St. Maarten (The southern Dutch side)

[ClubTed]

Concur that the place must have just opened around June timeframe. I wouldn't necessarily call it's location in a "dodgy area" though. The Westin Hotel is around the corner, Oyster Pond is within view, million dollar homes dot the hillside, and there is prime real estate behind the casa, just begging for development. The problem with the club is it's remoteness from SXM police. It's driveway entrance is literally 20 to 30 yards from the French border and the nearest Dutch police are located in downtown Philipsburg. The driveway up to the club is steep and long. And once on top if guys are hanging out in the parking lot, it can be a bit intimidating, but the parking lot is well lit and I've never had a problem in the parking lot. The unfortunate reality is if stuff goes down, the French Gendermanes will not cross over the border and do anything, short of their being an all out catastrophe, and the French Gendermanes (police) stay at the Columbus Hotel in Oyster Pond which is right above Captain Oliver's when they are not on duty at the station in Orleans and they are 2 minutes away, vs maybe 20 minutes or so for the Dutch police to arrive at the scene. So basically, you have a remote, outlying den of iniquity hidden amongst the gorgeous skyline of Oyster Pond and million dollar homes perched upon hills right next door, and undesirables that have slept all day and are out at night on the prowl fueled with booze, drugs and in the presence of scantily clad women that can be a recipe for trouble. There's always strength in numbers, but I fly solo. If you are street wise and can handle yourself. Casa Blanca or whatever it's called now, is manageable. But back in the day 20 to 30 Dominicans were the norm. The latest numbers being reported. With 2 Russians? Wow. Hard to believe.

[Barkey]

Regarding phantasm, my friend said it has been opened since June, only had 5 girls then, 2 of which are Russian.

He said he won't go due to it being in a dodgy area. Also his friend who grew up in st Maarten and knows a lot of people there would only go in a big crowd.

Carolina is still the place to be, apparently there are 5 or 6 absolute stunners working there are the moment.

If you do decide to go to phantasm I would suggest going early evening or in the afternoon. I would not want to be pissed up alone, late at night in any of the islands working girl houses, especially on Friday or Saturday.

I'm on the island now and saw he new sign along the road. Same place as the old Casa Blanca. A new coat of white paint on the outside but for all the previously discussed issues. Not going to drive up there.

Carolinas has lots of talent. Many good looking chicas but as always but way too much plastic.

Report to follow.

Barkey.

[ClubTed]

Last time I was in SXM pre Hurricane Irma and visited Casa Blanca they did have a sign at the entrance saying no slippers. I was laughing my ass off and didn't realize they were referring to sandals. So I'm not really sure how vigilant they are in that regard and what the mindset is, since afterall, it is SXM.

My bigger question and maybe Mel can weigh in on this, is how they are managing to stay open until 7 am with the notorious past of shootings, murders, allegations of forced labor etc? Have no idea what the liquor laws regarding hours of service are on the Dutch side. I know the DUI laws on the Dutch side are pretty much non-existent and you can drive with an open container. On the French side, it's an entire different ballgame.

The last shooting that I'm aware of at the former Casa Blanca occurred at 6 am And resulted in 2 hit with one fatality. If you look back at some of my previous posts you can read about my 5 am Closing time experience a few years ago. Again, this is really a club for locals, especially after 2 am I've observed the gangsta type of crowd arrive and immediately most of the chicas would gravitate toward their local supplier of coke or whatever would fuel their engines, after they had toyed around with any brave tourist arriving and staying within the earlier time window. Place had a heavy presence of Dominicans. Some good looking ones, but no light skinned Colombians like Carolines.

Will be interesting to read some future posts about this club. So if my scorecard is correct, LE Petite Chateau has changed names, Defiance has changed names, and now Casa Blanca. Dam, I miss the old Seaman's! LOL!

[FunTimeSxm]

Regarding phantasm, my friend said it has been opened since June, only had 5 girls then, 2 of which are Russian.

He said he won't go due to it being in a dodgy area. Also his friend who grew up in st Maarten and knows a lot of people there would only go in a big crowd.

Carolina is still the place to be, apparently there are 5 or 6 absolute stunners working there are the moment.

If you do decide to go to phantasm I would suggest going early evening or in the afternoon. I would not want to be pissed up alone, late at night in any of the islands working girl houses, especially on Friday or Saturday.

