I surely understand and respect both points of view regarding this. But, given the situation at hand any chair and umbrella rentals on Orient Beach are a welcome addition -- nude or not. In time, when more places are rebuilt to the north of the old Pedro's I'm certain there will be a greater degree of separation between clothed and non-clothed guests. But, the one thing that makes SXM and Orient Beach so much better than other islands (and Mexico) that we have visited is in fact the 'clothing optional' status of this beach (and Happy Bay Beach, for that matter). In Jamaica, for example, there are some very nice Couples resorts that have a private nude beach nearby. But, there you have no choice. You must be nude, or you are asked to leave that portion of the beach. Even those of us who enjoy the au naturel approach on the beach have times when we may want to choose otherwise. This is certainly the case with my wife and I.

We have not been visiting St. Martin as long as many others on this board, but based on our past experiences the clothing optional feature of Orient Beach sort of had 'distinct' sections to it. For those wishing to be nude and not encounter too many textiles, you could set up shop down near Papagayo's near the bend (if you could get chairs down there). For those wishing to sunbathe in the buff but not really caring about who saw them, there were the blue chairs near the rocks that extended down to the original Perch bar. And, for everyone else there was the middle section where it was primarily all nude with the occasional cruise ship people strolling by in their swimsuits. We've not been back to St. Martin since April '17, so I can't verify any of this but maybe as more chair and umbrella rentals pop-up that type of separation will re-establish itself. Those wishing to be nude without textiles around could head further to the south, and those who are ambivalent to this will choose chair rentals more towards the old Pedro's. Is this happening presently, or is everyone just kind of mixed together wherever you can find seating?