TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Club Orient Chair Competition

As loyal yellow umbrellaistias, we arrived one day with all front row occupied and slid two chairs into the intentional gap left for DIYers (folks who bring own chairs). We were told to drag them back.

Since then, we are now patrons of the man next door who has padded chairs and a 4 cupholder table for same price.

Made no sense as we have not seen a DIYer all trip.

Cushions are nice and I say the competition is on. The straps are passe.

I have to say, in June, we also were patrons of "the man next door". MUCH more comfortable chairs, and a table..

At our age, at least mine, padded chairs are the only way to go.

We arrived at 11 this morning, and the whole front row was taken, but 2nd row chairs were still plentiful. Regarding chair pads, we take our own.

We cherish the front row and could accept the second row but the sand kickup off the ground and off some not so conscious folks feet in the front row can really change the feel of the day, literally to sand paper.

Biturbo--really? Too much trouble..

We just back last night. For most of our 2 weeks in the orange chairs, there were plenty of front row seats reserved by ghosts who magically appeared around 11 or 12, and a few til well after lunch. Since our beach table blew out to sea with Irma, we may take a look at the blue chairs.

No trouble at all. They fit in our one checked bag. One of us carries the beach bag, the other the mats. Plus in the blue chairs you're frequently bothered by the vendors - som3e of whom won't take no.

Biturbo--certainly the vendors came by in the blue chairs, but we were sitting RIGHT next to Club O chairs both times, and the vendors certainly didn't turn around when they got to the Club O chairs... We told them all a very firm no and basically ignored them after we said no and they moved on. The only exception was Luis. I talked to him and bought one of his pareos..

Yellow umbrellas for life. Cedric kept that place going when nobody else had the cojones to do so. He'll get my $ as long as he's there. We get to the beach before 8am so never had a problem getting front row.

I do feel sort of bad, not supporting Cedric, but I'm old and cranky..

I wonder, has anyone heard any more as to whether they might really be starting construction there this fall??

We support Cedric. Id recommend he extend the front row a few more sets of chairs which means a little more tractor work towards Papagayos.

He wasnt there so Im sure the boys were just following orders.

Also, they lock up all the chairs each night and we felt a tad rushed to depart as 420, then 430 arrived. Would gladly pay $10 more to stay between 5-6pm.

That said the tables are a nice add.

That's putting it mildly. 😁😝

Now, now...

we support him as well. January 2018 he was the only chairs on orient beach & he was desperately trying to put chairs together from partial chairs that had tangled with Irma so people had somewhere to sit. Also instrumental in perch lite starting up so we could eat & drink . We'll never forget that trip & how hard we were hugged for just being there!
Brings tears to my eyes even now as I recall how hard everyoe worked so we would have a good time & they had lost so much!🥰

We have only been to SXM 3x, headed back in a few weeks- we never loved Orient because of how rough the water was, but are wanting to try it again. Any specific recommendations about where to sit/eat or things to do? Thanks!

Orient is kind of like Mullet--sometimes it is rough, but usually I would say that it is fairly calm. If you're not in to the nude beach thing, there are plenty of great restaurants along Orient. Everyone has their favorites. As far as other things to do, you can parasail and I think you can still rent jetskis.

100 percent. Cedric saved that beach and has our unending loyalty. We actually prefer the second row. But on the “gap” - we were told that exists to comply with the mandate that all beaches must have public access. So that’s my guess as to why they didn’t want their yellow umbrella there. They already have enough challenges with French authorities without tempting fate on the access issue.

The same thing happened to us in October 2020. Probably 30 chairs set up in the front row. 12 of them occupied. We set up our own chairs to the front row and were asked to move them back. Isn’t Orient a public beach?

Nice to read about so many people supporting what Cedric has done at Orient. Even when we have beach chairs at Kontiki or Bikini, we always make sure that we walk over to the Perch Bar & Grill for drinks and lunch even though other options may be available. Some of the hotels (i.e. La Playa) provide daily beach chairs free with your room reservation, so there's no sense not taking advantage of that. So, we believe the next best option to support him is to drink and eat at the Perch.

I could be wrong, often am, but I thought the Perch was technically a separate business, and not owned by Cedric at all.

I have no idea, but I always thought it was his place. Well, whoever runs the Perch will still get my business. The burgers and fries there are very good, and the two-for-one happy hour specials come mid-afternoon is a nice touch and a chance to socialize with others waiting in line. Maybe some one out there (Leslie, Bill & Elaine?) knows who owns and runs the Perch?

I think it is run by Randy, used to be in Papagyo

Thank you for that info. Then I will continue to support Randy with future visits to the Perch, and hope others will do the same. And, when the time comes when I must pay for beach chairs I will get them from Cedric. I wonder if we will ever see the return of Papagayo someday?

FYI- "The man next door" Collin and Kunta run the operation next door for Pedro. Both are very nice guys and work hard to keep their patrons happy.

Carol, it may not be Cedrics but there was a photo of him helping build the structure back in fall of 2017. He definitely was involved in getting it up & running.😀

My i tent here was a little constructive critism of the yellow umbrella operation and there “gap” and others traveling long distances for a non-front row seat.

I gave most of our money to Cedric with only a few days goi g to the padded chair/table competition.

My hope would be more front row Cedric and perhaps over time some padded/tabled Cedric chairs.

Ore importantly, we would like to absorb as much Orient surf view time and staying open til 6pm in summer when it gets dark at 7:30 would be a big bonus.

I would pay more for more time on beach.

Thanks. Edric and other guy aka Collin

I would think in a clothing optional beach padded loungers would not be as sanitary as the bare strap chairs would be.to maintain sanitation. Civid or not.

Scubaman==Towels over the pads, same difference as a strap chair.

Not really the same. Pads are going to absorb nasty stuff through a towel especially if that towel hasn't been laundered recently. Strap chairs can be wiped down with disinfectant if so desired on a nude beach. To each their own.

Scubaman--you are a main advocate for chairs with pads. Seriously, the difference between nude on the pads and not, is neglibible. And any serious nudist is going to lay on a towel regardless..

But, no play on words, how clean are those towels day after day and what side is really used each time. Sorry, not for me. I like cushions for sure but I don't frequent the nude side so not a big concern for me. Just something for naturalists to think about.

Scubaman--now you're being silly. The towel I bring with me to the beach, freshly laundered every day, is not clean????? And it's NATURIST. A naturalist is someone else altogether.

I'm sure yours are cleaned daily but can you say that for everybody? JUst something to think about.

Most naturists become ultra clean and use towels which are pretty clean. Especially when the resort provides exchange.

What is more icky to me now is the loungers people just sit on with suits and skin. I can say for certain a large number of people/kids dont wash their suits with soap every night and just hang it up to dry and slide it on and jump in the pool or sit on a chair.

Scubaman--no, it is not anything to think about. Naturists use a clean towel if it is available, every day. And do NOT share towels with others.

Yup...the towel is a given....only choice would be a comfortable chair under the towel or not

We are staunch supporters of Cedrick and will continue to be! We made the mistake a couple weeks ago to go to the other umbrellas because some friends and gone there and were hounded by the vendors and massage ladies. They just kept making circles and wouldn't take "no". One of the massage ladies sat on my wife's chair and insisted on giving a "demonstration" even after being told no and 5 minutes later, said we owed her $40! I was so aggravated that we left in less than an hour. Never again!

Sorry you had that experience, but we did not. Told them no, firmly, and they moved on.

They have always taken NO from us without coming back. It can be annoying with so many going up and down the beach asking.