TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin January Trip -Questions

Hello Folks. I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday...

As I stated in a previous thread, we are long time visitors to the Dutch Side. However, this year we are staying French side for the first time, so I have a few more questions:

French Side Currency: We have only dinned in Grand Case on prior trips in which we used credit cards. However, this trip we would like to explore more beach bars and casual places. Do they accept US Dollars widely on the French side? Should I convert some $ into Euros?

Water Situation: We are staying in the Mt Vernon area in a condo. Does anybody know the status of the water situation? I did read about a strike affecting supply.

Stuff for a 2 Year Old: My sister and her husband and 2 year old boy are staying on the Dutch Side. They are first timers who would like to do some things with their little boy. Any suggestions?

Belair Situation: My sis and family as stated above are staying at The Belair. I have read about the AC and Hot Water issues there and I am quite concerned about it. I cannot imagine staying 2 weeks with a 2 year old in a place with not Hot H20 or AC. Does anybody know of the current status?

Sorry for being so wordy but I'm a bit neurotic this time around.

Much appreciated!

Good morning
US$ everywhere on the island. It appears water flow is back on track. Yay! As for the 2 year old parrotville would be excellent & maybe plane watching at maho beach.
Enjoy your time. The island is still great!

Everywhere takes US $ but not everywhere takes CC. No need to convert currency. But you may need an electric converter depending where you're staying on the French side. Ask the management. I know Grand Case Beach Club has ONE outlet that is like we use in USA. Other places may have the same.

Belair hotel has completed renovation I'm told. Great beach there for a 2 year old. Pick up some sand toys at Penny's on back street in Phillipsburg.

For the child: Go to the Bird Sanctuary at the French/Dutch border area. mid island. I'm not good with directions but someone here will help.

Watch the planes take off and land from Tortuga restaurant and bar Maho area. I suggest this place over Sunset Beach Bar because when I look at the web cam it's never too crowded where as the cruise lines bus people to the other place.

Go to the fort up hill at left of Belair at Divi and/or in Marigot take the easy path to the fort. There is a magnificent view from there.

As to the water situation, from what I've read in the Daily Herald, it will not be over soon. Some accommodations on the French side thankfully have their own salinization plant for water.

Awesome information! Thank you so much! This forum is a gem!

All great recommendations. I think the little nephew will love seeing the parrots...

Thanks for the Tortuga recommendation. None of us...esp. the little one.... likes big crowds.

Hi. People have addressed your other questions. HOWEVER, be aware that Belair's problems have NOT been totally resolved. If it were ME, I'd look for somewhere else for them to stay. Just sayin'.

For sure.

Yikes! Now I am worried for them. They have already paid somebody who owns ( time share )there for the two weeks. I am just wondering if they will have any recourse. It is their first time on Island so I would hate for that to be their first experience. Time for the big brother to do some homework. Otherwise, I have a feeling they will be driving to our rental on the French Side just to shower!

If there is anybody currently staying at Belair, could you give me an update on the reality of the hot water & AC situation there?

Thanks in advance!

BTW The water situation on the French side is not settled yet.

I would contact Belair directly and see what they tell you.

As far as the French side water situation, I really don't know whether it is resolved or not.

USD is widely accepted everywhere on the island.

I am a huge fan of Parotte Ville Bird Park, but IMHO, it is not appropriate for a two year old. I love birds, but they can get a bit aggressive, and I have seen many a crying toddler in there.

My grandson was 21 months old and he loved the birds. Had zero issues. He was mostly on his dad’s shoulders but he put his hand out with food and let the birds land. Will be going again in February with him and his 9 month old sister so we shall see!!!!

Yes Kim, you're right. Our first visit was early in the day and we were the only people there. Very enjoyable; however, second visit was more exciting because there were small children there and they were having a great time. It was infectious!

We have been to Parrotville several times. I have a granddaughter that's almost 2 and I think she would enjoy it, but would probably not want to have her or the parent that's holding her have a birdseed cup in their hands until she's had some time to watch the activity for a while. Like many kids she can be a bit intimidated by new things until she has some time to warm up to a situation. Other kids that age might be ready to have birds land for seed immediately. I can see how a little kid who's not familiar with the place and walks in with the cup could be frightened immediately when a bird flies up to land on them. I'm always surprised at how some parents just throw their kids into things and then wonder why they got scared.

Since we just returned last night from 2 weeks at Belair, I will try to respond to your concerns.
We arrived there on 12/14/2024 and from that day until 12/21/2024, had no hot water. From 9:30 AM on the 21st, we had hot water restored (kinda). Not hot water like you have at home. Basically, pretty enough hot water for me to shower and shave from 3PM on. We had no hot water in the early hours and about tepid from noon until 3.
The air conditioning problem for the 2/3 part of Belair was also restored on the same day. The part of Belair next to Divi has had AC for the past month or more and since we stayed in Room 202, the AC was great.
I have become aware that the hot water problem is more of an issue to some, like myself, while others have no problem with the current situation.
Please understand that I am an early morning person and am used to starting my day with a hot shower and shave.
Hope this helps.

Tom--thanks for the update.

To the original poster--see if your sister can get out of there.

Carol,I'm not sure I would suggest that they cancel since they have done exactly what we did, rent a period of time from a current timeshare owner. Honestly, my wife, daughter and granddaughter are already planning a vacation at Belair for next near. The location (right on the beach), security, small size (70 units), and incredible staff are fantastic. But, the improvements there are slowly taking place as everything is on "island time". I think they may benefit from the current problems being addressed for their stay.
Hard to find a substitute this late in the game.

