TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Why so few Reports, Updates on Orient Beach

So, many of you will think this is a repeat but it isn’t because I deleted the strangely devisive assertation that Orient is important. Several weeks later there are still very few recent, first hand accounts??? I still don’t get it....

There's hardly anybody there. Nothing is happening, nothing is being built. Nothing has changed in weeks although there are a few more people on the beach.

On the one hand, the bar and restaurant owners are waiting for clarification from the government on what will and won't be allowed in terms of beach construction; no one wants to invest in something that may be torn down after the new beach rules are handed down. On the other hand, everyone (including local government officials) knows that as we approach high season, pressure builds to have businesses open, beach chairs to rent, cold drinks to serve... and that's how they rebuild the ranks of the employed and lessen demand for government assistance. I have no idea how that tension will eventually play out, but already there are indications that the hard-edged rules proposed by Paris may be softened by the needs of expediency. It seems clear that the French side was harder-hit than the Dutch side, and also that their national government is trying to set up rules that (they hope) will minimize damage and losses when the next hurricane comes. Which i find to be a reasonable objective, although the devil is always in the details, isn't he? :-) Now that I've said this, I wonder how many posts it will take for this thread to get shut down as people inject their own political points of view onto someone else's affairs - not many, I predict.

Thanks for the update.
Are homes/villas/hotels being rebuilt in the village?
Any signs of rebuilding at Club O besides Perch Lite? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/thanks.gif" alt="" />

On our first visit there 30 years ago, I saw nothing but sand, water and trees. However, if you take a cooler and chairs, you can still enjoy the expanse of beach. That would actually be my preference.

I don’t know anything about hurricane safe and resistant construction and while it seems things can always be made better, there can always be - God forbid - another stronger storm, too. I’m thinking out loud but.......

There is this something to be said for the casual construction of the nothing fancy places like Rosie’s on Mullet - they don’t require huge amounts of cash outlay for concrete and such and if they get destroyed, they can be cleared away and new structures rebuilt rather quickly and at a far lesser cost. That’s not to say there shouldn’t be rules with regard to how close to the water line and to each other they could be built and certainly they should be built with basic construction safety in mind, permits required and building inspections for safety done, but they could be rebuilt relatively fast with a far lesser cash outlay. And while they wouldn’t be as fancy as the last set of construction, they could at least be quickly replaced, getting the proprietors quickly back in business.

Just another way of looking at things but something like this might be a happy compromise between the old Orient and the new and there is plenty of room across the island for the more upscale properties that were lost to Irma off the beach. Just a thought...... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

I agree Pat. Right after the hurricane i told my wife I bet the "soft" construction places (plywood and 2x4s) would be some of the first to come back. I know that one of the government objectives is to have beach buildings that are "modular" and can be packed up and moved when a storm threatens. I'm not sure that the bar owners know exactly how to build a business like that yet, though :-) Some friends are there (we won't be until Feb), and they sent some photos of Orient today. Club O "hard structures" i.e. concrete, appear to show no progress yet, although Club O themselves are the best source of info for progress there, I think.

There have been some pretty nice looking beach bars that were shipping containers to begin with. All it takes is some ingenuity and a good eye. Easy to close and secure if a storm is forcast.

Yes, of course. Homes and businesses are being brought back to life. But again, like the last post, the question is about the beach. As of a few days ago, there is nothing being worked on.

I wouldn't mind seeing construction moved back from the water at least a little bit. The beach gets wider and narrower over the year. During some times I've been there the water line is close enough that there is no room left before hitting structures. There also seemed to be a slow movement back that spanned years. As an example, in front of Pedro's. When I first went there in 2004 it was possible to walk past on the beach. The last few years it was necessary to go up through the parking lot to get from one side of the beach to the other.

General construction wise, I miss the old bars and shops that were between Pedro's and (I believe) Kontiki. They had character. I didn't get to see the new construction on that stretch finished but it looked rather boring. Hopefully if the soft or modular concept goes forward for rebuilding we will see some personality return to parts of the beach.

