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highlysensitivenudist
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 Posted - 06/27/2016 : 7:16:03 PM
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Hey,
New member - so I apologize if this has been discussed already - but has anyone visited the Oriental Beach Resort in St. Maarten?
If so, how was the stay? Was it worth the price? What is the best time (weather and money-wise) to visit? And (I'm embarrassed to ask this) is the cellular connection ok?
If I do wind up going, I don't want friends and loved ones to know exactly where I am.
Thanks!
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FireProf
Forum Member
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Posted - 06/28/2016 : 6:37:01 PM
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The name of the beach is Orient Beach on the island of St. Martin/Sint Maarten. The clothing optional resort on Orient Beach is called Club Orient.
It is a very nice place to stay but it is a beach resort. Is it worth the price? Depends on what you feel "worth" is. There are other places to stay that are more upscale but you can't be naked anywhere and everywhere in the resort. There are places with a lot less sand, in fact, no sand, but you'll have to walk a ways or drive to the beach. At Club Orient, you simply walk out of your unit, onto the sand and to the beach. Furthest unit from the water is less than 75 yards.
Best time to go ... Jan - Mar but it'll cost you more because that's high season. We were going in June, summer, not low season but warmer, a little humid and cost less. October is hurricane season ... cost less during that time of the year.
Cell service depends on your carrier. We have Verizon and our phones worked fine with International roaming. We've not visited in a while so service may have improved for other carriers.
I'll share a story about friends and loved ones knowing where exactly you are.
A friend/acquaintance that visited Club O frequently thought the same. She worked at a Catholic School in the main office. She and her husband were walking down the beach one morning. They saw a man walking toward them. Our friend and her husband were completely naked and so was the man walking toward her. As this stranger got closer, she said to her husband, "he looks very familiar." As they got close enough to recognize one another ... he was the priest/principal of the school where she worked.
Their eyes met, they said "hello" and all heads looked straight down. Later that morning, there was a knock on their unit door and it was the priest. He asked to talk to them. They had a good conversation and continued visiting Club Orient each year at the same time, spending time on the beach together, dinners together and enjoying the resort and the freedom of nudism.
We became friends with this priest and we enjoyed spending time with him at the resort and on vacation to St. Martin and Club Orient.
Don't worry so much about seeing someone you know. If you're that worried ... don't go!
Loves being naked. Plays well with others!
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pc1961
Forum Member
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Posted - 06/29/2016 : 3:40:50 PM
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I just returned from St Martin. We didn't stay at Club O though. Stayed 3 days in Orient Village and 5 days on the Dutch side. My favorite beach is Cupecoy. Clothing optional but only a few couples each day at the Shore Point area of Cupecoy. Dany is there cooking up bbq chicken and ribs and serving cold drinks. Rum punch etc.
For detailed questions, sign into traveltalkonline.com. Don't be afraid to ask about nudity or any other subject. The board admins, Eric and Carol Hill, have been there many times.
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ddoger
Forum Member
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Posted - 07/09/2016 : 03:32:54 AM
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We are booked for March 2017 for our 10th year in a row. We don't stay at club O. We can stay for a month for what Club O charges for 2 or 3 nights. As for cell service I have an unlocked I phone and use a sxm SIM card. DW and I just got back from NYC where we visited 2 other couples we met on Orient beach. So we have made some great new friends there and wouldn't look at going anywhere else at that time of the year. Couldn't ask for a nicer place to visit.
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iamacanadian
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Posted - 07/09/2016 : 08:50:07 AM
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Hi ddoger- where did you stay on Orient Beach for such a lower price?
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rkitek
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Posted - 07/11/2016 : 2:38:47 PM
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I'm interested too where you can stay for a month for less than $600.
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JoeD1949
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Posted - 07/16/2016 : 8:13:27 PM
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If one has timeshares and trades them through RCI it's possible to stay for $219/week, plus resort fees and island taxes. We did that in November and stayed for a week each at Divi and Simpson Bay Resort and drove back and forth to Club O using a 10 day coupon book. Economical, but probably won't do it again.
