OK, here are some other reasons for optimism and hope:
Yesterday it was 75 degrees and sunny in NYC. And while we might pause to weep for our planet, instead we saw Escape to Margaritaville (the Buffett musical) in previews on Broadway. That got us in the mood for…
Our 11th trip, which we completed booking last week. And because we coincidentally had a long weekend in Newport planned, I hand-delivered the check to the Wimco office in KevinS style. Why should our trip be reason for others to be optimistic?
We are simple people, yet high-maintenance in a low-maintenance kind of way. We have never needed to be entertained, but we always want to be in hotels, on the beach. We bring too many bags, but don’t want to pack up to go to the beach each day on vacation. We want bathrooms and cold drinks. For these reasons, we long-resisted what I viewed as the misguided appeals of the villa people.
In our younger, childless days in Boston, we had the luxury of planning our trips around the low-season rate drop. Avec chien, we started at Sereno in 2003 and Tom Beach in 2004, when solid rooms could be had for not much more than $300/night. From 2006-2008, we had a three year run in the little beach cottage rooms behind the Sand Bar at Eden Rock. With the Euro pushing some highs, the 385 euro/night represented a bigger investment, but oh my god… it was ER! And a with breakfast at the Sand Bar, a car and a lunch and dinner thrown in, it was EASY to rationalize the hell out of that. Those experiences infected us with a love for the island that has been tested by, but survived the steady escalation of prices driven to stratospheric heights by global demand for iconic luxury.
But the ER rooms became impossible to get and no longer a good deal, especially with a young child in tow. So we split our time between Baie des Anges and EP in 2009, and moved on to Guanahani in 2010/2011. The bigger price tag was softened by the $/euro at par low season deal, lots of meals, a car and the babysitting club.
We took three years off as life intervened - a move to NYC in 2012 and chaining to the NYC public school calendar left us staring at limited availability, winter rates and $1100 flights out of NYC.
Then in April 2015, our one dogless spring, we stayed at Les Ondines and the love was rekindled. We loved revisiting Grand cul de Sac (scene of our first island landing and many long lunches at Gloriette) with our first grader. We came to appreciate the quiet and space of a larger room, and having a kitchen so we didn’t have to sweat planning as many restaurant meals that would placate our accumulated food allergies and son who likes… simple food.
In 2016, vacation fell on low season, so we returned, in a *gasp* villa. But on the “beach” (quotes used because it was Marigot). We loved it. The quiet, the space, grilling mahi mahi the owner of Lo D’Amour brought us.
Last year, vacation again fell on the wrong side of April 15, and we answered a call to fling ourselves to the Pacific Beaches of Mexico. Full disclosure: we loved it, but the ardor of getting there, scared us from returning (it’s worth a post on its own and I promise you whatever happens in the tents at SXM will be a spa day comparatively).
Fast forward to September, and like many of you, I found myself in tears reading the early (and largely false) reports of irreversible damage (Eden Rock and Tom Beach were gone). I imagined that all the places we loved were gone, that we’d never get to build more of the same memories. Obviously the island took a catastrophic hit and has faced many challenges rebuilding, but the pace, from afar, has been inspiring and remarkable. By December, we became more determined than ever to return. We faced the same hurdles anyone has – limited flights, limited availability – but we managed to string together a stellar and easy Saturday-Saturday flight itinerary using all points (JB and Delta) + SBC. The super cheap flights allowed me to use my most powerful tool available for planning SBH vacations: Rationalization. After going back and forth for weeks and raising our budget, we booked a villa… In the hills (Costa Nova). This will be the earliest we've ever set foot on the island, March 31. Gloriette is no more, for now. That hurts. But we won’t miss irritating the staff at Nikki Beach with our cheap orders (some sushi, two drinks and tipping like the French!). We’ll cook and enjoy the pool , the views and try the pop-up bars, Shellona and whatever is coming out of La Plage so we can get some beach chair time.
So yeah, we’re excited and optimistic.
