What's Happening in Paradise?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - by
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sam Fusco

From the September 2008 Newsletter

La Vista Resort, an enchanting small resort, nestled at the foot of the Pelican Key Estates area of St. Maarten, is styled in a tasteful combination of traditional Antillean charm and European flavor. Today, La Vista is offering a 50% Off Clearance Sale On Timeshare Weeks, April to Mid December (weeks 14-50), starting at $1,950. "Timesharing Done Right!" Contact Piet, Nanda or "Caribbean Al" at 011.599.544.3005 or email: vacation@lavistaresort.com.

Temptation Bar and Restaurant will be closed for vacation from Sept. 6th to Sept. 21st. Rare Bar & Restaurant will be closed Sept. 22nd to Oct. 6th. Dino Jagtiani, the chef/owner of both Temptation & Rare has been chosen to cook a dinner at the James Beard House in New York City on Oct. 17th. If you would like a reservation at the James Beard dinner, which is open to members as well as the public, go to the web site, www.jamesbeard.org, click on Events and click Oct. 17th on the calendar for details. For those of you who may not be familiar with him, James Beard was a celebrated chef, cookbook author, restaurateur, and culinary educator.

On September 30th, Temptation is sponsoring a fund raising dinner which will be a preview of what will be prepared in New York City. Chef Scott Popovich (Corporate chef of Certified Angus Beef) will be a guest chef at Temptation that night cooking with Dino Jagtiani. Both Commisioners Roy Marlin and Sarah Wescott should be in attendance for this special event. Proceeds will benefit the University of St. Maarten's Bachelor of Hospitality program.

Labor Day at La Samanna - August 29th to September 1st 2008. This year, take advantage of this unique opportunity and spend your Labor Day holiday weekend at La Samanna. While traditionally closed for this period, this year our hotel will remain open over Labor Day weekend and is offering a unique Labor Day package for those who don't want to work at all! Work instead on your suntan and finish off your summer with class and style at La Samanna.

A three night Labor Day weekend package starts at $995.00 (subject to 5% government tax) in an Ocean View room, including breakfast buffet, welcome bottle of champagne and a car rental for one day (tax, gas and insurance not included). Enjoy spacious One Bedroom Suite accommodations for just $100.00 more per night. This unique opportunity will not repeat itself in many years. Please call 800.854.2252 for reservations and offer information. La Samanna will be closed from September 2nd through October 31st for annual vacations and maintenance.

Delta Airlines has announced that it is adding one more weekly 737 flight to St. Maarten beginning on December 20th, 2008 for the Winter season. The 737 aircraft will carry 124 passengers non-stop from Atlanta International Airport to Princess Juliana International Airport.

SUNNY SALE FOR WINTER 2009: The landmark Radisson Aruba Resort, Casino & Spa and the brand new Radisson
St Martin Resort, Marina & Spa (slated to open in October) are enticing vacationers to plan their 2009 getaway well in advance by launching an Early Winter Sale. The sale, offering up to 25 percent off high-season rates on select room categories, is valid on bookings made by September 30, 2008, for stays between January 4 and April 18, 2009. Both Caribbean beach resorts are serviced by direct flights from major U.S. gateway cities including New York, Miami, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Charlotte. Planning early can help secure a coveted direct flight at the best rate available. For information and reservations, see a travel agent or call Radisson Hotels & Resorts toll-free at (800) 333-33333 or visit www.radissoncaribbean.com.

American Airlines is adding two new direct flights from Miami and New York for the beginning of the Winter season. The New York flight out of JFK International Airport will be twice-weekly starting in December and will increase to five times weekly in January. The new Miami flight, which will fly from Miami International Airport at 5:15PM arriving at Princess Juliana International Airport at 9:10PM, begins service in November.

For those of you who said that Caravanserai Beach Resort would never do it, it looks like you may be wrong. Their reconstruction and expansion project is moving along at a fast pace. There are now four buildings in various stages of construction which will include 40 top of the line units offering panoramic ocean views. In fact, the originally planned project of 212 rooms will grow to 252 by the completion date of December 2009. Could the Dunes Casino be far behind?

As we all know, the airline industry as well as others are going through difficult economic times. But, thanks to Commissioner Roy Marlin and an island delegation, United Air Lines has agreed to continue its three weekly flights from Chicago and Washington, DC which fly to St. Maarten on weekends. The island government has agreed to embark on a sales and marketing campaign in support of the airlines' hub in Washington, DC.

