# Just back from St. Maarten -- so surprised!



## Cathyb (Feb 24, 2008)

In one big word ' SHOCK'.  This was our third visit, the first 25 yrs ago, the second about 10.  There is so much building going on everywhere on the Dutch side that it is near impossible to drive anywhere .

We stayed at Belair Hotel timeshare which had the best views but somewhat isolated from the action.  Divi was next door and we could use their amenities; but we walked to Philipsberg only once -- too far and finding parking in P. is near impossible.  We rented a car for the week but drove once and parked it until departure day.

Like most dreamy places, SXM is getting too crowded and you need to be an aggressive driver to survive.  Our plane flight left at 7AM which meant being at airport at 5AM -- now that is not vacation!!  It took us 20 hours to get to Los Angeles.

In summary, there are lots of good memories of SXM; however for us old folks, we'll have to settle for nearby Hawaii and driving laws .


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## JRS (Feb 25, 2008)

CathyB:

   Perhaps the answer is next time to travel a little bit in off season.  I have a week in mid to late October and had no problem with crowds in my case didn'
t have any bad weather either.  I was closer to the airport (Flamingo) you were closer to all the cruise ship crowds.  Hopefully you had some things that you enjoyed on the trip ......


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## dchilds (Feb 25, 2008)

Cathyb said:


> In one big word ' SHOCK'.  ... There is so much building going on everywhere on the Dutch side that it is near impossible to drive anywhere .
> 
> ...  We rented a car for the week but drove once and parked it until departure day.
> 
> ...



This is very interesting to us, we have the exact opposite opinions.

We own 5 weeks at Pelican, in December-January and June, and go either once or twice a year.  (We are keeping 3, one Christmas week, and two consecutive weeks in June.)

The driving is occasionally worse than we would prefer, but we can get anywhere on the island in 30-45 minutes, even in traffic.  We always rent a car, and use it at least 6 out of 7 days.

Our flights out always leave in the afternoon, and we get to Denver the same night.  We prefer the flights to St Maarten over anything into & out of Hawaii.

We do prefer the smaller crowds in June, and we like the fact that the flights are less expensive, and the kids are out of school.

Maybe the problem is solved by going off-season, and not driving during "rush-hour".  West coast is better than Denver to Hawaii, and worse than Denver to the Caribbean.


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## Kal (Feb 26, 2008)

Remember, driving anywhere from Belair would be pretty nasty.  That's not a good location, much less not using a car and being on foot is extremely limiting.


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## Cathyb (Feb 26, 2008)

Kal: Yes, Belair is somewhat isolated and RCI's instructions to get there is and I quote "Take a taxi", can you believe that!  Fortunately we sat next to a man on airplane who was able to give us some directions like ' turn right at KFC,stay right and go around two roundabouts'.  We arrived about 3pm and had a downpour of rain that hindered seeing where we were going on the winding road to Belair. I admit it sure wasn't an easy first day.

We actually liked Belair in some ways.  We had a terrific panoramic view and every morning watched the cruise ships come in (from our lanai).  Our two bedroom was perfect for the two of us.

Kal, we did use Triple A altho there was a glitch.  We found the girl with the sign of names and ours was not on it.  Fortunately they found a very  dented Susuki (we reserved a Toyota) and we took it. Also as you said, Alain was there at 5AM to pick up our rental car at the airport as we left.

As you know, there is no signal at KFC. We were told they had one once and it backed traffic so bad that they took it out.  We found making a left there is somewhat of a challenge -- the daring driver wins 

St. Maarten is a beautiful island, but for us oldsters we have to bite the bullet and let the driving go to you youngsters.  It was a bitter pill to swallow for me.


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## Cathyb (Feb 26, 2008)

dchilds:  Yes, offseason would be better.  Actually we didn't know we got President's Week until this year as our kids are grown.  We had a confirmed timeshare in Aruba the week before and had no flexibility in a week in another season.  We grabbed Belair when RCI called 18 months earlier.  When you live on the West Coast it doesn't pay to go to Caribbean for just one week.


