What about some optimism and hope ?

so glad i found this informative forum!

so glad to hear everyone is safe and help is coming!!!


what is the general consensus for new years and beyond?


we have reservations in february and dont know what to do - cancel or proceed to go?

i would love to go and support the economy but havent heard a single thing from my hotel - villa marie (in colombier)


does anyone have any info?

Chris - thanks so much for your informative updates!!

We are planning on being there the 2nd week of November. My wife and I were talking about alternatives for vacation if they will not let us come. To be honest, I will take St. Barts in a roughed up state to anywhere else right now. I really hope we can make it happen as we haven't missed a year in 12 years and this could be the best yet.

keep us updated!

Big D said:

We are planning on being there the 2nd week of November. My wife and I were talking about alternatives for vacation if they will not let us come. To be honest, I will take St. Barts in a roughed up state to anywhere else right now. I really hope we can make it happen as we haven't missed a year in 12 years and this could be the best yet.

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we're there a little earlier (hopefully) and have the same attitude that you do!

A quick answer to several late comments i just saw.
It will take 2 weeks to get a better assessment of the situation and hidden damages.
400 men are coming for giant clean up,with heavy equipment.
The island is small,so operations will have a giant impact on perception.
It is obvious some hotels won't reopen for a while,specially in Flamand or cul de sac,and some villas have been badly damaged.
Let me suggest this at this stage to all friends of St Barth.If you have an early booking (october for example),try to move it end of november,beginning of december or later this winter.It will also allow time for trees to come back to life and you will get a greener aspect.
You would crucify locals by cancelling...this is the most important thing to keep in mind."Come later but come" is the motto.Come in may or june 2018 to show support.It's a lovely time on the island and island should be running near full potential by then (except hotels)
If the villa you planned to rent is damaged,rent another one,not damaged.Gardeners,housekeepers,villa managers,etc need their salary to rebuild their life and they all want to go back to work.
Looking at videos online,Isola made it,so did Orega.Eden rock sand bar was flooded but the structure is there.The Christopher is near intact.You will have options for lunch and dinner.
The island is going to make it,and probably faster than people expect.
In any case,thanks again for writing you will come.I mentioned this to all people i know on the island.And every bit if good news is amazing for them.

We're also scheduled for mid-November, but we're trying to move it to the spring. I think the island will be ready for the season, but on a limited scale. The problem will be getting there through SXM, which is not looking realistic for a while. Not sure if Tradewinds has the capacity to pick up all of that slack, but we'll see.

sheshley said:

We're also scheduled for mid-November, but we're trying to move it to the spring. I think the island will be ready for the season, but on a limited scale. The problem will be getting there through SXM, which is not looking realistic for a while. Not sure if Tradewinds has the capacity to pick up all of that slack, but we'll see.

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I think Juliana airport will be fine. My question is whether the airlines will keep their present schedule considering that there will be less tourism on SXM.

andynap said:

I think Juliana airport will be fine. My question is whether the airlines will keep their present schedule considering that there will be less tourism on SXM.

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That was exactly my point in the thread that I created entitled: "I worry about how to get to SBH in the next few years". Maybe SBC and Winair can start using other gateways, like Antigua or St Kitts which weren't damaged by Irma.

So, in the other thread it was mentioned that WinAir was severely effected by the hurricane. Does anyone know what that exactly means? I read somewhere that their main office suffered a lot of damage. I would have assumed (maybe wrongly) that they would move their planes out of the path of the hurricane. Who knows where these companies store their reservations too. I guess this would be an advertisement for an online backup storage solution vs a localized backup system.

steelpe said:

So, in the other thread it was mentioned that WinAir was severely effected by the hurricane. Does anyone know what that exactly means? I read somewhere that their main office suffered a lot of damage. I would have assumed (maybe wrongly) that they would move their planes out of the path of the hurricane. Who knows where these companies store their reservations too. I guess this would be an advertisement for an online backup storage solution vs a localized backup system.

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I have also heard the report about winair affected...I have tried to find news reports confirming they lost some of their planes...haven't found anything.
It might be a rumor...It would take less than 1 hour flight to keep planes safe...
Maybe someone has a link to some website with the real informations.
There will be less fights to sxm...but less demand also means cheaper tickets probably.(Some US airlines had brutal pricing during winter)
Wait and see.They can also fly smaller aircrafts.Distance allows it.

I am scheduled to come down Nov 19 with my wife and two elementary aged kids. Rented Villa Bikini for 9 nights. It is in Lorient.

I am holding off a week or two calling Sibarth to check on the status of the villa. I still plan on coming if possible. I just do no want to call Sibarth yet as it seems a little insensitive to check on the status of my vacation so soon after the devastation. Any local intel from the board on Villa Bikini would be appreciated.

If Bikini were on the beach then I would be very concerned. Where it's off the beach, I think you've got the right plan - give your agency a few weeks to assess villas, and then give them a call.

Quick note..Just talked with Air France
The guy on the phone said the SXM airport is trying to reopen the 16th of september.
I still decided to go to Guadeloupe instead as Air Antilles has reopened commercial flights and they can be booked online.
As i said,all islands are fighting hard to come back.
Macron is there today.It will help put pressure on everybody to speed up process

Talked to a friend in Gustavia..They have electricity,water and internet connection now ..Everyone is back to work in town.
He said electricity is back also in several neighborhoods.
he expects the island to welcome visitors for Christmas in pretty good condition .
(All hotels should be closed sadly)
Seems yacht clubs are planning massive arrivals to show their support with all the islands impacted.

Thanks Chris. Hard to believe all hotels will be closed. Is your friend sure or simply making a prediction?

pietro1986 said:

Thanks Chris. Hard to believe all hotels will be closed. Is your friend sure or simply making a prediction?

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It seems all big hotels will be closed for the season,which is quite logical as they were on the beach ,and on the northern side of the island.Many,even before Irma, wanted to do major renovations to update their facilities...It seems Irma will give them that "opportunity".
Friend went to a meeting with all hotel managers.It's still open to discussion,but hotels with heavy damages have no option.
There's also some talk to open mid season for some...but will they find enough skilled workers (and housing for them) on the island ?

chris83 said:

It seems all big hotels will be closed for the season,which is quite logical as they were on the beach ,and on the northern side of the island.Many,even before Irma, wanted to do major renovations to update their facilities...It seems Irma will give them that "opportunity".
Friend went to a meeting with all hotel managers.It's still open to discussion,but hotels with heavy damages have no option.
There's also some talk to open mid season for some...but will they find enough skilled workers (and housing for them) on the island ?

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Thank you Chris.

Love optimism and hope ... so happy Orega and isola ok!! Any word on maya? Santa Fe?? Eden roc looks to be still standing -- assume sand bar will need to be rebuilt. What about Toiny's beautiful new beach? Shellona? Barthélémy? Tamarin? Love, love, love the BBQ message from jcdf!!

Received an email from "ici et la" agency this morning,updating clients about the situation on the island
They will partially reopen office next week and bookings for villas will begin from 1st of november as soon as they get an assessment from villas
"Le Village Saint Jean has 4 open bedrooms today.
The Tom Beach should reopen without kitchen in 3 months. Le Manapany is planning an opening in April 2018.All hotels are talking about reopening in november 2018"