GoBeach Vacations - Reservations Agent for Club Orient
Note: These updates are outdated. Club Orient is currently back to normal, or better than it was before. The resort and the beach is back in full swing. All units are brand-new since they have been rebuild from the floor up. For more information, including prices and floorplans of the new units, check out our Club Orient mainpage: http://www.gobeach.com/orient/orient.htm.
Gina send us the update below in order to let everyone know that Club Orient is back! The original letter was in Dutch, which we translated into English for your convenience. Enjoy, Annemariek.
Subject: Club Orient, St.Martin - We did it!
*-*-* Open for business *-*-*
We did it! On November 1 we welcomed our first guests with
a glass of champagne. Everything went even smoother than
expected...the people were just so very happy to be back
again!
So far we have met all deadlines. At the moment 22 mini-
suites and 30 studios are finished. And they are all rented
out. Right now people are standing in line to stay with us!
All mini-suites have air-conditioning as well as most of the
studios (installation will be finished soon).
The restaurants served it's first dinner on November 1. The
boutique and grocery store are also back in business. The
building is already getting too small for them. Martin is
helping Mom with the store, and his girl-friend is helping
us out in the reception.
A few big trees have been planted at the entrance, and we
will soon start planting 300 palmtrees all around the
resort.
We are fully booked between X-mas and New Years. Partly
due to strikes in Guadeloupe (again!) most of the chalets
won't be ready until January.
Greetings from Club Orient,
Gina Wip-Brink
August 21, 1996
Dear friends of Club Orient,
Some of you have already asked us again for a second
progress report on the reconstruction of Club Orient.
Well, here it is! A lot has been accomplished since
the first report in June.
Restaurant:
The Papagayo restaurant is looking great with its high
roof. It now has to be painted inside and out. We
are still working on the rest of the building, i.e.
kitchen, showers, bathrooms, etc. The tables and
chairs of the "open air" restaurant (on the foundation
of # 46) were moved into the new building. The
restaurant is still expected to be in full operation
by November 1.
Chalets:
As of today 17 beach chalets have been poured (# 78 -
# 47). All crews - carpenters, painters, plumbers,
electricians - are working 6 days a week to get their
job done. The forecast is to have all chalets poured
by November 1st. Beach chalets # 80 - 94 and garden
chalets # 42 - 44 are scheduled to be built last.
This will limit the disturbances of the reconstruction
to the two extreme ends of the resort. Our aim is to
have the middle of the resort - the most popular units
- ready for rent first so that our guests are
exposed to the least amount of noise. However, please
be advised that not all construction will be over
in November and December, in order to prevent
surprises or disappointments.
Mini-suites:
Work on the mini-suites is progressing well. All but
two buildings are under their roofs. We are now
working on the finishing touches on the carpentry work
inside these buildings. Most furniture is already in
stock. New couches are expected to arrive this week
from France.
Studios:
All studio buildings have been sanded on the outside
to show their natural color, and they have been
stained the same pine color as the mini-suites. All
of the studio buildings have the roofing boards on and
we plan to have all roofs finished by the end of
August. Please note that we will no longer have Beach
Studios available.
L'Orientique:
Truus Brink has already ordered many new items for the
new l'Orientique. She is very anxious to get started.
It will be a few more weeks, however, until the
building is ready to be occupied.
Tennis:
Our aim is to have the tennis courts ready for use in
November. The materials for the new courts have been
received and the work will start in September.
Horseback Riding:
The stables at Bayside Riding Club have been totally
rebuilt and all services including beach rides are
offered again.
Landscaping/shade:
All landscaping throughout the resort will have to be
redone. We will take care of this task section by
section. Because there will be no high trees, bushes
or vegetation for the first few years, and thus not
much shade, Club Orient will offer one complimentary
umbrella per room to our guests.
Reservations/Sold-out dates, etc.:
As you know we are partially re-opening on November 1
of this year, and we have been already taking
reservations for a few months. We have had a great
response - most rooms are reserved already during the
month of November and in the last week of December.
We would like to give the following information on
AVAILABILITY and SOLD-OUT dates (until further
notice):
* November 1 to 7 - 10 rooms AVAILABLE (studios+mini-
suites).
