TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Club Orient - What is going on?

2017-2024 is almost 7 years. Is the insurance still paying out? Are the owners still at odds? What the heck is going on? We, non-owners, have been ultra-patient amongst the chaos+pandemic, but not it is time to let us know Club O’s fate…….will there be a rebuild/reopening and when? Many standby to volunteer where able.

As of now, nothing going on. Cedric still maintains the beach and the Perch is there. The ruins of the resort are still there. At this point, I have very little confidence that it will ever rise again.

Hello all ,
Just got back on the 8th . I don't want to add to the rumor
Mill . But I was talking to someone who said they talked to Cedice
A few days ago . They asked him when they were , at lest going
To tear down the buildings. And his response was . They did not want them to tear anything down . Because they felt the French government would take
The land.
Take that for what it's worth ! ( not much )
I do feel the posters frustration , why does this have to be a big secret.
Just let everyone know what's going on . Then we can all move on
With our lives .

Jeff--my opinion is that anyone who doesn't have a direct financial interest in Club O should 'move on' regardless, other than to use the beach for nude use, as long as it lasts.

i wish they would just clean it up and a simple beach with a nice place to eat... the debris has got to go.... do you agree?

There have no new public updates since the Club Orient official website (ClubOrient.com) was updated a few years ago. The information on the website is accurate as far as it goes.

Think about this differently. Instead of wondering why the owners aren't getting on with rebuilding the resort for non-owners to enjoy, think about how good it was when they did share their vacation homes with others.

Most of the original owners (and current owners) are close to or well past retirement; naturism comes late to many people, especially in North America. The owners at Club Orient not only love naturism but put their money into buying a place where they knew that their only gain would likely be personal enjoyment and that a hurricane could wipe it all out in short order, as it did. On top of that, they not only bought into the place, they were willing to have it rented out to others who could not afford to buy a unit but who enjoyed staying at a completely naturist resort. They did that to encourage the naturist lifestyle and to meet others of like mind.

Why do you now think that they don't care to even clean up the debris let alone rebuild? Don't you think that they may be being prevented from doing so and are broken-hearted that their paradise is destroyed and they are helpless to fix it? That they are trying hard to do so? Have a little sympathy, people.

One of our favourite things about staying at Club Orient was meeting other like-minded people. That social aspect is still possible today on the beach, due to Cedrick's zealous guarding of the beach. He makes a lot of money from renting out the chairs to people (stop and think about how much) but he'd make the same amount even if he didn't keep it for the naturists. The French government supports him and awards him the contract to have the beach chairs because they know that naturism is a large tourist draw and that he supports it. Win-win.

Similarly, Randy at the Perch provides a great place for food and drink to complement your stay on the beach. Both Randy and Cedrick support naturism and naturists support them. Keep it up!

There are lots of good places to stay in Orient Village even if you do have to put clothes on. I suspect some of the people complaining about not being able to stay at Club Orient may have complained just as much about the cost of staying there and the outdated facilities (log cabins!) when Club Orient was running.

In summary, enjoy what you have and stop worrying about what you don't have. Thanks for coming to my TEDx talk.

One of my favorite things to do is walk end to end. We were there oct/nov many times on Orient . Not only does it look really bad, but the smell is so bad, like a clogged sewer towards the end! Besides and you are right. It just looks so bad with all that ugly graffiti too!! I wonder if anyone thought of just dropping a towel in front of the old Palms beach that is now completely leveled. There's no one down there most days!!

While I agree with most of what you say JDK, There are other perspectives to consider. You mention that the owners were gracious enough to share their units, but you don't acknowledge the financial contribution that those who rented the units made to the cost of owning a unit in the first place. Your comment would make a lot more sense if they(the owners) were not charging a reasonable price for staying there.

Also, In my 40+ years of experience in the business world(including a lot in the income producing property space) that I have learned is that in the absence of information, people will always assume the worst. If the problem is the French Government, why not say so? If the problem is the cost of reconstruction verses the insurance proceeds that were paid, why not say so? If the problem is the owners and the management company cannot agree, why not say so? Or whatever other issue that has been speculated about. It's not like a simple statement about the current situation is going to have any effect on whatever happens to the property in the future. I don't think anyone expects a detailed report on the issues...There is just a lot of genuine curiosity because so many former patrons have an emotional attachment to the memories.

