From: paul.graveline@travel.com (Paul Graveline) 
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: CARIBBEAN TRAVEL ROUNDU12
Date: 31 Dec 92 01:03:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Travel Online / St. Louis Online - St. Louis, MO
Reply-To: paul.graveline@travel.com (Paul Graveline) 

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Out  of  the  water,  there's  tennis, golf and horseback riding. For  
those  who  can  not  give up aerobics or weight lifting, there are a  
few  places.  On  the  French  side I went to the Future Fitness Club  
(across  the  street  from  the Catholic Church) which was very good.  
They  charge  $10/session,  but if you pay for several at on time, it  
was  $5/session after the first. They are open 8 a.m.-9:30 Mon.-Fri.,  
and  8  a.m.-8:30  p.m.  on  Sat. There are a couple of places on the  
Dutch  side.  One  is  more  of  a health club, located at one of the  
timeshares.  They  were $15 for just weights or spa, or $30 for both,  
but offered a week's use of the facilities for $60.  

There's  a wide variety of hotels on the island. I stayed in the two- 
star  Hotel  Royal  Beach  in  the Nettle Beach area. It cost $348 FF  
($66)/night  (summer  rates).  This  was near the bottom of the price  
range  on  the  French  side.  Many  of the less costly places on the  
Dutch  side were not nearly as nice. They also have 3-star rooms that  
are  much  nicer  and cost more. It was a little spartan, but had all  
the  necessities.  It  was  clean,  with  a  comfortable bed. The air  
conditioner  worked, as did all the plumbing. There was a shower with  
plenty  of  hot  weather.  While  the  room  was not large, it wasn't  
particularly  small. They have a nice pool, which I guess will have a  
bar  during the high season and there's a small strip of beach if you  
don't  want  to  trek anywhere. They don't work through any agencies,  
so  if  you're  interested,  just  call  to make a reservation: (590)  
87.89.89.  The  Laguna Beach Hotel was just across the street. It was  
all  3-star, and was about $75/night. It might be worth investigating  
them.  These  were  certainly  a  lot  less  expensive than the other  
hotels.  

The  Nettle  Beach  area is fairly convenient to Marigot, Baie Rouge,  
Baie  des  Prunes  (Plum  Bay),  Baie  Longue,  Cupecoy Beach and the  
casinos.  It  wasn't  too  bad a drive to Philipsburg, if the traffic  
was  light.  Grande  Case  wasn't  too far away, but Marigot could be  
filled  with traffic. Orient Bay, Captain Oliver's on Dawn Beach were  
on  the far side of things, but nothing is that far on the island. If  
going  to  Captain  Oliver's  or  Dawn Beach the access from Quartier  
d'Orleans,  on  the  French side was better then from the Dutch side.  
It's a good thing it doesn't snow there, or they'd be in trouble.  

American  money  is  UNIVERSALLY  accepted.  On  the  Dutch  side the  
supermarkets  and the drug stores were the only places that seemed to  
have  prices exclusively in NA Guilders (US$1=1.77 N.A. Fl) The woman  
in  the  post  office complained about me giving her a $20 bill (they  
no  longer  accept  $50 or $100 bills), but had plenty of currency to  
give  me  change.  In  Marigot, the postal agent warned me the change  
would  be  in  francs  and asked if I still wanted to buy the stamps.  
Restaurants  usually  had prices in dollars with or without the local  
currency.  Small  food stores, particularly on the French side, would  
have  prices  in francs. Most places gave 5 francs on the dollar when  
you  could  get  5.26  francs in a bank or exchange office. ($0.20/FF  
vs.  $0.1901/FF). Some businesses gave French customers back American  
currency,  and  my  hotel  paid  a  supplier  in  dollars.  Since the  
Doritos,  Budweiser,  and  Coke  all  came  from Puerto Rico, you can  
understand why.  

Everyone  seems  to  have their favorite restaurants on the island. I  
tried  a  few  of  different  quality and price, mostly on the French  
side.  Prices  tend  to be high on the French side, and a little more  
moderate  on  the  Dutch side. Prices in general, i.e. not meals were  
comparable  to  New  York  City.  Service,  in  general  was  good to  
excellent.  There was never a rush. Given that it was the off season,  
no  restaurant  was  full.  You  need to watch out for tipping on the  
island.  On  the  French  side,  service is ALWAYS included by French  
law.  Most  restaurants,  if  you  charge  a  meal,  will bill you in  
dollars  on  American  stationary,  with  space  for the waiter's and  
Maitre  d's  tips,  and  allow  you  to  fill in the rest. (Le Jardin  
Creole  was  the only restaurant to bill on French stock that had the  
final  charge filled in.) On the Dutch side, there would sometimes be  
15%  service  added  to the check, and again, you were given American  
stock with room for another tip.  

Le  Bateau Lavoire in Marigot was apparently recommended by the Guide  
du   Routard,   a   French  travel  guide  for  students.  It  wasn't  
particularly  cheap,  but  reasonable  for the island. I had the fist  
soup  and  the  lambis  en  fricassee  (stewed conch) which were both  
excellent. With a couple of Heinekins, it was about $25.  

Captain  Oliver's  is  considered a favorite by many. There I had the  
lambis  a la saintmartinaise, which was again basically conch stew. I  
liked  it  better than the previous one because of the spicing. I had  
raw  marinated  fish (ceviche in Spanish) which was excellent. With a  
couple  of  Heinekins,  creme  caramel and a cafe express (espresso),  
the  bill  ran  $43. There is a great view of the marina and bay that  
go with the meal.  

Le  Jardin Creole was really top notch. It was predominantly a French  
crowd.  The  other  American there, while I ate, was a sous-chef from  
la  Semanna  with  a guest from New York. They have an extensive menu  
which  is  predominantly  seafood, though there were several meat and  
chicken  dishes.  I  again had raw marinated fish, which I liked even  
better  than  Captain  Oliver's  and  red  snapper (vivanneau) with a  
mango  sauce. I had a sinfully good chocolate cake for desert. With a  
pastis  to  start,  a glass of wine, coffee and an Armagnac, the bill  
was  $43.  The  restaurant  is at the end of a dirt road on the right  
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