* November 8 to December 4 - ALL types of rooms SOLD-
OUT.
* December 4 to December 28 - ALL types of rooms
AVAILABLE (Chalets not guaranteed yet).
* December 28 to January 4 - Only mini-suites
AVAILABLE
* After January 4, 1997 - ALL types of rooms
AVAILABLE
With best wishes to you from Club Orient Resort,
The management.
recovery update June 7, 1996
Dear friends,
We are aware that you have been waiting for an
update on what is happening here in Saint Martin and in
particular at Club Orient. Until now there were too
many uncertainties to give a true picture, but know we
have a good idea where we stand.
<snip>
We too have finally received our [insurance]
settlement, and have started reconstruction in March.
The biggest job has been the removal of large amounts
of debris from our property. The beach is now clean,
wider, and better than before and people are coming in
droves to enjoy the sun and the freedom.
Art Brink has re-opened the Papagayo bar and
restaurant service from his home, which miraculously
survived almost unscathed. He also started a new water
sports operation from a new small building near the
restaurant. Chair/umbrella service, snorkel equipment,
paddle boat, and kayak rentals are offered. Art built
two beautiful large floating rafts for people to gather
on. The Green Key Taxi service is in full operation
utilizing a new raft. The Nude Cruise started
operating on April 12 with a beautiful new catamaran,
TIKO-TIKO, under the supervision of captain Guillaume
who is well known by all Club Orient Resort regulars.
The new Papagayo restaurant building has reached its
highest point as we finished the construction of the
roof; we are now working on the utilities installation.
We expect the restaurant to be in full operation by
November of this year.
Matha and Ana, our faithful masseuses, are doing a
brisk business in their temporary setup in the old
water sports building at the end of the beach.
All chalets have been taken down tot he foundation
to be replaced with buildings of the same size and
shape in form-cast concrete to create a protective
buffer along the waterline. Construction of the
chalets started on May 30 with a planned final delivery
date of February 1997.
Rebuilding of the mini-suites in the original, but
reinforced, wood style is well under way. They will
definitely be finished by November 1, 1996 - our
scheduled re-opening date. All studios should also be
ready by then. They will be repaired in the original,
but reinforced, style with all-new roofs in Finnish
pine with new double glazed vinyl doors and windows -
all with screens. The studios will have all-new
kitchens, electrical wiring, and hot-and-cold water
plumbing. All wooden furniture that could be salvaged
is being restored.
Siebrand and his crew are repairing or replacing
all service buildings and technical installations.
Most cables, water pipes and sewage lift stations have
been repaired by now and a brand new large-capacity
generator has been put in place. A new building for
L'Orientique, twice the original size, will also be
ready in November and Truus is busy ordering and
organizing her new collections while operating from a
temporary store located in one of the old office
buildings. The Resort's office is operating
temporarily (and through the coming season) from the
cafeteria building with computer systems up-and-
running. An order to rebuild the tennis courts has
been signed. Reint is busy designing, ordering
supplies, and overseeing construction projects.
Presently, he is enjoying a well-deserved rest in
Holland with Truus.
We will start working on a new office and reception
building soon. A new telephone switchboard has been
installed this month giving us all the lines we will
need to handle the many bookings which have already
started to pour in for the upcoming winter season. As
mentioned above, we will re-open on November 1, 1996
with most of the units available. Reservations are
accepted starting with that date.
<snip>
...[Gina] is sorting out the housekeeping goods
and even helps out varnishing the new buildings with
her lovely little daughter Nina at her heels. Nina and
Jacquelyn were the first ones to have a new chalet-
playhouse completed - courtesy of the Finnish wood
supplier. The new landscaping will be a big challenge,
but a few areas in the mini-suite circle were already
planted to give the morale a boost. More new plants
and trees will be purchased this summer in Florida
where Truus and Reint recently established contacts
with several growers. The Bayside Stables are being
rebuilt and Tracie and her staff are once again busy
with riding lessons and beach rides.
Warm greetings from Saint Martin from the Brink family
and the staff of Club Orient Resort.
for more information and reservations
e-mail orient@gobeach.com or call 1-888-71BEACH (1-888-712-3224)
GoBeach Vacations
Agent Club Orient
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