TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Personal opinion of the ''new'' Orient Beach

Been here now for two weeks, and decided it was time to post my observations of the ''new'' project. I was surprised to see how much work, and improvements have been made. We all saw pictures of the sterile units as they were being constructed, but actually seeing them in person has been quite totally different. None of the units have kept the ridiculous vinyl roof on their units. Most have put on wooden roofs, which do a much better job to keep the sun out and provide a much better shade for the patrons. The units are set back more from the beach, and was really surprised to see how much beach space each of them have. The wall does add quite a bit of protection against a rising ocean...and the units seem to be constructed a lot better than the pictures appeared. They do appear that they can withstand a wind and surf, much more than the previous ones did. The sterile look that we all complained about during construction is basically gone....since most have customized their restaurants with wooden roofs, and some privacy shades on the sides. The restaurants all are very clean, new, and modern. The bathrooms are nice...clean and a good size. The owners are spending money making them look more ''authentic''. Natalie from Aloha has even gone and painted the beach side of her restaurant the same color blue she has always used...even though from the parking lot is a purple building Sun Beach Clubber made their interior look like a very upscale restaurant, by doing a nice job ''enclosing'' their place with a wooden privacy fence, and did a great job decorating their place to look like a very upscale place. The decks all seem to be a good size...and they all can accomodate some tables inside also. The kitchens appear to be a good size...and a few of the kitchen staff i chatted with, seem to be enjoying the new digs.
Of course, i still have trouble going by there, and not seeing Cheryl's smiling face there. So far Ethnic, Orange Fever and not sure of the others are not ready...but one (not sure which one) has spent a lot of time working on their space. Parking is still a zoo, with cars parked all over the place...Some things won't change. So far so good...even though have noticed a slight price increase on chair rentals and food pricing...but that is to be expected. Just looks like the people working there are thrilled to be back...and of course, we all are thrilled to have em back!!!!!!!

Thanks for your observations. I always thought the 'cookie cutter' comments from some did not take into consideration that people would customize their buildings, once they occupied them. Those stupid 'sail' coverings never were going to work, except in some architect's mind. I am surprised though that parking remains an issue, as I thought that there seemed to be much more parking than before. Based on how much they are paying for rent, as many people have said, prices had to go up..

Thank you for your observations and thoughts! Glad to hear these buildings have started to take on their own personalities! I'm just not sure I can call them "beach bars" anymore! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />

Yes, we thought the buildings looked very nice. But since we looked through raindrops, we didn't linger. Took a couple of photos at Kontiki then some of the other buildings.

Been home about 10 days after 3 weeks & I am not a big
fan of the new OB as the new construction has caused it
to loose it's character.
Collective thinks they are giving the venders a big break by
dropping the rent $200 & giving 2 months free. that's a damned joke. Most of these places have been shut down for
8 months & missed all of about 3-34 weeks of high season.

Don't see a problem with the parking when we were there.
Plenty of room.
Ayntime government gets involved you can bet everything is
going to turn to s--t. That is true for any country.
Let free enterprise work & keep government out.

While most of us will eventually accept the new facilities, what I found far more concerning this week was the blaring loud hip hop music being blasted from big speakers at the second unit (from Pedros) with a decidedly local crowd. Talk about a change in atmosphere??? We're not going to patronize that kind of situation. Actions of one damn the group.

Was this happening over Easter Weekend. St. Martin Holidays were Fri, Sun & Mon and there are private "local" parties on the beach. I have never heard music coming from any of the Restaurants there since they opened. I live here, so am on the beach walk in frequently. Just wondering.

As the post ahead of mine asked...YES....the music was blaring over the Easter weekend. It quieted down after Easter Monday....but i do have to agree that the music and the loud bass was very distracting Sunday and Monday....but....the weather was decent, so i really didn't mind it since we were at LeString, and it wasn't as loud there as it was closer to "Brothers"....the establishment where it was blaring.

