"Part 2 Flamingo meeting with Mervin LeBlanc

CONSTRUCTION: There is a lot to do, but it began with securing the exteriors—roofs (nearly finished), walls are repaired, doors and windows. Once secured, they can begin the interior work, The Guts: plumbing, wiring, HVAC, The Finishes: walls, flooring, fixtures and furniture and accessories. That’s a lot of work that won’t be very interesting or show much for a while. Then multiply that by hundreds of rooms. So as the roofs are finished, the windows and doors will begin. We see some windows and doors stacked at Flamingo, and maybe there are more stacks that we can’t see from the street, and then Royal Palm. Again, multiplied by hundreds of rooms, that is a lot of material and labor to install. But, it’s about to begin!

One thing Mervin shared with me is the upgrades to the windows and doors and other construction. He said that the original doors and windows had survived two big hurricanes BEFORE Irma, and of course are weakened somewhat at each assault. When Irma tore through and left, there really was no choice but to replace all. They did not survive Irma all that well, and for those of us who were at the resorts during Irma, we would agree, they had to be replaced. Each of the units’ 4 walls are now concrete—including the wall adjoining the halls. That is another thing we Irma survivors saw, the plasterboard walls had serious and dangerous damage—many were all concrete, but many that were not concrete were destroyed (See photo below).

INTERIOR FINISHES: That’s one part that we, the guests, are most interested in because that’s the part we interact with! I’ve had a few comments from owners regarding Diamond’s on-line graphic examples. Most commenters were disappointed: it’s too ordinary, lacks Caribbean influence, boring, dated, etc. But there were several comments on the more appropriate scale—the previous furniture was too large for the rooms making it hard to adjust for using the sofa-bed, etc. The graphics also showed that in the studio rooms, the beds are still “in the kitchen.” That really may be the only solution to that space! Hopefully, the aesthetics and furnishings and fixtures will create a comfortable, attractive space. In that section of the studio, the previous abundance of cabinets, worksurface desk, and drawers were so effective and attractive, it made the entire studio function well—everything could be unpacked, and suitcases stowed for the stay.

Mervin and I didn’t discuss the finishes in any detail, but when he talked about the model rooms, I had the clear impression that the actual decorating decisions are still being processed. The graphics of the sample rooms were very small and showed limited views, so they could be wonderful, but we can’t see much. My personal suggestion is to again have a horizontal half wall mirror in the living room. It was so great to have the beautiful Caribbean sky (and more) reflected inside through the window wall and it added a lot of daylight to the units as well. Nearly all the comments asked for a more tropical island Caribbean feel to the space. I will print the comments I receive and email those to Mervin in a couple of weeks, so if you want to share your thoughts, send them to me to be included in that email.

MOCK -UP UNITS: There will be one mock up unit built to use for testing various products, procedures, and plans. Those are scheduled for completion in January. Those rooms are for construction use—to ensure that the plans and materials will successfully achieve the desired results. I understood those rooms are not open to the public.

MODEL ROOMS: There will be model units for display to the public. Those will hopefully be finished in late March. At Flamingo there will be one in building 7 and one in building 6 showing both a villa sample and an apartment sample. Mervin says they will have “Open Houses” to share the models with owners, guests, and others. We’ll be watching carefully for that “Grand Opening!” Royal Palm will also have a model room or two. If you are on the island as those open for viewing, we’ll all be watching for your photos!

MAINTENANCE FEES: Mervin said there will be maintenance fees charged for fixed weeks in 2019, however he said, “they will be smaller fees covering insurance only.” The reserves at Flamingo in 2018 were ample to cover the insurance payments for that year, but there are not reserves enough to cover 2019 insurance (which of course went up). He did not give me an amount and I did not ask--it’s not appropriate for an owner to send financial details, so we will all get that information from the official sources. Points owners will pay their standard maintenance fees per the usual formula. Personally, with another hurricane season coming in 2019, this seems fair.
I am hoping to meet with Mervin again toward the end of the first week in January and will send anything new we might learn at that time!

SCHEDULE: No change to the official completion schedule, mid 2020--but we will know more once the work commences. It's best for them to be conservative about that date, but let's all hope for good weather, good work progress, and no delays!"