[Lucky Strike]

Regarding dress code, I don't know how much "truth in advertising" one can expect from an ad for and by a "gentleman's club" built literally on the footprint of a place like Casa Blanca. I just don't think the "code" will be enforced. IMHO, all this is for show. But I do believe they may stay open until 7 am, at least on Fri and Sat nights. 7 am is not llate for night clubs in a number of LatAm cities. And I bet that the "supplements" that keep the patrons awake and alert, often available in the clubs in LatAm, will likewise be available in this case.

Did some digging on the net and saw an advertisement for 2 for Tuesdays at the aforementioned Phantasm. From the flyer I saw, they are putting a big emphasis on dress code. Leave you hat in the car. And no slippers! Actually they are referring to any type of beach sandal. Says no athletic wear either. Not sure what that means since most visitors are in either shorts, tank tops, or maybe sneakers. You may have to dress up with shirt and khaki pants or shorts! The other interesting thing I read, is the place is now open until 7 am that's right, 7 am! I've been there when the place was closing around 5 am but looks like they are keeping the party going until breakfast!

The drink specials didn't start until 10 pm so looks like the good old days of daytime frolicking here are over. Purely a late night venue. Which means mostly a local crowd. You won't see the cruise ship influx here, like you will at Caroline's during the day. Then again, guessing this place isn't going to be open during the day. Unsure if they will still have onsite chicas, guessing they will, since they have the layout for it. Seems this place has been open at least for a few months. Any on the ground reports would be appreciated. This is the last casa before the French border. A convenient place to duck into if you are staying in Oyster Pond or Orient. But the place has a checkered past, late at night. Exercise extreme caution in the parking lot. Shootings have occurred in the past.

[ClubTed]

Just saw on Instagram that there is a new gentleman's club with VIP sections, bottle service, etc were the old casa Blanca was.

Did some digging on the net and saw an advertisement for 2 for Tuesdays at the aforementioned Phantasm. From the flyer I saw, they are putting a big emphasis on dress code. Leave you hat in the car. And no slippers! Actually they are referring to any type of beach sandal. Says no athletic wear either. Not sure what that means since most visitors are in either shorts, tank tops, or maybe sneakers. You may have to dress up with shirt and khaki pants or shorts! The other interesting thing I read, is the place is now open until 7 am that's right, 7 am! I've been there when the place was closing around 5 am but looks like they are keeping the party going until breakfast!

The drink specials didn't start until 10 pm so looks like the good old days of daytime frolicking here are over. Purely a late night venue. Which means mostly a local crowd. You won't see the cruise ship influx here, like you will at Caroline's during the day. Then again, guessing this place isn't going to be open during the day. Unsure if they will still have onsite chicas, guessing they will, since they have the layout for it. Seems this place has been open at least for a few months. Any on the ground reports would be appreciated. This is the last casa before the French border. A convenient place to duck into if you are staying in Oyster Pond or Orient. But the place has a checkered past, late at night. Exercise extreme caution in the parking lot. Shootings have occurred in the past.

[Sturgill]

Just saw on Instagram that there is a new gentleman's club with VIP sections, bottle service, etc were the old casa Blanca was.

[John2526]

Look above, you can buy bitcoin with Visa / MC.

There are also bitcoin ATM machines, and search engines to find them. They're reasonably common in urban areas. I found one in a gas station convenience store, fifteen minutes from my house.

You feed in dollars, like a vending machine, and it gives you a ticket with the code info to access the funds.

You do pay a premium anywhere you purchase, and more at an ATM. However, the ATM does offer anonymity, as there is no bank paper trail.

Once you own bitcoin, people recommend consolidating it in an online "wallet," which is basically like a bank account.

I use "Blockchain" as my wallet.

I think "Coinbase" was the best place I found (a couple of years ago) for buying Bitcoin using a credit card or bank account.

[Mel365]

Mel,

I purchased some bitcoin! It takes 11 days for it to clear to actually use In the meantime I will take a stab at a trip report from 2007. I thought it was 10 years since my last trip but alas it has been 12. Man, how time fly.

