I have been a long time lurker/reader here and decided to register and post. We just got back from a beautiful 8 days on St. Maarten. We went to Dawn Beach everyday except one, where we went to Club Orient that day. We parked in the Club Orient lot walked thru security, paid our $20.00 for parking, 2 chairs and an umbrella. It was like a wind tunnel that day and sand was blowing in our faces all day , so we left after 2.5 hours of this natural spa treatment and headed back to Dawn Beach. You can access Dawn Beach thru the Westin Hotel. For those that want to drive to Dawn Beach , The Westin has made a right-of-way , government sanctioned, for the public to access the beach. You drive thru the gate between the white fence and the Westin parking garage to the very back (almost to the beach ). There are 9 parking spots there for the public. You just walk around the building 10 meters and you are on Dawn Beach . We walked to Dawn Beach from Princess Heights because the access is so easy , directly across the street, about 500 barefoot steps. We walked thru the lobby everyday to get to the beach with no problem. We also parked in their parking garage. We used their beach chairs and towels. I was told that the construction of the Westin is like a "breakaway construction" . They built it with the intention that if a hurricane like Luis hit , it would decimate the interiors and leave the concrete foundation structures standing . It is made out of syrofoam and drywall under stucco. He also said that the Westin has a mandatory renovation every 10 years , so they are banking on a hurricane coming thru so that they can collect the renovation moneys via insurance. This is all hearsay third party , so I cannot tell you if it is truth or fiction , just what I was told by french builder while sitting at the pool . We also found that the Westin has brought some wonderful amenities to Princess Heights without having all the added "guests" around . ( the Westin has 310 guest rooms ) We hit the Dawn Beach casino everynight and their bar . We also shopped at the Westins Little Switzerland shop and ate at their restaurants , but were always able to retreat to our nice little quiet slice of heaven at Princess Heights . We got all the benefits of using the Westin without actually having to stay there . There is still light construction going on from 8am-5pm in the Dawn Beach area at the Westin and Princess Heights , but it did not bother us . When the construction in the area is complete and Dawn Beach gets back to it normal quiet enclave , I think it's going to be the premiere spot in all of SXM.

Apparently the Westin is having it's fair share of opening day glitches . I spoke with many employees . The phone system is not working as it should . It does not connect to the right room dialed. The payX check system is also not working correctly to charge things to the proper room. The rooms are missing a few items here and there. As we were witness to a few of these things firsthand , the slot machines were not paying off correctly. A woman we were with hit a Bonus , 7, 7 ... and the machine did nothing . No lights - no bells. She was going to pull the lever and her hubbie stopped her . In reality she won HUGELY , but the machine gave no response . I told her she won and to have the Casino Mgr. come and look at it . They did and after 1/2 hour of deliberation , they paid her in cash the winnings . ( I told her they would pay her. )

The restaurants Aura, Ocean and Liquid were all very good . The Mediterranean Grilled Veggie Wrap I ordered out by the pool was delish. - There is a culture shock the minute you hit the property because everyone there is very nice & polite . Reminds me of a fine 5-star hotel. They take the initiative and say "hello" , "GoodMorning", " Happy NewYear" etc. It's a far cry from most of the island that tries to avoid eye contact and act like drone workers. It's too bad that all of these employees are there for only another 3 weeks . The Westin workers on property now have been offered 1 year contracts to stay, but most have declined, they want to go back to their regular jobs with Columbia Sussex in Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Hilton Head etc. I guess they will be left with a void when these fantastic employees leave and they are left with the local workers that really haven't had much training.

The overall feeling I got from the Westin was a good one and a positive one. They know what they are doing. They are offering rates from opening thru March 2007 at $199.00 per night . Inexpensive for what you get even with the glitches. It may look like a warehouse from the outside but the inside is really sleek, nice and beautiful. The lobby has WiFi and a bar wsith flat screen TV's . Hertz has a contract to rent cars , but it is going to be far less than the 500 cars reported here, more like 30. They have the Westin Kids Club and an area for you to use to check email free! Sitting on a chaise lounge around the pool area is spectacular. It was set up to maximize the views of the water. The swim up bar is a plus.