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## Cathyb (Feb 26, 2008)

jrs:  I am sorry I came across so gloomy   There were many things we enjoyed on the island like the tour to the French side with Happy Harold.

I believe the bottom line here is that I am realizing my dear hubby and I are getting too old to travel 20 hrs to get home (we are in our 70s) from somewhere.  It was also frustrating to have a car sitting in the parking lot and too afraid to drive it into Simpson Beach.


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## Dave&Linda (Feb 26, 2008)

Agree totally with your observations of SXM, having been there most recently in last May and January. You might want to take a look at St. Kitts which is still pretty "primative", though in the next few years will definately take on an altogether different look.


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## tombo (Feb 27, 2008)

I know what a 20 hour flight does to your week. It was over 20 hours from when we left Atlanta until I laid down in my bed in kauai saturday night. I have still not recovered from that trip and it is Tuesday. I am dreading the return trip already too. People from California rightfully love Hawaii because it is close to them and beautiful. 

I am going to St Maarten next year and staying at the Belair since I bought an April week there resale sight unseen. I have never been there, but it is only a 4 hour flight from atlanta and several friends of mine loved it when they visited. I know I will miss the grand canyon of the pacific, watching surfers ride the huge waves, and watching the whales, but I will never miss that flight. 

I went to Hawaii 15 years ago and swore I would never go back because of the miserable flight time. This time I sprung for first class to see if it would make the flight bearable. It was better but still miserable. I hope I like St Maarten a lot because it is an easy flight I wouldn't mind taking every year. 

I keep reading reviews here on Tugg and St Martin seems to be the 2nd favorite (after Aruba), or 3rd best (after St Johns) location in the Caribbean. I will hopefully agree after next years trip as I am ruling Hawaii out for another decade.


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## Cathyb (Feb 27, 2008)

tombo:  Staying at Belair -- do eat at the onsite restaurant when they serve the Lobster.  It was the biggest lobster I ever ate and very good.  For computer usage, either Divi in the bakery or at the hotel Sonnesta downstairs; Belair is very expensive and they only have one. You will love the views there.


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## tombo (Feb 28, 2008)

Cathy, thanks for the advice. Some Belair owners on TUG told me the view and  the almost private beach at the Belair were about as good as any on the island. I am looking forward to some sightseeing on the island, some great food, and a couple of days relaxing at the resort without leaving. I will definetelly try the lobster and thanks for the tip on internet usage as you can tell I do check e-mails, even when in Hawaii. Are any of the computer access locations wi-fi? It is so nice when wi-fi is available. I am typing this as i sit on my balcony listening to the ocean waves.


Was the resort pretty nice overall? I know the pool is small. My room is on the 4'th floor, and the resort said that the 4th floor units all have new furniture. Like I said I bought it sight unseen because it seems like what I really like. I like a resort with a great location and a great view, everything else (while important ) is secondary. I will  gladly take an older (but nicely maintained) resort over a newer mega resort with people crawling all over each other fighting for chairs by the pool and on the beach. I also would much rather spend a week in am ocean front silver crown unit with a balcony overlooking the turquoise waters than stay in a gold crown resort with a view of the parking lot. I appreciate your description of the Belair because it makes me feel good about next years vacation there. I don't mind fighting the traffic and crowds while sightseeing during the day as long as I can get  some peace and quiet at my resort


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## Cathyb (Feb 28, 2008)

tombo: It sounds like a perfect match for you.  As for Wi-fi, I think the Divi next door has that capability but I did not see anyone with their computers at Belair.  We were in Unit 418 and it did show renovation results. The rattan furniture had bright and cheery flower prints.  Some of the unit's features still show the age like in the second bathroom and parts of the kitchen; but nothing that was offensive.  

One disadvantage at Belair is the cost of local calls -- $.50 per minute!  We ended up renting (at their front desk) a cellphone for emergencies and calling home.  It was around $50 for the week which included about 45 minutes where we could call California.  It was worth the money for us to have that.  The guy came to our unit with paperwork and when we left, we gave the phone to the Front Desk. We used it to confirm airplane schedules and return of car rental.


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