St. Martin/St. Maarten Trip Report February/March 1997,

by Ethel Volin

On Tuesday, 2/25, we left our house at 5:00 AM to catch our

flight to SXM. We flew from BWI (Baltimore/Washington) on

an AA flight at 7:45 AM with a scheduled stop-over in San

Juan for about 1 hour. We got off the plane in San Juan,

toured the airport (not much to see), and then all the

passengers got back on board. We taxied to the runway and

all of a sudden we heard a very loud grinding noise from the

landing gear, which was repeated every time the plane tried

to turn. The captain then got on the speaker and said that

he was sorry, but we had to be towed back to the gate. The

plane's hydraulic system had blown out. Now mind you, this

is the same plane that we were on from Baltimore to San

Juan. We were certainly glad the problem didn't occur in

the air. Anyway, they said it would only take a couple of

hours to fix. Right! Not a chance! In actuality, they

were not able to get the plane fixed and we wound up

spending about 9 hours in the San Juan Airport with tempers

flying, a lack of information, and insolent American

Airlines personnel. AA gave us chits to use in the airport

restaurant for dinner, but it was the worst food we have

ever had in an airport. We were all eventually rebooked on

a 9:30 PM flight to SXM. We finally got to SXM at about

10:30 PM. So, in summary, we got there safe but we lost

half a day in paradise.

It was too late to stop for dinner, so we decided to just

get the car which we had reserved with Hertz through Jim

Ruos and head over to the French side to the hotel. No

problem with the car rental. In fact, we made out, as it

was more convenient for them to give us an upgrade (larger

car) so we wound up with a Toyota Corolla which is very

comfortable compared to the usual SXM mini-car. We arrived

at L'Hoste and found a gentleman from the neighboring hotel

waiting for us. Luckily, we had thought to call the hotel

from San Juan to tell them that the flight was delayed and

that we didn't know what time we would arrive. The office

at L'Hoste had closed about 6:00 PM, but they left our key

with the manager of the adjacent hotel. Anyway, we checked

in and found the room to be clean, large and exactly what

Carol and Jim had said the room and hotel to be. It had a

refrigerator, plenty of closet and drawer space, a nice

bathroom with a hand held shower (no shower curtain though),

a separate closet with the toilet, and a nice sitting area

with a balcony which had two chairs, a table and a chaise

lounge. Very nice and comfortable. I brought snacks from

home and a coffee pot with two converters that didn't work.

We called the front desk and they sent Carl to our room. He

also couldn't figure out why our converters didn't work.

However, he went back to the office and got us a very large

converter (transformer) which worked on everything including

our coffee maker, a curling iron, and a hair dryer. That

converter made living with 220 volt French electricity very

easy and we certainly appreciated the extra service provided

by L'Hoste. The manager of L'Hoste (Sarah Vlaun) and her

staff were all very pleasant and helpful, making our stay

all the more enjoyable.

Wednesday, 2/26:

We unpacked and then left for breakfast in Marigot at La

Croissanterie on the Royale Marina. We both had a

continental breakfast which consisted of OJ, coffee, and 2

croissants each. Bill was $14 w/tip.

We skipped lunch and went food shopping at Match in Marigot.

It was very clean, with a large selection and reasonable

prices.

Wednesday, 2/26 - continued:

For dinner, we went to Rancho Argentinean Grill in the

Palapa Center in Simpson Bay. We shared a Calamari

Appetizer (very good), we each had a 10 oz. medium

tenderloin charcoal grilled steak which were out of this

world and melted in your mouth. You didn't need a knife.

The steaks came with an excellent baked potato and mixed

vegetables. The bill with no drinks or dessert was $62

w/tip. Excellent dinner and we recommend Rancho highly. As

an additional treat with dinner, they had a two piece South

American combo that played guitar and sang.

Thursday, 2/27:

We had breakfast in our room, OJ and cereal that we had

brought with us. Right after breakfast, we headed for

Phillipsburg to visit our favorite jeweler - Heeru at Touch

of Gold. I was anxious to upgrade my diamond bracelet and

some of my gold bracelets and necklaces. We knew that this

would be an important part of our trip, so we had written to

Heeru in advance giving her some idea of what we were

interested in. Heeru and all of her staff recognized us

immediately and were glad to see us again. They were all

very attentive to us and provided us with lots of drinks.