Club Orient Resort is now celebrating its 30th Anniversary and September is "turn back the clock" month. During the entire month, Club "O" will be honoring its old 3 for 2 Special. This is on all bookings except the Villa, subject to availability for bookings of any length, September 1 through September 30th. By the way, September 15th will be their first "full moon party" including a beach cookout, and steel band. The Party will have a 70's theme to honor the original founding of the club.

The Simpson Bay Market officially opened July 25th next to the Coast Guard headquarters and Simpson Bay Bridge. It's been many years from the planning stage to the completion of this beautiful building which will be home to several fish stalls, six restaurants, four office spaces, a bar and other amenities. This new facility will be a benefit to the area and replaces an old eye-sore wood structure that outlived its usefulness years ago. The govenment officials, dignitaries and local people responsible for this wonderful accomplishment can be proud of their work. I congratulate you all for a deed well done.

Divi Resorts today announced the hiring of Kyle Dudley as general manager for its Little Bay, St. Maarten property. Dudley comes from Ontario, Canada where he most recently served as general manager of the Walper Terrace hotel in Kitchener. Dudley’s previous experience includes managing sales, reservations, conference services and revenue for Delta Whistler Resort in British Columbia, and as director of sales and marketing for Delta and Marriott hotels in Ontario and British Columbia. He has nearly 15 years in the hospitality industry. For more information on Divi Resorts call 1.800.367.3484 or visit www.diviresorts.com.

If you feel like seeing a movie while you are on island, visit the Philipsburg Theatres on Walter Nisbeth Road #33 (next to GEBE) directly across the street from the Salt Pond. Here, you can see the most recent Hollywood movies in the comfort of relaxing lounge seats while enjoying an extensive selection of snacks and beverages including wine and alcoholic drinks. To view movie schedule, visit: www.philipsburgtheatres.com, Tel: 011.599.543.0001 or email: info@philipsburgtheatres.com.

The fourth Invitational St.Maarten-St.Martin Classic Yacht Regatta will begin on Thursday, January 22; and, this year, they are doing something different. They have invited Tall Ships to participate and a special course has been added to the regatta for these ships. In fact, several tall ships have already expressed an interest in joining the fun including the 245 ft "Caledonia," which has 32 guest cabins and 22 crew cabins. We'll keep you posted.

It looks like the island may get a Hilton Hotel. Tourism Affairs Commissioner Roy Marlin announced that Indigo Bay Estates has signed a letter of intent with Hilton to develop a $500 million resort on a nine-acre plot of land to be called "The Hilton at Indigo Bay."

What's Happening in Paradise?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - by
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sam Fusco

From the July 2008 Newsletter

Quick Tidbits!
Okay, let's start with the bad news. In Marigot, three luxury jewelry stores, Carat, Ebel and Chopard have closed their Marigot locations. The Fish Bar in Orient Bay has closed. I loved this French restaurant/bistro for years when it was located in Nettle Bay. It was a tiny little place with atmosphere and breakfast or lunch was always an enjoyable experience. At its Orient Bay location, it was a much bigger place with a theme motif and apparently, it couldn't compete with the restaurants on the beach. Fish Top at the Atlantis Casino complex opened in December 2007 and closed in April 2008. Fathoms Tavern on Airport Road in Simpson Bay Lagoon has closed. I thought it had an interesting theme: good food with reasonable prices, a pool table, a dart board with tables inside and outside in the sand. Ate there twice, liked the food and the people. Sorry to see it go. It was a sad day last November to find that Mai's Vietnamese Restaurant in Marigot, which we enjoyed for years, had closed. The good news is that Mai, Jean-Pierre and Candice have opened a new restaurant/pastry shop in Pelican Resort. It is called Au Pain Du Sucre and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner in an outdoor café setting.

The SMART Conference - St. Maarten/St. Martin Annual Regional Tradeshow was held May 20 - 22, 2008, at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino. From everything that I heard while we were on island, this event was very successful and had its largest gathering of participants to date. The St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association, in conjunction with The Association des Hoteliers de Saint Martin, and with the sponsorship of St. Maarten Tourist Bureau and the St. Martin Tourist Board, are the sponsors of SMART. The event provided 2 days of pre-scheduled appointment sessions and activities where Wholesalers and Tour Operators were able to meet and conduct business with Suppliers in the tourism industry.

