Be honest, just how bad/difficult is SXM

RVBama

SBH Member
We are close to finalizing plans, and most likely will need to go through SXM, then Winair on the way, SBCommuter on the way home.
There is outside chance of SJU / Tradewinds on the way down only. Needless to say huge price difference.
Does SXM have any snack / restaurant/ bar area open. Is the actual terminal building open and manageable, or is everything still very temporary?
Thank you for the help!!
 
In my humble opinion, arriving in SXM is not so difficult, I would not hesitate at all. Departing SXM on the weekend can challenge your patience, but slowly getting better. Yes there is some food establishments inside the airport. Even though more expensive, SJU/Tradewind is very nice.
 
Saint Martin is not that bad at all... they are a bit slow and disorganized but what else is new.... there is a departure hall with a simple bar and simple food vendors....
 
“Bad/difficult” is such a subjective matter. So, having just passed through there a week ago (SBH to SXM to US), I’d give it a 3 on a 10 scale . . . 10 being best. And my impression is based on an experience when the airport was not terribly — only “fairly” — crowded.

The airline counter people at Delta were disinterested in “service” . . . only interested — as far as I could tell — in kibitzing with colleagues, interspersed with indifferent attention to customers.

The immigration experience was worse . . . as I waited, first in line, for an agent to become available, two apparently local people pushed past me in the line when an agent’s window opened — they ignored me when I protested, & when I followed them to the window, the agent smilingly said, “You weren’t fast enough!”

Food & drink . . . only “+” moments in the time there:
1. The pizza place had no food . . . nothing! (Line at the hamburger place was miles long.). The very nice young female clerk said that there’d be some food in 15 minutes. I naively thought that someone was fixing food somewhere nearby. NO! In about 30 minutes, a pizza delivery person came with several of those large red soft-insulated carriers filled with assorted lukewarm pizzas, clearly from an offsite location. The young clerk waved to me to come over from my seat at a nearby table, & she explained to people in line that I had been waiting longer than any of them. A big tip to her!
2. At the bar — though with the same name, a shadow of the former “Blue Bitch Bar” — the female (& only) bartender looked at me & said in a slow drawl, “Same thing?” Mind you, I haven’t been there since before Irma! I’m not sure what it says, but she remembered my drink of choice! A big tip to her!

Transit through SXM can save money vs. Tradewind through SJU. Not always, however . . . I generally find very cheap tickets through SJU, which offset the Tradewind ticket price.

So . . . in my opinion, “bad &/or difficult” is relative to your tolerance for temporary, crowded, bordering-on-dirty facilities with indifferent-to-surly airport personnel & very crowded bathrooms.
 
Dennis you are 100% right about the woman at the bar. She is a wonderful person and an excellent bartender. We always hope to get a seat at the small bar, which turns the SXM experience into feeling like you are with friends or family. Agree with the big tip. Hope to be back at CEC soon.
 
[Andy, you are brutal!

QUOTE=andynap;1010243]Sounds like Maya’s to me. :biglaugh:
[/QUOTE]

”Brutal,” no . . . only maintaining a humorous (& exaggerated) exchange among friends (& others) about Maya’s (which survives, I believe, as the oldest restaurant on the island (in this regard, I’m not considering Le Select as a full service restaurant)).

As controversial as Maya’s may be, in a world of change, Maya & Randy continue to very successfully marry ambiance, service, & high quality dining in a much appreciated world of enduring understated simplicity & pleasure. Hardly a worthy comparison to passing through SXM.
 
Dennis I agree with your appreciation of the unique dining experience at Maya’s...it does not disappoint.
 
”Brutal,” no . . . only maintaining a humorous (& exaggerated) exchange among friends (& others) about Maya’s (which survives, I believe, as the oldest restaurant on the island (in this regard, I’m not considering Le Select as a full service restaurant)).

As controversial as Maya’s may be, in a world of change, Maya & Randy continue to very successfully marry ambiance, service, & high quality dining in a much appreciated world of enduring understated simplicity & pleasure. Hardly a worthy comparison to passing through SXM.[/QUOTE]

I was referring to the 3 out of 10 rating. :biglaugh:
 
sxm is not bad, its not sbh, but few places are. put a smile on your face and you'll do fine. Life is short, less worry, more having fun, thats my motto, now leaving for my early 2 hour nature walk.
 
Haven’t been through SXM in several years after consistently bad experiences. Don’t know why employees there generally don’t seem to enjoy their jobs and often are unhappy and borderline rude. Restrooms though were always clean. Is the SXM ‘attitude’ a general reflection of the island at all?
 
For the first time in years, this March, we are planning to fly to and from SXM (originating from JFK). Arriving on a Saturday and leaving on a Monday. Years ago flying thru SXM to SBH was not a problem, it was always the homeward bound where we had difficulties like lost baggage, missed flights home due to inept immigration lines, etc...This year however, we have decided to be more mindful of costs so are eschewing Tradewind (love Tradewind) and trying SXM once more. I am hoping that the fact we are flying home on a Monday will mitigate the weekend crowd problem we normally would have encountered. And I plan on refusing to board the Winair flight until I see with my own eyes my bag (carry on size) loaded onto the plane! So I have my fingers crossed that this "experiment" will go smoothly.
 
I would appreciate that Andy! I wish we could take SBC also but schedule doesn't fit so far. Maybe they will add flights between now and when I need to book, though I doubt it.
 
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