St. Maarten Private Eye

Starwood does not OWN the real estate that houses The Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort & Casino (what a mouthful). The land and structures on that particular lot (or lots) is owned by Columbia Sussex (see www.columbiasussex.com) which is a private company owned by Mr. William Yung (CEO & President) with head quarters in Kentucky (USA). Many of his family members hold key positions in the company.

So it does not really mean anything for Westin Dawn Beach that Starwood is being bought out. Maybe they will switch "brands" e.g. become a Sheraton Dawn Beach for instance. There are however rumors flying around that Columbia Sussex has put the hotel up for sale. That would not be a surprise as the property is giving management & owners major headaches: bad construction is leading to rapid deterioration of the property structure (mainly due to rust problems), rumor has it that Columbia Sussex is not getting the property insured against hurricane damage mainly because of the flimsy drywall used for both inside and outside (!!) walls and its location so close to the water and not having a proper retention pond, the Westin Residences timeshare units not selling at all, staff & members of management leaving due to bad & offensive management styles that is customary within Columbia Sussex.

Anyone / any company considering to buy this hotel would seriously need to think twice or twenty times for that matter.....