St. Martin, French West Indies - Esmeralda Resort
By Liddy Leonard
AAA Central Penn

Everything you've heard about the French side of St. Martin is true - the foods and the nudes. The restaurants in the quaint funky seaside village of Grand Case and the lively capitol city of Marigot prepare exquisite French- and Creole-inspired dishes. The majority of the resorts, the Esmeralda included, are along the pristine white sand beaches and turquoise waters of the Baie Orientale (Orient Bay) area, and swimwear is indeed optional.

Flights on American Airlines from Miami into the newly renovated Juliana Airport on the Dutch side went smoothly. The airport is now a spacious two-floor building similar in size to Harrisburg Airport. The Esmeralda Resort was booked through Travel Impressions and our transfer driver was waiting with a name sign to begin the 40-minute commute to the French side of the island. During our ride, he explained a massive condominium construction that was under way on the Dutch side, along with new casinos, nightclubs, shops, and the capability of Phillipsburg port to accommodate up to 10 cruise ships per day. I was glad to escape the city area and see the local villages, (one complete with a late afternoon parade to celebrate the opening of Carnivale season), the beautiful marinas and large estate homes dotting the very hilly French side of the island.

The Esmeralda Resort is a small intimate beachfront property at the far north end of Baie Orientale. It consists of 18 one-story pastel painted villas, each with its own swimming pool, and set in secluded and lushly landscaped surroundings. A total of 65 rooms and suites are within the 18 villas, each with a kitchenette and private terrace. The deluxe category rooms are 575-square-feet with terra cotta tile floors, whitewashed walls, exposed beam ceilings and island motif furnishings. No air conditioning needed here, although it was available, as opening the louvered windows and the doors to the terrace provided nonstop ocean breezes.

The service staff, speaking both French and English, was friendly and attentive. The property has two restaurants - one beachfront (Coco Beach) for breakfast, lunch and dinner and one within a villa for dinner only (L'Astrolabe). Guests at the Esmeralda Resort also have signing privileges at six other nearby resort properties. This was a truly relaxing upscale resort geared to folks that enjoy after dinner activities that consist of listening to the ocean, taking a moonlit swim in your pool or reading.

Driving was a real treat - the roads are narrow, winding and hilly with no shoulders or lane division lines. Switchback turns are common, but many lead to beautiful lookout areas to see neighboring Anguilla and St. Barth's. Goats, cattle herds, school children and tourists feel free to be in the road as the spirit moves them. Also, there are no street lamps. But people yield and let you into traffic and the speeds are rather slow due to the road conditions. I had reserved a midsize car from Hertz, which they delivered and picked up at the Esmeralda Resort. By the second day, I had become an almost fearless driver, so we went on daily midday explorations for 3-4 hours, which included lunch with amazingly inexpensive French Sauvignon Blanc ($2-4 USD per glass). My favorite was the Blason de Macaillou brand - unfortunately only exported to French territories. Every meal was great and it should be based on the prices charged. All menus are priced in both Euros and USD, and this trip gave me a chance to spend several hundred Euros that I had left over from previous travel. Dinner entrees per person ranged from $28-40 USD.

Some memorable meals included:

• Lunch at Captain Oliver's Marina in the Oyster Pond area - escargot to start, followed by Oliver's house salad with mahi carpacchio and smoked duck breast on a bed of mesclun and hearts of palm

• Lunch at one of the Lola's - these are the outdoor grill areas in Grand Case village where locally caught lobsters (langouste) are grilled on the beach and brought to your picnic table with the body cavity filled with cole slaw and a side dish of creole beans and rice

• Dinner at L'Astrolabe at the Esmeralda Resort - turbot fillet ringed by mixed shellfish (clams, mussels, shrimp, and scallops) served with aioli that was presented in a Japanese soup spoon, with side dishes of ratatouille and a bundle of baby asparagus wrapped in puff pastry

• Dinner at La Plantation - grilled whole sea bass with fines herbs, served with baby green beans almandine, mashed sweet potatoes with ginger and garlic and seaweed/sesame salad

Few restaurants are air-conditioned; ceiling fans are the norm. Shorts and casual wear are fine for fine dining and restaurant service is relaxed European style so allow 2-3 hours per meal.