This is what I have come up with as a compiled damage report. The below reports are mostly from ‘official’ sources, such as emails received from various resorts/management companies/etc., and based on my personal observation of pictures that I personally have seen. Comments from board members refers to TTOL board members. All information I believe to be correct, updated as of 1PM on Friday, September 8 I will attempt to update later.
Thanks to JD for helping me compile some of this stuff, especially the facebook stuff.
LASER 101 is back online, and providing information and up to date reports. Probably the best source of information right now.
NOTICE TO US CITIZENS
All US Citizens who are in St. Maarten need to register at
http://travel.state.gov, click on Irma and go to Task Force. There are plans in place to safely evacuate all American citizens from the island. If you have an American loved one on the island please register them incase they do not have Internet access.
LOOTING is reported to be widespread throughout the island, apparently worse on the French side. A lady on Laser 101 today reported seeing NO gendarmes since the hurricane, but visible police presence on the Dutch side. There is a curfew on the Dutch side, not sure about the French side.
FRENCH SIDE
Seems to be hit worse than Dutch side. Difficult to do damage reports as damage is so widespread everywhere, Marigot, Grand Case, Orient Beach, etc.
OCEAN CLUB
Severe damage observed by pictures to the Tower Building and also to the poolside units.
DEATH TOLL
Death toll from ST. MARTIN is 6 from St. Martin and 2 from St. Barts. I think 4 from St. Maarten.
AIRPORT
Has suffered major interior damage. Some smaller relief planes have landed on the runway, from pictures seen. No idea if it is safe yet for larger planes. I would assume it will be quite some time before it is available for commercial use.
HARBOR
Unconfirmed reports of damage to the harbor, preventing large ships (think RELIEF ships, not cruise ships), from docking at this point.
LES BALCONS
I have not heard from David and Carine yet. I am an owner of one of the condos at Les Balcons. I did watch the video of the Marine Helicoper surveying the damage and at about the 3 minute mark, it shows Les Balcons and appears to me that the roofs of the condos survived the storm intact. I will post more when I know more.
VARIOUS BUSINESSES
Observations from pictures only
Ace Cole Bay—Roof appears intact
Car Dealer in Simpson Bay—Extensive, extensive damage, looks to be a total loss to me
Grand Marche—Saw one picture, roof appears to be intact, but I think before the second half of the storm passed
Carrefour in Cole Bay—Roof appears intact
Harley Dealer Cole Bay—Roof looks gone, walls gone, looks to be a total loss to me
Yacht Club by the bridge—Roof appears to be there, not sure what other damage
Cinema Building in Simpson Bay—Holes observed through side of building
Puerto Cupecoy—One aerial view, roofs appeared to be intact, large boats thrown about the marina
Pineapple Pete—Front awning hanging down, rest of building seemed to be there
Sunset Bar and Grill--Lots of roofs gone, but it's all open air
RAINBOW
Can't copy what was posted apparently, but it said that all buildings are standing, some damage to individual units and to common areas. Bill and Elaine have been spotted safe.
ATRIUM
Per an email I received from the Atrium - They did OK as far as damage, 15 - 20 rooms where the hurricane shutters were lost. Does not say how much damage beyond that other than they are having the place looked over to determine what is needed. They will be closed through October with no fees regarding cancellations and if you have a November or December reservation they are offering no fee cancellations.
CLUB ORIENT
Dear Shareholders,
It's ugly!
Steve and Bert just returned to GCBC from a visit to Club Orient.
Their findings include the following:
All wood units are gone. Presumably the slabs are left, but the buildings are gone.
Gatehouse is gone. In its place is a huge pile of debris that landed there from the winds.
Pedro concrete wall … gone
Concrete buildings survived. Roofs gone or damaged.
Except for the waterfront chalets 46-52 … They are gone. No sign of where they went.
The new beach goes from the water's edge back to where the studios used to be. It's about 200 feet.
Hurricane shutters on units left are gone as well as the contents of all the houses … presumably sucked out by the wind … no sign of where the furniture, cabinets, appliances, etc., went.
The units' contents have been stripped by the hurricane.
The villa is standing … no further detail.
Papagayo is standing but may not be sound structurally. All the contents are gone.
The utility plant is covered with debris so Bert and Steve could not get a close look at the generators, switch panel, etc. It looks like there was about 5' of water in that area, which means salvaging the electric plant is in doubt.
The reception building is still standing. The front desk and other furnishings are gone.
The tennis courts are gone.
Steve and Bert drove through Orient Village where most of the buildings are standing but the contents of the first floors that they could see into are gone.
