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Timeshare Resort Badly Damaged by Irma

stimbo

TUG Member
Joined
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Location
Medford, NJ
Resorts Owned
Sint Maarten Sea Palace
Hello. We have owned a week at the St. Maarten Sea Palace for over 30 years. We feel we've gotten our money's worth from our ownership, and we'd like to move on and were planning to try to sell it / give it away. Now we understand that the resort, while still standing, had major hurricane damage and won't be ready for guests for 6-12 months. The whole island suffered terrible damage. Looking for ideas as to what we should do. THANKS!
 

Beachspace

Guest
Joined
May 31, 2017
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350
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74
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89
Location
SW FL
Resorts Owned
Grande Vista / Harbour Lake
What's going on in St Maarten right now is pure insanity. I can't believe the violence and lawlessness. Read the stories of people STILL THERE living in run down buildings or bathrooms , barely getting water while hiding from
Men with guns and machetes. People going from hotel to hotel robbing tourists and assualting them. French Govt doing nothing to stop it and at least the Dutch got 250-300 troops in to secure their side.

St Maarten French side is 60% gone, the famous airport was leveled. Cat 5 direct hit showed people's true colors! Too bad, that was my fav island
 

RNCollins

TUG Lifetime Member
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Borscht Belt
Resorts Owned
Tradewinds, Divi, Quarter House, Casa Ybel
I own at Divi Little Bay. This is the message we got on Facebook last evening:

UPDATE ST. MAARTEN

"On behalf of the staff, we are pleased to confirm that all American guests staying at Divi Little Bay Beach Resort have been checked out and are safely returning to their homes. Resort staff would like to thank them for their help, understanding and good cheer in such unprecedented circumstances. These remaining guests left this afternoon on Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas. Despite two hurricanes, one of which was the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic, Celine van Meer (General Manager), Thijs Scheepers (Assistant General Manager), Barry Richards (Chief Engineer), Gizmo (the Parrot) and all the other staff members at Divi Little Bay hope all guests enjoyed their stay as much as they enjoyed serving them. There were friendships formed that will never be forgotten.

We have a few remaining guests from other nationalities that fly out in the morning or are waiting to access the French side of the island, St. Martin.

For more information on the ships itinerary, please contact Royal Caribbean’s Emergency Service Center at 800-256-6649. The ship-to-shore number is 321-953-9003 (ship-to-shore phone rates are $7.95 per minute and they accept only Visa or MC).

We are so very happy and thankful that guests will be reunited with their family and friends very soon.

With all guests safely on their way, the staff will now begin rebuilding what was lost into something better. We also would like to thank all the caring people outside of St. Maarten that have been so supportive.

Regarding future reservations:
Now that both Irma and Jose have passed, we will be commencing with the evaluation of the resort. Our management office has already communicated with owners, members and guests who had reservations in the next few weeks.

Please continue to watch for updates, or contact Divi Owner Relations Department via email at ownerrelations@diviresorts.com, or Divi Reservations Department by phone at (800) 367-3484, Monday – Friday, 8am – 5pm."
 

RNCollins

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Borscht Belt
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Tradewinds, Divi, Quarter House, Casa Ybel
Here's another update from the Divi Little Bay's Facebook page:

UPDATE ST. MAARTEN

"We’re happy to lend a helping hand to those in need! As such, Divi Little Bay has agreed to allow a troop of Dutch Marines, there to assist citizens of St. Maarten, to use the Resort as a base station.

In addition, since the onset of Hurricane Irma, staff members and their family have been staying at the Resort, and we have established the Little Bay Shelter Program, which will provide shelter at the Resort as staff begin the work of finding more permanent housing solutions. The program is still evolving as we continue to explore all assistance options.

We’re thrilled to hear that cargo vessels are once again coming into the port, and NV GEBE is starting to restore electricity in some areas. We are currently still running generator power to limited areas of the Resort, and hope to have our power back on soon!

Sadly, most of our staff are facing significant personal property damage and losses, and some have even lost their homes. At this time, donations of food, clothing and other items cannot be sent to the island due to delivery issues.

As a reminder, we've set up a GoFundMe campaign to assist with cash donations: gofundme.com/send-love-to-divi-little-bay-staff. All funds raised will go directly to Little Bay's staff needs, in addition to support provided by Divi.

Thank you for your understanding and support, and we will update you again once we know more."
 

Beachspace

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SW FL
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Grande Vista / Harbour Lake
Glad they got the marines in there..hoping the violence stops and they can get people fresh water & evacuated!
 

dioxide45

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
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Location
NE Florida
Resorts Owned
Marriott Grande Vista
Marriott Harbour Lake
Sheraton Vistana Villages
Club Wyndham CWA
I have been following the situation in Sint Maarten/Saint Martin closely. It truly is shaping up to be a humanitarian crisis. They need food, water, and fuel. The hurricane wiped out all government infrastructure on the island. The Dutch were at least somewhat prepared with a ship in the area, the French were not. It is sad to see, but desperate people will do desperate things. Though there is no excuse for violence and looting. What is someone with no electricity going to do with two flat screen TVs? I don't know how soon the island will be able to start accepting tourists again. The cruise ships might return before those with land based vacations can. The island needs the tourist dollars, but if they can't provide the basic necessities to their citizens, how can they possibly serve tourists.
 

Talent312

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
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Resorts Owned
HGVC & GTS
To address the OP's post:
You can try giving it away on the "Bargain Deals" sub-forum.
But the reality is that no one will be remotely interested until it reopens.
.
 

theo

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
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New England Coast
Hello. We have owned a week at the St. Maarten Sea Palace for over 30 years. We feel we've gotten our money's worth from our ownership, and we'd like to move on and were planning to try to sell it / give it away. Now we understand that the resort, while still standing, had major hurricane damage and won't be ready for guests for 6-12 months. The whole island suffered terrible damage. Looking for ideas as to what we should do. THANKS!

It is of course your own personal decision to make (and I am not offering any recommendations), but one option is to simply walk away from the ownership.
 

silentg

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
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Jul 17, 2005
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Location
Central Florida
Resorts Owned
Fitzpatrick's Castle Holiday Homes,
Enchanted Isle.
When is your week? Can you wait and see what happens? Sounds like they want to repair or rebuild. Might be a better deal after it's been renovated.
Silentg
 

Beachspace

Guest
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SW FL
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Grande Vista / Harbour Lake
Expect a massive assessment. Most resorts were destroyed or badly damaged. I would just walk away rather than pay that for something you don't want.
 

dioxide45

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
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NE Florida
Resorts Owned
Marriott Grande Vista
Marriott Harbour Lake
Sheraton Vistana Villages
Club Wyndham CWA
For a resort that is 30 years old it would probably be best to just liquidate the real estate and pay the owners any residual, if there is any. Better than paying a huge assessment and ongoing fees until they reopen.
 
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