by Rick Mollica
The year 2001 marked our seventh year vacationing in Saint Martin during the month of January. We vacationed between January 7th and January 21st, and, as always, the vacation was superb.
The painting on the left by Peter Lynn appears on the cover of an AT&T sponsored road map for St Maarten * St Martin. Peter Lynn has a studio at 83 Boulevard de Grand Case.The AT&T map contains good street maps that you might find useful. Ti Gourmet is still my favorite guide book because it is pocket-sized and packed with information. I notice that others are mimicking Ti Gourmet's format now - The Quick Pick Guide and Discover, for example. In any case, you can find these free guide books and maps at your resort, and in stores and restaurants.
The island has recovered well from the hurricanes of prior years (except for Cupecoy), the Mullet Bay ghost town was finally being torn down, and Phillipsburg is undergoing a rejuvenation. Cruise ships now dock near Bobby's Marina at the head of Phillipsburg, so the shops at that end of town are getting a lot more business. They've built a boardwalk-like string of shops on the beach at the head of town, and the beach itself is in excellent condition (for the first time I can remember). Also, parking is prohibited on Front Street when ships are in port. The whole scene was much nicer than I had experienced in the past.
Grand Case and Marigot don't seem to change - except that Marigot's Market gets better each year. Over in Simpson Bay, there's a new movie theater complex near the drawbridge and several new stores are being built to take advantage of the theater complex's expected drawing power.
Saint Martin continues to change ... for the better, I think.
You can find more travelogues on my Travel Page or in the Caribbean Travel Roundup (which has hundreds of travelogues about St Martin and other Caribbean islands). As usual, this year's travelogue covers the weather, rental cars, beaches, restaurants, and miscellaneous topics. There are lots of great things about Saint Martin that I don't cover each year - but you can find information about those things in my travelogues from 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000
We used Adventure Car Rental (011-43688) again this year. We didn't have a reservation - just stopped at their concession at the airport. Instead of getting our usual jeep, this year we rented a vanilla-flavored Toyota something-or-other. It was a relatively new vehicle in outstanding condition, which I find to be true of Adventure's cars in general. It was a little worse for wear when we turned it in (we scraped a quarter panel and broke a turn indicator light), but Adventure only charged us what I thought was a very reasonable $75 to repair the damage. I have no qualms whatsoever recommending Adventure to you. You can reserve a vehicle via their web site.
My four favorite beaches this year were
Prune Bay ... still spectacular, in my opinion.
There are no facilities and no concessions. It is a gorgeous beach with great swimming conditions. An excellent place for the family. Tops Optional.
I'll repeat the driving directions for you here:
Stop someplace to get food and drink before you go to Prune Bay - there are no facilities there. You might consider also bringing your own umbrella, because there isn't much shade.
Baie Rouge is back in great shape after having suffered some erosion last year. Gus's Place and Raymond's (two lo-los) still serve great lunches and $2 beers. My favorite day at Baie Rouge is Sunday, which is when the local Marigot population comes out to relax.
My only caution this year would be to keep an eye on the guy selling beach chairs and umbrellas - if you give him a large denomination bill, he says he will bring you change when he gets it. Yeah, right. I recommend that instead of forking over a large bill, either give him the correct change ($5 each for chair and umbrella) or tell him you'll pay him when he gets change for your $20 bill (or whatever).
This is a nice family beach. Tops Optional.
Orient Beach was outstanding this year. Although there has been quite a bit of beach erosion in front of Pedro's, the rest of the beach looked fine.
Unfortunately, the bars and restaurants set up far too many beach chairs to be appealing. They jam as many chairs side-by-side as possible, not realizing that being jammed together is what most vacationers are trying to escape. I'd think by now the restaurants and bars would figure out that their sardine-can-designed beach chair layout is why people don't want to use their beach chairs. This overcrowding probably also explains why the Orient Beach Club section of the beach is getting so many more people - plenty of room to stretch out!
Tatyana, the lovely waitress who brought food and drinks to the beach chairs last year on the Orient Beach Club section, was not to be found this year. An unexpected attraction, however, was a lithe young woman who decided to conduct yoga exercises about five feet in front of my chair. She was tall with long black hair gathered up with a clip in the back. Physically fit, pale skin, sunglasses - kind of Italian looking, She removed her bathing suit and started a 30-minute routine of arching and stretching ... front view ... rear view ... in her own world ... uninhibited ... all very nice ... and then she was gone. I figured she must have been from one of the cruise ships ... but I saw her collecting seashells the next day at the Pelican Resort's beach.
