St. Martin Trip Report
Dec 15th, 2003, 05:48 AM
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St. Martin Trip Report
Just got back from St. Martin on Dec 13.
Flight: Flew Skyservice out of Toronto. The flight was uneventful both departing and returning. Very minor delays.
Tour Company: Signature Tours. The tour rep in St. Martin was not very good. She gave out incorrect departure information. Her handout stated that you had to go to Ogden Tours to get a ticket saying that your departure tax was pre-paid. This was completely incorrect. On departure all we had to do was check in at the Air France counter where we were given boarding passes with a Departure Tax slip attached. The Conquest rep at the airport was considerably more helpful to everyone.
The Resort: Grand Case Beach Club. We were quite pleased with this resort. Beautiful plants everywhere, friendly staff, nice relaxed ambiance. We received an upgrade to an ocean view room. The room was large and clean including a kitchenette with a full stove and full sized fridge (no microwave though). The fridge came in very handy. In the bathroom every thing worked but it was in need of some upgrading and will need repairs soon (taps were difficult to manipulate). But we got a very good deal and so were prepared to put up with this. At one point the hotel was doing some upgrading work on rooms below us and (without our asking) offered to move us to a quieter room. We declined because the work only seemed to occur when we were out of the room and we loved the view from our balcony.
Hotel features: small pool, 2 beaches on either side of a point, restaurant/bar, dive shop, water sports shop (very friendly and helpful). Water toys like snorkeling gear, noodles, floats, kiddy toys were all included. Beach loungers had nice padded cushions.
A continental breakfast was included or if you wanted to pay extra you could get a larger breakfast. We were fine with the continental. The restaurant had good (but expensive) food. Service was quite good for the most part. We had only one minor problem.
Location of the resort: This resort is located a 2 minute walk from the village of Grand Case which is well known for its many restaurants. We ate at Calmos Cafe (very casual beach front, good food - the swordfish and shrimp kebabs I had were delicious). This restaurant makes a point of being extremely kid friendly (supplies beach toys etc). Also ate at Talk of the Town lolo - friendly service, cheap decent food.
We rented a car for 2 days. We drove around looking at other beaches and hung out at Orient Beach. We ate at Bikini Beach and at Pedros. We checked out the Meridian Resort at Anse Marcel. The beach is pretty and the grounds of the resort are quite nice but this resort is pretty isolated and considering that it is supposed to be a higher end resort we were surprised at some obvious maintainance issues (poorly maintained washrooms by the pool). We also checked out Club Orient - it seemed well maintained but the beach loungers were awful.
Overall Impressions: We had a very good trip. We liked Grand Case Beach Club and would stay there again but for our next trip to SXM we may look into a hotel on Orient Beach (not Club Orient - while friendly and pleasant - it seemed somewhat over-priced for what you get). The island - very green, some lovely beaches, great views, friendly people, probably the best food in the caribbean (but expensive).
I will try to answer any questions.
Flight: Flew Skyservice out of Toronto. The flight was uneventful both departing and returning. Very minor delays.
Tour Company: Signature Tours. The tour rep in St. Martin was not very good. She gave out incorrect departure information. Her handout stated that you had to go to Ogden Tours to get a ticket saying that your departure tax was pre-paid. This was completely incorrect. On departure all we had to do was check in at the Air France counter where we were given boarding passes with a Departure Tax slip attached. The Conquest rep at the airport was considerably more helpful to everyone.
The Resort: Grand Case Beach Club. We were quite pleased with this resort. Beautiful plants everywhere, friendly staff, nice relaxed ambiance. We received an upgrade to an ocean view room. The room was large and clean including a kitchenette with a full stove and full sized fridge (no microwave though). The fridge came in very handy. In the bathroom every thing worked but it was in need of some upgrading and will need repairs soon (taps were difficult to manipulate). But we got a very good deal and so were prepared to put up with this. At one point the hotel was doing some upgrading work on rooms below us and (without our asking) offered to move us to a quieter room. We declined because the work only seemed to occur when we were out of the room and we loved the view from our balcony.
Hotel features: small pool, 2 beaches on either side of a point, restaurant/bar, dive shop, water sports shop (very friendly and helpful). Water toys like snorkeling gear, noodles, floats, kiddy toys were all included. Beach loungers had nice padded cushions.
A continental breakfast was included or if you wanted to pay extra you could get a larger breakfast. We were fine with the continental. The restaurant had good (but expensive) food. Service was quite good for the most part. We had only one minor problem.
Location of the resort: This resort is located a 2 minute walk from the village of Grand Case which is well known for its many restaurants. We ate at Calmos Cafe (very casual beach front, good food - the swordfish and shrimp kebabs I had were delicious). This restaurant makes a point of being extremely kid friendly (supplies beach toys etc). Also ate at Talk of the Town lolo - friendly service, cheap decent food.
