COMMON QUESTIONS
Let’s plan your amazing St. Martin vacation together.
We hope to make your St. Martin vacation planning as stress-free as possible by providing answers to some common questions visitors have when traveling to the Caribbean Islands. If further information is required, we invite you to contact us.
GCBC Travel Tip
If your flight coming to St. Martin has connections, be sure to pack your toothbrush, toothpaste, any medication (in their original packaging), and beach clothes in your hand luggage.
Occasionally you might make your connection when unfortunately your luggage doesn’t; if this happens it will normally arrive within 24 hours and will be delivered directly to the hotel. Please ensure you complete a form with your airline before leaving the Airport.
Check with your airline as to current regulations for baggage, as they may charge, for both carry-on and checked items.
Yes, we have an exercise facility featuring 2 treadmills, an elliptical trainer, a recumbent bike, dumbbells, a universal station, multi trainer and a few accessories to complement your work-out.. which will probably be welcomed after a few Grand Case nights! There is a daily $5 per person fee for this facility.
We do have some fees for other services we provide, please see the list below:
- Crib – $10 per night
- Use of the barbeque grill – $10 per usage
- Laundromat – $3.00 per token
- Fitness room – $5.00 per day
Americans are very lucky, telephone calls from the States are very cheap, outside of the States we all pay a small fortune for our calls.
- Local Calls (French Side) – $1 per minute
- Local Calls (Dutch Side) – $2 per minute
- Calls to the USA / Canada – $4 per minute
- Calls to other International Countries – $5 per minute
Please note our telephone system does not support free (800) phone numbers. These are charged $1 per minute.
We do provide WiFi at no charge to our guests.
We do supply a daily beach towel, so no need to bring them.
Also in the rooms is a fully equipped kitchenette, including a microwave, fridge, oven and coffee maker (we do not supply coffee). All rooms are equipped with flat screen TVs and International Cable. Irons and boards are provided as well.
Hair dryers are located in every bathroom.
In the one bedroom, two bedroom and studios with a loft, the sofa pulls out into an additional twin bed.
Of course we can. Please let us know which restaurants on which day and what time and we will confirm these with you upon check-in. Early booking is not always necessary except perhaps during some holidays (such as Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving) and even then for only a few of the restaurants on the Island. Some restaurants are requesting credit card numbers and/or deposits, as they are experiencing a large number of no-shows for prior reservations…please do inform them and us if your plans change so we can relay the information to the restaurants.
Unfortunately we cannot guarantee any rooming or bedding requests, however please do let us know what your preferences are and we will endeavor to do our best to meet them. You can contact us via e-mail or call us at + 590 590 87 51 87.
Our electricity is 220v here so a converter is advisable. Most electronic equipment e.g. cameras, cell phones etc. nowadays have built in converters, which means you just need the American to European two-pin plug adapter.
Check the equipment you want to bring to see if this is the case, they should say Input: 110v – 240v. With equipment that needs a converter make a note of the wattage output before you go to buy one to ensure the converter has the wattage capacity for the equipment it will need to run. For example, do not buy a 50w converter if your curling iron produces an output of 1600w.
Curling irons and hair dryers tend to have very high watt age outputs, we do provide hair dryers in the rooms and we sometimes have a curling iron for loan, but please don’t rely on this. The general rule of thumb is, if you are not sure your converter will handle the piece of equipment, don’t bring the equipment as you risk destroying both items.
Please also note the wall sockets for our plugs are recessed so try to find a converter where the plug part does not sit flush to the converter itself but protrudes. Adaptor plugs and some converters are available for rent in our gift shop.
If traveling with necessary medical devices, please do bring specified transformers to ensure proper operation of them. Our transformers are convenience items, and limited in their capacity and ability.
We do not operate a airport shuttle, but there are plenty of taxis outside of the arrivals exit. It is approximately $35.00 for two people with two bags each, additional people are normally charged $5.00 each and additional bags are $2.00 per bag. However, after 10:00 pm you will be charged an additional 15% on the regular taxi rate and after midnight it can go as high as 25%. This is for a private (not shared) taxi…if you are asked to share, the rates should be considerably lower. Best to specify at the Airport for a private ride.