As far as RTTF. I have been. I read a little bit each day, I keep a tab open on my phone and I'm currently on page 155. I'm a reader and the stories are better than any adventure novel I could pick up right now. The stories from Mel, Routard, Zing, Scubatoo belong in a book. Hopefully someday, someone will tackle it. I only have a few questions and I am not going to be super anal about planning my upcoming trip minute by minute. I have learned in the past that when I get all crazy with my expectations it's hard for them to ever be met.

I do want to thank all of the guys who have come before me and contributed to this forum. It's a weird thing, in America at least, being a hobbyist. I think we all are indeed a special breed with a thirst for everything this world has to offer. I am a place in my life where experiences and making memories are better than any car, art, or retail therapy can provide. I am counting the days and the research, the reading, the intel, and practicing my chica Spanish to the cleaning ladies at my office are part of the fun and experience. Again, Thanks for all that contributed.

P.S. After reading way to many of Mel's post I will never not call an ass, Culo, again. LOL. I have even been singing that old Pitbull song where the course is an enthusiastic, "culo!

CHECK OUT THE REPORTS OF DISTINCTION.

Culo is the hole.

Gluto But (glutus maximus) sp?

Cola- Tail.

[Sturgill]

Look above, you can buy bitcoin with Visa / MC.

Mel,

I purchased some bitcoin! It takes 11 days for it to clear to actually use In the meantime I will take a stab at a trip report from 2007. I thought it was 10 years since my last trip but alas it has been 12. Man, how time fly.

As far as RTTF. I have been. I read a little bit each day, I keep a tab open on my phone and I'm currently on page 155. I'm a reader and the stories are better than any adventure novel I could pick up right now. The stories from Mel, Routard, Zing, Scubatoo belong in a book. Hopefully someday, someone will tackle it. I only have a few questions and I am not going to be super anal about planning my upcoming trip minute by minute. I have learned in the past that when I get all crazy with my expectations it's hard for them to ever be met.

I do want to thank all of the guys who have come before me and contributed to this forum. It's a weird thing, in America at least, being a hobbyist. I think we all are indeed a special breed with a thirst for everything this world has to offer. I am a place in my life where experiences and making memories are better than any car, art, or retail therapy can provide. I am counting the days and the research, the reading, the intel, and practicing my chica Spanish to the cleaning ladies at my office are part of the fun and experience. Again, Thanks for all that contributed.

P.S. After reading way to many of Mel's post I will never not call an ass, Culo, again. LOL. I have even been singing that old Pitbull song where the course is an enthusiastic, "culo!

[Mel365]

Hey Mel, would love to. But I don't do bitcoin.

Look above, you can buy bitcoin with Visa / MC.

[Sturgill]

Welcome aboard. Sturgill you should become a member so you can receive private mail.

You would find it very helpful.

Mel.

Hey Mel, would love to. But I don't do bitcoin.

[Mel365]

Haven't been to the island in 10 years and I'm excited to go back. First time poster here, very active in the US forums. Thanks for all the intel. Hopefully I am getting there at the start of high season and the superstar chicas will be there. I am traveling solo for the first time and damn excited everything I do will be on my time. A happy 40th to me if you will. Love to link up with any fellow mongers that are there and share a Carib and some tall tales. Staying over in Maho at a boutique hotel, renting a car, and ready to party. I plan on trying it all. The chicas, the strippers, and maybe scooping a local out of a club or beach bar.

Sturgill.

Welcome aboard. Sturgill you should become a member so you can receive private mail.

You would find it very helpful.

Mel.

[Sturgill]

Haven't been to the island in 10 years and I'm excited to go back. First time poster here, very active in the US forums. Thanks for all the intel. Hopefully I am getting there at the start of high season and the superstar chicas will be there. I am traveling solo for the first time and damn excited everything I do will be on my time. A happy 40th to me if you will. Love to link up with any fellow mongers that are there and share a Carib and some tall tales. Staying over in Maho at a boutique hotel, renting a car, and ready to party. I plan on trying it all. The chicas, the strippers, and maybe scooping a local out of a club or beach bar.

Sturgill.

[FunTimeSxm]

My friend in the island was out last night and ended up in Carolina. He said that there are so many hot women in there at the moment, he mentioned two by name, Lorena from Cali and another chica called Karen. He sent me a photo of Lorena and I agree she is very hot.

Hope this batch of Chicas is still there over Christmas and New Year.