Sunday, January 24, 2010
Life, Travel, In this Issue...

You say Sint Maarten, I say Saint Martin

The delightful Dutch/French duality of a Caribbean gem

 

Kirsten Palladino
Breakfast on private beach-front terrace at La Samanna

If You Go

Getting there
Delta currently has the only nonstop flight from Hartsfield to Princess Juliana International. www.delta.com

Sleep
On the Dutch side, the Westin Dawn Beach Resort and Spa is a sprawling complex with just about every amenity, including a casino. www.starwoodhotels.com

On the French side, you’d be hard pressed to find anything more amenable and luxurious than La Samanna. www.lasamanna.com

The CuisinArt on Anguilla is reachable from St. Maarten by Ferry. $30 round trip per person with a departure tax from S.M. of $12.
 
Do
“America’s Cup” 12 Metre Challenge, Phillipsburg www.12metre.com

Eat
L’Escapade, Grand Case www.escapaderestaurant.com
Blue Bitch Bar at Taloula Mangos, Phillipsburg www.taloulamangos.com
Rosemary’s, Marigot Bay

 

By David Danzig and Kirsten Palladino

A nation divided. Split personalities. Strange bedfellows. These are not the typical labels you would expect to find in a tropical paradise. But for the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, not much is typical.

Cleaved across its center from east to west, an imaginary border separates St. Maarten’s two controlling countries, which once laid claim to the entire island. To the north: the French side (aka Saint Martin). To the south: the Dutch side (aka Sint Maarten). Since the 1600s, control of the island has ping-ponged back and forth from the French to the Dutch to the English until the early 1800s, when a peaceful division took hold.

Today, St. Maarten is one of the top destinations in the Caribbean, known for its secluded sandy beaches (everywhere), casinos (Dutch side) top-notch island cuisine (French side) and discount shopping (in its cities). A four-hour flight from Atlanta lands at the Princess Juliana International Airport, a small airstrip with a final approach over a typically crowded beach. Google it for surreal Photoshop-type pictures and video of 747s soaring just hundreds of feet over thrill-seeking sun worshippers. The fun is just beginning.

THE FRENCH SIDE

Say oui to luxury, taste and pretty things. There’s no better place to rest your head in Saint Martin than La Samanna, a celeb-favored luxury resort and upscale paradise at its finest. Situated on 55 acres of pristine beachfront property overlooking Baie Longue, the resort has won accolades for the seclusion it offers. The Mediterranean architecture takes its inspiration from Greece, and the guestrooms, beachfront suites and villas are varied in dŽcor from traditional Caribbean warm hues and terracotta floor tiles to crisp and modern trappings in the deluxe suites, which feature furniture by acclaimed designer Michael Jouannet. Every room comes with an extraordinary ocean view overlooking the Caribbean Sea. The Terrace suites offer a rooftop sanctuary with sensuous soaking pools and plush loungers to celebrate your honeymoon in private.

When you do venture out of your room, the property is well worth discovering. In the main building, the Restaurant invites ocean breezes with its open-air floor plan. Lauded chefs combine fresh, lively island flavors with classical French techniques. Provisions are flown in from France daily. Ask for a tour of the wine cellar—it boasts one of the most extensive collections in the world.

La Samanna has its own car rental agency on its property—perfect for a drive to Grand Case, the northwestern tip of the island, where cuisine reigns supreme. There are more than 400 restaurants, and an impressive array of regions are represented, from French and Indian to Japanese and Italian. For a dinner of fine French fare, check out L’Escapade. It has a lovely view of the ocean, as well as a nicely stocked wine cellar. Where to lunch? Head to Marigot, the capital of Saint Martin, and take a plastic seat at any number of the lolos (roadside food stands) in town. Our fave? Rosemary’s. The steamed mahi mahi served with Caribbean rice and beans, washed down with a frozen mango margarita, is the epitome of a simple island meal.

THE DUTCH SIDE

The Dutch side of the island stakes its claim as the more lively slice, with numerous casinos, abundant nightlife and a duty-free shopper’s mecca known as Phillipsburg. Phillipsburg (a Christopher Columbus discovery) acts as the island’s commercial center, and is the port for the major cruise ships that come to call. It’s also Sint Maarten’s capital. Phillipsburg’s main draw? The town’s Front Street, which hosts a bazaar-like atmosphere of duty-free boutiques selling local crafts and arts, exotic foods, jewelry, liquor, tobacco, leather goods, designer goods and the requisite knockoffs. Tourists zero in on designer goods and jewelry, which often fetch prices 40 percent lower than U.S. retail.

Looking for an escapade beyond shopping? Try your hand at racing with the "America’s Cup" 12 Metre Challenge. Book a regatta adventure and become one of the crew. You’ll learn to grind a winch, trim a sail or improve your beer wench skills as you take in the warm blue waters and brisk trade winds of the Caribbean. Cool off with a bucket of ice-cold locally produced Carib beers at the Blue Bitch Bar, an open-front joint atop Taloula Mangos, where fresh and tasty Caribbean food is served throughout the day.

DAY TRIPPIN’

On a clear day, a number of neighboring islands are clearly visible from St. Maarten, and all are accessible via ferry, should you catch island fever. These include St. Bart’s (French), Saba (Dutch), Sint Eustaius ÒStatiaÓ (Dutch), St. Kitts (independent, formerly British) and Anguilla (British). All destinations require a passport to enter and a cash entrance fee in U.S. dollars.
A 30-minute ferry ride from the port at Marigot (on the French side) to Anguilla brings you to some of the toniest resorts in the Caribbean, including the CuisinArt Resort and Spa, famous for its 5-star services, world-class spa and hydroponic and organic gardens.

The CuisinArt catapults serenity to a new level—upon entering its flower-covered grounds with perfectly manicured landscapes, the Mediterranean-themed white-washed villas center around a multi-leveled infinity pool that descends, section by section, down to the turquoise waters that lay between the CuisinArt’s white sand beaches and our good old home base of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten.

A private outdoor couple’s massage, replete with ocean breeze and the natural soundtrack of waves at CusinArt’s new two-story Venus spa, officially enshrines the resort into the Relaxation Hall of Fame. Afterward, enjoy lunch at CusinArt’s al fresco Santorini restaurant: salads made from insanely fresh vegetables from the property’s hydroponic gardens and shrimp and lobster pizza with fresh seafood.

The CuisinArt is a worthwhile ultimate luxury daytrip and certainly merits a lengthy visit of its own. It’s almost tragic leaving such a paradise … were it not for the fact that you’re just getting back on the ferry to return to another one. SP