Palapa Hidden Oasis SXM — Restaurant in Île des Terres Basses

Over the years we had seen this place and read the reviews before we came down in October. We decided to give it a try so went early for dinner. We were asked if we had reservations, we said no and the guy walked away . . . took a bit for him to come back and we walked in, and the place was empty except for one table. We were seated, ordered drinks, my wifes was correct, mine was up when I asked for rocks. Minor error but not hopefully not portending something later.

As we were waiting to order we noticed several staff members and what appeared to be the owner futzing with a large table, moving decorations around, changing the arrangement . . . and it went on and on and on. Finally I snagged the waiter/Maître d' and we placed our order, it came fairly quickly so we ordered our main when the "warm" sushi roll arrived. It was okay but warm is not what you expect from sushi.

My wife had a view right into the 'window' of the kitchen, the place where finished plates placed while waiting for staff to take them to the table. She said it looked like my dinner was up . . . and then nothing. The kitchen appeared to be fully staffed but for some reason my wife's dish was not forthcoming. Finally about 15 to 20 minutes after my meal was sitting there it was brought to the table.

I ordered a Seafood Bowl with shellfish and , looked fabulous on the menu but when it arrived you could see it had been sitting, waiting for quite a bit. I tried the lobster . . . it was rubbery. I tried the scallops, they were essentially too tough to eat, same with the shrimp. The meal was uneatable. I could not find our waiter to get some service when I saw the woman who earlier appeared to be the owner. My wife said her dish was okay, pasta and clams. I asked the owner what was up, that my meal was way over cooked. She apologized and ordered a fresh dish for me. Again it came out right away, was not rubber, again owner apologizes however my wife finished her meal 30 minutes ago. I had kind of thought that they would have comped my meal but alas full price.

People arrived for the empty table and you would have thought they were royalty with the service and the rest of us are sitting over here wondering what is going on.

Just an FYI, we had to leave the villa we were in because of a leaky roof, the company that rented it to us refunded the full price. Perhaps the owner of Palapa could learn from that lady on how to correct a service issue.

Perhaps it was an off night, perhaps this or perhaps that, regardless I won't go back, nor would I recommend it. You have once chance to make an impression with a customer, if that is a good one or not...

Reservations: highly recommended but be aware lounge has limited menu. Choose Garden or Other. Other is the Bedouin tent and is the non smoking section

Party of 3 2x adult 1 child

Sint Maarten is full of high quality restaurants but this has to be a top pick.

The decor is absolutely stunning and this says a lot considering we are in a Caribbean island and it feels like you stepped into an oasis of tropical paradise. From the moment you arrive you are greeted with warmth.

Food:5 stars ⭐️

Honestly, I wish I could’ve ordered much more that I did but my stomach could not allow. The food here is served at the proper temperatures to ensure maximum pleasure.

Appetizers: sashimi platter and lobster cakes Entrée: The cavalry platter was shared amongst two adults and one child. One rib steak One flank and one tenderloin It comes with two sides, ( we ordered truffled potatoes and fries) vegetables and two sauces. The sauces are so interesting we had to add an extra sauce. 1.peppercorn whiskey 2. Champagne Truffle 3. pomegranate Chimichurri

The sides were so delicious and flavoured with grace.

Drinks 5 ⭐️-if I could give more stars I would I read reviews that the drinks were fantastic here so perfect for a night out at the lounge area or later at night when this turns into what I call a “mingle of the singles or etc.” atmosphere is super sexy yet classy!

My drink “LET me LOVE you” I think that’s what it was called as it was suggested by our servers was exceptionally balanced and my child’s nonalcoholic drink “PINK”was as well. I was so fond of my drink during dinner that for dessert I ordered the trio of alcoholic sips and was IN HEAVEN But was pleasantly surprised when I huge sparkle cake a ride to the table with fire crackers like sparklers. I wish I was able to capture the moment on video but honestly the moment will forever live in my memories.

Make sure you leave room for dessert as they are the perfect way to end the meal. You will not regret it!

Service 5 ⭐️

This is all around the best! They work like a family and help each other out when needed so you feel valued and never need to look for anything. I watched the kitchen in sync and the servers in harmony with bus staff. Apparently this was their first day without their head chef and (April 1st) and they still were in unison.

I am Already dreaming of when I will return. Do not hesitate to make a reservation.

Just make sure it’s not lounge so you get the full food...

A lot of the locals we made friends with highly recommended this place so we were super excited to try it. The establishment is beautiful, hence why I am giving it an extra star. We made our reservations for 6:30 and when we arrived the restaurant was empty, which was a good sign for attentive service. That would not be the case. Cocktails came out reasonably fast but that would be about it, not to mention the gentleman who brought me my drink stuck his finger in my drink to show me how the fire doesn’t hurt🤔 …..could have done without that but alcohol kills germs right? Our waitress was nice enough when she took our order, but it was all down hill from there and we never saw her the rest of the night. It took over an hour to get a new bottle of water and a hour and a half to get our food . Never once seeing so much as a server until I stopped someone to get us said bottle of water. When our food did come I had ordered the prime tenderloin medium rare and it came out rare , extremely. My wife lobster pasta was over cooked and chewy too, very chewy. But after an hour half wait there was no way we were sending the food back and to complain to someone you would have to find them which seemed like an entire undertaking I was not trying to have on the last night there. We didn’t even want to stay for dessert. After finding another random server , two different ones we were finally able to secure our bill and leave. Definitely not worth the 200+ dollars we spent. I would be willing to give it another go…..eventually, but just wow. This was the only establishment on the island that treated us like this and left a bad taste in our mouth , both metaphorically and literally. P.s. I never write bad reviews on restaurants as my wife and I have both worked in the industry and have some understanding, but not...