For anyone interested in an update on the situation at Dawn Beach, here is what I learned during a recent visit.

1. There is a security guard at the entrance gate to the old Westin Hotel. When I asked about the ownership of the property, she told me that Westin still owns the property.

2. The hotel still has plenty of signs of damage -- large holes in the facade, missing windows, chunks of stucco missing. However, pallets of recently delivered building materials (concrete blocks, tiles, etc.) are arrayed in the parking lot awaiting the arrival of construction workers.

3. All of the solar panels are missing from the roof.

4. The beach is not attractive. Someone has made some large piles with a bulldozer or tractor -- a mixture of sargassum and sand -- in a first attempt to clean up. But everything looks rough.

5. The swimming pool has (surprisingly) been restored, and tourists lounged there and were hanging around the beach bar, which was open. On the way out, I asked the security guard about the units which seem to be occupied. "Those are the time-share units," she said. "They are open. But the hotel is still closed."