We looked over the latest updates to the Touch of Gold

inventory while Heeru finished up with her customer. We

found lots of new designs that looked interesting. Heeru

joined us a short time later and the serious negotiations

and discussions began. We made some preliminary selections

and Heeru suggested that we keep both of the necklaces that

I liked so I could wear them for a few days to decide which

one I liked. That was a terrific idea and it spoke very

well of the reliability and trust displayed by this

establishment and is an indication of why we look forward to

doing business with Heeru and Touch of Gold. I also saw a

diamond bracelet that I fell in love with immediately, so

there was no complicated decision process there. I was

upgrading the diamond bracelet that I had purchased from

Heeru two years before, and she credited me with the full

price that we had paid at that time. That upgrade policy

that Heeru uses is one of the reasons that Touch of Gold is

so successful. Where else can you buy a diamond bracelet,

wear it for two years and then get a full refund on the

purchase price when you upgrade to a larger size?

Unbelievable! Heeru let me walk out of the shop with the

bracelet to wear the rest of the week without paying for any

of the jewelry yet. We made arrangements to return over the

weekend and left with all our jewelry.

We had lunch in Phillipsburg at La Riviera which is a block

or two away from Touch of Gold. We each had a Salad Nicoise

(very good) and free drinks with coupons from the tourist

booths on Front Street. We really enjoy this restaurant and

return every time we visit Front Street. The bill was $18

w/tip.

For dinner, we decided to try the French restaurants in

Grand Case. We didn't have reservations and wandered the

street looking at the posted menus to make a selection. We

had heard good things about many of the restaurants on the

main drag in Grand Case, but the final deciding factor was

the proximity to the water. We picked La Tastevin mainly

because of the good reviews and the water view. We both had

Caesar Salad and Shrimp & Scallops in lobster sauce which

were excellent. It was so good that we dipped the French

bread into the sauce and cleaned our plates. We had coffee

and Proffiteroles (like cream puffs with ice cream and

chocolate sauce, yummy). In addition, I struck up a

conversation with the manager, Xavier, about the good

reviews that the restaurant gets on the Prodigy BB, so he

provided us with complimentary after dinner drinks. It was

an excellent dinner, with wonderful service and the bill

came to $110 w/tip.

For dinner, we went to Rancho Argentinean Grill in the

Palapa Center in Simpson Bay. We shared a Calamari

Appetizer (very good), we each had a 10 oz. medium

tenderloin charcoal grilled steak which were out of this

world and melted in your mouth. You didn't need a knife.

The steaks came with an excellent baked potato and mixed

vegetables. The bill with no drinks or dessert was $62

w/tip. Excellent dinner and we recommend Rancho highly. As

an additional treat with dinner, they had a two piece South

American combo that played guitar and sang.

Thursday, 2/27:

We had breakfast in our room, OJ and cereal that we had

brought with us. Right after breakfast, we headed for

Phillipsburg to visit our favorite jeweler - Heeru at Touch

of Gold. I was anxious to upgrade my diamond bracelet and

some of my gold bracelets and necklaces. We knew that this

would be an important part of our trip, so we had written to

Heeru in advance giving her some idea of what we were

interested in. Heeru and all of her staff recognized us

immediately and were glad to see us again. They were all

very attentive to us and provided us with lots of drinks.

We looked over the latest updates to the Touch of Gold

inventory while Heeru finished up with her customer. We

found lots of new designs that looked interesting. Heeru

joined us a short time later and the serious negotiations

and discussions began. We made some preliminary selections

and Heeru suggested that we keep both of the necklaces that

I liked so I could wear them for a few days to decide which

one I liked. That was a terrific idea and it spoke very

well of the reliability and trust displayed by this

establishment and is an indication of why we look forward to

doing business with Heeru and Touch of Gold. I also saw a

diamond bracelet that I fell in love with immediately, so

there was no complicated decision process there. I was

upgrading the diamond bracelet that I had purchased from

Heeru two years before, and she credited me with the full

price that we had paid at that time. That upgrade policy

that Heeru uses is one of the reasons that Touch of Gold is

so successful. Where else can you buy a diamond bracelet,

wear it for two years and then get a full refund on the

purchase price when you upgrade to a larger size?

Unbelievable! Heeru let me walk out of the shop with the

bracelet to wear the rest of the week without paying for any

of the jewelry yet. We made arrangements to return over the

weekend and left with all our jewelry.