We rented a car for 2 days. We drove around looking at other beaches and hung out at Orient Beach. We ate at Bikini Beach and at Pedros. We checked out the Meridian Resort at Anse Marcel. The beach is pretty and the grounds of the resort are quite nice but this resort is pretty isolated and considering that it is supposed to be a higher end resort we were surprised at some obvious maintainance issues (poorly maintained washrooms by the pool). We also checked out Club Orient - it seemed well maintained but the beach loungers were awful.
Overall Impressions: We had a very good trip. We liked Grand Case Beach Club and would stay there again but for our next trip to SXM we may look into a hotel on Orient Beach (not Club Orient - while friendly and pleasant - it seemed somewhat over-priced for what you get). The island - very green, some lovely beaches, great views, friendly people, probably the best food in the caribbean (but expensive).
I will try to answer any questions.
Dec 17th, 2003, 07:16 AM
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hi my boyfriend and I are planning a trip to st martin for february- did you like it, we are just looking for some good food, a little adventure and some hot weather- would you suggest any places in specific? you seemed to have liked your hotel- is the island totally touristy with gross cruise boats and stuff? we wanted to take a ferry to st barths for the day- any ideas? how long this is? should we just stay on st barths? thanks!
Dec 17th, 2003, 08:56 AM
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to jessnewman:
1. Yes we liked it very much.
2. The food is the best I have encountered in the caribbean BUT it can get very expensive. We ate at mostly cheaper places. We liked Calmos Cafe - in Grand Case (right on the beach) - quite reasonable. My swordfish and shrimp skewers were truly delicious. The atmosphere is very casual. We also liked The Sunset Grill at the Grand Case Beach Club - more expensive but very good - great view. For very casual funky beach eating we liked Pedro's at Orient Beach - VERY good band there. We also liked Bikini Beach on Orient Beach. Also in Grand Case, we ate at Talk of the Town lolo - cheapest place we ate at - good food in ample quantities - I especially liked the rice and beans and the fried plantains and the coconut ice cream is delicious.
3. Most touristy parts of the island:
Philipsburg (because this is where the cruise ships dock) - we avoided it
Orient Beach can be a bit overrun on days when a lot of cruise ships in in but we really like this beach - long a lot to see and do. When we go again to St. Martin, we are considering looking into one of the hotels on Orient Beach. Marigot the capital on the French side can be busy but nowhere near as touristy as Philipsburg. We are beach people so we mostly avoided the built up areas. We drove around to several beaches - Anse Marcel, Baie Lucas, Coralita, Le Galion, Dawn Beach. Renting a car for at least part of your stay is a must on this island.
4. St Bart's - we did not go there this time BUT in the past I was there for a day and LOVED it. It is possible to get from St. Martin to St. Bart's but I am not sure if the boat runs every day. If you can afford it (it is the MOST expensive island I have ever been on) - St. Bart's is great and I would recommend it . It is much quieter than St. Martin, very French and we found the people quite friendly. There are some lovely beaches.
1. Yes we liked it very much.
2. The food is the best I have encountered in the caribbean BUT it can get very expensive. We ate at mostly cheaper places. We liked Calmos Cafe - in Grand Case (right on the beach) - quite reasonable. My swordfish and shrimp skewers were truly delicious. The atmosphere is very casual. We also liked The Sunset Grill at the Grand Case Beach Club - more expensive but very good - great view. For very casual funky beach eating we liked Pedro's at Orient Beach - VERY good band there. We also liked Bikini Beach on Orient Beach. Also in Grand Case, we ate at Talk of the Town lolo - cheapest place we ate at - good food in ample quantities - I especially liked the rice and beans and the fried plantains and the coconut ice cream is delicious.
3. Most touristy parts of the island:
Philipsburg (because this is where the cruise ships dock) - we avoided it
Orient Beach can be a bit overrun on days when a lot of cruise ships in in but we really like this beach - long a lot to see and do. When we go again to St. Martin, we are considering looking into one of the hotels on Orient Beach. Marigot the capital on the French side can be busy but nowhere near as touristy as Philipsburg. We are beach people so we mostly avoided the built up areas. We drove around to several beaches - Anse Marcel, Baie Lucas, Coralita, Le Galion, Dawn Beach. Renting a car for at least part of your stay is a must on this island.
4. St Bart's - we did not go there this time BUT in the past I was there for a day and LOVED it. It is possible to get from St. Martin to St. Bart's but I am not sure if the boat runs every day. If you can afford it (it is the MOST expensive island I have ever been on) - St. Bart's is great and I would recommend it . It is much quieter than St. Martin, very French and we found the people quite friendly. There are some lovely beaches.
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