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Aftercareful planning, arduous specifications and fulfillment issues (including significant shipping delays caused by an extraordinarily active hurricane season),
we are happy to announce that items purchased for the Resort’s redecoration project have begun to arrive. We have made arrangements for the furniture, artwork and upholstery, including
bedspreads and drapes, to be installed as soon as they are unloaded so that owners can appreciate the new look during their stay. We will also be replacing our older mattresses in the Junior Suites
and oceanfront units with 107 new, super-luxurious mattresses and box springs.
The Marina Units have received the most improvements to date, with owners already enjoying the new art, fabrics and color schemes. Much of the furniture and soft
goods for the Junior Suites are in transit, and the repainting and repairs are underway as well.
Probably the most striking and expansive improvement will be the complete redecoration of the lobby and courtyard, which will be transformed into chic, elegant
spaces while still retaining the unique Oyster Bay flair cherished by so many owners. The existing lobby and courtyard tile that served us well for many years will be replaced by imported Italian
Travertine marble. This exquisite non-slip flooring will lend a casual sophistication to the lobby and give the courtyard a cool Caribbean atmosphere. The marble’s amber and saffron hues will
blend well with the new paint and draperies in the lobby, which is being given a more exotic look. The new fans will produce a nice cooling breeze and afford a dreamy “Casbah” ambience
to put visitors in a great vacation mood.
We expect the bulk of the project to be complete within the next six weeks. As always, we appreciate your opinions of these changes and look forward to your feedback by mail and on the comment cards
you complete when you stay with us. We will keep your thoughts in mind as we make any necessary adjustments and plan for the next round of redecorations, which are scheduled to start later
in 2006. |
The lobby and courtyard has been transformed into chic, elegant spaces while still retaining the unique Oyster Bay flair cherished
by so many owners.
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 Many owners visiting St. Maarten recently may have noticed that the local government
has spruced up the main road to the airport, Maho and the Courthouse Square with thousands of beautiful palm trees and olive trees. Strangely enough, the trees were not grown on St. Maarten but were
imported from Miami!
Always on the lookout to improve our resort, our intrepid General Manager, Jan Borsje, made it a point to meet Manuel Dorta-Duca – the owner of the 300-acre
palm tree farm that provided St. Maarten with these new trees – and give him a tour of our resort. Mr. Dorta-Duca was so excited about the gorgeous setting here that he provided us with a
great deal on more than 100 of his best trees (raised with loving care from coconuts), which have already been planted around our resort. He is so proud of the result that he promises us more of his
most exotic trees at a very decent price – and he plans to use our resort as a way to showcase his trees on our
property to other resort developers. Good work, Jan!
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In addition to earning a five-star rating as one of the highest-quality properties in Interval International’s 2,000+ network, our resort has been
recognized with Interval’s “Superior Service Award” as well.
The Superior Service Award is given to resorts that maintain the highest standards of service to owners and guests as reported by vacationers themselves on the
evaluation forms used to compile Interval’s “Customer Satisfaction Index.” Upon being notified that our exemplary scores in hospitality and customer service merited receiving
the Superior Service Award, General Manager Jan Borsje gave much of the credit for this honor to the resort staff.
“I’m proud for my staff, not for myself, because I can’t do it without them. They’ve done an outstanding job with housekeeping,
cleaning and maintenance,” Jan said. “It also helps that Iron Shore has been funding so many property improvements. The Commissioner of Tourism even came here to congratulate us!
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We know that Jan’s effective management style and dedication have contributed greatly to these achievements, which underscore the fact that our resort is in
high demand. We will continue to work hard to earn these honors year after year.
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Pictured from left are Susan Coquin, Jan Borsje, Margaret Austin, Corine Heywood, Dimitra Frandzeskhakis, AnnMarie Simpson,
Rosemarie Williams, Anthony Alfonzo, Venus Davidson,
Anne-Marie Brooks, Ellen Ousley, Mirurgia
Illis-Brown, Theo Heyliger (St. Maarten's Commissioner of Tourism), Peter Ducreay,
David Callahan (Interval International's Vice President of Sales and Marketing), Ian Falconer, Ingrid Bosnie, Larry Geer and Isabelle Hubert.
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