St. Maarten Private Eye

I sincerely hope you keep your reservation at the Westin ! I am sure you will enjoy a first class experience. I follow this web site with great interest and it does highlight some very serious issues on the island. It has a real purpose in disseminating information. I am sure though the intention is not to turn people off the island. Which it will do. I am not involved with the Westin in any way but I can assure you that when finished it will be clean, properly run and , yes an asset to the island.

Mentioned on here somewhere by Local Hero, I also think giving money to Wesitn is sort of like buying clothing made by children in sweatshops or buying a diamond without caring where it came from, (Think child labor and warlords.)

I could recommend half a dozen nicer places to stay for the same cost, or less. They may not have 'Westin" bedsheets, or 'Westin' showers, but they are far more attractive and much more peaceful and tranquill than Westin is likely to be.

But that's just my opinion, giving them money just encourages them to do more of the same.

Flipper

Dear Flipper, why even bother explaining about blood diamonds, and children working in sweat shops to satisfy the American consumer shopping in Walmart and K-Mart?
Do they really care that Westin has seriously damaged the environment? Do they really care that the coral reef is dead now because of Westin? Do they really care that everytime it rains the ocean is brown from soil erosion and one may get an ear infection from swimming there?
Do they really care that the high density will not be tranquil anymore? and that some balconies over look another balcony? So why bother with these people, they do not care.
They want their pina colada and their cheap diamonds from Frontstreet, their 3 t-shirts for $10.- that fall apart at the first wash. More concious visitors who enjoy the relaxing caribbean and the real Caribbean people will never stay there anyways.
They have been going to St.Barths and to Anguilla and to Tortola and St.John.
We on SXM have managed to destroy our environment for these cheap skates that when the place is done with, they will move on saying that "it is not what it used to be"

After pondering this for a while I am going to respond to this attitude ....

First of all ... without tourism SXM would be just another rock in the ocean ( That sure will piss off a few now won,t it )

That said ... it is how YOU manage your tourism that matters .
YOU can vote in who YOU think is best for this type of leadership as we Americans cannot vote for YOUR leaders ...but we can vote with our feet as to where we spend our vacation time and money.

Progress is not bad in itself ... it is the application and management of that progress that matters and YOU are the only ones who can phsically make a difference .... we can only poke -n-prod ( kind of like sex .. but I deigres ) .

There have been many instances of poor construction practices going on on the island .. the prime one being the Westin. The water runoff situation is now very poor .... and the first big storm that comes in the right direction ... poof !
Remember .. there WAS a place there before .. was there not .. what happened to it?

The island people need to take control of the political situation if it means that much to YOU ... it must mean something to us or why would we be spending time & money on it when we have no apparent stake in it???

So get a mirror and see the future my friend

The island political leaders are bought off by the rich American developers.
Does this sound very much like Cuba's history before Castro? Fred's story makes sense, but he is not grasping the entire scenario that plays out in politics.
Everytime the population votes in people they think might have integrity, these same politicans are swayed by the nice gifts and trinkets and home improvements that are given to them by the same developers.
Do you think Roy Boy was corrupt when he entered politics? Infact Roy Boy first term was pretty good, Intaquin aside. Second term came the casino bosses and the Westin, Roy Boy could no longer resist the temptation as he sees his fellow EXCO buddies getting nice trinkets.
In my opinion we need a heavy higher supervision and a load of justice personel to keep the polticians clean. Just electing people of different faces, without manifesto's won't change a thing.
A total revolution might be needed, a new way of thinking, a modern approach to politics and we most definately need to get our people better educated so that they understand the issues and the changes that will be needed.
Our island has a way with politics, they see it as another carnival, they ask for building blocks, piece of land, $100 if they vote for the right person (which by the way is being done with cell phones, person comes out of the voting booth, shows an image on his cell phone of how he/she voted and they receive an instant $100.
And where are the politicians getting all this money to give out for election time?
That's right, the Ansari's, the Westin's, the Supermarket mogul's, Spadaro's... get the picture? So who in the end rules our island?
The politicians don't get money from the environmentalists, the animal rights people, the youth NGO's, the education NGO's, the health care NGO's,

Hopefully you get it Fred.

Thanks for the response ... hopefully you take this with a little humor :)

I would be interested in the number of available voters on the island ( Dutch side )
and what percentage of those actually vote . As the saying goes .. you only have to fool one more than half the voters just some of the time to get elected .

Payoffs at the booth ..... better than a rifle butt upside the head (like in Cuba ? ) .... and more profitable .. this is a free market ecconomy for crying out loud .. ya want my vote ... give me a brick !!! . Better odds than the lottery .

The moguls are just exercising there god given right to be above all of us anon :)

I can see you care about what goes on and you are exasperated with the status quo . You have a very valid point with the education of the electorate as well.

Last point .. who rules ?? .. well history says the one(s) with the most $$ usually win ( see history class 101). We "underclass" have always been ruled by the elite and well connected .... so ,, if you cannot beat em ... join em . Then you can make changes . To destroy one system is just the first step in laying the foundation for another one.
Besides ... a bug slowly eating you away from the inside is much more painfull and longer lasting in the long run , than one simple bash upside the noggin.