This is our first trip to experience all the "music". As Ed said, the booming bass, which we could hear all the way to our condo, was very annoying. At least one of the weekend days, Pedro's had a very loud DJ. It reminded me of the old commercials on the Caribbean, where everyone was dancing (?) And singing (?)"Hot, hot, hot". The funny thing was, there were only about a dozen people at Pedros.
Oh well, only three more days, WILL enjoy regardless of the distractions.

This is the "norm" over Easter weekend all over the Island. The "booming bass" usually goes on all day, all night from Fri through Mon afternoon. After 25 years, we have learned to adjust. The "music" from Le Galion used to be so loud at Club O that earplugs were in order..lthey didn't help. Sunday's and Holidays are usually the only time you would hear this coming from the beach restaurants. It's a once a year thing.

This has long been our experience, too. Easter is the long weekend that many on the island live for all year round and they sure do celebrate it in a big way. Not my way, but then, not MY island.

My best suggestion to those who don't get it is DEAL WITH IT and be glad it's done for another year but next year, if returning for the Easter weekend, plan accordingly and think about rescheduling your trip if it's that objectionable.

We hear the music all weekend at our timeshare....it is what it is and not worth whining about, IMHO. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Sorry Pat, re-read this thread and didn't really see anyone whining, just stating their thoughts, which I thought was the reason for a forum to begin with. As stated many times we will not all agree all the time, IMHO.

Sorry, Dan, I certainly didn't mean to imply you specifically were whining about the music but there are those who post here that frequently did and my comment was a generalization. I forgot there are those who take each of these comments totally to heart. My apologies to you.

I whine about things, too, but I accept the island is what it is and deal with it, whether I like the particular issue or not................... but I still whine on occasion, too! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Pat, no apology needed! I too realize we are guests of whichever island we visit, and the people that bug me the most are us. I'm often reminded of the required reading when I was in high school, "The Ugly American", and thankfully we are not all that way.
I have always enjoyed reading your insightful posts since I joined this
site.. Dan

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/circle.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

We went to Sun Beach Clubber last week and it was very nice. However they are not allowing/discouraging chair patrons to consume their own food and drink. We wish we'd been told this when we sat down with our coolers. It was near the end of our stay and we had a bunch of stuff we wanted to eat and drink up. We didn't think to ask about this since this has never been the case in the 11 years we've been coming to SXM. So, we stayed a few hours then moved on.

Were you charged for the chairs, if so you should be able to do that. If the chairs were free than a cooler or food should not be brought and consumed there. That's just my thoughts on beach chairs.

Coco has done that for years--they charge for chairs AND don't let you bring your own snacks or drinks. That's why we haven't been in there in years. Guess we won't be going to Sun Clubber either.

We usually go to Bikini or LaPlaya. More spacing between chairs and we can bring coolers. Nice cushions too.

Yup we were charged for chairs. $20 for 2 loungers and 1 umbrella.

Did they see your cooler when you were paying and not say anything then?

I know when we sat at Beach Clubber last week...they outright told us we can only rent the chairs IF we use their restaurant. We sat...and enjoyed one of the best luncheon experiences we ever had on the island. Le String usually allows one to bring their own coolers...and are pretty cool when you don't eat there either.

"cool" meaning OK or stand offish?

Same thing happened to us at Sun Clubber. We were the only ones there..ordered their food but had our own drinks and were told we had to order their drinks. We did not leave after telling them it was not stated to us when we sat down. They allowed us to stay but we will not be back.

I assume so? We didn't try to hide any of the mountains of stuff we had with us We'd been there maybe an hour when my friend was scolded for pouring herself a drink from our cooler.

I remember you telling me that, couldn't remember who it was who did that. We will definitely NOT be going there. That kind of attitude will make lots of enemies. Hopefully the other restaurants can get some kind of a compromise with the Collectivite and get open and run them out of business. ...or, they will change their ways once there is more competition. Either way, I won't be going there.