Sorry, I need hot water. That would be one of my requirements. Plus we don't know where they are, as to if they even have a/c.

I'm wondering if the person they are renting from even disclosed the hot water and AC situation to them or if they actally knew themselves when they put it on the market.

Sorry, if it were ME, I would feel extremely bad about renting out that place.

Enough to refund their $$$$ ????

Some people don't have a conscious. Let's hope they do the right thing if it's requested.

Absolutely.

I think some factual clarification is appropriate at this point. Here is a brief summary.
The 1st quarter of 2024 brought serious problems at the Belair Beach Hotel. Both the air conditioning and hot water systems failed at this resort. This occurred because the owners of Belair chose to ignore long overdue improvements that had been promised but never acted upon. Eventually, the Belair closed and work began to restore these services. It was decided that approximately 1/3 of the resort would have air conditioning restored with new units installed on the roof of the lower end of Belair closest to the Divi resort. This work was finished and that section was again to guests. The hot water system was prematurely announced as being "fixed" early in the 4th quarter of 2024. Timeshare owners (of which we re not) were given the option of rolling their timeshares into 2025 or using them with the existing problems. Portable air conditioning systems were placed in the main bedroom if the guest request them. Periodic problems with the "new" hot water system caused extended loss of hot water.

Since we were there on 12/14/2024, I have already stated that we had no hot water from 12/14 to 12/21. In the morning of Saturday, 12/21, both the air conditioning for the remainder of Belair apartments and the basic hot water system were restored. I saw the maintenance people testing the air conditioning in the remainder of Belair and believe it is fully operational. The hot water from that day was partially restored, with little or no hot water in the AM, tepid from noon to 3PM, and hotter from 3PM on.

There have been many rumors about the Belair being sold and others about timeshare owners refusing to pay their maintenance fees and still others about timeshare owners and other guests renting elsewhere and charging the Belair for their inconvenience. They are rumors and I won't comment on any of them. I also see no benefit to suspect that timeshare owners would knowingly rent their time to others because of these problems. We were timeshare owners for many years and would never have done that.

I have stated that my personal expectations include actual hot water when I turn on that faucet at any time of the day or night. Others are less caring about that or air conditioning expectations. They feel the benefits outweigh the problems. That is a personal choice.

Tom - Thank you so much for this detailed account of the current Belair situation! I really appreciate it, This is super helpful....

Carol - I have urged them to cancel. However, they are going to roll with it. Also, the TS owner is a friend of their's which makes it sort of awkward. They apparently were not aware of the situation which I find hard to believe....don't they get updates as owners?

The good thing is that they will be on the ground floor with direct access to the beach. I think Belair beach is perfect for the little one. I just hope that this doesn't make their first SXM trip unpleasant. SXM, with all of it's quirks, is still our favorite vacation spot!

Worst case scenario - they drive over to our rental on The French Side to shower. They can then take the very accommodating uncle out to dinner! Haha

Downeaster--I wish them well, but I think they should cancel and get other accommodations. I think the friend had to know about the situation. I know Tom loves it there, but to me, I don't think it's a good location for a first timer, as there is not much close there, . Driving to the french side just to shower? Uhmn, no.

I wonder if there is any chance they could get in at Divi? That might be a decent option, but no a/c or hot water would be a deal breaker for me as well.

Divi was really full Mid December when we were there.
No hot water would be the ultimate deal breaker for me!

Carol, you do know the French side had NO water for a few days! None!

And not to say it won't happen again. But knowing the problem exists now isn't good.

This would be Tom's wife, Lisa. Let's be kind and not make assumptions. These folks are renting from a friend at a very nice price for a 2 bedroom, 2 full bath, kitchen, livingroom and dining room and a double deck facing the ocean. They will walk out of their apartment right onto the beach as they are on the first floor. They will have their own seats and umbrellas. They will have air conditioning through out the apartment. Water is hot in the afternoon as they also use solar heating along with their new boiler heater. Each person has their personal opinion of what is hot, tepid and cold. I was very happy when I came off the beach every day with my shower's water temperature. My opinion. I hope they respond to this site with their impression of the Belair.

I hope if it's a party of two couples they realize that second bedroom is extremely small. When we stayed there in '99 there were 2 twin beds in that room each against a wall.

Tom--yes, I am aware of that, regarding the water on the French side. That was, in my opinion, a criminal act, which went on for three days or so?? Meantime, these issues with Belair have been going on for months and months and months. IF these people's units has a/c, that is much better. But I still can't imagine getting up in the morning and not being able to take a hot shower.

Thanks everyone....esp.Tom & Lisa. This has been extremely helpful with a potentially bad situation....

They did call Belair direct. Their unit has AC and they were told that there is warm to hot water most of the time with periodic outages of hot ( whatever that means ) That being said, I did look into the Divi as it's the same beach that will be good for the 2 year old. There is some limited availability. However, for the price point, my sister and family are going to bite the bullet and stay with Belair. I also think that they do not want to be in a touchy situation with the friends who own it.

I have stayed at Belair numerous times. It is no surprise that these issues are surfacing now. The property is quite dated but we have always had a great time there....the beach and walkability to Pburg worked nicely for us. However, we are very excited to try 2 weeks on the French Side!

Thanks again folks. You are all so helpful and kind!

If hot water depends on solar be sure to take your shower before bed not upon awakening. We once stayed at Maho Camps on St John and after first morning learned to shower late in the day after sun had warmed the water. We didn't find it a problem only an adjustment.

Best wishes to your family.