SMART 2008 also featured Suppliers from the other Islands of the North Eastern Caribbean Tourism Alliance (NECTA). These included Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Barthelemy, St. Kitts & Nevis and St. Maarten - St. Martin. If you are in the tourism industry and would like to expand your business in the Caribbean, you should contact SHTA and inquire about participating in SMART 2009.

On May 20th, Radisson St. Martin Resort, Marina & Spa invited Barbara and me along with Mr. Yann Claeysen, the new Directeur Général of the Office de Tourisme de Saint-Martin plus members of his staff and 15-20 tour operators from travel companies from around the world to a one-hour tour of the property followed by lunch under a open walled tent. The construction and redefining of the buildings and property are moving along on schedule for the opening on September 15th. The tour included a model room which was beautifully decorated and loaded with amenities. I especially enjoyed hearing the reason why one wing of rooms are painted light yellow and the other wing of rooms are painted light blue. The reason has to do with the rising and setting sun. Upon completion, this new Radisson Resort with its breathtaking pool and marina will be a luxurious and impressibe asset for the island.

After the tour, Radisson's Executive Chef Bruno Brazier presented a fantastic three course meal which was prepared in a tent without a kitchen. We started with an appetizer which included Mushroom - pecan cappuccino; Goat cheese and sundried tomato cake; Parma ham and Guadeloupe melon; and, Flame seared red tuna seasoned with fresh mint. This was followed by an entree of Caribbean Rock Lobster which was presented with the lobster shell head and the shell tail separated on a wide dish. In the middle was the lobster meat (body) cut into half-inch slices dripping in a flavorful sauce sitting on top of a bed of tomato, mango, melon and avocado meli-melo. It all ended with a superb passion filled warm chocolate sufflé. Of course, the meal was complimented by the appropriate selection of wines. I volunteered to do the tour and lunch again the next day; but, alas, they sent me home.

La California Restaurant in Grand Case is now a WiFi Zone; so, bring your laptop computers, come for lunch, come for dinner or come for a drink and check your email. By the way, La California is now open 7 days a week and is offering 1Euro = 1Dollar (an even exchange) for payment in cash for lunch or dinner. They also have a new collection of very interesting articles in their shop, "Zen Attitude," which is located at the entrance to the restaurant. By the way, ask to see the surprises on the beach.

During our May trip, we visited Benjamin Laurent's new 20,000 sq ft wine shop and warehouse, La Table De Bacchus, which is located in Hope Estates across from the Grand Case Airport. We were there at 12 noon and the shop was crowded with people sitting at tables enjoying lunch with the finest cold cuts, french cheese, Caviar, Smoked Salmon & Foie gras accompanied by an excellent selection of wine by the glass in an authentic wine cellar atmosphere of stone floors, ceiling and archways. With 80,000 cases of wine, there's sure to be many wines you're familiar with as well as a selection of pleasant surprises. Email: lacavedemarigot@wanadoo.fr. Open Mon/Sat 9am-7pm.

Antonio Pomata, who was for many years a sales agent with Re/Max Island Properties, has started his own real estate investment firm, St. Maarten Investments. We wish him well.

Kids Stay and Eat Free!
Hey Moms and Dads, save $, have fun and bring the kids! Kids 12 and younger get to stay and eat FREE! Just select this special option when reserving your Divi Little Bay Beach Resort vacation! Click the link to book online: http://www.diviresorts.com/DiviLittleBay/little-bay-reservations.html

Peg Leg Pub has moved to a great location on the terrace at Princess Casino in the Port de Plaisance Resort. Jack Parker's new place is a big improvement with lots and lots of parking (something you couldn't find in Simpson Bay) and lots of table space. Excellent food, reasonable prices and the T-bone steak is bigger and better than ever. Entertainment nightly with a good crowd of tourists and island folks enjoying themselves. Peg Leg Pub occupies the former space of Surf and Turf which has closed. In addition, La Dolce Vita, a new Italian restaurant has also opened at the Princess Casino located adjacent to the casino floor. Besides offering tasty and delicious food, wines and excellent service which we enjoyed during our May trip, it has a commanding view of the casino action and the stage with the evening's entertainment.

It has been said that there has been a proposal to ban smoking in all restaurants, casinos and bars on the Dutch side of the island. Since I am a betting man, I will wager $1 that the proposed law is not passed and will not even see the time of day. Please keep me posted.

