Does anybody know if the Perch Lite is open today and if they are renting chairs today

They're open every day, as far as I know! Enjoy!

Thanks

Heading over there for a swim today. Beautiful day! And no ships!

Does OB still have seaweed washing up? How about the rest of the island?

HUGE cleanups in Guana Bay. Over that way many beaches are covered. I'll let you know about Orient later!

Saw some pictures on facebook of OB. Lots of seaweed.

Just back. Club O beach has a little seaweed on the shore, not much. And none in the water. Looking down the beach also see spots where there is some. Where Bikini is seemed to be cleaned up. But as you go further down towards Mt Vernon it gets worse and worse.

Video here: https://youtu.be/2-DqbK7r2mk

We had a great day at Orient. Cedrick is doing a great job with chairs and umbrellas

Are they offering the weekly chair deal, and if so, how much for the week?

They are, I think It's $100 a week, we paid $200 for 2 weeks and a day.

Thanks for sharing the video!

$100 a week for a set of chairs? You have to be kidding me. Free drinks and food? Do they apply sunscreen and feed you grapes? I do not remember what Craig charges for chairs, an umbrella and a cooler for a week, but it's a lot less than $100 and I can use them almost anywhere.

Chairs you get from Packlight don't compare to the comfort and convenience of the ones you rent on the beach.

I just like showing up and having my chairs, umbrella and little drink table already set up. I don't want to have to drag it around, set it up and take it down everyday, just my preference.

dolfer--To each their own, but I personally have ZERO desire to lug chairs and umbrellas along with me to the beach. And Craig's chairs are mostly sand chairs, which I can't really use. And his umbrellas, while nice, are not nearly as big and sturdy as the Club O ones. Almost anywhere you go on island, chairs and an umbrella run $15 to $20 per day to rent. That's pretty normal.

As stated, To each their own. We live very close to a fabulous Lake Michigan beach. However it is primitive, no services or facilities at all. WE LOVE IT!!! We bring our own chairs, umbrella and a table (and sometimes a little portable Weber gas grill). So I guess I'm geared for that. I'm not averse to paying for chairs once and while, just not every day.

Correct. To each their own. I just find that in St Maarten it's also a storage issue as you wouldn't want to leave stuff like that or anything in your car in between beach visits. When on vacation I like the comfort and convenience of those beach rentals. 100 bucks is a drop in the bucket with all things considered and not that much more then the difference of Packlight and beach rentals.

We have always paid the $100 per week at Orient for 2 chairs and a huge (sturdy) umbrella. Well worth it to us, but that's just us. I have enough trouble lugging around my beach bag, don't want to have to add chairs and an umbrella to that load.

It costs money for Club O, as well as the other resorts, to keep the beach clean and provide security. That's worth something as well. I am thrifty, but never complain about the price of chairs. Sometimes don't even want the umbrella.

When you stay at Club O, you don't have to worry about the price-they are included. What a deal.

The last few times I've been to Orient I've rented a condo in the village and just did day rentals at the beach concessions. Had I known then that you could get two chairs and an umbrella at the club or $100 per week my wife, child, and I would have done the daily hike to our chairs!

We second that wholeheartedly! Security to keep the bushwackers away is priceless!

Actually, I recall the weekly rental pre-Irma was $120, basically you got a free day. Now it has been reported $100 for 7 days. Still a pretty good deal.

Security would also deter cameras.

Perhaps they increased the price, but I always remembered it to be $100 for the week. Sometimes during high season it wasn't available, but a good deal IF you went all the time to Club O beach. You also used to have about 9 days to use your 7 days worth of tickets.

Correct, 7 tickets that expired in 9 days. Price for the last couple of years pre Irma was $120 but it also included 7 parking vouchers, (worth $5 per day). Our Jan and July visits were $18 per day and parking was free behind Perch. We thought it was good value either way.

Never rented before as they were free with staying at club O, they are now $6 each per day, of $18 for the set, meaning $126 for a week, or you can buy the week for $100, they don't have tickets anymore, probably floating in the salt ponds, Cedrick will give you a small card with your name and start and end date, when Cedrick is working he will remember you, when someone else is working they ask for the card