My girlfriend and I visited Sunterra's Flamingo Beach on St. Maarten's on the Dutch side Sept 8-15th 2007, leaving husbands and children behind in the States for a girls only week. It was better then my trip there in Sept. 2001 when I went with my husband for the first time. The remodeled room was beautiful and clean. It is facing Simpson Bay on the 3rd floor and perfectly located. Everything worked and the furniture was very comfortable with the dining room table perfectly appointed, not that we used it. Well, ok so I wasn't crazy about the living room furniture. Oversized chair, with way too much plastic in it and the sofa could of been of a higher quality. A small discomfort in an otherwise very nice and comfortable room. The bathroom was spotless and large and much much better then last old unit I stayed in, where I accidentaly put my foot through the shower wall while shaving my legs due to all the wood rot behind it. Not so with this one. The tile work was very well done and I know because my husband and I own a construction company. And although there was remodeling and construction going on, it bothered us not at all.
There were lots of appliances in the kitchen and most importantly, the air conditioning worked. I had read in other reviews where the air units were not working. I think this is due to people not closing the blinds and curtains during the day and really, who wants to block out the beautiful views. But it is a must to keep the rooms cool and comfortable. The controls are locked down so the lowest temp setting is 65. It never gets that cool though and we had both ceiling fans going the whole week to help keep the temp inside down.
Checking in was fast and easy. However, on Friday night they offer an Express checkout so you do not have to wait Saturday morning along with everybody else trying to get out. The problem was it was not 'express'. I think it was offered from 6-8 pm. I got in line about 7:30 and heard others say they had been in line for 45 minutes already and were still waiting in line. This was due to the fact that there was only person at the front desk checking people out. Bad management there. And on your bill there are the standard fees, timeshare usage fee, $7 donation for the timeshare association island charity and then this- they charge you $1 a day for use of the safe in the room. Whether you use it or not, there it is. Come on! Although we did use it and were glad to have it, the safe is in the room, part of the room and should not be billed seperately. So several customers were complaining about these added costs and even though at check-in you state you do not want to contribute to the island charity, they put it on your bill anyway. So check your bill as always but do not expect an 'express check-out'.
Now for the beach area- clean, beautiful, perfect and they have added a large floating platform out in the bay to rest and doze on. Very enjoyable. What I hated- the island women constantly bugging you to have your hair braided and trying to sell you jewlery they claim to have made themselves. An ankle bracelet was being sold for $8-10 and you can get the exact same thing at the Rima store in Philipsburg at 3 of them for $5. I understand they are only trying to make a living but take it to the public beaches. The resort beach is suppose to be private and there is nothing worse then dozing in the sun and being woke up and harassed to buy something you do not want in the first place and have said so repeatedly.
The beach was so perfect , we never used the beautiful pool. But it was there and sparkling clean as were the grounds in general. The staff was very polite and helpful.
There is a bar/resturant on the beach but we only visted it at happy hour and only ate there for the big buffet dinner offered by the resort for $19.99 plus tax. The food was wonderful and varied and well worth the price.
A must stop for excellent Indian food is Lal's across from the airport. It is a bit hard to find if you are heading toward the airport but once you've turned around you can't miss it. It is right before all the car rental companies.
Stop in a see Dajeek at the liquer store in the post office plaza just past the airport and over the bridge on the left. He offers unlimited samples of the various guavaberry rums so you know just which bottles to bring home with you. He has some wonderful stories if you would like to know where the islanders go for their vacations.

The studio suite we booked through Sunterra was all we hoped it would be: 5th floor overlooking the beach and Palapa beach bar. Very comfortable and spacious, scrupulously clean, and with an excellently equipped kitchen. They were just finishing off the renovation of the ground floor rooms during our stay, but it never intruded

All the staff at the beach bar/restaurant and at the pool bar were friendly and helpful...especially Kevin the barman who whipped up some wonderful cocktails during happy hour (ask for a Brown Lady!). We ate at the beach restaurant on the first evening because it was close and we were tired, food was fine as was the service. However there are so many great restaurants close by to try.

