Stag, lights or no lights walking that stretch of road at night is just plain not a good idea. Many of the time shares will suggest you not do it because of the bad things that have happened in the area and until the area is cleaned up and the derelic buildings gone your far safer driving.

My fiance and I are excited about our first one-week trip to St. Martin. We were there as a port stop on a cruise last Christmas and really wanted to come back. A co-worker has a timeshare at the Towers which we will be using from 12-19 November. I have enjoyed reading the threads on this website and have learned a lot. But this thread concerns me. Is the Towers really that bad?

Patti

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Towers. In fact the people who stay there love it to death so you should not have a problem. Just heed the warnings about walking at night in areas that are not well lit.

John,
Thank you. I feel better now. Consider the warning heeded!

Devra,

My wife and I are staying at the Towers the end of next month, how was your trip and how was the Towers? Any insight is appreciated.

thanks,
Kevin

I was there last Nov. Was excellent...no complaints...
Am trying to sell my week 45 unit 506 .... now living in South Florida and have no need for the timeshare.... Have banked the 2005 week...but will also transfer the RCI membership with two weeks ..one expiring end of this november and one expires end of november 2007....send me an email to siestarich@yahoo.com
if you are interested.

We bought our timeshare ine August of 95 and the hurricane hit in Sept. so we have never seen Mullet Bay in its heyday. I love the Towers and I love the beach, but we bought so we could play golf every day without a hassle. It is so discouraging to see how bad the course looks and how badly its kept. We play many public courses in Florida and they cost us $15 or 20 dollars to play. This course isn't worth even that. The reason we came to St. Maarten was to play golf every day but to fork over $100.00 for 18 holes on a course that looks so awful and kept so shabbily is just something we cannot do anymore. Besides that the people in the Pro Shop are rude. As far as the rest of the property,I just cannot understand how they can let it just rot there. isn't it prime property? It seems so to me. I would so love to see it the way it was or even just cleaned up.

Jane,

Just curious as to when you were last at The Towers. We also own there and have since before it was built. Because of the time we purchased we receive free golf at Mullet which is pretty funny because my husband plays once in a while for laughs and I don't play at all. My son-in-law, however, is another story and he has played the St. Maarten Golf Tournament for the past few years and is looking forward to it again this year. Each year the course has been in better shape than the year before. Not great but more than playable. I guess it's all a matter of your expectations but he has a lot of fun doing it and the money goes to various island charities so it's all in fun and for a good cause.

As for the Mullet Bay Resort property, keep you fingers crossed. You just never know what's going to happen, but trust me, you'll never again see the Mullet Bay Resort and Casino property of years gone by. Those days are gone and the conceptual drawings of what might come are a little scary if you loved the good old Mullet of the past.

pat

Pat.........please give us a brief overview of the "scary" conceptual drawings you speak of. As a fellow Towers person I'd love to hear, better yet see, what's on the drawing board...is there a web site of these drawings??? We, too, enjoyed the "old" Mullet layout which surrounded the Towers...gotta believe any $$ spent in/on the area along with general clean-up would be a great improvement over the current "bombed-out" shacks and shanties that rot there now. Cheers, spike

PS...We walk the golf course, for exercise, just about every day during our annual excursion to the island...have done the same for years now. IMHO...the course has NOT improved in the slightest from year to year. the ONLY thing that does improve, annually, is the inside out view, because the bushes, weeds and vines continue to grow untrimmed and as a result, the remnants of the buildings, etc get more overgrown with wild vegetation...thus... tougher to see. the greens, tee boxes, fairways, sand traps, lagoons and rough are virtually the same...brutally disappointing !!! As an avid golfer...it pains me when I think about how nice the area and course WERE...pre hurricane. ON the other hand...if you're from Buffalo, NY (or similar wintery abode) and for weeks you haven't seen a green, tee box, fairway, sand trap, lagoon or rough due to ice and snow, then Mullet is a GREAT place to play...clearly depends on your frame of reference !!!

