Tweet
Owner just returned from Sunterra Flamingo Beach St. Maarten
Fellow Sunterrans, we thought you might like an update from Flamingo Beach Resort in St. Maarten. We just spent 4 nights there on points, and had two 4th floor studios in the main building, which were tastefully updated quite recently. The studios are quite large with living room and full kitchen. The bedroom closes off for privacy if needed. Originally one of our units was a non-refurbished musty first floor, but we were graciously offered a free upgrade to an ocean view studio with minor inconvenience. We also perused Sunterra's Royal Palm Beach just down the road. The major difference as we saw it was the Flamingo is up a long windy road away from traffic, casinos, transportations, and shopping. The beach is superior at Flamingo, and we enjoyed the quiet of the resort. We were told, however, that the refurbishing of the main floor and the other buildings would start in two weeks, and Flamingo would become a construction zone again. There is shuttle service between the two resorts from 9-5, but it's an arduous 15 minute uphill walk you should be prepared for after hours if you don't drive. Renting a car was very easy and about $30/day with insurance. We were able to secure another studio at Flamingo for 4 additional nights at the under 59 day rate, through Bridgett, upstairs from the main lobby. She's there during business hours only, and very nice. It was only 800 points total for 4 weeknights, quite a bargain I think. The only inconvenience is that our original rooms were already spoken for and this involved a check out at 10 am and a move back to the first floor at 4pm. Our son remained and checked back in after we left, so I don't know how the new accomodations were. The staff was incredibly nice, particularly the woman who ran the beach bar. She knew everyone by name and their favorite drinks after the first day! Be prepared for seriousness, however. At first we were surprised we didn't see more smiles. Our Caribbean son clued us in on Islanders. Before you request anything, address the staff with "Good Morning, Good Afternoon, etc". Then they'll return the greeting with the smile. Wow! What a difference that made. The laundry is not in the unit, but there are many W/D near the main building. They cost $2 wash and $2 dry, all in US quarters. They have activity desks in the main lobby and near the beach to arrange scuba and other trips. You walk to the next door resort for the trips to nearby islands and for scuba, quite convenient for our divers. We would return again without hesitation.
-
-
We plan on going to Flamingo next year maybe early June, I was told that the older units are closer to the beach and offer a better view and hence recommended by some any thoughts? What was the estimated time on the construction did you get the feeling it was going to be atleast a year's worth of work. Thanks for posting I can't wait to visit!
-
I believe that they hope to have the main building completed by the Christmas Season. They don't want to take too many units out of service at a time, and hope to get most of the work done during the "hurricane" season. I would hope everything will be done by next June. Supposedly Mr. Cloobeck is expected there in a week, so they're prepared for some new directions. If the main building is the older one you spoke of, it's 4-5 stories, and the upper 2 floors do have great views. There are several other buildings but I was told they're usually the ones reserved for RCI or II trades, rather than Sunterra owners. They will be the last to be remodelled. Don't be ashamed to pull rank if you're Sunterra Elite.Comment
-
I would like to stay two consective weeks on the island one at Sunterra Flamingo Beach and the second week at Royal Palm Beach. What are your thoughts on this exchange and what would be the best month to travel to the islands?Comment
-
Well, we're certainly not experts as we were only there for 1 week and this was our first visit, but I've heard that hurricane season officially goes from June to October. We were warned we might be affected in May, but fortunately we experienced perfection. High season, of course, is the Nov-April, and if you're looking to escape cold weather that would be your time. We live in CA, we took our grown children when they could get time off, and we met our son on his boat which needed maintenance in St. Maarten, so our date factors had nothing to so with the seasons. We didn't want to take a chance with under 59 days even in May so we booked early, but if you're advensuresome, and if you go off-season, I have a good hunch you could book 1/2 price once you're there. The fact that Flamingo will be a construction zone for several months might be offset by quite a few units taken off the market for refurbishing. I have no idea if Royal Palm is taking units off to refurbish. If you've never been there, you're in for quite a treat. We envy you that you'll have 2 weeks there. Maybe next time we will too!Originally posted by Ryne08Comment
-
Any time is a great time for St Maarten, unless you get unlucky and get a hurricane. As Shiela has said, winter is prime time, and Apr/May/Jun & Sep/Oct are fairly easy to get Sunterra Quick Getaways and Bonus time and would also be the easy time for exchanes through RCI and II. There is inventory in both as older ownerships that have not converted to Club trade through RCI and Club inventory appears in II.
I've stayed at Royal Palm Beach, with an extra unit for S-I-L and family, a unit at Flamingo Beach for friends and a private rental at Pelican for more friends between Xmas and New Years a few years back. FB had major renovations going on then and so did RPB. A walk along the beach between resorts is easy and not as far as Shiela portrays, or at least not in my memory. You needn't 'split' your two weeks between these resorts, you should take what you can get and/or what meets your needs. RPB has 1,2,3BRs (but mostly 2BRs); FB has Studios and 1BRs; FB Villas (the newer construction) has 2BR lockoffs so 1BRs are available, too.... not enough time for all the timeshares ®Comment
-
Flamingo Beach has lots of Garden View units which seem claustraphobic with views of the parking area. FB also has half the units which are right on the beach/water. The Sunterra Classifications for the Studios are Garden (already discussed these as parking views); Saba View (oh, you think this means you can see Saba Island, no way, they term this pool view); and Ocean View.Originally posted by mace View PostWe plan on going to Flamingo next year maybe early June, I was told that the older units are closer to the beach and offer a better view and hence recommended by some any thoughts? What was the estimated time on the construction did you get the feeling it was going to be atleast a year's worth of work. Thanks for posting I can't wait to visit!
Flamingo Beach Villas has some buildings down near the beach and some going up the hill. Nice roomy 2BR lockoffs (2x1BR) most with nice views.
RPB and FB I'm told, were once part of Pelican, but were sold off many years ago during some sort of financial problems because of hurricane damage.... not enough time for all the timeshares ®Comment
Comment