Plans to revive Orient Bay reported on in this edition will no doubt please many. The beach with its colourful bars, restaurants and other guest amenities was one of the destination’s prime attractions, also because the only legal clothing-optional zone of the island can be found there.
While Hurricane Gonzalo already had destroyed part of the facilities in 2014, Irma did the rest. The entire area consequently needs to be redeveloped and the intention now is to begin with four structures in February.
The latter makes sense, because despite whatever relief, aid and assistance from overseas are made available to residents, ultimately it is the local tourism economy which must get back on track to safeguard their future livelihood. Under the current circumstances the French side’s focus is understandably the next high season starting at the end of this year, but the possibility of getting a considerable number of visitors both by air and sea before that, especially during the summer school-vacation months, should not be overlooked.
The good news is that nature has long since recovered, so the white sand and crystal blue ocean are as inviting as ever. The challenge will be to again create the chic and ritzy ambiance for which the location was known, but the primary ingredients are still very much present.
There may be a tendency to require that any rebuilding be done farther away from the waterline for obvious reasons, but one needs to keep in mind that convenience and proximity play a key role in the hospitality industry. Safety first, but not at the expense of maintaining that hip tropical paradise feeling.