We had lunch in Phillipsburg at La Riviera which is a block

or two away from Touch of Gold. We each had a Salad Nicoise

(very good) and free drinks with coupons from the tourist

booths on Front Street. We really enjoy this restaurant and

return every time we visit Front Street. The bill was $18

w/tip.

For dinner, we decided to try the French restaurants in

Grand Case. We didn't have reservations and wandered the

street looking at the posted menus to make a selection. We

had heard good things about many of the restaurants on the

main drag in Grand Case, but the final deciding factor was

the proximity to the water. We picked La Tastevin mainly

because of the good reviews and the water view. We both had

Caesar Salad and Shrimp & Scallops in lobster sauce which

were excellent. It was so good that we dipped the French

bread into the sauce and cleaned our plates. We had coffee

and Proffiteroles (like cream puffs with ice cream and

chocolate sauce, yummy). In addition, I struck up a

conversation with the manager, Xavier, about the good

reviews that the restaurant gets on the Prodigy BB, so he

provided us with complimentary after dinner drinks. It was

an excellent dinner, with wonderful service and the bill

came to $110 w/tip.

Sunday, 3/02:

We had breakfast in our room (OJ and coffee) as we were

still full from last night's dinner.

We returned to Surf Club South to try them for lunch. We

each had hamburgers, onion rings which were pretty good, and

free mimosas. SCS has free mimosas or bloody marys on

Sundays from 12-2 PM. The bill came to $16 w/tip.

For dinner, we started to go to the Sea Galley in Bobby's

Marina, but found them to be closed on Sunday. Our second

choice, the Grill and Ribs place on Front Street was also

closed. So, we wound up at Don Carlos in the Simpson Bay

Airport area. We both had fajitas (one chicken and one

shrimp) that were just fair. We were disappointed with the

food and service, and only went there because we enjoyed it

two years ago. The bill was $34 w/tip. This place is

definitely not recommended.

For dessert, we went to the Maho Beach area, and listened to

the band at Cheri's while we had dessert at the Casino

Royale Cafe, which is right behind Cheri's. We had one

coffee, one cappuccino and we shared a Black Forest Cake

which was very good. The bill was $9.

Monday, 3/03:

We had to find an ENT Doctor in Marigot for my husband as he

managed to puncture his ear drum. We looked in the yellow

pages and managed to find one by the harbor. The doctor

examined him and gave him a prescription for ear drops. (It

cost $90 for less than 5 minutes in the office and he would

only accept cash. It was quite an experience.)

We had breakfast at La Croissanterie again as Zee Best was

closed on this particular Monday. This time, we skipped the

continental breakfasts, and ordered a la carte. We each had

Coffee and a croissant and the bill came to only $5 w/tip.

We then headed out to Phillipsburg for our wrap-up visit

with Heeru at Touch of Gold. I had decided on the bracelet

and necklace that I wanted. I also found some earrings that

I liked and I bought gold chain necklaces for my daughters.

We settled our bill with Heeru and said our good-byes.

Actually, we will be doing business with Heeru from home, as

Jerry ordered an upgrade to his bracelet which Heeru will

get for him and mail to our home. A real international

operation! We spent so much time with Heeru that we decided

to skip lunch.

We returned to L'Hoste to catch a few rays before dinner.

For dinner, we went to Don Camillo, which is an elegant

Italian restaurant in Marigot. We shared an eggplant

parmesan appetizer. I had chicken parmesan, and Jerry had

veal parmesan. I guess you can tell that we like cheese.

We also had a side order of olive oil and garlic spaghetti.

The bill came to $75 w/tip.

Tuesday, 3/04:

We finished up some of our breakfast food in our room while

we packed up. Then, we went down to Orient Beach and walked

the beach for a while, but it was windy once again, so we

decided to go to the pool for a while before we had to

change and check out and head to the airport. We checked

our luggage early and then decided to have lunch at Turtle

Pier across from the airport. I had a turkey burger with

onion rings, and Jerry had a grilled chicken breast

sandwich. With one iced tea, the bill was about $15.

We had a great time and wish we could have stayed

longer. We would definitely go back to L'Hoste which we

liked very much. This was the first time that we stayed on

the French side and we enjoyed the people and ambiance very

much.

We had made all of our arrangements through Jim Ruos,

of the Caribbean Islands Travel Service, and his

arrangements were perfect. Thanks for all your help and

advice, Jim.

Any questions just ask and I'll try and answer.

Regards to all from Ethel and Jerry in MD