And as another comment says, I don't want to discourage people from coming here, but at the same time, much of what we discuss and talk about on here is discouraging, whether we talk about it or not. My own thinking is that by talking about it we are putting pressure on the authorites to deal with it and realise that they are destroying the character of the island that has bought us so many loyal tourist friends over the years, we are replacing them with people who may only stay once.
I think there are many people who have been coming here years who do truely love the island, I think we are losing many of those people now because of the mass construction, crowded roads and rise in crime. But some do care enough to want to help us residents make a difference. These people are not the same as cruise ship tourists, they have friends here and it is like a second home in many ways.
If we can convince a few to support or donate to organisations like SXM Pride, SXM PE, Nature Foundation, Ocean Care, Animal Welfare and Animals R Friends plus others then it helps some. It can't hurt to try. You don't have to get involved with politics to make a difference, something I thing many of those visitors are wary of doing, although they do care and want to help.

Flipper

Hi
I wrote in earlier about planning my husband's birthday trip and changing my travel plans to the Westin Dawn Beach. I checked into some other islands but decided that I still want to come to St Martin (even though it’s costlier; I know he likes it there) however I have no plans to stay at the Westin. I am very much against supporting those who don’t consider the environment in their construction plans. I think if they were in the US several environmental groups would have been out there protesting daily. Folks in America know they can't get away with certain things why take it somewhere else. It’s like development anywhere with trees; they mark and protect the trees they want to preserve. There are ways to restore the beach and I am sure that Starwood (owners of the Westin hotels) can afford to do so (and hopefully they will).
Could you tell me if there is a lot of construction near the orient beach area and if traveling all over the island by car is challenging. Thanks in advance. In addition I have heard several mention of crime…. How bad is it? I know there is crime all over and one must always be aware of that, but I felt very safe on the island in the past. For example I know I would never rent a car and travel in Jamaica because I would be afraid to be robbed at gun point and possibly killed. When I was in Trinidad the locals were afraid of the crime and talked about protecting your jewelry and thieves identifying rental cars, so they made me afraid (not so in Tobago). However I didn’t have these fears in St Martin should I be concern for my safety or is it like other places where crime is not overwhelming but it does exist.

You should take all the precautions while you are on vacation.
I applaud you for not staying at the Westin, this developer has destroyed the natural beauty of that part of the island.
You can consider La Samanna hotel for tranquility.
Orient beach has been built up in these past years, the beaches are still the most active for water sports and restaurants, however an entire residential project has been buit around the area.
Which in itself is not bad, there is a small mini-mart, restaurants, cafes, et.
Staying there, you might not need to go too far.
I have heard that the Orient Club is still very nice, if you like the the clothing optional part of the club.
The Club's visitors are mostly older folks but they are the nicest people around.
The Dutch side has mostly time share properties, you can stay there as well, but there will be no regular maid service etc. however places like Royal Palm, Royal Islander and Maho Resort are quite o.k.
I suggest that you look into renting a local cellular or bring your cel. here and have it roam, as this can help out a lot if in case you have to dial 911 or other emergency numbers.
If you go shopiing in Marigot or Philipsburg, do not ever leave your shopping bags in the rental car, ask one of the stores that you trust to hold all your shopping untill you are ready to leave back to your hotel.
Same for beaches, do not leave anyhting of value in your car, if you go to a remote beach, it is very likely that your rental car will be broken into.
I wish I can tell you that the island is the same as it was 15 years ago, but I cannot lie to you.

I wish you the best and hopefully with my tips you enjoy a great vacation on SXM.

A Local.

Like anywhere really. I won't say we don't have a crime problem because we do, it can't be denied. Just don't walk around late at night in quiet areas and if someone try's to flag you down or pull you over then don't stop. Traffic generally sucks, particularly on the Dutch side, but if you avoid the rush hours (same as US) then you can get around ok.

Westin shouldn't have to restore the beach, they should have been more careful with it. Restoring it will be admitting that they screwed up.

Flipper

The photo directly above shows Oyster Bay Beach Resort, behind the construction in the foreground. The construction is the Coral Beach Condo Box Resort, I expect it will be finished by then. Not sure about Westin, probably the hotel part but they are also building condos in the big hole they cut out of the hillside, they may still be under construction.

You also have something else to worry about, I have heard that there are some construction plans at OBBR too, several stories, not sure when or where exactly these will be but I think it's further out on the point. And then you have the problem of when it rains, unless Westin have some plan they are keeping secret, whenever there is heavy rainfall you will probably find the turqouise sea is brown. Perhaps you could ask OBBY how they feel about this?

I don't have any photos of OBBR myself, maybe someone else does, but if you look through the photos above you can see it, and have a look through the Dawn Beach Thread (See list on the right) where there are many more photos, you may get a better perspective of the place than you have now.

Flipper

Thanks everyone,

Please let me know if any dates of construction are published or found out please.

I have a copy of the intended plan. They are going to tear down the 20 original Junior Suites (large efficiencys) and replace them with a 4 or five story building that will conist of 40 units which will be built closer to the Coral Reef and I am sure that with the impact of building will destroy most of it and then they claim to have approval for building 12 or 15 Privately Owned Condos on the Point (which would destroy the Coral Reef completely.) I have no idea how they got approval, when 4 feet of it is on the French Line, which of course belongs to France, the joke is My Kitchen will have 220 Currency and the Bedrrom will have 110 currency., and of course many of you know that when I questioned the Developer/Owner, Josh Gold he supposedly had a memo released to the Guard Shack forbidding me to come on property. Hiding something?

Here is a link to a couple of nice photo,s of the OBBR area & Pond with I.D.s of some places of interest
Thanks to Ed -n-Sandra

Here and Here