This trip was a change for us; the last many trips have been all-inclusive at Mount Vernon, then Sonesta Maho and for the past few trips at Mercure Simson Bay. No real reason for the change but thinking of extending our trips from one week to two and AI is not economical. Lowest price we could get for this week out of Toronto (was checking constantly) AI was $2,200.00 cdn. So we’ll see how it works out.
Day 1 & Friday night & Saturday
Dinner at Salvatore’s in Buffalo NY, haven’t been in many years and thoroughly enjoyed it. Night was spent at the Indigo Hotel near the airport $119.00 for the night and 8 nights parking including shuttle to and from the airport. 3:45 AM was our wakeup call then off to the airport and 4:30 for our 5:50 flight to JFK. Not knowing the layout of JFK we had opted for the later flight but decided to go standby on the earlier connection. Thankfully JetBlue at JFK has wifi so we were able to stay in contact with Lesley Bruce of Kenny’s. Flight and arrival were uneventful; the only mistake was getting in the wrong line at immigration. Oh well when we got out there was Lesley and our Corolla, and here was another mistake I forgot to contact Craig from Packlight so no chairs were present. About three minutes later we were on our way to the Sapphire ($299.00 for the week as a selloff). Check in was smooth and quick room 262 on the sixth floor a few problems with the key. Then downstairs to get some beach necessities i.e. liquids. Then off to Mullet bay aahh the sand yes I remember the sand oh so wonderful! A little late in the day so we had the beach to ourselves. Off to Grand Marche for more beach supplies and snacks. Then back to the Sapphire – more problems with the key got it reprogrammed. Time to contact Craig and lo and behold there was an email from him quick phone call and we agreed to meet at 8:45 the next morning at reception – this man believes in customer care. Quick change and then off to Captain Oliver’s and the seafood buffet, we had emailed Philippe and had reservations for 7:30. We felt we were more knowledgeable driving through Marigot and I guess we were but it took a little longer than we thought. Oh well they held our reservations (nice table for two on the water and on top of the aquarium which has many fish and one huge turtle). Thank you Philippe! The meal was very good, my wife loves lobster and was quite pleased, I must concur it was good as were the appetisers. Was it on the level of a high end seafood house no- but superior to most buffets! Not charged against the budget as we ate here while on AI.
Day 2 Sunday
Awoke wonderfully refreshed and looking out at the ocean – does life get any better? Met Craig – nice gentleman got the chairs and umbrella $30.00 for the week – not charged against our budget as we would have done the same AI. A quick breakfast at a bakery in Simpson Cafe Atlantico and got some croissants - $20.00 and now off to Mullet for some serious relaxation, what can I say we excel at relaxation especially when you have lunch at Rosie’s again no charge as we would have done the same at AI. Met some fellow Canadians staying at Royal palm who suggested we join them on the booze cruise tomorrow. Back to Sapphire and more problems with the d*** key got a new key this time.

Another thing that we did was to get the discount Caribbean Card. We were not feeling that hungry so decided to go to Phillipsburg to Pirates in Paradise – couldn’t find it so we ended up at Pineapple Pete’s. By this time we were pretty hungry so we ordered appetisers and entree, lo and behold they have Bloody Caesars! Wife very pleased (we are Canadian eh) Lobster bisque, conch fritters, seafood linguine and garlic shrimp. Wow what a lot of food – note to self never, never order appetisers and entrees here! Food, service and price excellent, cost $68.00 with tip and free entree. Back to Sapphire and guess what – the key works! Two concerns with Sapphire – both internet related: wifi only available in the lobby and no access to TTOL, other than that very pleased.
Day 3 Monday
Another major problem at Sapphire – towels were late – oh well the boss says relax lots of time. As the water was kind of rough on the Dutch side we made our way over to Orient Beach, overcast but very comfortable. Sat down with a cigar, crossword and a Bud, finished the Bud, half way through the Cigar when it started, first off one drop – must be perspiration I thought then Pat mentioned she thought she felt some rain and then looked over our shoulder towards grand Case and saw the largest darkest clouds! Oh well maybe 10 minutes and then sun no way. It started to rain and I do mean rain, the worst rain we have ever experienced in St Martin! Oh well time to find Cito’s and Yvette’s not much luck and then talked to a local policeman, who said that Cito’s was about 30 metres down the road! Okay got that and then we drove on to the Gess station where the fellow said it was two doors up the road, good, mission accomplished. Went over to Royal Palm to see if there were any openings on the booze cruise to find out it had been cancelled but was running tomorrow, we booked it. Then over to The Driftwood cashed in our free rum punches – very good – stayed a while talked to some people and got some more ideas for dinners and then back to Sapphire as the rain was still coming down – what a bummer. So here I sit on the balcony enjoying a glass of red wine and typing oh well more to come.
Well another good meal at a steal. We finally decided on Cito’s for supper tonight. After a brutally slow drive over we ended up at Cito’s. We were the only people there (Monday night). The service was not quick by any means but oh the food was well worth waiting for. No menus. There were three or four appetisers to choose from. Pat had crab back and I had conch boudin, crab was fantastic and Johnny cakes were served as well (and very good). The chosen entrées were ribs for me and snapper for Pat. My ribs practically fell off the bones when I picked them up and Pat’s snapper was delicious. The sides were green salad and potato salad with rice and peas. Both courses were presented very well. The cost? 50.00 Euros, US dollars at par! Wow it was great! Home to a very dark night and time to rest up for a hectic (?) tomorrow.