Some car rental companies organize collection at the Juliana Airport, if this is the case you will be picked up by the company at the airport and taken to their nearby office to collect the car and complete the paperwork. Some, but not all car rentals may have in-terminal booths.
Be aware that traffic patterns can change…ask the rental car providers for the most up to date information. GPS navigation is working better day by day on the island, especially on the French side.
If you would like directions on how to get to our hotel, please contact us.
Before traveling to St. Martin/ St. Maarten, please check with your customs office and airline for the latest information of what you can bring home with you. Remember, the requirements do and have recently changed for what you may bring on a flight, both in carry on and checked luggage.
Some of the products that St. Martin offers, which are commonly purchased as souvenirs and gifts are:
- Herbs and spices
- Shells
- Fruit flavored rums
Many countries do not allow the personal import of either shells or food items, so it is best to know your customs regulations.
In many countries the Fruit Flavored Rums that are for sale here are not included within the alcohol allowance on your return as they are considered “Artisan”. This is because the rum itself is not made on our Island but imported and flavored prior to re-sale.
These are very popular gifts, again please check with your customs officials for the applicable allowances.
| Grand Case | ||
|---|---|---|
| Supermarket | Monday – Saturday Sunday | 08:00 – 20:00 09:00 – 19:00 |
| Pharmacy | Monday – Friday / Saturday | 09:00 – 13:00 and 15:00 – 19:00 / 08:00 – 13:00 |
| Shops | Monday – Sunday | 11:00 – 15:00 17:00 – 22:00 |
| Marigot | ||
| Supermarket | Monday – Saturday Sunday | 08:00 – 20:00 09:00 – 19:00 |
| Shops | Monday – Saturday | 09:00 – 18:00 |
| Philipsburg | ||
| Supermarket | Monday – Saturday Sunday | 09:00 – 21:00 09:00 – 19:00 |
| Shops | Monday – Saturday | 09:00 – 18:00 |
Please note these times are subject to change and vary from shop to shop.
On the whole, Sunday is not a good day for shopping as many of the stores are closed.
The Market in Marigot is open every day but the main Market days are Wednesday and Saturday. The market opens early in the morning approximately 08:00 and stalls are normally start packing up between 14:00 and 15:00. For fish and meat we advise you visit the market very early on Wednesday and Saturday as this part of the market is normally over by 09:30.
If you plan to visit Philipsburg for a day shopping, we advise you come to the Front Desk on the morning you intend to go, to find out how many cruise ships will be in port that day, especially if you do not like crowds and traffic and parking can be troublesome.
You have chosen a very unique place to visit, St. Maarten/ St. Martin might be small but we are confusing when it comes to currency. In a nutshell, on the Dutch side they take US Dollars and Guilders, on French side we take Euros, however we are also accustomed to US Dollars and all Restaurants and shops will accept US dollars.
Some restaurants take US$ at a very favourable exchange rate if you pay in cash, but have Euro credit card machines. Most shops and supermarkets take dollars but at an exchange rate, most tend to work on a daily exchange rate basis or thereabouts. We told you it was confusing, if you would like any further clarification please ask at the front desk when you are here, or give us a call on 011 590 590 87 51 87.
In today’s times it is required to travel with a passport! Please check with your airline before traveling for the entry requirements for your nationality.
Most passengers visiting our Island will be arriving at Juliana Airport, SXM, this is on the Netherlands Antilles part of the Island but the hotel itself is on the French side of St. Martin. There is no border patrol or immigration between the two parts so you will have no trouble accessing the whole Island once you have entered.
If you plan to visit any of the surrounding Islands such as St Barths, Anguilla or Saba, even just for a day trip, please check the entry requirements before arriving here in case you need a visa for any island. You will need to carry your passport on any of these visits.
For the most part if you are an American, Canadian or a European Community valid passport holder you should not have any problems entering any of the nearby Islands.
