Trip Report: November 15-29, 2003
by McGinnis67
As the plane departed EWR on its way to SXM, my husband and I turned to each other and said "two weeks in St Barths-can you believe it?" 2 weeks to exhale from lifeís pressures and just be with each other. We had been anticipating and planning our second visit for almost a year and a half.
Like all of you, we have traveled around a fair bit, but nothing has touched our hearts like SB. We talked about what we wanted to share with you; a lot of our trip report is confirming your sentiments. However, we did have a few adventures and nuances to our trip we would like to offer.
Our experience in SXM could not have been any better! An airport rep before the immigration line that said that if we were in-transit no need to go thru immigration or baggage claim greeted us. He wrote our bag numbers down and delivered them to Winair-We never touched them! We were then instructed to go to the winair counter whose entrance was facing the runway. We never stepped foot into the ëbellyí of the airport, we went directly to the security gate, after a brief stop at check-in.
We stayed at the same villa, and it was just as wonderful as we remembered. Location perfect and view exquisite.
Our days started off the same, coffee at LíObli in Gustavia where we would watch the world of St barths go by. The owner of LíObli is wonderful; we quickly became regulars and many days our coffee was followed with a planters punch.
I am a hard-core beach bum, but I can never get comfortable just lying on a towel in the sand. So we only stayed an hour or two each time. But using the LI St Barth products insured the darkest tan we have ever had. Our favorites were Flammands and Governours. Shell beach was also fun, since I was able to create an instant collection of sea glass!
One morning my husband went out fishing, on a chartered boat, and returned with mahi-mahi and wahoo. It was a fun experience for him and a delicious lunch!!!
Meals, we did not miss one! We never had a bad experience; some were just better then others. Here is a taste of where we went.
La Mandala - One of our favorite dinners. We went to an Asian soiree that was just terrific.
Mayas - Probably would not go back. Food was good, but the service was way too rushed, felt like they just wanted to hustle us out. However, it was exciting for us to have Jimmy Buffet eating dinner one table over from us!
Pipiri - Believe it or not we went 3 times!! The ribs are amazing and the atmosphere charming.
Eddys - We had never been there before but thoroughly enjoyed the ambiance and the meal. What a surprise when you walk through the door.
DoBrazil-Amazing lunch. I had lobster, it was expensive but worth it!
Wall House-I know there are some raging fans out there, but It did not wow us, the environment was too bright-sort of reminded me of a diner. It was a good value
Líesprit Saline-My husband is still talking about how amazing his chicken was, it was so tender it melted like butter in your mouth.
La Langouste- Large lobster for 2=Yummy!
La Gloriette-While we were eating a delightful lunch in a delightful setting, an older American couple strolled in to the restaurant. They were immediately greeted with open arms by the staff and a bottle of wine quickly was presented. When did you arrive they were asked? Yesterday they replied. How long are you staying? Until April they replied. This anonymous couple has now become our role model!!
COCO LOBO-Cool little spot. Worst service on the island!
Iguana-On this evening we were exhausted, but rallied to town to see what was happening. We went to Iguana had some great Sushi and a beer. We were really beat so we headed back to the villa. At the post office there were two Jardarme policemen standing in the middle of the road. They had reflective vests and they flagged us to stop. They did not speak English but we managed to figure out that they wanted to see my husbandís ìpapersî they also managed to ask if my husband had a drink. My husband replied one beer with dinner. With that they whipped out a Breathalyzer test and demonstrated how to do it. My husband took it, the Jardane said it was fine and we were free to go. I was scared out of my wits over the whole episode! The next day we talked to our friend at the Líobli and he was out raged that a tourist would have been stopped! He said he had never heard of a roadblock before. The only explanation he could think of was that the police were new to the island and were doing what they typically do in France. Anyone ever have a similar experience?
Isle de France-Had T-day dinner at this lovely hotel- service and food was great.
Nikii Beach- We had great fun people watching-lots of people who were far too cool for the room. If you can deal with the fact that their attitude sometimes translates to poor service it is worth a visit, especially when they are hosting a fashion show.
Buena Vista- Fun crowdófun place and we had a great hangover to prove it. (Donít worry we did not drive) The manager is awesome - Best Monitor on the island and he loves to make them!
Anyway this is just a sample of some of the places we went- looking at the list and thinking about the places I omitted, I guess it does make sense why my jeans are tight!
For those of you who are going soon to SB, cherish every moment and enjoy.
As for us, we are planning to return in May for our 10 yr. Anniversary
to this special place that brings out the best in us.
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