What other islands have you been? Besides St. Maarten and Aruba are there any others you would recommend? We've been to Aruba a few times, done with that for now (we stayed at the Surf Club twice and Ocean Club twice) so we'd like to try somewhere different, hopefully quieter.
Thanks for all the replies, tripadvisor has all good reviews for these 2 resorts so I am a little surprised here on tug, I get a different feel.
We actually have a request in through II for other islands: St. John, St. Thomas, Cayman Islands, St. Kitts and Curacao. But, it's been 9 months and we haven't gotten a confirmation so I am looking at other possibilities, Antigua was one of them.
We own at the Aruba Beach Club, so perhaps we are a little bit biased when it comes to Aruba. but I must tell you that the low rise area is a lot different from the high rise area. A lot quieter, for one! The last time we were in Aruba we exchanged into the Divi Phoenix for the first week before going to our home resort. The beach at the Divi is not as nice as our home beach, and I did not care for all the crowds at the high rise area.
I like St. Maarten because of its many lovely beaches, the French influence (and cuisine), and the ease of making day trips to other islands.
My other personal favorites are Barbados, St. Thomas and St. Croix. St. John is lovely, but I've only gone there for day trips. Getting an exchange to St. John would be pretty much impossible, unless you have a dynamite trader. Grand Cayman is great for diving, but I find the topside to be a little boring. And if you stay on the east end, it's a good 45 minutes to get to town.
I have not been to St. Kitts yet, but have a pending request. However, it is a Marriott property and since Marrriott owners have priority I don't hold out much hope. I also have a pending request for Curacao, but again am not holding my breath. One of our first exchanges (with RCI) was to Kadushi Cliffs in Curacao, and we loved it, especially the shore diving. However, the island was pretty much off the tourist radar at that time (I believe it was 1996).
If you have not been to St. Maarten before I would highly recommend that you add it to your search. Since it has so many timeshares, chances are good that you will get something.