La Sucriere Simpson Bay

What is at Simpson Bay that is not anywhere else?

The kitchen, first of all. Everything both maisons sell is baked here overnight, which is why the counter here carries the widest range and why the earliest hours are the best ones. Then the terrace. Behind the bakery there is a deck on Simpson Bay Lagoon with around sixty seats, and the boats go past close enough to read their names.

And the iguanas. They are native, they live around the lagoon, and they come up onto the deck to sun themselves. Guests write about them more than they write about the pastry, which is a strange thing for a bakery to accept and we have accepted it.

How do you get there?

• From Princess Juliana airport, about five minutes east on Airport Road then Welfare Road.
• From Maho and Cupecoy, five to ten minutes.
• From Philipsburg, about twenty minutes over the hill or around the bay.
• From Marigot on the French side, around twenty five minutes.
• From the Simpson Bay marinas and Port de Plaisance, a short drive or a walk.
• Look for the orange building with the French Bakery sign on Welfare Road. Parking is free out front.

When is it busiest?

Between about eight and eleven in the morning, and it is busiest of all on weekend mornings in high season, which runs December into April. There is often a line, and it moves. If you want the terrace quiet, come at six or half past. If you want specific pastries, reserve them twenty four hours ahead, because the almond croissants go early.

What is the parking and access situation?

Free parking on Welfare Road directly outside, plus free street parking nearby. The entrance and counter are at street level. There are no reservations for the terrace, it is first come first served, and there is free guest wifi at the network LaSucriere_Guest.