St. Martin Condo?
 

Hi there,
I wondered if anyone has stayed in a condo (to sleep 4) on either Orient Bay or Grand Case? And would you recommend this? We have kids under 7 and they aren't strong swimmers. Not sure which part of St. Martin to go to but we'd like a place with a pool in the complex. The general plan is to rent for about five nights and then go to La Sammana (sp?) for a few. Any ideas or info would be appreciated. Do you recommend these areas and can you walk to restaurants or do we need a car? Thanks!

If your kids are not strong swimmers, Orient Bay is not really the best place for you.

Owing to the prevailing winds, there is almost invariably a fair amount of surf / swell which can vary from light to quite heavy, so it isn't ideal for your needs.

My advice would be to look at the Grand Case Beach Club. A fair number of the condos on the front line there have been fully renovated within the past 6 months, and there is a very safe - but narrow - beach there which is ideal for small kids who either cannot swim or are not strong swimmers.

There is a second beach which is wider, from which you can see Creole Rock where you can snorkel if you wish. This beach is actually open to the public, though very few people (apart from a few 'locals') know that !

The resort has a pool, and a well located bar / restaurant from where you can watch the great sunsets.

My son and daughter-in-law always stayed there - rather than with me - when their kids were small and not strong swimmers, for the very reasons detailed above.

I suggest that you check the Beach Club website for availability, as the resort normally has a considerably higher level of occupancy than most of the others in this general area.

Grand Case Boulevard - which starts a few hundred yards down the road from the resort - is full of excellent restaurants and is noted as the cullinerary capital of the Caribbean. There is also a wide variety of 'middle range' boutiques, and some cheaper 'kid friendly' eating alternatives.

Another possibility is the Radisson at Anse Marcel. This also has a nice beach plus the largest pool in the Caribbean. It was re-modelled and re-opened under the Radisson name last year, and is situated in lovely, but rather remote, surroundings with very few alternative possibilities close by if you don't want to stay all the time in the hotel complex.

La Samanna is a different ball game, and is a top class hotel by any standard, but I don't know anyone with small children who has stayed there.

I strongly suggest that you rent a car - absolutely ESSENTIAL if you stay at the Radisson or La Samanna - and if you are planning on more than spending just a long week end (as you are). It is much better to have your own transport rather than having to rely on (somewhat expensive) taxis which are the only other viable means of transportation on the island.

I hope this helps.

Thanks for the tip on Grand Case Beach Club. I did notice the waves in the pictures when I looked at Orient Bay. We wondered about it since we go to Cayman a lot and there's almost no waves on 7 mile beach. All these tips are great. Now I just need to get the air down....having trouble. Thanks!

I have stayed all over the island.....in Feb, I stayed in a condo on Simpson beach -it had a pool - now I wouldn't stay anywhere else - I LOVED it.

lenlu

Be careful if you have not visited the island before. The French and Dutch sides are as different as chalk and cheese !

Both Grand Case and Orient Bay are on the French side, where you will not find any of the high rises, casinos (12), KFC, Burger King, time-share etc which abound on the very overdeveloped and Americanized Dutch side.

The Dutch side is essentially a US$ zone, and consequently is less expensive than the French side which is a Euro zone. US Dollars are readilly accepted everywhere on the French side, and sometimes at a more friendly rate of exchange than that of the bank or bureaux de change - provided you pay in cash.

It really depends on what you want, and as I live on the French side, on the hillside midway between Grand Case and Orient Bay, I openly admit to being totally predjudiced !

Hi Davidsxm I have a couple of questions for you re Mount Vernon resort - we are looking at renting a condo there for a couple of weeks. Many of the recent reviews have been relatively negative with respect to the maintenance of the property and a couple re safety. Do you have an opinion? Thanks, Gryphon

Gryphon

The reports that you have heard match pretty much with what I myself have also heard.

Personally I don't like that end of Orient Bay - or the Mont Vernon resort - anyway, and you would be FAR better off in the more central area of the bay.

Wherever you are, you should always keep valuables out of sight, and it's a good idea keep your condo shuttered when you are out - it keeps it cool anyway for when you return.

If by safety you mean after dark on the beach, you should not really go wandering too far at the Mont Vernon end of the beach, unless you are in a group - but that goes for most unlit, or badly lit, areas of ANY beach on any tourist island in the Caribbean !

The central parts of the Orient Bay are populated by beach bars which mostly stay open until at least midnight, so there is more light around, and the beach is consequently safer, but caution and common sense are still the operative words.

Also, a word of advice. Don't get boozed up and go skinny dipping at midnight, leaving your clothes on the beach - they may not be there when you return - not neccessarily removed for their value, but more as a prank. This happened to two people I know last week !!

The culprits returned the clothes the following day, having caused a great deal of embarassment to the two swimmers who returned naked to their hotel, and much amusement to a lot more people who heard all about it in the bar next morning !

I hope this helps.

Thanks David, that does answer my questions. We were planning on going in the fall - now we'll still go but look for another place. Gryphon