Elaine, We'll have to give Gutside a try on our next trip so thanks for the heads up. Would you happen to know if they're open during the day or what their actual hours are? I'm wondering if, after a long day at Friar's, would a very late lunch, aka an early dinner there be an option before we head back to the 'other side' of the island? TIA, pat :-) :-)
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Alreginfo, I'm not sure that too many of the nicer 'dinner restaurants' offer children's menus as we think of them here at home, but we've often travelled with my daugher and SIL and their family and the children have always been warmly received and if all else failed, there's always the inevitable pasta dinner, of which they've eaten many over a lot of years
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

alreginfo, If it helps at all, we usually rent from Lesley Bruce at Kennys Car Rentals. bruce@sintmaarten.net He's reasonably priced and provides the airport pick-up and drop off of cars that we prefer over being transported elsewhere to get them. He's also a very nice man. R
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

alreginfo, Remember that most of what you read becomes overblown through the retelling. That said, there is a major problem with car break-ins so the smart money says don't leave anything in your car, in or out of sight, locked in the car or even the trunk. The little island cars can be broken into in minutes and some of the guys are so good you won't even know it's happened.
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

mespres, You've gotten about all the information you could get about fresh grilled fish. But here's another possibility. If you have any fondness at all for grilled Caribbean lobster, Lee's has about the best I've had on the island. You select your lobster from the tank and they weigh it in front of you. It goes away and comes back to your table, nicely grilled and bas
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Biff, The beach definitely is not typically child friendly at Maho and I have to agree, Petite Plage is a far better choice if you're traveling with a little one. Also, you might want to give LeGalleon (sp??) a try - in the past we found it to be perfect for little ones and for non-swimming adults, too. Chez Pat, if still there, has some excellent lunch offerings. Have a great trip.
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Fever, Years ago we used Marius of St. Louis Car Rentals - he's a good man who consistently takes good care of his clients, old and new. We would still be using him today had we not rediscovered a gentleman we had known from our earlier St. Maarten days who now runs his own car rental business and gives equally good service to his clients. I can't imagine you would be disappointed
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

bakes, If you're staying at the Royal Palm, perhaps your best bets for groceries would be either LeGrande Marche in Cole Bay or just after the roundabout heading down the hill into P'berg, or, if you wanted to head back to the Maho area, then probably The Food Express would be a good choice. We stay in the Mullet Bay area and last year found the Food Express at Maho/LaTerrasse to be
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

As of the end of April parking was still free in the new airport parking area although there was talk of fees being imposed although I doubt it's happened yet though. Just don't park in any of the non-parking areas because the airport now has their own tow truck for removing cars and they are quick and show little mercy. Respectfully, pat :-) :-)
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Barbara, Thank you for closing the original "tipping" thread since the latter posters seemed more concerned about my blood pressure and housekeeping habits than the original question as it was asked. Clearly, the OP was not getting the kind of information he/she deserved about the hotel/timeshare tipping situation so I offer my sincere apoligies to the forum and to the original
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Spike, Pretty close!! Chill pill taken!! Happy Memorial Day, one and all. Respectfully, pat :-) :-)
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

tt, Pat..why ta hell would anyone make their own bed on vacation. I have never heard of such a thing and i didnt just fall off the turnip truck. Uh, because making a bed isn't a big deal? Because we make our bed every morning as soon as we get out of it at home. Because we don't like to look at a mess? Uh, because the maids only change the linens once a week, midweek, after chec
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Louise, I pretty much follow the same guidelines. Generally, we tip the lady who does the midweek clean-ups personally on those days and then leave $15. or $20. per week on Saturday for the ladies who do the daily towel changes and trash removal. I've always assumed that is adequate because the same maids greet us warmly year after year and are always eager to inquire as to whether we n
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

maryann, I am so sorry to hear of this happening but the good news is you are personally okay and were not directly physically harmed. Your possessions being taken is a really crummy thing to have happen and particularly on vacation but in the finaly analysis, things are just that and can ultimately be replaced. This sounds almost like a situation that was occurring a year ago at LeGalleon
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Barbara, You know how I feel about anons - I will defend their right forever. But posts such as the above make me wonder....WHY? And you're so right - the Philipsberg comment was a cheap shot. Neither Marigot nor the French side in general are without their own set of problems along these lines so the comment might just as well have been directed there but again, why make it in t
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Barbara, Clearly "Touch" is totally out of touch these days but thanks for saying what only an islander can say with absolute certainty and without room for criticism, since you'd be more apt to know this than most. Respectfully, pat :-) :-)
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

