Wanderlust – St. Maarten

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Our VP of Marketing, Libbie Rice, recently took a trip to St. Maarten over the holidays. She shares with us her favorite rainy day activity and some memorable food finds.

A week in St. Maarten between Christmas and New Years was the perfect way to decompress after frantically trying to cram in holiday visits to both sides of the family (who happen to live on opposite coasts) with two preschoolers in tow.  I was exhausted by the time we landed in St. Maarten.

The Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort & Spa was exactly as the pictures displayed, and had all the high-end amenities one expects of the Westin brand. The enormous pool was loved by all, and two huge children’s pools could be easily monitored from a lounge chair.

We did several day trips that were worthwhile. The first was spending a drizzly afternoon at the famous Airport Beach (where the incoming aircraft buzz right overhead before touching down on the runway across the road).  The first couple of planes were small ones from neighboring islands, but then suddenly an American Airlines 757 was descending upon us. My son jumped up and waved it in, and after that the fun began. Most of the U.S. and European arrivals are between noon and 3 p.m.—the highlight is the Air France arrival, which, depending on the day, is a gigantic 747. But the even crazier thing is to witness a take off. The plane’s tail faces directly back towards the beach and people stand behind it waiting to be blown over into the water (and pelted by sand) from the engines. Conveniently there are bars on either side of the small beach to pass the time while watching the planes land and take off.

On a better weather day, we took a day trip to Anguilla to visit some friends. It’s a short 20-minute ferry ride from Margot (be sure to arrive with 15 minutes to spare to pay the local departure tax and clear through passport control). It’s also possible to visit St. Bart’s for the day, but we decided to save it for another trip.

We had some wonderful gastronomical adventures in St. Maarten—not surprisingly, they were on the French side of the island.  Just down the street from the Westin Hotel is the “border,” and suddenly the food choices change.  One of our favorites for a quick bite (especially with hungry children) was Mama’s Pizza on the main road in Oyster Pond.

But the hidden find was the town of Grand Case—about a 20-30 minute drive from the Westin. The town consists of a strip of hip restaurants and bars. We went with a friend’s recommendation and ate at Le Cottage. The food and service made us feel like we’d been whisked away to France for the night. We were the only Americans in sight.  Our children decided to put away all their preconceived notions of “yucky” food and tried everything. My son declared that the lobster bisque was heavenly and swore that he would start eating salad if I could make it the French way.

It was sad to leave paradise for snowy New York, but we know we’ll be back again soon. There are nonstop flights from New York (and other East Coast cities), so it’s an easy destination for a long weekend. –Libbie Rice

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