Has anyone checked out traveltalkonline.com recently??It is like the Wild Wild West on that Island..What a shame..Why cant the Police do something? Ar

What is going on with SXM?

Has anyone checked out traveltalkonline.com recently??It is like the Wild Wild West on that Island..What a shame..Why cant the Police do something? Are they all on the take?? Orient Bay Village is getting hit hard,local at a Dentist office jacked and robbed,while inside,Murder this week of a 28 yo kid from the States a few days ago..It seems out of control.

Re: What is going on with SXM?

Peter

I used to love St. Maarten in the mid 1980's when you could still call it The Friendly Island. I loved Marigot and the great restaurants on the french side like the Vie en Rose. In October of 1993 we did an SBH-Anguilla trip and we took the ferry to Marigot in St. Martin for a night of dinner and bar hopping. It had changed so drastically compared to 1985-86 - it had lost a lot of its charm IMHO.

We had a layover for 4-5 hours a couple of years later, and we had a couple of hours in Marigot in 2000 waiting for the Voyager departure to SBH from Marigot and we were horrified. It is a pity what they've done to what had previously been a very nice island. I'm not surprised about the violent crime and it's probably going to get worse. We had a friend from Ireland that worked at the bar in Vie en Rose, and back in 1986 she predicted that the island would be ruined considering the direction they had chosen. She was 100% correct.
take care
georgedp

Re: What is going on with SXM?

George from the sounds of it,these days you better not be in Marigot after dark..I did a 1 nighter from AXA about 10 years ago to go to the Heineken Reggatta,it was a blast! Stayed in a really local little French Guesthouse in Marigot just out of town..Wandered around very late,and felt pretty safe..I guess I was lucky..It will be interesting to get andys take,as I know he has always been a supporter of SXM..I was actually thinking of spending a week on Orient Bay Beach early this December for something new,but not anymore..

Re: What is going on with SXM?

Peter

I used to love St. Maarten in the mid 1980's when you could still call it The Friendly Island.

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when I arrived to do a job there in 1980 I loved it too...Marigot rocked!....and back then a few people were really concerned and starting to voice their concern with the over growth, and all the time shares going up, and all the construction going on and all which would come with it and the nay sayers and polyannas, along with the ones who wanted the overgrowth, called them reactionary and ridiculously pessimistic and unrealstic and of course gave them a million reasons why all the bad things "wont ever happen here" blah blah blah...



hmmmmmmmmm.....guess what????...looks like they were wrong......again



does all this have a familiar ring to it?

Re: What is going on with SXM?

Miker - Peter

In 1994, on our return from our honeymoon on sbh. we had a long layover in St. Maarten. We had our tickets on CO using my FF miles in the Grey Poupon section - so we were able to check our bags early. We took a cab with a very nice, older taxi driver and we had a long conversation on our way to Bobby's Marina for lunch (Chesterfield's??).

He asked and we told him that we were returning from SBH and he asked why we didn't stay on St. Maarten. I explained to him why, citing the reasons I've already posted and after all was said and done, he agreed. It's a damn shame what that island has become. In 1992 during a trip to Bonaire I ran into a Dutch couple, their son was working in St. Maarten and they stopped for 10 days or so to visit him and then they spent a week in Bonaire before flying home on KLM via Curacao. Now, this was 1992 - 16 years ago - and his statement, literally, was "it is criminal what they've done to that island" (St. Maarten).
Nuff said.

Re: What is going on with SXM?

yup....and having been in this business my entire adult life, I can tell you this


its insidious in how it goes....its a series of little things that seem harmless enough and irrelevant at the time, which suddenly with no warning explode into something big.....and most people ( not all ) dont ever see it coming....its like a mold/mildew out break...one day you got nothing...next day you got it everywhere....and than its really hard to get rid of..........

sure hope St Barts knows what they are doing because they sure are coming close to drinking the Kool Aid.......

Re: What is going on with SXM?

Frankly it is just shocking how SXM has turned out. "The friendly island" is FAR from friendly - it is almost like they hate tourists. It would make my life so much better if I could avoid that island to get to sbh. I wish the tourism industry there would really take a long hard look at thier rep and make a stand.

Re: What is going on with SXM?

This has been building for a while and the euro can take the blame for the loss of tourism, the closing of stores and thus the loss of jobs and the rise in crime. A shame. However, Grand Case has a large influx of police and private security guards to help in the short term and that's where we usually stay. Oyster Pond/Dawn Beach has the brand new Westin so something must be right. The rest of the island is a mess tho. High crime, muggings and robberies in Marigot has been going on for a while and everyone knows it if you read the Daily Herald. What to do tho is another matter.

Re: What is going on with SXM?

We took the whole family to the Le Meridien between Christmas and New year in 1998. Loved the hotel, but even then we were advised not to drive at night due to a rash of carjackings. That turned us off of SXM for life. BTW, they were on FF then and rate was pretty good as I remember.

Re: What is going on with SXM?

Le Meridien was all inclusive as I recollect.

Re: What is going on with SXM?

Le Meridien was all inclusive as I recollect.

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When we stayed there is was European Plan all the way.

Re: What is going on with SXM?

The Meridien has been closed a while and is reopening-a Radisson Property now-in November 2008. The pool has been relocated closer to the beach and it is being billed as the largest pool in the Caribbean. The beach, Anse Marcel, was calm and clean-a perfect ANSE, crescent beach, and great for children. The main house has undergone renovations. I guess if you stay on property and venture out for dinners to nearby Grand Case, it is still an OK destination.

Re: What is going on with SXM?

UPDATE:Just heard from the Radisson-the old Meridien property on the French side at Anse Marcel. The opening is now scheduled for December 15, 2008.