Spike,

There was a website posted here on GoBeach in one of the threads a while back that showed an architectural rendering of one proposed conceptual redevelopment of Mullet Bay Resort when the current limbo state becomes resolved as it eventually will and were these plans to fly, most would love it. If you wanted to dig back among older posts you could probably still find it here.

From memory which could be faulty, there were several highrise hotel buildings flanking the Maho side of the beach to about the mid area and then an area of service buildings (restaurants, shops, etc.) and along the far end of the beach there were what appeared to be private homes/villas/townhouses and possibly more timeshare units. Overall the rendering showed development of most of the MBBeach area with the relocation of some portions of the golf course to accommodate this construction. The Towers area was also shown with plans for a deep water marina in the general area as well.

I guess if you love what's being built at Dawn Beach and beyond the Atlantis then you'd probably also like this concept, should it ever happen. But 'scary' to me because as much as I want to see Mullet cleaned up, I hate to see any more development of the island without equal attention given to infrastructure. I don't think it's nimbyism on my part because I'm equally unhappy with the amount of over-all development that's taking place all over SXM. Good for the island and its' residents I'm sure, but from the tourist perspective, you need roads and services to accommodate all the development and that hasn't yet happened.

Regarding the golf course - like I said, we're not avid golfers but we know from seeing it happen each April the course gets a lot of TLC in anticipation of the open and fortunately, the past two years they've also had a lot of rain right before the tournament as well. The grounds crews appear with their rakes and mowers and clippers and prune and clip and tend to some of what needs doing. We sat on our balcony one day last year and literally watched the grass turn green as the rains came down. Granted, it sure isn't the MB course of years ago but it's also not been as bad as we've seen it either. Possibly, by the time you get there 6-7 months later and given the rainfall of the past few years, it's once again regained it's overgrown status.

We have always enjoyed walking the course in past years, generally in the evening after dinner, but I wouldn't do that today, not for all the beachsand in St. Maarten. Too bad really, because it was the pleasure of the openness and the safety coupled with the proximity to MB Beach that made us buy at The Towers rather than some of the less costly properties available to us back then.

pat

Just returned as we do every year around this time since the last 15 years and also we have to drive thru Mullet which is no problem but i can imagine you don't like the last part when going left from Mullet to the towers as this road is extremely quiet. Crime is everywhere but i think at SXM much lower than anywhere else. Mullet will at least take another 5 years before the final is there. Hilton showed interest but the government can't do anything as the property is not theirs but Mullet Bay resort. They would like to do something but they can't by law and that is taking time.

Need to add to the above; so please don't believe any speculation about Mullet as it is not going to happen. Only believe what you read from Government. Take a free weekly update via email on the daily herald on www.thedailyherald.com and you will stay up to date.

I have been staying at the Towers for the last 5 years. After La Samana, The Towers is the best complex on the island. Moreover, Mullet Bay is the prettiest beach on the island with Friar's Bay being the second runner-up. By the way, the longstanding lawsuit between the landlord and timeshare owners of the delapidated buildings in the Maho neighbourhood has finally been pleaded and is concluded. The judges have take the case under advisement. Hopefully the judgment of the court will permit a badly needed redevelopment unless one of the parties goes to appeal. Don't give a second of hesitation staying at The Towers.

Hi I am an owner at the towers and just returned from 4 weeks. The weather and the island were as enjoyable as ever. However I do have concerns about the Towers and along with an another owner have decided to set up a website for Towers owners we would be interested in any one's input

The best advice that can be given to you is to enjoy every minute of your trip. We have two weeks there and enjoy it to no end.

The units are well taken care of, and the staff pleasent. It is a safe place to relax and enjoy.

They have several seccuity guards to take care of the guest and cats to take care of the wild life.

My wife and I walk to the beach regularly accross the golf course. Our greates concern is getting hit by a golf ball. Our greates wish is to have the grounds next door taken care of however I've never felt concern for mine or my wife's safety.

I'll attach a ouple of Tower's photos for you.

Frank