St Maarten, Netherland Antilles

2008-02-03T12:29:00.000-08:00

After spending several vacations on the island we have come up with a list of favorites places and learned to watch for some cultural nuances on the island.

Restaurants:

Price range does not include lobster dishes. Check bill closely. Some restaurants put the service charge on and some even disguise it as tax. There is no 15% tax anywhere on the island. A few restaurants do include a small tax ( less than 3%) that the gov't does get. Others just include it in the total. Any tax billed at that 15% rate is a service charge. Most French restaurants have the tip included in the price on the menu. We usually will leave extra any way. Not necessarily 15%, however. If you are unsure just ask.

Philipsburg:

The Greenhouse in Bobby's Marina (542-2941) 2 for 1 drinks and half price appetizers everyday from 4:30 to 7:00. Open air, casual, variety of American and island foods. We often go here for the appetizers during happy hour, ordering three or four different ones as dinner.

Chesterfields, about 1/4 mile past Bobby's Marina, is a very nice restaurant with a beautiful setting. Mostly noted for their seafood, find out what their catch of the day is or what the fresh fish is for that day. $15 - $20.

Pasanggrahan on front street in Philipsburg is a really nice place for lunch or dinner. They have special prices for 4 or 5 dinners that are pretty reasonable. We often eat lunch here when we do our Philipsburg shopping trip, but we like dinner there also. The owner fishes during the day and they always have fresh seafood. Dinner $15- $24.

Simpson Bay Area:

Ric's Place is located on the airport side of the Dutch bridge, just before crossing it, on the left. They have mostly American and southwestern dishes, but good prices and lots of food. Try the wet burrito. Jerry the bartender makes the best Bloody Marys on the island. $6 - $14

The Boat House is a nice place just past the bridge on the left, but we usually only eat lunch here. They have nice salads and wraps.

Turtle Pier is a nice place near the airport. Food is good, prices are moderate, service in our experience is a bit slow here, so don't be in a big hurry to get anywhere. $14 - $24

The Stone is a new place next to the Subway in Simpson Bay about 1/4 mile on the airport side of the drawbridge. Food is excellent ,served and partially cooked at your table on a hot stone. Food is excellent, drinks are a bit pricey.

The Laguna, in the airport area, just across the street from the runway, was one of our favorite dinner places, it’s close, great food, very nice setting, and reasonable. However, the owners just sold in November 2007 and was not open as of our last visit. Nor do we know if the name will remain the same. Stay tuned. prices. $14 – $26

Peglegs, located thru the Simpson Bay area, near the Tropicana casino, is good for lunch or dinner. Dinner service has been slow, but great food and an impressive lunch menu.

Skip Jacks, is a new place with good food, but service has been slow. Reasonable prices in a nice setting.

Mary's Boon, another of our favorites is a unique restaurant located in the beach side of the airport area. They have a full course dinner for $30 - $38, 2-3 entrees served each evening, changes daily and a 7:30 PM serving time. Honor bar opens around 6:30 - 7:00PM, make your own drinks, then let the office know what you had when you pay your bill after dinner. Great food, great service. Excellent for breakfast and lunch also.

Fathoms is a new restaurant that opened in the airport area, between the Turtle Pier and Laguna. Excellent dinners and lunch. We particularly like their 2 for 1 happy hour, which includes half price appetizers. The appetizers in our opinion are among the best on the island.

Maho:

Cheri's is quite popular, although we do not go there much any more, only because their entertainment doesn’t change. They have good food for lunch or dinner and usually have entertainment nightly. This would be a fun place one evening after the entertainment starts. $10 - $22

Moulon Goo behind Cheri’s is a nice place. Good food and service.

La Rosa Too is an Italian place in the back area behind Cheri's and down about 100 yards. Very nice setting. We always get the pepper filet there. Best Beef I've ever had. A bit pricey!
Wide selections on the menu. $18 -$ 30.

Marigot:

Tropicana (87-79-07) in the marina is one of our favorites. Christoff or Serge, if they are there, will help you with your selections and they usually have specials. Park in the lot on the right before you past the marina area. There is an entrance to the lot just as you enter the Marigot business district. Park and walk to Tropicana. Good for lunch or dinner. $15 - $27

Au Bouchon (29-20-90) is similar to Tropicana on the other side of marina. Park in same lot and walk.

Brasserie de la gare (87-80-85) is also in the marina between the Tropicana and Au Bouchon. We usually go here only for lunch, but their dinner is good also. We like their thin crust pizza for lunch, but they also have nice salads. $9 - $20

The Bridge is just past the draw bridge on the right before you enter Marigot. Good food and very reasonable prices. Prices on menu are in Euros, but they charge at par ( 1 to 1) Nice atmosphere on the water.