July 5th on the beach @ Mary's Boon, Marty Balin from Jefferson Starship, Terry Sylvester from The Hollies and Ambrosia, will be performing. It will be a Live concert and an all day Beach Bash. The main concert starts at 6:30 and you must contact a sponsor for tickets. Click here to email Mary's Boon for additional information.

Backstreet looks fantastic! The government's beautification program has been a major success. The street and alley ways are paved with blocks. The polls and electrical lines are gone. There are sidewalks with benches and palm trees everywhere. When you add this to the new boardwalk, the beautification of Frontstreet and the new pier, you can probably say that Philipsburg in the last few years has been going through a transformation pushing itself into the 21st century.

Our old friend Patrick Aveenal has opened a new restaurant called Banana Café, subtitled "Patrick's Place;" and, of course, he already has a good following of local friends. It's a quaint little place on the corner across from the Post Office in Marigot with two sides of open walls surrounded by a white picket fence. Only open for breakfast and lunch with a limited menu, we very much enjoyed a lunch of duck salad and a macaroni dish with wine. To jog your memory, Patrick was the manager of Le Saint Germain for the last few years. Tel: 011.590.590.29.43.11 or email: bananacafesxm@orange.fr.

Construction of the new buildings at the Caravanserai Beach Resort is forging ahead. The two new buildings are now four stories high which is their maximum height. One of the buildings is located in the space formerly occupied by Bamboo Bernies Restaurant (and several shops) which has moved to the Sonesta Maho Resort. The hotel needs to add 100 - 125 rooms to reach the level of 200 rooms for the legal requirement to have a casino. Caravanserai was formerly the home of the Dolphin Harmony Casino which is now located at the Sunset Building in Simpson Bay.

There is a new restaurant, The French Touch, located at the Caravanserai Resort. It has a lovely decor, piano, tables on the promenade overlooking the Caribbean Sea and outdoor dining. The menu is International food with a French flavor and reasonable prices. The setting which is lovely is sure to provide unforgettable sunsets.

Traffic! Traffic! Traffic! The question is would anyone like to discuss the island's traffic situation? Is it better than last year or worse? How about three years ago? Is anything being done about it? Is the government using band-aids to solve the problem when a tourniquet is needed? What's your opinion? Please email Sam at: info@stmaarten.org.

What's Happening in Paradise?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - by
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sam Fusco

From the January 2008 Newsletter

Jean-Marc Debroise, the owner of Fish Pot Restaurant in Grand Case, is opening a new restaurant named "Fish Top" in the Atlantis Casino Plaza complex. The restaurant should be open next month and hopefully will present the same wonderful food and service that made the Fish Pot famous for so many years.

Yannick Debroise, Jean-Marc's brother, who was the restaurant manager and bartender at Fish Pot, and his wife have bought The Bagel House on Airport Road which is located across from Marci's Gym. Besides bagels, the menu includes fresh fruit salads, breakfast and lunch dishes and offers outside dining under umbrellas and an awning.

In November, Gault Millau Guides officially presented recognitions for the Best Hotel on the Dutch side to Oyster Bay Beach Resort and Best Hotel on the French side and Hotel of the Year to La Samanna. Thibaut Asso, the Assistant Food & Beverage Director, of La Samanna received recognition as the Sommelier of the Year.

Some owners at Mary's Boon are asking us to help them gather names and email contact info of all Mary's Boon timeshare owners. If you'd like to get involved in this please email Jeff Berger at jmbweb@jmbcommunications.com. Thank you.

Le Saint Germain Restaurant has a new management, a new name and will soon has a new menu and decor. The new name is Le Pink Pot. What remains the same is the great location on the Marina Royale in Marigot with its fabulous views with outdoor and indoor seating. Rene Cruz whom many of you may remember from the Paris Bistro is the new restaurant Manager. Le Pink Pot's menu will focus on USDA steaks and fresh seafood. By the way, they offer an "Early Bird Special"
of a 25% reduction on all food orders made between 5.30pm and 7.00pm. For reservations/tel: 011.590.590.87.92.87.

The Cliff at Cupecoy held its inaugural opening to invited guests and government officials from both sides of the island on the evening of December 6th with over 500 persons attending. During this opening The Home Owners Association and the developer contributed a total of $22,500 US dollars to 5 worthwhile groups on the island, assisting the young, the old, the orphaned and sportsman.

The Cliff Vacation Rental program is moving full speed ahead for its first season, with 85% occupancy for Christmas holidays. To get the international traveler more acquainted with The Cliff they will be offering some specials starting the New Year. For further information, please call 1.866.978.5839 (toll free).

