We spent 16 days at hotel Mt.Vernon on Orient beach. Had a wonderful time. Great beach, fabulous food! Restaurant le Taitu, on the road to the hotel is reasonable and good. In Grand Case Le Tastevin and Bistrot Caraibes were our favorites! We were not prepared for the congestion on the roads. Also everyone drives crazy! St. Martin was busy and it is off season! Overall it was a great vacation. We liked staying on the french side. Laid back and very french. Also we sailed on the Tahuna II from Marigot harbor to Crocus Bay Anguilla. It was the highlight of our trip. A great boat and crew! We sailed fast. No motors. Good lunch too. Good taste in music onboard. Took other sails , this was the best .You can contact me if you like for more info at e mail add.

Am planning a trip to St. Maartin this summer. Any suggestions on good (reasonable) restaurants or activities?

Planning a trip to St. Maartin in July. Interested in suggestions on (reasonable) restaurants and activities.

Seems most of the beach bars on Orient beach have good reasonably priced food. You can always get chicken ribs or fish BBq with rice and beans and a cole slaw. A fun trip and reasonable is the little trip over to the Isle of Pinel. Five dollars round trip gets you there. Boat goes every hour so you can catch it back whenever you like. Actually the five dollars is a round trip. The bbq ribs there are great. Sitting in the sand licking bbq sauce from my fingers and nibbling on the french bread is a wonderful memory. The water is calm for swimming and you can snorkel too. A cheap day. It was our cheapest. We spent a bundle but wanted to do alot of things. If you have a frig in your room you can really save. We went to the local market and bought wonderful cheeses and meats some veggies and good bread and wonderfl french wines. All very resonable. We ate every other night or so on our terrace. The island is fun. The french side in our opinon is the place to stay. Seems you are really in France only tropical. Fun! If you have more questions don't hestitate to write back. Hope you have a great trip.

Saw your msg on Mt. Vernon and am thinking of going there in Jan w/husband and another couple. Can you tell me
if it was very expensive outside of the hotel expense? i.e., food, recreation, etc. I realize it won't be cheap, but
also don't want to pay a fortune. Is all inclusive the way to go? Also - is it a "lush green island"? Thanks for your input.

My wife and I also stayed Hotel Mount Vernon in St. Martin during our Honeymoon. We really liked the hotel. Located right on the beach with great waves and beautiful sand. The location could not be better, almost off the much beaten path but not quite. Marigot and Grand Case offer much in the way of atmosphere. Philpsburg has the best shopping if you really want a good buy! The sailboats to Anguilla is not to be missed.

My wife and I also stayed Hotel Mount Vernon in St. Martin during our Honeymoon. We really liked the hotel. Located right on the beach with great waves and beautiful sand. The location could not be better, almost off the much beaten path but not quite. Marigot and Grand Case offer much in the way of atmosphere. Philpsburg has the best shopping if you really want a good buy! The sailboats to Anguilla is not to be missed.