice and good both times – Chloe and Thierry send their best to all their friends.
Pineapple Pete’s – dinner and service were very good.
Uncle Harry’s – very good grilled lobster @$23.50 per pound.
Lee's – awesome grilled lobster @$25.00 per pound.
Pasangrahan – great breakfast on shopping day.
The Hideaway – this place never changes. It’s still excellent in every way. Enjoyed our lunch and dinner there.
Paris Bistro – perhaps, surprisingly, the best meal we had on the island this year and it had been a few years since our last stop there.
Lido's Take Out - dinner for six for $30. You just can’t beat that.
Rosey's on Mullet Bay Beach - multiple lunches

Regarding dining, we made this year our quest for the best lobster, BBQ ribs and rack of lamb we could find and IMHO, Lee’s wins hands down over Uncle Harry’s, which was good grilled lobster but just not as tasty as Lee’s. Guess we really appreciated all that garlic butter!! In the lobster thermidor department, once again, IMHO, Antoine’s wins out over Pineapple Pete’s and the Hideaway although they were all very good indeed. When it came to the best rack of lamb, I have to think the best we had on SXM was at Paris Bistro which was a bit of a surprise for us but even as good as that was, IMHO, Zara’s on Anguilla was even better. And lastly, while the ribs from Lido's and Gwen's were great, IMHO, Rosey's wins once again.

Some of us did the America Cup 12 Metre Races – fun as always but the day was pretty calm so the races weren’t as exciting as they might have otherwise been. Hubby played a round of golf with the kids at Mullet and enjoyed doing it. The course is playable and I'll say no more on that topic and as a charter Towers owner, the price is right. We also had a very pleasant evening shared with Barbara and Dee Cannegeiter and our family which is always a fun night for us.

The best part of the trip for us was our stay on Anguilla as opposed to our usual day trips over and back. We had a lot of fun and wouldn’t hesitate to do this again. Stayed at the Allamanda Beach Resort and though we didn’t know quite what to expect, given the low cost of the rooms, we were very pleasantly surprised. Everything was clean and in good order and far nicer than we had even hoped for. The Staff were all very friendly and could it possibly be any nicer than staying right on Shoal Bay? The ferry cost was $12. each way with an additional $3. departure tax from Marigot and a $5. departure tax in Blowing Point. The taxi fares on Anguilla are government regulated and ran us $22. each way. While there we never even considered renting a car and were perfectly content to spend our limited time there without leaving the property. The Anguillans sure do know how to treat their visitors and they appreciate their presence and show the ultimate hospitality imagineable.

Lunched at Gwen’s Reggae Bar twice – and I have to tell you, she serves possibly the best pasta salad and coleslaw I’ve ever eaten and neither are usually big favorites of mine. They also rent chairs and umbrellas on the beach should Allamanda’s all be in use and their Sunday band was most enjoyable. Dined twice at Zara’s, again right on the property, and these two dinners were among the best we had on the entire trip.

Back to SXM for the rest of our stay – traffic was a non-issue for us. We were mostly content to stay in the Mullet Bay – Simpson Bay area and since we’re early risers we really didn’t experience any tie-ups, back-ups or bridge openings, even going into Philipsburg and Marigot, but again, timing is everything. The busiest traffic we experienced was in the Simpson Bay area around 7-7:30 in the evening but even this was negligible.

We also spent some serious time shopping in Philipsberg with a stop at Caribbean Gems for some special goodies. Manu and his many sales associates are all great to deal with and I can only say to them, should they ever read this, thank you again for the repeated good care and service you give us and also for your very genuine and real consideration of all your customers. And my sincere congratulations on your 25 year anniversay, too.

And now, my personal pet peeve of this year’s trip:

I do not, can not and will never understand, first of all, how so many residents can be so lackadaisical about maintaining their own island’s natural beauty. We witnessed the garbage left behind by the Easter revelers and scattered all over the Mullet Bay Beach area, both on the beach and in the trees just off the beach and in this one respect, the good people of St. Maarten should absolutely be ashamed of themselves. And the thing is, we see it every year so this was not something new or something done by island visitors. I don’t know what the answer to the problem is – better education in this area for sure and perhaps it’s time for the island to create some kind of serious anti-littering laws and to consider recycling – it could only benefit them in the long run judging by the mess we saw. And then couple in those who smoke on the beach and can’t be bothered to get off their butts and take their smoking remains with them. It’s pretty disgusting to have to walk through this mess. And my final gripe in this area is with the company that brings the cruise ship people to the beach at Mullet. They arrived on a big bus with a cooler of drinks for their personal enjoyment - no problem there, but after they left we walked to the end of the beach where they were and you couldn’t imagine the fresh debris they left behind – plastic drinking cups, snack wrappers and empty beer bottles.

It seems to me those who use the beach and are able to make a profit in doing so should at least be able to clean up after themselves.

And all this said, we had a stress free, crime free, care free and totally relaxing vacation on St. Maarten and can’t wait for the next one but I'm lucky enough this year to alrady have been able to reset my countdown clock. How cool is that??

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Respectfully,

pat



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/2007 07:36PM by pat.

great trip report pat.. we r4eally enjoyed dinner with you and yours.. it seems so long ago LOL
you are absolutely right about the garbage. the people of sxm should definitely be ashamed. I am sick of it..
it's been an issue for me for years and it doesn't get any better

Thanks, Barbara.

Re the garbage, the really sad part is, as bad as the Easter debris was, I'm betting the Carnival, Queens Birthday, Labor Day left-overs were even worse. They usually are. And do you know who usually pays for the clean up? Rumor has it the Towers owners and Rosie's pay a big chunk of it - or so we were told when we were there.

Anyway, welcome home.

pat
:-) :-)