I haven't posted a trip report in a few years so thought it was time.
We were on the island from May 24th-June 3rd and stayed in a new villa for us....Villa Costa Nova in Lurin.
Here are some observations and highlights:
In our opinion, this was the busiest we've seen the island. We thought maybe because it was closing in on the Memorial Day Weekend there were more people on the island but traffic was very congestive. It did thin out after Memorial Day.
There was more rain this trip than in past years. It rained every day but the island needed the precip and everything looked green and beautiful. There was only one day when it rained or was cloudy all day but it was a nice reprieve from the sun and proved to be one of our favorite afternoons on the island (more on that later).
We loved Villa Costa Nova. The breezes were wonderful and the villa had all the amenities we need/want.....great stereo system out by the pool and patio, Dish TV, grill, lovely view, ice cold bedroom at night. It is also very close to Form Fitness so no excuses NOT to get the work out in.
We try to visit at least one new restaurant (for us) each year and this year we crossed off what I call a St Bart's bucket list item.......we had dinner at Toiny with Phil and Amy! It was a perfect evening starting with champagne and cheese at their villa followed by a beautiful dinner. The venue was lovely and I can still taste that truffle parmesan pasta! Oh my! The best!
Other dinners included pizza and wine at L'isoletta, cheese burgers at Bar De L'oubli (a last minute decision and a delicious one!), Vietnam (twice-more on that later), Bananiers, L'Entracte for hubby's birthday and the most amazing chicken cordon bleu and Orega.
We had a lovely lunch at Mango (Hotel Christopher) as a part of their Spa Day Package and experienced a crazy Sunday at Nikki Beach eating sushi, drinking wine and of course taking in the great people watching.
We did cook in (grill out!) a couple of nights enjoying music or a movie. This was our first time to book 10 nights and unfortunately I needed one of those days to recuperate after a miserable night in the bathroom. I ate something that did not agree with me and suffice it to say I spent the better part of the following day re-hydrating. I did have some chicken and rice soup at Vietnam several hours later and felt like a new person afterwards. We did revisit Vietnam on our last night so that I could fully enjoy all that they have to offer. We absolutely love this restaurant. The owners are delightful, the setting cool and interesting and the food reasonable and VERY delicious.
On the day that it rained all day, we got a text from Phil and Amy asking if we wanted to "hang" with them. We popped right over and spent several hours watching concerts on DVD (The Band's Last Waltz Tour and Rod Stewart). We drank Rose and nibbled on snacks. It was the BEST afternoon! Once we got home my husband Lance declared our afternoon with Phil and Amy "the surprise hit of the trip"!
Thank you to both of them. They are wonderful people and we so enjoyed our time together.
It was also so wonderful to see Martin and Lisa, Gary and Toni (we got to steal them all to ourselves at Orega!), Dave and Carol and Andrew and Elena.
We eagerly await next year's trip but until then, there is always the Forum!
We were on the island from May 24th-June 3rd and stayed in a new villa for us....Villa Costa Nova in Lurin.
Here are some observations and highlights:
In our opinion, this was the busiest we've seen the island. We thought maybe because it was closing in on the Memorial Day Weekend there were more people on the island but traffic was very congestive. It did thin out after Memorial Day.
There was more rain this trip than in past years. It rained every day but the island needed the precip and everything looked green and beautiful. There was only one day when it rained or was cloudy all day but it was a nice reprieve from the sun and proved to be one of our favorite afternoons on the island (more on that later).
We loved Villa Costa Nova. The breezes were wonderful and the villa had all the amenities we need/want.....great stereo system out by the pool and patio, Dish TV, grill, lovely view, ice cold bedroom at night. It is also very close to Form Fitness so no excuses NOT to get the work out in.
We try to visit at least one new restaurant (for us) each year and this year we crossed off what I call a St Bart's bucket list item.......we had dinner at Toiny with Phil and Amy! It was a perfect evening starting with champagne and cheese at their villa followed by a beautiful dinner. The venue was lovely and I can still taste that truffle parmesan pasta! Oh my! The best!
Other dinners included pizza and wine at L'isoletta, cheese burgers at Bar De L'oubli (a last minute decision and a delicious one!), Vietnam (twice-more on that later), Bananiers, L'Entracte for hubby's birthday and the most amazing chicken cordon bleu and Orega.
We had a lovely lunch at Mango (Hotel Christopher) as a part of their Spa Day Package and experienced a crazy Sunday at Nikki Beach eating sushi, drinking wine and of course taking in the great people watching.
We did cook in (grill out!) a couple of nights enjoying music or a movie. This was our first time to book 10 nights and unfortunately I needed one of those days to recuperate after a miserable night in the bathroom. I ate something that did not agree with me and suffice it to say I spent the better part of the following day re-hydrating. I did have some chicken and rice soup at Vietnam several hours later and felt like a new person afterwards. We did revisit Vietnam on our last night so that I could fully enjoy all that they have to offer. We absolutely love this restaurant. The owners are delightful, the setting cool and interesting and the food reasonable and VERY delicious.
On the day that it rained all day, we got a text from Phil and Amy asking if we wanted to "hang" with them. We popped right over and spent several hours watching concerts on DVD (The Band's Last Waltz Tour and Rod Stewart). We drank Rose and nibbled on snacks. It was the BEST afternoon! Once we got home my husband Lance declared our afternoon with Phil and Amy "the surprise hit of the trip"!
Thank you to both of them. They are wonderful people and we so enjoyed our time together.
It was also so wonderful to see Martin and Lisa, Gary and Toni (we got to steal them all to ourselves at Orega!), Dave and Carol and Andrew and Elena.
We eagerly await next year's trip but until then, there is always the Forum!
