Many of us would love to have a laundromat where we could wash our own clothes, but unfortunately there really isn't one that I know of anywhere close to the Simpson Bay Lagoon in St. Maarten (the Dutch side of St. Martin).
I now take our clothes to Yvonne's Laundry at Bobby's Boat Yard in Simpson Bay Lagoon, just past the runway extension. They have a long dinghy dock. She charges (July 2006) $8/load to wash, dry and fold. Two years ago, the laundry at Simpson Bay Marina was $12, as was the laundry at Palapa. I don't know recent rates.
I did take our clothes to a place at Portofino Marina that last year charged $9/load ($10 because I'd give the girl a buck). The problem was that three times in a row many of our t-shirts came back with what appeared to be burn holes in them. I know, why did I allow this happen three times...??? What was really bad was that most of the holes were on a fold right at the nipple line, thus making the shirts unwearable in public. We also had a couple of pairs of brand new shorts ruined in this fashion. I was a pleasant customer and always tipped... so I don't think it was revenge. Perhaps cigarettes or cleaning chemical burns? Definitely carelessness was involved...
There use to be a laundromat over at Lagoonies but that has been gone for over a year. It was $3 to wash and the tokens for drying was $3 each. Those machines were really beat anyways. There is supposed to be a new self-serve laundry on the opposite side of where the old one was. An unofficial beta-tester reported that they had some problems to be worked out. It is near the big red building with the sailmaker (nice guy) upstairs. When you get to their stairs, walk across the driveway to the other building and it's around there somewhere... The manager said the laundry is supposed to open when the marina is finished (no date given). So, in reality, a minimum of $6/load and all the waiting around for a machine to open up, and then the wait during the actual wash, dry and fold, it is worth another $2 to have someone do it for you. Your time is worth more than the $2 you are "losing".
Anyway, try Yvonne's at Bobby's Boatyard as she takes very good care of us. Quick turnaround. She does lots of laundry for the American University students up the road. Clothes are put in large, heavy, clear plastic bags which are great for taking the clothes back to the boat in the dinghy.
Just my humble opinion...