And I never expected to find a fashion faux pas on Orient Beach, but sure enough, we're walking along the beach and we look up to see a short, fat guy power-walking completely naked except for a fanny pack! The visual was just too much.
Check out this web site about Orient Beach.
The Cranberry Cafe is gone, so now there are only two beach restaurants at Friars Bay: Kali's Beach Bar and Friar's Bay Beach Cafe. I still recommend - strongly - that you head for the area in front of Friars Bay Beach Cafe (FBBC).
The lounge chairs and umbrellas in front of the FBBC are free if you eat at the FBBC...and the food is excellent. They have a great menu, reasonable prices, and the beach itself is picture-perfect.
You're going to love the ambiance of Friar's Bay - added to the regular mix of French, Italians, Latin Americans, and North Americans this year was a group of Russians.
Tops Optional ... lots.
Those of you who read my travelogues each year know that I think this is a great beach - it doesn't have the class of Prune Bay, the excitement of Orient, or the seclusion of Happy Bay - but it has free lounge chairs and umbrellas, a very nice beach protected by rock jetties on both sides, and two beach bars - the thatched one serves up the best barbecued burgers I've had on the island. And of course you have all the other amenities of the Pelican Resort right there.
The beach at the Grand Case Beach Club was in great condition. This is a very nice tops optional beach, and the Grand Case Beach Club has lounges on the beach near their Sunset Cafe. The chairs have flag hoists so that you can signal to the bar when you want drinks.
You can access the beach by parking on the road and using the access path next to the Grand Case Beach Club, or just park in The GCBC's parking lot and use their facilities.
The Cupecoy beach furthest from the Sapphire resort was still a disaster in January 2001. As I told you last year, damage from the 1999 hurricanes made a mess of Cupecoy. Sand erosion left boulders at the water's edge and what what little beach is left is mostly ugly; the treeline suffered severe damage from erosion; the concession was destroyed (but the locals still set up a small lo-lo on the beach).
This year we didn't go to some of our favorites, like Le Pressoir, Mario's,and Michael's Cafe - but we did eat at several restaurants that we had seen or heard about - and now wish we had tried long before now! I'll start the descriptions this year with the new restaurants - new to us, anyway. The first three are You-Just-Have-To-Go restaurants, in my humble opinion.
Located in Grand Case, the restaurant has an open Creole style room facing beautiful Grand Case Bay. The menu is extensive - mostly French and Creole, but also American-style fare; the food is delicious - exceptionally well prepared; service is friendly and attentive; and the view is spectacular. In addition, L'Amandier has a couple of bars, a swimming pool (kids bored?), a gift shop, and a Tops Optional beach right in front of the restaurant. It doesn't get any better than this.
A mixed seafood grill cost about $24, a Creole Ribs Plate was $12, and a huge salad cost $11.50. The portions were generous and all of the food was prepared to perfection. The wait staff was very attentive (especially the young fella waiting on the two gorgeous topless French women on the beach!).
I think everyone knew about the Boathouse but me. For years we've been driving by the place on Airport Road in Simpson Bay, but this year we finally stopped in for lunch. I wish we had done so a lot sooner.
The Boathouse has a nice decor and the wait staff had personality. My wife ordered a Boathouse Steak and Cheese sandwich and Cajun onion rings that were just great. I had a Chicken and Parmesian dish that was delicious. We sat on a covered deck overlooking Simpson Bay. The food, service, and scenery all were wonderful. I forget how much we paid, but I do remember that the price was reasonable for such generous portions and that a 15% service charge was alreadyincluded in the check. We'll definitely go back.
Wow. Make a reservation or try your luck, but go to the Hideaway.
The Hideaway Restaurant is located at the La Vista Resort, which is just past the Pelican Resort. It is an elegantly simple restaurant looking out at Saba Island in the Caribbean.
