Still a beginning flute player here, so please take this with a grain of salt.
I do have some relevant experience to your question, so here goes.
I have small hands and wanted a low maintenance flute as well.
I first tried a PVC flute made by Doug Tipple. These are very inexpensive flutes and are quite well made for the price. I simply couldn't manage the finger stretch. I had trouble with the large hole sizes too, but that's because I have skinny fingers as well as small hands.
I then found this hand size chart on the Casey Burns web site:
http://www.caseyburnsflutes.com/detail_ ... ndsize.phpI measure out at 7" on Casey's scale, which was a good indication that I needed a flute suitable for small hands.
After doing a little research, I bought a Carbony flute in D with the close in spacing via chimney extenders. I was able to handle this flute pretty easily. Its made of carbon fiber and stainless steel. Heavy and practically indestructible. Bonus feature: if you are attacked by a bear while camping, you can use the flute to keep it at bay. The main negative is that its awfully expensive for a starter flute and the fit and finish are not as good as I would expect at this price. If you could find one of these used at a lower price, it might be a good choice.
If I had to do it over again, I'd start out with a Casey Burns folk flute in blackwood, small hands model, and try not to abuse it too badly. Wood is your only option with Casey's flutes.
FWIW, My current flute is a Terry McGee GLP in black acetal (polymer). Its not specifically designed for small hands, it just has small enough holes and close enough hole spacing to meet my needs. It's a wonderful flute, but very expensive. Maybe something to consider as a future upgrade.
Best of luck!