The Dureche is across from the market area, specifically across from the produce stands. Very reasonable prices and good food. $10 - $24.

Grand Case:

There are several 4 star restaurants in this area and we have heard great things about all of them. A few of our favorites are Auberge Gourmande, Le Cottage, and the Sunset Cafe. The Sunset has the most reasonable prices and sits at the far end of the coastline. (north side in The Grand Case Beach Club) it also has a nice area to watch the sunset.

French Quarter:

Captain Olivers has a nice location and very good food. Kind of hard to find, so get good directions. Good for lunch or dinner. $15-$30. Great Buffet on Saturdays - $36.

Beaches:

All Beaches are public beaches, even though a business like a restaurant is on that beach. You cannot be restricted from it. All of the beaches on the French side have the same rules as the French Riviera. You may and probably will see topless lasses. Orient Beach has a naturalist area at the south end and you may, and probably will, see bottomless individuals anywhere on Orient beach if you hang out there long enough. At the far north end of Orient there is a restaurant called Boo Boo Jam that we always visit a couple of times or more each trip. It's not as commercialized as the main Orient area and I think their food is better. Also there is less traffic going by on the beach, because all of the sun "worshippers" are at the other end of the beach. We usually will leave for Boo Boos early, spend the morning reading and sunning. Eat lunch there. Great Salads. Good Seafood. Sun some more in the afternoon. They have parasailing and jet ski's right there. Leave around 4:15 and go to the Greenhouse for happy hour and a bunch of appetizers. Boo Boos has a shower area you can use. I think it's a couple of bucks.

Another Beach we go to often is Friars Bay, just north of Marigot. It's a little rocky, but quiet. It's the lee side of the island and the waters are more calm than Orient. The Friars Bay Beach Club has great food and is one of our favorite lunch places. If you eat lunch there the lounge chairs are complimentary. Be prepared to pay for chairs and umbrellas at other beaches.

Mullet Bay is also very nice. Occasionally someone will pop off their top, but very rarely will you run across a lost soul looking for Orient. Another beach is the area down below the Cliffhanger, which is across from the Atlantis Casino. This is part of Cupecoy Beach and the area from the Cliffhanger down to the Ocean Club Resort is nice, when it’s not eroded. The beach here comes and goes with the seasonal currents. Further down Cupecoy, past the Ocean Club and not visible from the east side of Cupecoy Beach there is a secluded part of Cupecoy that is a 'naturalist' area - clothing optional. Those are the only beaches we are aware of, but be adventuresome, check some others out. There are several more beaches on the island, Baie Rouge, Bay Long, Happy Bay, Dawn Beach, and Great Bay to name a few.

Things to do:

Several Casinos are in the area, all on the Dutch Side. Pick one you like if gambling is of interest. I usually go to Casino Royal in Maho or the Atlantis, because they are the most convenient to our villa.

There are numerous sailing excursions available on the island, but our favorite is the Celine, Captained and owned by Neil Roebert. His cruises inside the lagoon and on the open water are exceptional. Try one of his World Famous Pub Crawls one evening.

Rhino rides kiosk is down from Peglegs, behind Pineapple Petes. It is a fun 3 to 4 hour ride up to Creole Rock for some snorkeling and tour of the west side of the island.

The Fort in Marigot is a nice historical place to visit and the view from there is nice. Also a trip to the top of Pic Paradise is worth the view you get from the top. You can drive part way to the top, but you do have to walk a bit. For the truly adventurous you can walk it from the bottom. Deanna and I have done it a number of times for the workout and it is a workout. If you are interested in trying it, stop in at Marcie's MEGA Gym in Simpsons Bay, on the third floor of the building next to Ric's place. Talk to her or her husband Francis. Tell them I ask you to stop by and ask if you could meet her to walk up with their group. They are really nice and would not mind. There are usually 2 trips a week, so check with them for that schedule. By the way they do have daily, weekly, and monthly rates at the gym if you need a place to workout while on the island. It's where I go just about every morning when I'm there.

There are also daily trips to some of the other islands from several areas, and other activities or tours right on St Maarten. You just need to inquire at one of the many tour kiosks on the island. Just a word of caution – Although the island is safe, do not take valuables with you on any trips to remote areas, including the fort or pic paradise. There have been reports of snatch and run type thefts in some areas.

Marius Andrew is who we rent our cars from at St Louis Car Rental. His airport pick-up and drop-off service is convenient and he has nice cars at a reasonable price. We have found him to be reliable and honest and have been doing business with him for over 10 years without a single complaint. He can be reached on his cell phone @ 011 599 557 5750 or toll free at 1 (877) 839-1886.

St. Maarten Information