My wife had a dish called Chicken Foresterie ($15) and I had Mixed Seafood in Puff Pastry ($22.50) - both were outstanding. Delicious. Throw in a mixed salad ($5), a shrimp & scallop appetizer ($7.50), a couple glasses of wine and ice tea, and a 15% surcharge and we had an exquisite dinner for about $63. The quality of service was great and the waitress had an outstanding personality.
The Village Baker is a new French bakery located just off Airport Road in Simpson Bay, on Billy Folly Road (the road up to the Pelican Resort). What a great little place! Fresh bread, croissants, sweets - everything you'd expect. Eat in or take out. We "found" this place late in our vacation after driving by it for almost two weeks - big mistake! Should have stopped in on Day One.
The Boulevard Cafe is Saint Martin's version of an all-night diner. We've been driving by it for years, figuring that the morning crowds must indicate that the food is good ... so we finally stopped in to see ... and ended up going back a couple of times.
Sure enough, the breakfasts and lunches are excellent. Their omelettes were especially good, as were their homefried potatoes. Portions are generous and service is friendly and prompt. The descriptions of some of the dishes on the menu are pretty funny and everything that we tasted there (except the pizza) was great. The Boulevard's advertising claims that their pizza was voted 1999 Best Pizza in the Caribbean - I don't know who did the voting, but their pizza tasted like a frozen pizza from the grocery store to me and my wife.
And be sure to check out the pictures hanging above the counter!
The Bamboo is located in Marigot across the street from The Market in the same location as the now defunct Fregate. We stopped at The Bamboo for a brunch after doing The Market scene. The food at The Bamboo was good (especially the garlic potatoes), but the service was pretty bad. Try a different restaurant.
We loved this informal, cash-only restaurant last year, but we only went there once this year. Maybe we hit the Pizza-Pasta on a bad night (Thursday, January 11th) - the service was lousy, the waitress had no personality, and the food tasted pretty average for some reason. So .. what do I recommend to you?
Give Pizza-Pasta a try. This has been one of our favorite places in the past. A couple can eat for less than $40, usually, and the food, service, and personality has been very good in the past. See last year's report.
Remember...this is a cash-only restaurant and they're closed on Fridays.
We have always loved Turtle Pier - however... this was our only other disappointing dining experience during this trip. We went there for breakfast, which usually is great, but the food tasted like it had been cooked earlier and not brought back to its proper temperature before being served to us (referring especially to the bacon and potatoes). The waitress messed up my order on two counts, and waiting on us seemed like a chore for her - no personality or energy - so for the first time, we didn't enjoy our experience there.
My recommendation for you? Give Turtle Pier a try, because, as I said in a past travelogue:
The kids will love all the birds and animals that line the walkway into the restaurant. Be sure to take a seat right at the water if you bring kids - they'll love to toss bread to the fish.
Turtle Pier serves an outstanding breakfast with plenty of coffee refills. Lunches are also dependably delicious - everything is flavorful, fairly portioned, and reasonably priced. For example, a lunch of hamburger and onion rings costs $6.50. All that and you get a great view too.
It's so simple in its sheer enjoyment that you gotta love this place. Last year's report pretty much says it all. This place stays the same and others try to imitate their success. Sunset is a great place to enjoy cold drinks on the way back from a day at the beach.
Everyone (including me) always talks athe Sunset as a great spot to watch the planes take off and land - which it is - but we also found that the local pelicans are a show in themselves. We caught them "fishing" between 3:30pm and 4:30pm along the coast right there at the Sunset. If you've never seen pelicans fishing for food, you're missing quite a show!
My sister Marcia and her husband Dave went to Saint Martin last year and this beach was Dave's favorite spot. This was Dave's favorite because of the food and beach ... not the pretty topless women ... right?
This year Pam and I had a lunch of Stuffed Crab and Fish Plate with Creole Sauce, Salad with Roasted Camembert & Bread, soda, beer, and wine ... all for $38.50.
The service at Richard's Crepes Cafe is a little slow sometimes ... okay, a lot slow sometimes (depends who's working) ... but the food is delicious! Last year's report. A little pricey, but portionsa re very large - this year we had two breakfasts of crepes, potatoes, and coffees for $25 - but well worth at least on visit during your vacation.
Closed on Mondays.