The pool is pleasant, but the sunbeds there not as confortable as the beach ones, so we spent most time on the beach. The lovely beach guys delivered our sunloungers, cleaned them off and brought a sun umbrella with no charge, but we usually gave them a couple of dollars a day.

Had a bit of a problem with toilets not flushing, but maintenance were very quick to respond and even came back later to check everything was still OK.

Just one adverse experience: reception had neither any interest or knowledge of the Sunterra request that we stay in the same apartment for both weeks, telling us to return on Monday.
Ended up speaking to the Resort Manager; Jules, at the managers cocktail party who introduced us to William, the front desk manager, who sorted it out and left us a voicemail message that evening to say so. Shame the efficiency and friendliness of those in charge isn’t cascaded down to the rest of Reception staff!

Will definitely go back, hopefully next year!

So travelling in the Caribbean is always iffy because a 5 star hotel there could be like a 3 here- for the same price, of course. With this in mind, I was pleasantly suprised by this resort. It was absolutely everything that you would want in a Caribbean vacation. The best part was the property's beach is set up to be highly conducive to snorkelling. You can rent the equipment on site. There is also a great Infinity pool that hosts water aerobics every morning for those who like to be active on vacation (not me). Several restaurants within walking distance as well as a grocery and liquor store. Our favorite activity was taking the Heinekin Catamaran out for snorkeling and a Booze Cruise. Awesome time!!!

We visited Sint Maarten for the first time in 1990 and have returned nearly every year since (sometimes more than once a year!) The Island has changed a lot over these nearly 20 years! We bought a timeshare at the Flamingo Beach Resort our first year on the island and have found it to be a consistently great experience. We started with one week and now have four weeks. Despite three changes in resort ownership, the timeshare experience has been excellent--so far! Hopefully, this latest and greatest owner, Diamond Resorts, will carry on the tradition.

We are fixed week owners and after a number of years with exchange services, which we never used because we love returning to the Flamingo, we have dropped the RCI membership. And, we are in good company, after all these years, we see the same faces anually, all enjoying their time at the Flamingo! It's a good mix of families, couples, and people from all over the globe.

The Flamingo staff is Carribean friendly, they have their own style! We do find you have to ask questions and be specific, but they always come through for us. It helps to be reasonable and friendly in return--after all, the staff is working for OUR enjoyment.

Our studio rooms have always been in good shape, though remodeling can be a challenge, it's a fact of resort life. We have to rent one night during our stay, and never know for sure where we will end up, but what's life without a little adventure! So far, we've been accomodated well. Oftentimes the only rooms open for one night stays are those on the queue for remodel, so they may not be "showcase" spaces. We understand that, and try to be flexible.

I think the newly remodeled rooms are attractive, the furnishings are ample and the resort itself is safe and comfortable. We LOVE the beaches and the location on the island couldn't be better. For health reasons, we cook-in most of the time, we find the shopping outstanding and the kitchen is quite adequate--and we love eating on the balcony watching the stars come out. For our dining out, Flamingo is well situated for an easy drive to all the island's great restaurants. And, many are located a walk away. We start our days with a walk through the local neighborhoods, up and down some serious hills.

Though we look forward to the resort becoming "wireless", they have easy and good accomodations to keep us connected to home via their highspeed connections.

There are more luxurious resorts, to be sure, but the Flamingo is very comfortable and they try to be flexible. For our long visit, we prefer the home-like feel. Our weeks are during the busy Feb-March season (including the Heineken Regatta), so things are in pretty full swing while we are there.

We have recommended the Flamingo to friends through the years and they have also enjoyed the "home away from home neighborhood" style of the resort. If someone is looking for more of a hotel feel, or more luxuries, planned activities and amenities, we would recommend other places on the island, but for a relaxing, laidback, comfortable and friendly experience, the Flamingo takes good care of us.