We were very excited to book a timeshare swap for St. Maarten, BUT we're getting a little aprehensive. Does anyone know anything about this resort, the Pelican Beach Resort? Also, is the diving really that bad? How would it compare to the Florida Keys or Bonaire? Should we pack along our own snack goodies as for Bonaire? Thanks, Donna

Driving around St. Martin is not a problem. Compared with Bonaire, St. Martin has alot more traffic, many hills, mountains & curves, and not nearly as well marked with traffic signs. On St. Martin it is also not necessary to have a 4x4 vehicle and watch out for donkeys or lizards. Don't waste your money on a jeep. A regular compact car is just fine.

Food stores on St. Martin are similar to Bonaire. St. Martin has more stores and a variety of food. Food costs are about the same.

The Pelican Resort is quiet nice & pretty large. There are 8 different buildings, 6 pools, tennis courts, a decent sized convenience store, cafe, restaurant, water sports & Splash jewelers (great prices, wonderful guys) as well as a casino.. The resort is on a very nice but fairly small beach. Think you will enjoy!

Donna:

No worries. We stay just around the corner at La Vista. Driving is fine, diving I know nothing about, other than hearing that diving at Saba is great, and you can get a day trip right from Pelican. There is a little store in the Pelican (Peli Deli) that should cover off snacking needs, and there is a great bakery just a couple minutes walk up the road (Village Bakery).

Donna, Please post a trip report when you get back, especially pertaining to the hotel. I'll be staying at the Pelican on a timeshare exchange in October for my Honeymoon. I have heard a lot of good things about the resort and some not so good things too. Be positive, it's all what you make of it! Have FUN!
Michelle

I just vacationed at the Pelican last month and was apprehensive myself having heard a bit of negatives, but must say I was pleasantly surprised. The room was nice - not 5 star by any means, but clean, large and we had a dynamite view out to the Caribbean. The deli was great for snacks and eating in the room. The pools were nice, lots of trips from the hotel. We enjoyed the casino and the location was pretty good as far as going to Marigot, Phillipsburg and Maho. The beach is small, but there are plenty of others for day trips. We rented a car from Triple A and were very happy with them. We did the dive trip offrered through Pelican Water Sports - trip was very pretty. Diving was ok - nothing outstanding, but nice. All in all it was a great place for relaxing - the island is beautiful. Enjoy!!!!!

Donna;

St. Marten has great beaches, but the DIVING is not all that great. Average, maybe. SABA, a sister island several miles away (you can see it on a good day) has awesome DIVING. Do a search on "Saba Deep". Dive shops on St. Maarten can set you up for a charter boat or ferry or even short flight (incredible landing and takeoff) to get you to Saba for a day of diving. St. Kitts is also a nearby (flight) option for better diving; search for that, as well. DRIVING, on the other hand, is always interesting on SXM.

The grocery stores on SXM have almost everything you can find at home. Don't worry about having to take your own snacks, you can easily find them there (we recommend the Cost-U-Less mini-warehouse store, a smaller version of Costco or Sam's Club.

Pelican is a fine resort. We've stayed there many times, in all sorts of accomodations, but have always been satisfied. It's the largest timeshare complex on the island, and that's got both pluses and negatives going for it. Search for other references here and at www.tug2.net and www.traveltalkonline.com for a lot more information on Pelican and any other SXM questions you may have.

Please e-mail me directly with any specific questions you may have, especially if you might be shopping for jewelery on the island. We've been visiting regularly for over 20 years, and know the island.

Hi Gary, actually as I said in my post I'm going to SXM on my honeymoon. We were thinking about just using gold band for wedding and then purchasing a diamond band for me when I get to SXM. What we're looking for is more like an Anniversary band, channel set princess cut diamonds (maybe 5) total wt.1 carat or less. We've priced them here $600.(.5 carat) - $1500 (1 carat) we're looking to the smaller size. Do you know if we'd get a better deal in SXM? Or can you reccommend your favorite places. Thanks!! Michelle

Michelle;

The short answer is that we buy jewelery from the Alwani's, at Trident and Shiva's on Front Street, but this is off topic for this thread. I'll e-mail you, and/or you can start a new topic for jewelery discussion.

Gary

Michele - I bought a diamond wedding band, sounds exactly like what you are looking for, at Little Europe on Front Street. Excellent service. White gold, total weight 1 carat - $800.

we are interested in purchasing a timeshare. Please respond with all details as well as pricing

gary taylor Wrote:
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> Michelle;
>
> The short answer is that we buy jewelery from the
> Alwani's, at Trident and Shiva's on Front Street,
> but this is off topic for this thread. I'll e-mail
> you, and/or you can start a new topic for jewelery
> discussion.
>
> Gary


I too have always used Shiva's mainly because they always had different pieces than everyone else-however, I find they are on the high end (mainly because most of their diamonds are not from India) Too bad Kelly is no longer there. Splash has decent quality and is a little cheaper.

herb lieb Wrote:
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> we are interested in purchasing a timeshare.
> Please respond with all details as well as pricing


Herb,

If you are genuinely interested in purchasing a timeshare, resale is definitely the way to go. Best suggestion would be to check out www.holidaygroup.com

They are a timeshare resale group that we have done business with - totally legit and very good prices on three different purchases that we couldn't beat anywhere, and believe me, we looked. We dealt with Rachel but I'm sure all the sales reps would work for you.

Respectfully,

pat
:-) :-)

Timeshare can be as good or bad as you want it to be. All depends on what yo pay for it and how you intedn to use it. I'd by on the second hand market or from a timeshare liquidator before I would buy from a developer.

Anonymous User Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Pelican Resort is quiet nice & pretty large.
> There are 8 different buildings, 6 pools, tennis
> courts, a decent sized convenience store, cafe,
> restaurant, water sports & Splash jewelers (great
> prices, wonderful guys) as well as a casino.. The
> resort is on a very nice but fairly small beach.
> Think you will enjoy!