We just returned from spending a month on the island. Staying at Mont Vernon on Orient Beach. Had a wonderful trip as usual with the exception of our first bad experience after 20 years. Our car was stolen from the Mont Vernon property.
During my stay there was a music festival on Orient at The Palms. Personally I find this area a mess. Cluttered with structures....and the music went for 8 days of the pounding bass from about 2pm until 1-2am. Was very annoying. Enjoyed delicious dinners in Grand Case. Loooking forward to next March!

For vendors that were crying and demonstrating for compensation to be able to open that is not the attitude that will bring them business. I won't be patronizing places with that kind of attitude or policy.
If I'm told that up front then I could decide whether to stay or not. Usually the norm is for free chairs if you eat or drink at those places. Those are the places I'll stick with.
Plenty of places to choose from.

We patronized the Sun Clubber and Aloha last week and were glad to see that they've have moved forward to make the best of the situation. We were glad that both have taken the time and cost to upgrade what they were given, especially Sun Clubber with the added landscaping. Service was great, Laurent clearly went out of his way to take care of us and others.
We're Club O patrons, so our interest is in the restaurants and bars on Orient and not on the beach chair rental issues. We just hope to find good food and drinks and to be able to enjoy them on such a beautiful beach.
Glad to support the businesses there that are up and running!

I need to add, the loud music we experienced initially disappeared after a few days. We always go over Easter break and had not previously experienced that at the beach bars on Orient, but we did enjoy the beach "ambiance" overall and look forward to continued returns and seeing how the new owners build out their businesses.

The only place I know of with free chairs is Palm Beach & you
have to eat there.
IMO all those vendors have a right to bitch. Their rent was
doubled & they were out of business for 7-8 months & only
had 1 month of high season left when they reopened.
When your rent doubles you have to raise prices.

One thing I don't understand is people that bitch when a business tells them coolers are not allowed. They make their
profit on alcohol & food. Bringing a cooler to a place in
my opinion is classless. If I got to be that cheap I will
stay home or go to some beach where there are no venders.

Well, gee, oldog, I guess I'm classless then. And I will continue to classless at places other than Sun Beach Clubber and Coco.

The usually policy is: The chairs are free if you eat and/or drink at the location. You don't usually pay for the chairs AND have to buy food and drink. It's one or the other.

They really insist you have to eat their food to use their chairs? Our lunch at Sun Clubber was also excellent, but their food was not on the inexpensive side & I don't always want to eat lunch on the beach if we've had a big breakfast. And if using their restaurant means you have to buy your drinks from them I won't be renting their chairs either. Way too bad cuz I really liked their food.

To be fair they said to us that we could not consume our own food and drinks, not that we necessarily had to consume theirs. Two different concepts. Usually we eat and drink at the restaurants and bring some of our own stuff, too.

We spent 10 days going between Aloha and Sun clubber and then both enforced the no cooler policy. The thing that really annoyed me at Sun Clubber was you got a soda they didn't give you the can but a glass of ice with just a little bit of soda/pop!

It was cheaper to drink beer if I drank. In the past, most of the places discouraged coolers in my opinion. The beach servers really frowned on it.

Except for palm beach, I don't ever remember seeing any of the other places free for chair and umbrella...with or without food.

As far as on Orient, I'm not aware of anyone else that gives free umbrellas other than Palm Beach. BUT!!! Very few of them prevented you from bringing your own drinks. There's a big difference to me between EATING somewhere, versus being required to drink only their drinks. For places other than Orient, I know that Dreams and Karakter both provide free chairs if you eat and/or drink.

Haven't been to orient now in a couple of years, but Aloha always gave us free chairs and umbrella if we ate/drank there. We did witness more than one nasty confrontation with owners there asking people to put away their coolers or leave...not pretty! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cloud.gif" alt="" />

We all understand that we have different perspectives, but to me, this seems awfully similar to taking your own wine to a restaurant. Just because you're sitting outside on a restaurant's patio doesn't make it ok to bring your own wine, does it? Seems quite disrespectful of the owners and servers.