TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Club Orient Beach erosion

The beach at club orient is getting smaller and smaller... I believe they need to stop cleaning the seaweed with large equipment and use rakes to maintain the beach shoreline. I am so upset that Club orient resort will not be back anytime soon or never?

I have spent the last six days at the beach at Club Orient. I have seen no heavy equipment or signs of heavy equipment cleaning the beach. Orient beach is always changing and you can’t fight Mother Nature. Cedric and his crew are doing a fantastic job of keeping the beach operation running. Club Orient has been packed with people. If you get there after 10 you will have difficulty finding a chair.

I was talking to Cedric yesterday and when he works the beach each day he realizes that it is not the buildings that make the resort. It is the people. He loves his clients and we love him.

👋 👍🥂🍾🍔🌞

Thank you for the factual reply. Not sure where sxmmartini gets her information but it’s rarely accurate. The Club O owners bought a tractor after Irma for Cedric to use but it was determined to be undersized and now sits in storage. The beach comes and goes.

Really well said CandC. I couldn't agree more. The type of tractor that would be used to compile seaweed along Orient Beach could never lead to an increase in beach erosion to such a degree. Winds and waves will cause temporary shifting now and then, but I really don't believe there is much of a concern here. Look at Maho Beach, for example. One days there's not much there and the following day it's back at full width.

Its been more than a day or two for Maho. More like months for sand to come back and not back yet.

Tractors DO have an effect on beach erosion. Have no idea whether they are using a tractor there now or not. However, very long term, 10 to 20 years, the beach at Club O USED to be huge. There was a huge amount of sand in front of Papagayo and it all went away, such that the foundation was in trouble. Don't know why that is, but the sand definitely has gone away from what it was years ago.

Talked some more with Cedric today. They do have a tractor but they only use it when the seaweed is so bad, they can’t do it by hand. They also do not truck away the seaweed. They spread it out farther up the shore and let decay. That way the sand does not go away.

Sounds good in theory.

Hi - we will be staying in the village in early December and plan on walking up to Orient Beach daily. Does anyone know if Cedric rents chairs/umbrella by the week? (or any number of days) like they did when Club O was running? This is our first time back since Irma.

Yes BetsyC, he does something like pay for 6 days and get 7th free.

Was just there two weeks ago. I think the beach feels smaller because the plants are being allowed to encroach from the back. BTW, Club O looks awful. Shame on those that are responsible for not working things out and getting it rebuilt.

You think they would just want to clean up the area as a lot of those people (Club O owners) still come & enjoy the beach.

Maybe repost this in a separate thread for more responses? We will be there next month and have the same question, although I believe someone said a few weeks ago that Cedric does offer a weekly rate.