The roads are steep and narrow, the drivers are fast and furious, the air and water are warm, and the people are friendly. The island is relatively small -- you can drive around it in about an hour.
We found the atmosphere between the Dutch and French side of the island to be quite different from one another. The Dutch side reminded us of an Americanized culture, complete with numerous casinos, American fast food, and nightclubs. The French side is more low key. We found many small restaurants and relaxing beaches. There is little nightlife on the French side of the island,but you can make your own with a nice bottle of wine and walk on the beach! This is truly an island paradise.
Club Orient
Accomodation
We stayed at the Club Orient naturist resort on the eastern edge of Orient Bay. The resort is located just a few feet from the white sandy beach. The rooms are actually free standing double chalets. All rooms are equipped with a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and and an outdoor shower.
We stayed in a Mini-Suite. It was nicely sized for the two of us. The room had a queen sized bed, sitting area, and a table with four chairs. The kitchen had a nice
range of pans and utensils, a refrigerator/freezer, and adequate storage. The suite also had a nice table on the patio.
The outdoor table was wonderful! We ate all but two of our meals outside. The view was nice and we met several people while we were lounging on our back patio. With the perfect weather, we wanted to enjoy every minute outside that we could.
The housekeeping at Club Orient was very good. We got fresh towels daily and clean sheets every 3 days. After the second night we realized that sand would get in the bed no matter what we did... The housekeepers cleaned the suite each day and even put a flower on the bed one day (a sweet touch)!
Club Orient is a wonderful resort in a perfect location. The grounds are well maintained. The staff and security personnel friendly and helpful. The two mile long clothing optional beach adjacent to the resort made allowed us to take several nude power walks every day.
L'Orientique
L'Orientique, the on site gift shop/grocery store, was a great convenience. It was a
holiday when we first arrived on the island, so we stocked up on basic food stuffs at L'Orientique. We went every morning for our bread and pastries yummy!).
Orient Beach/Orient Bay
ClubOrient is located on Orient Beach. Despite some people's misperceptions, the entire beach is clothing optional. We excercised our right to be nude every day by walking the entire length of the beach nude. Some of the businesses along the beach are nude friendly, some are not. We just asked the shop/restaurant manager if we could come in naked before entering. Many said it was fine; only a few said we had to cover up. When the business realized we wanted to spend money, they let us in just the way we were... nude of course. We even jet skied nude, and we saw a group of people nude para sailing. This has to be paradise. We got to know several people and shop owners along the beach, they would always wave a friendly hello every time we walked by. We meet several local beach people and they were all willing to offer information on the island and engage us in conversation. In fact, our last nude walk down the beach involved several good-bye hugs. It was difficult to leave.
Food
We didn't venture out to all the fabulous restaurants on St. Martin. We're not very big eaters, and we wanted to stay naked for as much of our honeymoon as possible. So, we stayed in and around Orient beach. Tracy made several wonderful dinners in the room. We also eat at Papagayos, Pedros, and Baywatch.Baywatch
Be sure to visit Andy and Cheryl, the owners of the Baywatch beach restaurant. Baywatch is located on Orient beach next to Pedros. Just look for the New Jersey road signs. They have a very full and delicious menu. You will not be hungry when you leave this place. Tracy's favorite meal was the chicken finger hero, but the cheese steak won a spot in Mike's heart. Andy and Cheryl are wonderful hosts. We got to know them over the many lunches we enjoyed there and can't wait to go back! We feel a trip to Orient Beach would not be complete without a breakfast or lunch at Baywatch. Baywatch is Clothing Optional -- you can enjoy your meals nude.
The 7 Continent
The 7 Contient beach Bar is a little further down the beach. We both enjoyed late afternoon drinks at the 7 Continent, the staff and regular patrons are very warm and welcoming. We enjoyed many nude visits to the bar at various times of the day.
The Pirate
The Pirate is just two doors down the beach from Baywatch. You will recognize it from the blue and white paint. Glenn the owner will welcome anyone (nude or not) to enjoy great food and drinks. We enjoyed many late afternoon beers and an occasional lunch at the pirate. Be sure to stop in to say hello on your many naked walks down the beach.
Pedros
This place is right next to Baywatch, and it's the first restaurant you will come to when you walk down the beach from Club Orient. The food is good, the beers are inexpensive and the restaurant is nude friendly. You can eat there naked! Pedros is a great place for a few beers and quick snack. They also have a band there several afternoons during the week.
Papagayos
Papagayos is located on the grounds of Club Orient. We enjoyed happy hour almost every night and ate several dinners at Papagayos. The half price beers and frozen drinks special during happy hour (5:30 - 6:30 daily) are a great deal. The food is okay, depending on the cook for the night. The service at Papagayos is poor. The restaurant itself is new and clean. The best thing about Papagayos is its location. It's right on the beach and within the Club Orient resort. You can sit back during happy, sip your frozen drink, watch the ocean, and feel the breeze coming off the
water. It's great way to relax after a tough day on the beach.
Car Rental
There are many car rental agencies on the island. In low season, reservations do not seem to be a necessity, however, reserving is recommended for High Season. We made reservations with Hertz. They have a desk at the airport and drove us the rental lot. They provided us a clean new car. The car return was fast and easy.
We found that we spent most of our time on the beach. When we return to St. Martin, we will only rent a car for a few days of our trip. Lucky for us, Club Orient has a Hertz desk on site!We found out after we returned home that our personal car insurance would not have covered damage to a rental car in St. Martin. It's an international rental. We would have been responsible for the high deductible if the car was damaged. We recommend you check to see if you credit card provides this type coverage, if not, pay for the 12 dollar per day insurance coverage. The chances of damaging a rental car in St. Martin seem pretty high.
Watch out for the other drivers. Local people drive fast and don't always stay on their side of the road. The best approach is to be confident but cautious. Overall the driving was fun. At one point Mike said "Hey I am from Boston, I can drive anywhere!" He said this as he was pulling out into traffic.
Weather
The Island weather was wonderful during our trip to St Martin. The day time temperatures were consistently in the mid to upper 80s. It cooled down at night, but we stayed naked as much as possible. We were even able to take long walks down Orient Beach with nothing between us and the cool night time breeze. Watch out for the occasional rain storm. We encountered a few heavy showers, but the rain always passed quickly. As you can see you just have to make the most of a rain shower!
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