After responding to the previous post, I thought I ought to do our own trip report, so here it is. Sorry if a lot of it is duplicated.
We were at Esmeralda March 26-April 4. Got fantastic airfare from Delta from Cincinnati through Atlanta. Less than $400 round trip per person. Usually US Air is about $800 and Delta is $1,000 to $1,200. This was our 6th trip to SXM and 5th to Orient Beach and staying at Esmeralda. We really like being able to use the pools nude at Esmeralda. Because of the economy we hadn't been there for 3 years but when I saw the low airfare thought we shouldn't pass it up.
If someone is not familiar with the Esmeralda, there are about 16 one-story villas, each with 4 one bedroom units. Each villa has a pool immediately in front of the villa. Each room has a kitchenette (or full kitchen) and a porch across the entire front of the room. Our pool was only 10 feet from our porch.
They have two main classes of rooms, Superior and Deluxe. Since that was still high season the deluxe rooms were $350 per night and the Superior were $300. This time we went with the lower priced superior room to save the $50. The room was a little smaller but we didn't mind although there was not a good chair for sitting in the room. I don't remember if the Deluxe rooms had one in other years. there were two chairs and a small table out on the porch. As usual I asked for a villa with a more secluded pool. They gave us villa #52 which worked very well. I think it has the most secluded pool of the superior rooms.
Very satisfied with the staff, service and cleanliness. We did miss the umbrellas at the pool which another poster mentioned. Since my wife would go nude the entire time at the pool but won't even go topless at the beach, we spent a lot of time at the pool. The umbrellas would have provided more shade but at almost anytime of day, there was at least a little shade from the palm tress around the pool. I understand their removing them though. We have been at pools where umbrellas flying in the wind almost caused serious injuries.
I do wish CoCo's (the beach and bar area connected to Esmeralda) would return their nude section to the larger open area it used to be. If so, we would have stayed at the beach more and bought more drinks from them. On previous visits with the larger nude section at CoCo's, (and maybe more drinking) I would lay on the loungers at the beach nude and my wife would be there with her bikini on as we talked to some of the others, most of whom were nude. On those trips maybe she got a little more comfortable around other nudes. On some of our walks on the beach I would just wear a towel and she would just wear a pareo wrapped around. It didn't bother her too much that the pareo would blow open some. She even took it off once at club O and went shopping nude in their store. I was surprised by that. But this trip she kept her bikini on the entire time at the beach.
I walked the 2.5 miles round trip up and down the beach before breakfast usually by my self every morning. After breakfast and late afternoon we walked it together. I bought a small men's wrap at Sexy Fruits that I wore instead of a suit. On my 7:00 am morning walks, I walked nude but had the wrap with me in case I needed to cover up. A couple of mornings when a family with young children was out that early and another time when I thought I saw some gendarmes, I put the wrap on as I passed them. Of course I took it off anytime we were walking on the Club O beach.
We rented a car from Unity and stopped in a grocery store on the way from the airport for breakfast and lunch items. We went out for dinner almost every night. Although Esmeralda included a continental breakfast every morning, I just picked up juice and fruit from their restaurant for us to eat back on our porch along with our cereal.
After breakfast we then walked the beach, sat on the loungers at CoCo's for a while and then returned to our pool to swim and layout nude until we walked the beach again in the late afternoon. Usually on our vacations we try to squeeze in as much sight seeing as possible so we are running the entire time. Orient seems to be the only place that we just relax. I cherish the time I spend nude on these vacations with my wife and tend to wait on her as much as possible. I fix her lunch, snacks and drinks that I take to her out at the pool. (This is about the only time I wait on her, the rest of the year she takes good care of me.)
On many of the afternoons we would toss a frisbie from one end of the patio across the pool to the other end. Every once in a while she would miss catching it and it would go over the fence. Without hesitation she would go outside the pool fence and into the fairly open and visible area while she was still nude to get it with no hesitation. I don't know why she would do that and not go topless on the beach where sometimes more than half the women were topless. I'm not complaining though as I'm just happy that in our mid 60's she still looks very good nude and is willing go nude at the pool. That's a whole lot better than most of the other couples that we know.
We ate dinner in Grande Cass at the LoLo's three nights and three nights at the restaurants in Orient Village. We also ate pizza from Tap 5 and bought a few things to eat for dinner back at the room from Tap 5 or a grocery store. I had looked for a very samll cheap charcoal grill to use at the room but the lowest price I could find was $25 so I didn't get it.
I had hoped to do an all day Tiko-tiko or Peggy and Paul's sailing trip. We signed up for one with P&P but when we drove over to the Marina to see where we had to go a day in advance, we noticed that there is hardly any shade on the boat. My wife is blond with fair skin and has had skin cancer once, so she was very concerned about being in the sun too much so we cancelled. Oh, by the way the weather was fantastic every day. On one morning there were clouds most of the morning but other than that it was very sunny the entire trip. Didn't have a drop of rain. Didn't have a problem with bugs either.
One morning we rented a two person kayak from club O watersports and paddled to Green Caye island. We didn't see anyone else on the island from Club O so I went nude. When we got to the island, there was another couple that was just leaving and the woman was topless. We climbed to the top of the island and walked around to the other side. When we returned there were two power boats with familes that included a number of kids on the beach where we left the kayak. I climbed down the side of the island and stayed sitting somewhat behind a rock. My wife got one of the towels from the kayak which I wrapped around me and then quickly and descretely pushed the kayak back into the water and climbed in for our paddle back to Club O. That was a little embarassing.
Can't wait to go back again. Hopefully the economy will pick up and we won't mind spending the money. I want to wish that the value of the Euro will go down relative to the dollar but that probably won't be good for the US economy either.
MAN OH MAN! I miss Esmeralda, Amin, Thomas and CoCo Beach, been almost 3 yrs since down to SXM, several reasons, health & took bloody bath in housing market downturn. Think we racked up about 15 visits there, love the place. Agree excellent report. Thanks; helped my dreaming some. R54
Sounds like a great trip with great weather. It is good to hear that your morning walks could be done nude, that is the only way to walk the beach. When we rent kyaks and go to Green Key we never take suits and explore the island nude. Usually everyone we see on Green Key is nude or topless.
March 26 - April 4 At Esmeralda
Posted - 06/01/2012 : 21:09:13
