Feb 3-9 Trip Report - Part One

lvbookworm

SBH Insider
Hello everyone! I'm relatively new to this forum, and before starting this review I wanted to offer a HUGE thank you to all of the members whose posts and reviews I've looked through over the past few months. I'm also new to the posting/trip-report scene, so please bear with me as I try to break up this LONG report into multiple segments.

I also want to offer a special thank you to forum members AmyB and her husband. While dining one night at Les Bananiers, I recognized this couple from their picture featured on SBHonline. I stopped by their table to say hello, and they gave me the confidence to post once I returned home. So - here we go!

My husband had to travel to SXM for business and had a week in-between work projects with nothing to do. Alas - I decided to tag along and drag him with me to SBH! Although this was our 3rd trip to the island, I felt like a newbie and tried to do as much research as possible prior to our trip. Our last visits were in 2008 and 2010.

Our flight to SXM arrived at 5:30 pm on Saturday the 2nd, so we were forced to spend the night there. On past trips we used Tradewinds through SJU. Going forward, traveling through SJU will definitely be our stopover of choice.

On Sunday the 3rd we decided to brave the ocean channel and take the Great Bay Express ferry. The trip over was very enjoyable. It was a clear, sunny morning and we were on one of their smaller boats that had outdoor seating. Unlike other reviewers on this site, I found the trip back to SXM to be the more unpleasant of the two. The return leg was on a larger boat, and the only seating options were inside. The seats were too low to see out the windows (which were cracked and dirty), and it was very hard to maintain sight of the horizon. We chose the ferry mainly because of our schedule, but also because we didn't feel like dealing with the airport. (And frankly, when I woke up the morning after our arrival into SXM, I was SO thankful of our decision.) All things considered, I would definitely choose the ferry again.

Upon arrival we were greeted by an agent from St Barth Properties, and driven to the airport to pick up our rental car from Turbé. After a quick transaction and a five minute drive, we arrived at the villa.

Since this trip was unplanned/spur of the moment, in pseudo high season, with a limited budget, we rented Petit St Louis in Corossol. (In 2008 we stayed in Pt Milou, and in 2010 up the hillside in St Jean.) I was a little nervous about renting this villa because I was unfamiliar with the area, and I couldn't really find any past reviews or information other than on the villa rental sites. Alas, our fears were unfounded and we absolutely fell in love with Petit St Louis. It was SO quaint with a beautiful view of the harbor over to Gustavia. The pictures on the St Barth Properties rental site are spot-on.

The villa had a covered outdoor living/dining room with comfortable seating, a private sun deck with loungers and a small pool, and an air-conditioned king bedroom with double-sink ensuite bath. The kitchen was small but had everything we needed - including a full-size refrigerator/freezer. Breakfast is the only meal we ate at the villa, so a high-functioning kitchen was not on our "must have" list. The only negative aspect of the villa was construction nearby which involved (loudly) digging into the side of a hill for what appeared to be the foundation of a new building. I realize that this is just a way of life post-Irma, so we tried to plan our days out around the worst of the noise.

By now it was almost noon, so we hurried back to Marché U to pickup a few supplies to get us through the night. We originally had a 3:30 reservation at Nikki, but when we realized it was Superbowl Sunday we decided to change our reservation to someplace without TV screens or football craziness.

We had an 8:30 reservation at Le Tamarin, and our original plan was to arrive early for drinks in the garden. Unfortunately, we took too long shopping for supplies, unpacking, and taking in the beautiful sunset view from our villa and subsequently arrived after dark. The restaurant was packed and we were offered two choices in the main area of the restaurant. The enchanting atmosphere and the congeniality of the hosts more than lived up to the hype of previous reviews.

Our meal included:
Fish Tiradito (a wonderful combination of tastes and textures which was very bright and fresh), Œuf Croustillante (the only thing better than a perfectly cooked boiled egg is a boiled egg inside a crunchy fried shell paired with smoked tuna), Pan Seared Tuna (served with wok vegetables and satay sauce) and a "mystery dish" (which my husband can't remember).

We look forward to going back to this restaurant on a future trip, hopefully on a day mid-week when we aren't so tired from traveling. It was a wonderful first day!
 
Thank you for taking the time to write a great report. We all did our 1st report at some time or another. Great job! Keep them coming...
 
Thanks for the encouragement. Part 2 is coming soon!
Well done & welcome to the Forum, looking forward to Part 2. What part of the USA did you start on for your SBH journey ? We've never done the ferry, not about to try after so many years flying ! Enjoy the rest of your time in Paradise !
 
A warm welcome to the Forum and glad to have you aboard! Great report and we will look forward to reading more.
 
I was just getting ready to post Part 2 and realized that we didn't really do much on this trip besides sit on the beach, shop and eat. Perhaps these reports would be more appropriate in the food/wine forum. Thoughts?
 
I was just getting ready to post Part 2 and realized that we didn't really do much on this trip besides sit on the beach, shop and eat. Perhaps these reports would be more appropriate in the food/wine forum. Thoughts?
You posted in the right forum IMO. A Trip Reort invariably involves food but its still a Trip Report.
 
Top