I agree updates would be nice for those of us hoping to bring our $$$ to the area but I also get the time the bureaucracy brings to the process. Flood areas are distinct in how they slow construction and particularly insurance money. the. Question for the govt is do they take a chance on shoddy construction which has character and is rebuilt quickly and at minimal expense after an event or do they mandate construction methods that minimize destruction or damage but take years to build? Shoddy construction is hard to insure but puts the workforce back in operation quickly. Flood resistant construction gets caught up in permitting but is easier to insure and gives people temporary jobs. I hope, in the spirit of the Perch Lite, more of the shoddy shacks make there way back so life comes back quickly.

Would love to know how much actual beach there is by where Pedros and the Perch used to be.

Lots and lots.

Are there ANY places on Orient renting chairs, other than Club O? And Club O only on weekends?? What about the Perch? Are they also open only on weekends? If so, no way for cruise ship pax to even go to Orient and enjoy it during the week at all, with no chairs or food and drink. Maybe once the big Royal Caribbean ships are back, they will be open when the ships are in?

For people staying on island, I'm thinking Craig at Packlight must be doing a good business? Are there chairs for sale at Ace or all sold out because everyone lost theirs in the storm?

What about Mullet? Are they renting chairs during the week, or only on weekends still? Is there food at Mullet now?

Not that I could see looking down the beach. But since the 2 parts are now separated by a closed gate behind Kon Tiki and I don't walk so well anymore, going from one end of the beach to the other is a real PITA! There is some watersports place open doing non motorized stuff like kayaks, sail boards etc. So perhaps they are renting chairs, but it was not obvious. Perhaps next time we'll drive again down both sides.

I think I may have posted this already, but Perch Lite is now open every day and watersports guy there is renting chairs and umbrellas.

Craig (Bob) seems pretty busy. Have not looked at Ace for chairs. I can tell you what they DON'T have! LOL

Don't know about Mullet, never go there.

Chairs and food every day at Dany's on Cupecoy! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cool.gif" alt="" />

Lines at Ace, groceries, everywhere are very long with little to no parking

Thanks for the on the spot reporting!

Relatively speaking, the beach/ocean shoreline is at about the same location as it was before. On the club O side it is very wide because the hill between Pedro’s and where Perch was is gone.

Glad to know the Perch and watersports are open every day at Club O. At least cruise ship people have somewhere they can go. Why is there no parking at grocery stores? I can see why there would be trouble parking at Ace.

Your guess is as good as anybody's. No one here can figure out the traffic and congestion.

ok

I saw on Facebook today that Chez Leandra's is building on Orient.

And from more of the discussion, doing so without proper permits or governmental approval. It doesn't matter to me either way but if they are abruptly stopped or shut down, nobody will be happy about that either.

We went down the "other"end of the beach yesterday and here were no chairs other than what folks brought with them.

I know that rebuilding takes a long time but I would think that some chairs and umbrella rentals could be a fast payback to those that rent them for a C.O. beach day.

If you read my post you would know that there are chair rentals at C.O. But nowhere else on the beach that we could see.

I think they were talking about further down the beach also, but there needs to be at least some food and drinks available for many people to come to rent chairs. I know the Perch has some food but I can understand really why Chez Leandra is trying to do something, as compared to just sitting there doing nothing. It is an impossible situation for them.

Sorry, just that he said C.O. I have a couple pictures I took this morning to share. There is no indication Chez Leandra has started building anything yet. Tough for all of them waiting for govt to make a decision.

Sorry, you're right I missed that.

There are some pictures posted on facebook and the poster implied that it is Chez Leandra doing the building. Doesn't look to be anything at all fancy. Bear in mind, this may just be speculation but based on the discussion, it did sound (and look) like there was something happening.

sorry
misunderstood earlier post.