One last thing... Tell all those owners thanks for the memories! Cheers!

Southbound-
I think you have summed it up perfectly. It is the total lack of communication to the renters, who subsidized the ownership of the units, that is the most frustrating and annoying.

JDK--Well said.

While I am not sure, I think that the organization renting out the units was sort of the equivalent of a homeowner's association. Anyone that has any experience with HOA's knows that they are difficult animals to wrangle, even in the best of times. Those who want a statement from "Club Orient" are assuming that someone is actually in CHARGE of the organization at this point, who even has the authority to make a pronouncement on behalf of "Club Orient". My feeling is that is 'assuming facts not in evidence'. There is also the underlying issue of the ownership of the land, which, as far as I know, has still never been cleared up.

Let's be clear here--the people who lost the most are the owners of the individual units. They put hundreds of thousands of dollars into purchasing their units, as well as their blood, sweat and tears. Those who stayed there over the years paid their money and they received good value for their money. The homeowners are the victims in this situation, not the renters.

I agree Carol. It strikes me funny that people are complaining about not knowing what's going on as if they (renters) are owed some kind of explanation by the owners.

I get it. It's natural to feel like you are a part of something when you've visited many times and might have a some sort of relationship with the hotel/resort/organization/whatever, but communicating with you to let you know what's going on is at the bottom of the list - if even on the list - of the people trying to figure out what THEY need to do. You (the renters collectively) are much less important to them than you think you are.

Perfectly legit to ask the question but seems wishful to expect official answers.

Curiosity about Club Orient’s status is no different about any other business that is temporarily or permanently out of business ala Mullet Bay or Westin. I get it about moving on but it was a big part of many people’s vacations and it is quite puzzling as to the lack of progress or communication. I’m sure if it was to reopen in the next year, they would want all those unworthy RENTERS back luckily split. Unfortunately many have moved on. We are still waiting quietly in the dark for a glimmer of light.

Please correct me if I am wrong . But it was my understanding that not all the building units were privately owned . I was under the presumption that Club O also owned some units .

Very good Carol ......... You read between the lines . I have to get up pretty early to get one on you . LOL

Jeff_C

Jeff--I'm not certain either. I think when the Brinks still owned it at the end of when THEY were involved, they owned part of the units and private individuals owned the rest. I think just prior to Irma, they were all privately owned.

I would like to add to the conversation. We all love(d) Club O. If not for Club O my wife and I would have never returned to SXM after we stopped there on a Cruise in 1998. It was just a magical place, if I may use that term. We were there several times after that, always staying at Club O, the last time during Hurricane Gonzalo that cause lots of damage to the Island. Club O beachfront suites were all evacuated to higher ground due to the concern of high storm surge, but we were staying in 34, 35, or 36 (don't remember), which when standing on the road in front of it looked a lot lower than the beachfront suites. We were told to go inside, lock the doors and don't come out until the storm had passed. We did, and after going through a few Hurricanes in New Orleans, thought Gonzalo was quite a major storm, especially halfway through when everything was shaking. After the storm, we found Tiko Tiko was pushed up on shore next to Papagayo. We were booked to sail it that day, and tried to let Philipe know that he could keep the money we paid in advance so that he could start his recovery. We ended up getting an unexpected refund a month later so apparently we didn't make our wishes known to Philipe.
As I said we haven't been back since then, but we too feel the loss of Club O. We didn't have any skin in the game, as we only spent a week there every year. I can't imagine how the owner's and employees of the place feel about their total loss and know there will never be a recovery. Along with the residents of the island who also have lost everything. We lost everything in Katrina, and ended up moving to a new area, and it was very tough to start over.
When I see these threads come up on TTOL, I always open them first, hoping there is news of rebuilding and reopening, but I doubt I will ever see that one. We keep hoping, just as all of you do that one day it will be.

We stayed at club O many times over 30 years and enjoyed it very much, We now stay in the village. Same island, same people, same beach. We'll return for as long as we can. We're waiting for Marrch ! Sometimes in life you just have too move on.