I did notice that it appears they have encroached on the beach . The beach cabanas that have not been constructed yet but the concrete foundations are on the beach, and as much as they try to "form new ground" with woodchips, dirt and new palm trees , they cannot fool anyone. Those beach cabanas are on the beach and as far as I know are not in their original plan. They show them now in their booklet they hand out. They have electric, water and cable going to these cabanas. The palm trees down near the public accessway have been added in such a way as to squeeze the public down to a small area of Dawn Beach towards Busbys. It makes it look like you are walking on their property the way the palm trees are positioned. The new planted palm trees are almost in the water . They entire project looks like it is growing closer and closer to the high tide water line . This could possibly minimize the public's perception of their personal access and use of the beach. But not me . I not going to be intimidated by anyone or anything . LOL!

As far as the road over Naked Boy Hill, I believe it is labeled as Oyster Pond Road. The first house perched up top is 13 Oyster Pond Road and it winds down past Tamarind Hills, Dawn Beach Estates, the Westin and Princess Heights which is 156 Oyster Pond Road . The road has been in use for years as it was . I would have to say that they are going to have a tough time trying to block access to residents that need to use it and have been using it for years now . I'm also a hypocrite in some ways and I will say that I like the idea of the Westin blocking access to Oyster Pond Road for the RedPond project, because I think that another 3 years of heavy trucks going back and forth thru Oyster Pond and up the hill is a little much .

I think that once the Westin is really up and running, they will hand out to registered guests a car windshield tag , so that they can park in the garage and keep out the serfs. They will probably ask to see room keys if you ask for towels and beach chairs eventually . Right now they are not.

We went to several restaurants for dinner - Le Bec Fin, L'Aubeurge Gourmande, Le Pressior, Daniel's ( twice ) , La Vie en Rose, Ocean which were all excellent . My primo dinner was at Daniel's ( Busby's at night ) , it was the fresh grilled wahoo and it was outta sight fabulous ! Daniel's has now taken top spot away from my fave restaurant , Le Pressior. New Years Eve - Le Bec Fin for dinner, after dinner the Westin for drinks & gambling where they handed out party hats and favours , we were tired so we drove back to Princess Heights where we spent midnight quietly on the balcony of our room at Princess Heights. We heard a big hoopla coming from the Westin at midnight ! We hit the festival night on Tuesday night in Grand Case , it was very nice . Go early like around 6:00pm so that you can park in the lot in GCase, because they start to close the roads off and you have to park way down by Grand Case airport after 6:15pm.

At no time did I feel like I was in danger or unsafe, perhaps because we are usually in bed by 11:00pm . Princess Heights has security guards from dusk til dawn and the door bolts lock on top & bottom . I do not leave windows or doors open at night . I noticed that all the homes over on the hill ( Dawn Beach Est ) and even in Atlantica had their hurricane shutters pulled down at night and in the morning they would open them up . I've been told again by a local resident this is probably a good precaution with all the undocumented laborers over at the Westin. The residents believe this is where the crime is coming from , but who knows ?

It may not be your St. Maarten of yesteryear, but I think with the improvements and upgrades , like the Westin, they are going in the right direction. The Westin had a really good feel to me. I would suggest to everyone to go over there and try it out for a day before you poo-poo it.

We had a great time as usual at Princess Heights and will be back in a few months. We love having the convenience of being in a condo with a full service kitchen and those views of the ocean and St. Barts are as gorgeous as ever. The place is clean and neat as a pin. The staff is fabulous, friendly, courteous and genuine, they need no training . Wine and Goodies upon arrival, bottle of Champagne put in our room for New Years Eve, cell phone for our use during our stay. It's always like coming home when arriving there. We can't wait to go back !

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