La Main a La Pate, which means "The Hand in the Dough," is located in the Marigot Marina. The waiters are from France and they are always upbeat and friendly. The menu at Main a la Pate is extensive. This time around I had the Caribbean Seafood Pot - pasta, clams, shrimp, and mahi-mahi in a flavorful tomato sauce - a delicious meal for $23. Pam had a simple lunch of cheeseburger and fries for $6 or $7. Throw in a couple of beers and ice tea and the whole bill came to $36.
Food and service at Main a la Pate is consistently excellent - and this is a super place to relax, check out the yachts, and figure out a way to retire in Saint Martin.
We went to Le Charolais twice this year. One night we weren't hungry enough for a full meal, so we ordered a Mixed Salad, a Farmer's Salad, dessert (a Mousse and a Rasberry Sorbet) and some wine and tea - all for $36. Outstanding. The salads at Le Charolais are huge and scrumptious. So keep them in mind when you want to eat light.
Gabe's is a Sunset Beach Bar "Wannabe" that is located next to the Sunset Beach Bar. In fact, the bartender is a lady who used to work at Sunset. This isn't a bad place ... but it isn't Sunset. Location is great, but we wer told that the absentee owner isn't doing what's necessary to spruce up the place.
Let me know if things get better ... otherwise, stay at Sunset.
The Bay Watch II is the next bar down from Gabe's and Sunset. As you can see from the advertisement at the right, Baywatch II has lots of sizzle ... and, in fact, the layout of the place is pretty darn nice. But we're told that four out of five of the original owners have quit. And it was easy to see that nothing was happening at Bay Watch II when we stopped by.
Let me know if things improve ... otherwise, stay at Sunset.
Not to be mistaken for the Bay Watch II, The Baywatch Bar and Grill is the reincarnation of the former Surf Club South - the great beach bar that originally was located in Grand Case and then moved inland. Well, Surf Club South has reinvented itself yet again, this time as Baywatch on Orient Beach - close to Pedro's. Same owners...same signage...same atmosphere (minus the bra's in the tree).
Baywatch opens at 6:30am (coffee between 6:30am - 8:00am is free) and still serves a good American breakfast (Western omelet, homefries, toast, and coffee goes for $6.25).
We don't have much luck at the Pelican Reef, which is an upscale restaurant located at the Pelican Resort. Acclaimed by travel writers as the best steak house on the island, I went there in 1999 and did not have a good experience. This year my wife and I went to Pelican Reef for dessert after having an outstanding dinner at La Vista's Hideaway restaurant.
I ordered their trademark dessert called "Chocolate Island," which, for about $10 was overpriced, but tasty. My wife ordered the "Very Chocolate Cake." Here is her description:
"Save four bucks and get a box of Ho-Ho's ... they have more chocolate and taste better. Nowhere on the menu does it say that cherries or any kind of liquor are included, but Very Chocolate Cake had both. The chocolate in very Chocolate Cake are the few chunks of chocolate that they sprinkle on the plate."
We even asked the waitress if the recipe had been prepared correctly - she checked with the chef and said that it had.
Further, the coffee tasted like it had been on the burner since lunch time. We had the two desserts, a glass of wine, and two left-over cups of coffee for $30.50.
I know that lots of people rave about Pelican Reef, but I wouldn't recommend it to you.
Talk of the Town is one of the lo-lo's clustered in Grand Case that everyone talks about. The food here is good, and down-to-Earth atmosphere is refreshing and fun. We ordered a "Plate of Food" with Shrimp for $10, and a "Plate of Food" with Ribs and Chicken for $8.
I recommend that you try one of these lo-lo's because the lo-lo's are a "cultural thing," the food is definitely good, and the prices are pretty reasonable. But don't let the hype set your expectations overly high - service is so-so and the food is mostly rewarmed.
Let me tell you first that we didn't go on the Rhino Safari, which is a 2-1/2 hour snorkeling trip on individual "Rhino Rider" Seadoos ... but one morning we were having breakfast at Richard's Crepe Cafe, and watched as the trip started out from the dock right in front of the cafe.
We watched as guides outfitted each customer with snorkeling gear and life vests, and then helped each person onto a 2-person Seadoo and instructed him how to operate it. Each Seadoo had a 2-way radio. All of the customers practiced operating the little sea craft in Simpson Lagoon for a few minutes, and then they formed up behind a guide in the lead boat. Off they went along the coastline to a snorkeling site (I don't know which one).