Day 4 Tuesday
Where are we? It’s raining again! Oh well off to Zee Best for breakfast, just as good as we remember it to be, I pigged out but the bill was only $16.00 for pastries tea and coffee. Then off to the little bakery La Sanciere (Terrace on the Lagoon) beside it for at home supplies cost $7.90. What the heck we will try Orient this morning. Someone must like us as the sun came out and we had a beautiful day. Then a quick trip back to Sapphire and then off to the Pelican for our booze/sunset sail on the Tango... a great time and the first time we had seen the Dutch side from the water, quite impressive! Cupecoy looks wonderful another must try this week. After the cruise we went to Lee’s for supper. Conch chowder, chicken leg dinner, cheeseburger, Carib, coke and two margaritas for a little less than $50.00! Great value. Only one complaint – you can’t include the tip on your credit card – the tip has to be in cash. And then it started again, that’s right more rain! Oh well at least it’s at night. As I sit on our balcony at the Sapphire it is pitch black and I can see the lights of a plane coming into land I guess it is time to sign off for the night.
Day 5 Wednesday
Time to make up for yesterday. Early over to Mullet Bay, lunch at Rosie’s where we became adventurous and tried the chicken and rib combo mmmm good. Great day and then over to the Greenhouse for happy hour which ended up being supper 2 for 1 drinks and discounted appetisers, total cost of dinner $30.00 including tip. Back to Sapphire for Champagne on the balcony and listening to the entertainment a few floors down. Another beautiful pitch black evening with the only visible light a cruise ship steaming by.
Day 6 Thursday
Orient Beach all day, a really nice day, didn’t do much due to sand gravity.
For dinner we decided to use another of our 2/1 coupons from Caribbean Card at Beau Beau’s – this area was virgin territory for us. Sat down pulled out the 2/1 card and was told they no longer honoured it. Okay goodbye. We had a difficult time deciding on Beau Beau’s vs. Yvette’s but this definitely tilted the hand. Thank God! We had a great meal at Yvette’s and would strongly recommend it to one and all. We had stuffed crab back (2) and one conch chowder (I couldn’t make up my mind) garlic shrimp & conch and dumplings, two Heinekens and a glass of red wine and then I made an error and chose coconut pie for desert – unnecessary and should have finished with the taste of the conch. Oh well my error total cost $70.00 tip in.
Day 7 Friday
Cigar day. Went to Barbara’s Cannegie who unfortunately did not have Romeo y Julietta Churchill’s without the tubes and as I was going to toss the tube I was not interested in paying for them, kindly the lady suggested that I go next door (bad business move) to Cigar Emporium. They didn’t have the tubeless either but said they could order them and have them shortly and gave me a competitive price. I then went up the street to Gulmohar's another very nice and helpful person who said he didn’t have them in stock but could get them shortly and gave me another very competitive price. I went back to Cigar Emporium and purchased the cigars. Then back to the car that we had parked on the street by the pond and free parking lots just down from the police station and the car was gone! I now know the international sign for no parking. What a PITY! I looked all over for a legitimate spot to park and thought I had found one – oh well $75.00 later we were back in the car and on our way to Mullet Bay for a great afternoon except for a few sprinkles. We finally found another great spot to watch the sunset – our balcony! We were undecided for dinner but decide to go back to The Greenhouse for happy hour again and see the fireball at BBB. Pat saw the lobster specials and it was decided that we would eat dinner there and watch the fireball from our seats. 2 BBC’s (addictive) 2 Strawberry .... calamari, lobster thermidor and a parmesan chicken sandwich for a total of $70.00. Pat said the lobster thermidor was the best meal of the week just nipping Yvette’s dinner. Back to the Sapphire for a cigar.
Day 8 Saturday
Up early (last day) got the chairs and umbrella back to Craig (Packlight) will definitely use Craig again and did recommend him to others. Spent the morning at Mullet, back to the Sapphire spent some time at the pool (quite pleasant), and then off to Buccaneer to meet Lesley at 2:30. Got to see the big Air France plane land (an Airbus 380?). The bartender at Buccaneer was kind enough to lend me her cell phone so we could call Lesley – we messed up supposed to meet Lesley at the airport – oh well off we went gave the keys to Lesley and then on to the plane off to JFK then Buffalo and a quick ride back to Oakville.
Wrap-up:
Wow did time ever fly! The high points were definitely the new restaurants, absolutely no disappointments. Best meal The Greenhouse followed by Yvette’s, outside of some rain great weather, wonderful water temperature and conditions and the sunset cruise.
Low points, as close as we were we still have not made it to Cupecoy! Missed Karacters (just ran out of time)
Financial: we spent about $1,660.00 US or about $1,780.00 Cdn for a saving of approximately of $420.00. So it looks like we can do this again, depending if we can keep getting deals like we did at Sapphire.

