On November 2014, Nicole and Ed Dupree officially tied the knot in St. Maarten. Not only did they symbolically represent their love for each other at that time, but they also fell in love with St. Maarten itself. When they came across an opportunity to open up their own business to rebuild a bar and boutique, they jumped at it. They moved onto the island, rolled up their sleeves, and got to work transforming what was known as a closed, rundown building into a luxurious and blissful vacation spot. In just 2 short years, they renovated all of the hotel rooms, developed a strong reputation amongst their guests, and even earned a Certificate of Excellence from tripadvisor. All while having and raising a beautiful girl named Bella. The 14-hour days that they put in 7 days a week was paying off and their dreams of owning and running a business was finally coming true!

On September 6th, 2017, their dreams hit a bit of a roadblock. Hurricane Irma swept the island and wreaked havic on the property. All of the hotel rooms (and the furniture) were destroyed and the bar top collapsed. Devastated by the damage, Nicole, Ed, and Bella still have not given up on their dream. In the words of Nicole, [color:"blue"]"This is not how this ends for us. We're going to rebuild stronger and wiser. This isn't going to bring us down."

[/color]Please help support Nicole, Ed, and Bella fulfill their dreams being business owners. They plan to start off small by rebuilding the bar and kitchen first. Then they would like to rebuild the hotel rooms one by one. Anyone that knows this beautiful family knows that no one deserves this more than them.

Please visit their website at elzafirosxm.com for pictures prior to the hurricane.

This is really nice to hear.

I am so happy to hear the determination of Ed and Nicole! They built a dream that became a dream vacation for many more people! Love and strength to you both!

Sad thing is that there are so many more people like them that will need a lot of help. Worked hard only to be taken away overnight. Its really a island of dreams gone but not forever.

Great couple. Ran into them in the hotel in Puerto Rico on the day they were airlifted off the island. Sad to hear about their hotel.