The Discount Activity Center in Simpson Bay offers the Rhino Safari for $39.95 per person. For that price you get your own Rhino Rider, a guide on his own Rhino, instructions and lessons, snorkeling gear, and a complimentary drink. It looked like a ton of fun to me!
We made the trek up to Paradise Peak again this year...fantastic views, as always ... but our car was burglarized in the parking area this year! We inadvertently left one door of the car unlocked, so someone took our cash and a Diamond Rio ballcap - they didn't take credit cards or anything else in the car. The only people we saw up there at the time were two European-looking, 20-something guys whom we thought were tourists. Guess not.
Anyway ... I like to park at the top, near the metal tower, and then walk the few yards back to the viewing area. This year we noticed that there is a path just to the left of the fenced area around the tower. Follow that path and you'll be rewarded with a sensational view of Phillipsburg.
Bethel is the name of the concession stand at the top of the hill on the road from Cole Bay to Phillipsburg. The top of the hill is a nice place to take pictures, but I mention it here because of a conversation I had with the concession-owner. As he was getting my cold drink, I asked, "How's business?"
I was just making small talk, but in return I got a great piece of philosophy. The man responded with an easy smile on his face and serenity in his voice, "We don't worry about business. We offer a nice view and a refreshing drink to people. Worrying about business leads to an early death."
That man's words made my day.
The Old House is a recently opened museum on the road between Cole Bay and Marigot - not far from the Boundary Monument. Our guide grew up in the house, which was the center of a sugar cane plantation, and he gave an excellent tour. The antiques in that house must be worth a fortune.
He and his ancesters were the Forrest Gumps of St Martin - meaning that they seem to have been involved with quite a few historic people and events. An interesting sidelight ... the guide remembered going to Orient Beach as a small boy and riding on the backs of sea turtles that came ashore to lay their eggs.
Seen any sea turtles at Orient Beach lately?
Michel Besson is a potter who lives with his wife in a very primitive Amerinidan-style benab next to the pottery factory on the road between Cole Bay and Marigot - across the street from The Old House. Michel uses clay from the island of Tintamare to make his pottery. Nothing fancy about Michel or his factory, but definitely interesting - he was featured in a cover page article in the locally produced Today newspaper. Stop by for a few minutes after you tour The Old House across the street.
We made a donation to the new Hollywood Casino, which is located at the Pelican Resort. Despite the fancy advertising in the tourist magazines, Hollywood Casino didn't seem like much to me. I would recommend that you make your donations at The Dolphin, Casino Royale, or somewhere else with pizzazz.
Dirty clothes started piling up, so we stopped at the 2-Seasons Laundromat in the shopping center in Cole Bay (next to the Harley Davidson store). A nice lady from New Orleans owns the place.
As you might expect, costs for electricity, gas, and water are pretty high in a place like Saint Martin, so prices to do laundry are comparably high. Here's a comparison of prices at 2-Seasons with my own laundromat in Maryland (using 6.5FF per dollar and 2.2 pounds per kilo to make the comparison):
|
Saint Martin
|
Maryland
|
|
| 12-pound washer | $3.45 | $1.29 |
| 18-pound washer | $5.75 | $1.79 |
| 35 pound washer | $9.20 | $2.69 |
| Dryers | $1.18 for 7 minutes | $0.29 for 10 minutes |
| Wash-Dry-Fold | $0.35 per pound | $0.85 per pound |
If I copied the price for their Wash-Dry-Fold service correctly (2.5FF per Kilo), then using their Wash-Dry-Fold service is a terrific bargain! [Wash-Dry-Fold means the Laundromat does your laundry and folds it for a fixed price per pound.] Just drop off your laundry, and let them do it for you while you enjoy the day in Saint Martin!
The market is going strong! It's better than ever, and construction was underway to build facilities to house more of the vendors.
And remember my recommendation to you about Magic Spice? Well, now you can buy it vacuum-sealed jars!
That's it for this year, Folks! Have a great time in St Martin!
Did you find anything helpful in this travelogue? If so, maybe you won't mind taking a minute to sign my guestbook... thanks!