TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Total ban of umbrellas in Grand Case??

I saw pictures on another site this weekend and it looked like several places had chairs available. Not sure if they are "lending" the chairs to customers to skirt the ruling but I'll be checking it out in person next Sunday.

Pictures posted yesterday show chairs on the beach. I read that the restaurants are allowing their patrons to borrow a chair if they wish.

We were at Rainbow Sunday and they had chairs but no umbrellas out. They were putting out umbrellas on request.

It sounds to me like the "lending" of chairs will satisfy the intent of the ruling. Apparently the driver of this new regulation was that some of the restaurants were placing so many obstacles on the beach that it was nearly impassible for pedestrians. This is not a problem at Orient, where there is more than enough width to go around, but Grand Case Beach is narrow, so an inviting setup of chairs can easily become a blockade. By putting chairs out on a "per use" basis, the practice provides seating and umbrellas for patrons without unnecessarily choking down the beachway. I bet the authorities allow this practice to continue unless restaurants start pushing the limit.