RG, Glad you signed on. If nothing else, it will help to compile a list of owners should one ever be needed. Regarding an assessment, and this is a purely personal opinion, I'm sure at some point in time an assessment will be needed but given the history of timeshares in general, it needs to be realistic and within the confines of the specific contracts we signed and it needs to be fo
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Marguerite, I'm guessing you're the same Marguerite I've been in touch with regarding The Towers. If so, sorry I didn't get to wish you a good trip before you left but I hope it was all you anticipated. Respectfully, pat :-) :-)
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Spike, Good catch!! Would you believe, I even got my address book out to make sure it was the right address and didn't pick up on the double r's. I had the same issues with the 800# for about a week before we went down and the day before we travelled, the problem was corrected. But apparently, not for long. Respectfully, pat :-) :-)
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Marguerite, I agree on all topics and my sincere hope is that someday Mullet Bay will be back, probably not as we knew it, but newer and better and more beautiful than ever. Regarding whether it's a new airport, or a new terminal - whatever!! It's a lovely new building and is certainly a huge improvement over the old one and I personally don't think, in the over all scheme o
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

JKal, That's the same e-mail that I have and while I known mine have gotten through, I rarely get responses to them and yet, I know others do. As for the phone number, what you're getting on the 800 number is what we get every time their lines are out of service. I don't know why or what it means but it sounds as though your options are either to keep trying the two above o
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

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 :-)
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Marguerite, We used the new airport two weeks ago, and believe me, even though it's a change, it's not a bad one for sure. We flew American and used one of the four jetways and I have to tell you, the entire airport process in both directions was wonderful. I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to where the car rentals were but our particular company told us to go out a spec
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

AlandMiami, I would suggest you read some of the other posts on this forum regarding moving to and trying to work in SXM. If you're Dutch or French you can possibly work on the respective side of the island of your nationality but other-wise, you may have some serious issues. The Dutch side in particular has very stringent laws about non-citizens working and while in the past they loo
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Marge, I'm thinking perhaps the most convenient place for shopping when leaving the airport and heading to your villa might be the Food Express at Maho. Head toward the Maho area and it's just after the roundabout before LaTerrasse and Maho Sonesta Resorts. There's limited parking outside the market and plenty of parking in the carpark beneath LaTerrasse and they validate parki
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

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 airp
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

spike, I'm not responding to samB's comment but I have sent you a private message regarding our mutual SXM timeshare holdings and since half the time, I don't notice the private message thing, I just wanted to make sure you saw it. Respectfully, pat :-) :-)
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Irene, Sometimes I wonder where my head is at. Another possibility in AI options came to mind - the Divi Little Bay Resort next door to the BelAire. They definitely have an all inclusive option and it has a very gentle beach and from my understanding, at least 1-2 nice pools along with other resort amenities. The drawback to Divi would be that it's not within walking distance of an
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Irene, Another possibility that came to my mind this afternoon was Divi Little Bay. It's my understanding they do offer an AI option and the beach there is very protected and should be ideal for children. They also have timeshare units there which might or might not be available for rent - I have no idea about that one and I can't speak for the quality of the hotel on a personal le
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum

Thanks, Annie, I have to admit I'm really not all that familiar with Great Bay beyond that it's recently been refurbished and they are supposed to be developing timeshare units there, also. It wouldn't surprise me if they could do the walk into Town but I just don't recall any sidewalks in the area.....and I'd far rather give no information than misinformation that
Forum: The Friendly St.Martin Island Forum