Thanks for taking time to post an interesting report.
Glad you can "do it again".

Thanks for the trip report! I certainly appreciate the time you took to report your time on the island. As we have always recommended, AI may be a convenient and economical way to go but it does remove the adventure of searching out great yet inexpensive places to enjoy dinner without being confined to a list. Of course, depending on the price, I think that most can save or even break even with not doing AI and also add the thrill of the hunt which is priceless.

[www.vrbo.com]

Life is not a child's game of follow the Leader. Instead, life is more about finding one's own purpose in life....your life's plan, and then making a positive difference on earth.

Pajo-thanks for the great trip report. You stayed at Sapphire am I right? How was your stay? Do they have a new manager? We were there 2 years ago and had quite the experience with the manager, who was very rude and the rooms were not up to par. It used to be such a beautiful property and was just wondering how the rooms and the property are now.

Kathy: yes we stayed at the Sapphire and really enjoyed ourselves. We did not really take advantage of much of the Sapphire - used the pool on the last day. We did not have any interaction with management (I don't think), but did find front desk staff quite helpful and pleasant. Also did not go to the bar so can't comment on the bartender. The room was clean, roomy and pleasant. The only appliances that we used were the refrigerator and the coffee maker and they worked well. So yes we were pleased and would definitely return. It was also nice to have secure parking.

Great job with the summary.

Where did you score the Caribbean Discount card?

T&D

Hi Pajo,
Amazing and thorough report! Loved it.
We were questioning Saphire too and glad to hear you enjoyed it. I'd read the reports of it from a few years ago and questioned investing there because of it. You've got us interested again!
I have a friend who is Canadian who I'm roping in for a group trip down there (we already have 4 couples and the new couple's joy would be a bonus for sure). I think your blog may help encourage her & her hubby
Curious about the discount card too but exploration is what exploring the world is all about.
Question, what was your wife's favorite Lobster dish and why? I'm from New England and will eat all of it.
Always looking for the best of the best!

Thanks for the nice trip report.
glad you had a good time.
Sorry you couldn't get the cigars at our store but glad you got them.
We don't carry them without the tubes because there is a problem with the bugs. The tubes protect the cigars and they stay better. and they are only a little more expensive in the tubes.

I have a question though..why no access to TTOL at Sapphire?
I just had friends staying at the Atrium and they had no access to Facebook.
Are the hotels blocking these sites for some reason?

[barcann.livejournal.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/2009 07:08PM by Barbara1.

The Caribbean card is available at [www.caribbeancard.com], tell them you read about it in the herald and you pay only $30.00 (if I remember correctly)
My wife's favourite lobster dish was the lobster thermidor at The Greenhouse, why? I think everything was just perfect that night.

Again thanks for the heads up about the bugs Barbara. No idea why no TTOL access on wifi although you could get access from the lobby computer but you had to pay extra for that.

Thanks Pajo for the Greenhouse's lobster thermidor incentive (!) and the Caribbean card website.

May Perfect Nights about for you & your wife!