Looters beat Steve and Bert to the resort. They were clearing out the Boutique. We let them take the contents because presumably they need the stuff worse than we do!
I will continue to keep you updated as new information comes in.
Steve took about 100 pictures but has no way to transmit them until Internet service is restored.
According to Frédéric Lecomte, our Paris attorney, the French media are reporting that 95% of the island is destroyed.
We have a huge job in front of us. We will need a lot of out-of-the-box thinking to reinvent Club Orient … better than ever.
BEACHSIDE VILLAS
Just posted by Tracy Thursday afternoon
"We have had contact with Emmanuel!!!! He was able to make his way to Beachside. He reports that the front gate is gone. The office and Marvlyn's office is gone. The Villas are intact and will need some roof repair ,but that structure wise they look good!!! The pool and gazebo also remain! The gardens have been wiped out as expected. We hope to see images in the next couple days, but hopefully sooner! Thank you for all your support and prayers. St Maarten & Beachside will rise again !; Lets's pray Jose goes easy on us!"
Thank god, after so much devastation!!!
SONESTA MAHO, OCEAN POINT AND GREAT BAY BEACH RESORT
STATEMENT FROM SONESTA SINT MAARTEN RESORTS REGARDING HURRICANE IRMA’S AFTERMATH
SINT MAARTEN (6 SEPTEMBER 2017) – Hurricane Irma passed over the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten as a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
All guests and staff of Sonesta Maho Beach Resort Casino & Spa, Sonesta Ocean Point Resort and Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort & Casino are safe and unharmed.
The damages to our resorts however are severe, as is widespread damage and destruction on our beloved island of Sint Maarten. Severe damage has also occurred at Princess Juliana International Airport, and we do not have news as to when the airport will resume operations.
The Sonesta St. Maarten executive team and management are doing their best to assist guests who are at the resorts to remain safe, secure, and as comfortable as possible until they are able to depart Sint Maarten—this is our primary concern. Guests are currently in on-property safe areas at the resorts.
Due to the damages the resorts suffered, all further reservations from now through the end of 2017 will be cancelled.
All prep-paid reservations from now through the end of 2017 will be refunded as soon as we can restore operations, pending future updates and situation assessment. All other reservations will be treated according to the cancellation policy of the reservation. For more information, please call 1-800-SONESTA.
Any information regarding island-wide initiatives or evacuation is pending government statement and instructions.
We will provide more details as soon as we are able to make better assessment of the damages.
End of Sonesta official note
My comments--Sonesta Great Bay—visual confirmation most of the roof appears to be gone
Sonesta Maho—Walls and roofs appear to be open to the elements in many places
ROYAL ISLANDER appears to be relatively intact
DIVI LITTLE BAY RESORT
From Elisa Cohen--I was here in SXM for Hurricane Luis and spent it in Orient Bay on the french side. Irma has far surpassed Luis. We were prepared and ready but it didnt really matter. I spent my hurricane at Divi Little Bay Resort as I am the restaurants manager on the property. Luckily no one was injured but it was and is a long arduous experience. We are currently almost 300 people stuck in the resort. The airport is closed and we need to feed these guests and provide shelter and water to them till they can get off the island.
Further comments from the Resort--We have had further contact with our resort management team and all guests and staff are safe and well, including those who elected to not move to our main building.
The generator is running and food and water is available and damage assessments have started.
We will provide further updates as they become available.
We appreciate your continued support and patience during this time.
Just a quick update following Hurricane Irma:
We are happy to confirm again that guests and staff are safe, with no serious injuries. Fortunately, there is electricity from the generator, as well as limited wifi service. At this time, the Resort will remain closed until we are able to fully assess the damage. The safety and comfort of everyone on property is a top priority.
We thank you for your continued support.
LA VISTA RESORT
La Vista: Comment from resort--La Vista has sustained some very serious damage during the first half of this storm. We will remain in contact when we can. Keep us in your thoughts for the remained of the storm. We are currently in the eye.
1The Penthouse did not survive well during the storm. We will rebuild!
La Vista staff are all safe and sound. Heavy damage to the Penthouses and Deluxes with many of the roofs gone. Waves were crashing over the roof of the beach resort. We will update as we can.
Thank you all for the outpouring of love and support.
The damage is extensive here. We are safe for now. More updates will come as we get ourselves organized. Again thank you for the outpouring of love and support
MARY'S BOON
Reports of major damage, resort ‘gone’, which are apparently incorrect. Pictures show at least some of the rooms appear to be intact.