Jewels by Love, a leading jeweler, with stores in both Marigot and Philipsburg wants you to know the following:
The Euro and Dollar exchange rate does not affect pricing at Jewels by Love because of these facts:
- - - - - - * ALL our prices are in US$ on BOTH sides of the Island;
- - - - - - * Our cost on ALL our watches, diamonds and jewelry is the same on BOTH French and Dutch sides; and,
- - - - - - * We therefore sell everything at the SAME PRICE Duty Free and Tax Free on both sides of the island.
- - - - - - In MARIGOT, Telephone: 011.590.590.87.25.50 Email: jewelsbylove@aol.com
- - - - - - In PHILIPSBURG, Telephone: 011.599.542.6808 Email: jblsxm@aol.com

Heineken Regatta Fever is about to start building and Shipwreck Shops have the full TEAM GEAR collection in all their stores now. This year the Heineken Regatta is going to be bigger and better than ever, with the bareboats already booked out and the registrations for participants at an all time high. The 28th St. Maarten Heineken Regatta collection is code named HR-08 and we have high quality apparel for sailors and would-be sailors alike. From Strappy tops for the ladies to wear ON THE RAIL to quick-dry mens sail shorts, and full coverage BOATIE hats. Visit www.heinekenregattagear.com for a preview or drop into any Shipwreck Shop, the stores are located island wide.

JetBlue Airways has announced that it will begin daily non-stop service to St. Maarten on January 17, 2008. Fares are as low as $318 Round Trip. To search for availability for your dates of travel visit the web site.

For a long time, Barbara and I had heard rumors that The Pizza Galley (011.599.557.7416) located across the road from the Royal Palm Resort may have the best pizza on the island. So, we decided to investigate. We went there one night without letting JP know that we were coming (I was concerned that he might bring in some special ingredients.) and ordered one of his well-done, thin crusted Vegetarian pizzas with the clove of roasted gallic in the middle. We prepared ourselves first with a small order of his Caesar Salad, which was more than enough for two people and washed it all down with a glass of white wine and a beer. When we finished, we were too full to make any decisions. So, we came back a few nights later to repeat this event. Our decision: Pizza Galley pizza is most probably the best on the island and so is the Caesar's Salad!!!

Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort & Casino offers the recipe for love this season with its new Romance at Great Bay Package. The three nights in an Ocean View accommodation Romance Package is available from January 5 through April 14, 2008 at $930 for double occupancy. For details, call 1.800.223.0757 or visit www.sonesta.com/greatbay.

On December 17th, La Cave de Marigot opened a new 6,000 sq ft location in Hope Estates across from the Grand Case Airport. Come and enjoy an excellent selection of wine by the glass with the finest cold cuts, french cheese, Caviar, Smoked Salmon & Foie gras, in an authentic wine cellar atmosphere. Open Mon/Sat 9am-7pm.

Sorry to say that the strength of the Euro, the weakness of the Dollar and lack of customers have closed Chopard, Carat and Little Switzerland (jewelry stores) in Marigot as well as Largo Restaurant on the waterfront. Little Switzerland still maintains a store on Front Street in Philipsburg. A new restaurant, O Solo Mio, has opened in the square in Marigot next to La Vie en Rose which has been there for 25 years.

For the month of November through December 5th, Rue de Hollande in Marigot, which is the main road going from St. Maarten to Grand Case was under construction. A new drainage system under the street with sewers at intervals has been added to carry off rain water during the infrequent rainstorms. The street will be totally new going through the business district of Marigot. New sidewalks, street and palm trees were scheduled to be added to dress up the beautification of this main thoroughfare similar to Front Street in Philipsburg. I would appreciate if someone on island or a recent visitor would email me and let me know if this project has been completed or is it still under construction?

By the way, speaking of Front Street. The beautification of Back Street in Philipsburg was just about completed when we left the island on December 9th. New sidewalks and street of paver blocks with lamp posts, benches and beautiful palm trees lining both sides of the street. The only thing missing is the view of Great Bay which is two blocks away.

Casino Royale at the Maho Resort Complex has done some remodeling. The floor was raised 4 inches to allow room for electrical cables which has added a computerized tracking system for the table games. Don't ask me how it works. I have absolutely no idea; but, that was the explanation that was told to me. By the way, the rug on the casino floor is brand new, bright with interlocking colors, and really has given the place a fresh look.