Comment from a board member “Everyone is safe ,even the dogs and cats. I heard from the GM on the property that the hotel had damage to a few roofs mainly just the zinc gone and the only wooden building with 2 rooms they had was gone. A few of the lower rooms had 2 feet of water. The main building and the other buildings had little or no serious damage. Just a big clean up. Nothing like the hurricane they had in 1999 that sat on the island for a day or longer that destroyed much of the hotel. Obviously after that they rebuilt the hotel very strong.”
HORNY TOAD
Had a long talk with Betty this morning. First the good news: Debbie and her husband Doug were off island and are OK. Cherry, a longtime employee and manager is also safe.
The damage to the Horny Toad is severe. The smaller building where the owner/manager office was located is no more.
The second floor of the main building is gone. There is so much debris that no one has been able to view the building from a water view.
There is not enough information to make any long term decisions. Let's all hope we Toadys will return.
HOTEL BEACH PLAZA Marigot
From pictures, most of the roof appears to be gone
SEA PALACE—Philipsburg
From pictures, roof appears to be intact but there is some damage
VILLAS ON GREAT BAY
Some damage to roofs observed in pictures.
SOL GAS STATION COLE BAY
Roof over pumps is gone, can’t tell condition of building
PEOPLE
Dino Jagtiani and family are safe
Bruno Lemoine and family are safe
OBBR
Official report from resort--We are pleased to report that all guests, employees and other visitors are safe with no reported injuries. We are extremely proud of and thankful for our dedicated managers and staff for their heroic efforts in making sure that everyone was able to safely weather a very powerful and dangerous storm.
The phone service still doesn’t work at OBBR but is functional in other parts of the Island. We don’t know when communications to Oyster Bay will be restored, but we expect it to be within 24 hours. The airport is currently closed, and we don’t know when it will reopen. It is a top priority for the Island Government to reopen the airport so the Island guests can be safely evacuated. We will report on its re-opening as soon as we hear. We know that there are anxious people who would like to leave as soon as possible.
The Resort suffered significant damage that will take some time to repair and rebuild. We are very anxious to begin the process as we are totally committed to rebuilding and repairing the entire resort. We are already making plans to do so. The Managing Directors along with our architect and interior designer intend to be on the first flight into St. Maarten to plan, along with the Island staff and Managers, the rebuilding of OBBR. We do not know yet when we will be able to begin taking reservations for guests, exchangers, and owners but we will make every effort to open the resort as soon as possible. We will know more after we fully evaluate the condition of the resort and vital infrastructure.
We are in touch with Interval International who is committed to finding alternative accommodations for your vacations as we begin the rebuilding phase. We will provide more detail on how to make a reservation at another resort through Interval International in the next several days. We look forward to the completion of the reconstruction and making Oyster Bay an even better resort than before Irma. We will provide regular updates as we learn more about the condition of the property and the time frame for the re-opening.
Best wishes to all:
Mike Dolente
Joshua Gold
Managing Directors
ROYAL PALM and FLAMINGO
Official from resort--Hurricane Irma: All members, owners and guests at our Royal Palm Beach and Flamingo Beach resorts in St. Maarten are accounted for, and we are actively checking in on our team members and their families. We continue to take the necessary precautions and are following all government orders
Comment from resort--we understand everyones concerns and our main priority is to ensure the safety and welfare of our onsite guests and team members. The extent of any damages will start to be assessed and anyone with forthcoming reservations will of course be contacted individually. Over the next hours/days we will get a better understanding of the damages sustained to the resorts and surrounding areas - we will ensure regular updates are provided as and when we receive them.
Comment from TTOL board member--Royal Palm had a lot of water damage on lower floors. Potential for a lot of electrical damage also from the water.
SUMMIT RESORT
Post from Bruce from the Summit-- It is with great sadness that we announce that the Summit suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Irma in the early hours of September 6th, 2017. As you can see from the pictures in our Facebook post (since I do not know how to post them here), Irma’s effect on us was catastrophic. Most of the roofs have been blown off of the buildings. In some cases, entire buildings have disappeared, in others the second floors of the two-story units were blown away. The pool deck is gone and the restaurant suffered severe damage as well.
Most importantly, we have just heard this morning that all of our employees have been accounted for and are safe. This has been our top priority since the storm first hit and we are thankful to be able to relay this news.
When we have more information available, we will post it. In the meantime, please pray for Evans, her son Honore and her mother Mena, all of whom have lost their homes in this terrible tragedy.
SIMPSON BAY RESORT
It appears from video that the roof of the C building is gone, as well as the north end of the roof of the lower B building.
AIRLINE CANCELLATIONS
One member reported they had airline reservations with AA for a week in October. They called and were able to cancel and get their money back with no problems. Another member reported that Delta claimed that they were still flying to the island on Friday this week.
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