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FireProf
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Posted - 07/18/2016 : 01:06:18 AM
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I understand the savings argument but we pay the extra so we can live/vacation the way we do at home and that's ... naked all the time. WE like the ability to visit the Perch, eat lunch and have drinks, visit Papagayo and have dinner, visit L'Orientique for fresh French pastries and food items, walking the entire resort, having massages, snorkeling, sunning, socializing and so much more ... ALL without ever having to put on a stitch of clothing.
That's why we stay at Club O and pay the extra ... besides being able to remain naked and go from water to sand to room, outdoor shower and a bottle of wine on our front patio with a view of the beach! Can't beat that, in our book!
Loves being naked. Plays well with others!
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JoeD1949
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Posted - 07/18/2016 : 09:56:58 AM
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We totally agree with FireProf. On our next trip to SXM we're spending four weeks at Club O. While the RCI option does save money, there is the hassle of getting dressed and driving 30 minutes from the Dutch side. We left the beach at 4 PM at the latest each of the ten days we made the excursion. Basically, our nude day was only 6 hours long instead of 24. Our Club O routine when staying there is to dine at Papagayo on the nights they offer music and stay until they close. Last year, we followed up our two time share exchange weeks with 12 days at Club O and it felt like a vacation from the previous two weeks. Not knocking Divi or SBR, but I'll take 24 hours nude over 6 hours any day.
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ddoger
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Posted - 07/21/2016 : 02:33:11 AM
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Okay so I exaggerated a little maybe 4 or 5 nights. 225euros = $250us. I usually use timeshares for 2-3 weeks which costs me about 750 pllus what I paid for maintenance fees for 3 weeks. I found a place on vrbo for a month for $1100.00 but we have to drive from Marigot. 4 nights at club O would cost me $1000.00 plus taxes. That still leaves me a lot of money to rent a car and pay for food and flights.. I'd love to stay at Cllub O but it isj just out of our price range. We love st Martin and Orient beach.
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rkitek
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Posted - 07/25/2016 : 12:51:01 PM
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So what does it cost to have a time share?
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calgarymark
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Posted - 07/27/2016 : 1:31:56 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by rkitek
So what does it cost to have a time share?
That's a short question with a very big answer, sorry.
The usual process is that you buy a share in a unit in the resort of your choice, so the capital cost is highly variable. You then have an annual maintenance fee, which varies substantially too - depending on facilities offered and standard of maintenance achieved. You then can use the unit you have bought for the specific week or points value (different ownership systems) you acquired. In addition, you will probably acquire membership in an exchange system (RCI - Resorts Condominium International) or II (Interval International) which allows you to exchange your week in your 'home' resort for one somewhere else in their worldwide system which requires the same value in weeks or points. This is a very useful asset, but also costs money to acquire and then use ('exchange fees').
Time share has a bad reputation but my wife and her late husband acquired three weeks in a resort in Spain very early in its existence (1985). We have since changed our style of ownership from weeks to points and it has allowed us to travel more widely to places with a certain known standard of comfort. It has served us well but not cheaply.
In considering a purchase, remember that you will have a capital cost, an annual maintenance cost, and likely a declining value due to depreciation. You also will likely be buying food to cook yourself (is that a vacation?) or restaurant meals. If you exchange to another resort, you will have to pay exchange fees as I mentioned above. Against that - set the cost of your usual annual vacation accommodation and work out what works best for you.
So far as 'nakations' go - I have searched diligently and not yet found a resort to 'exchange' to which offered the facilities of a nudist resort; this means I have 'resorted' to renting a car and driving to nearby beaches (in Spain; 'naked places' are seldom nearby elsewhere). It is a second best approach, and you certainly miss the way of life eloquently described by Fireprof in his first post in this thread.
Second thought - see if you can find someone who owns a timeshare you like and see if they would offer you a guest certificate for a week. You would need to make your private arrangements about whether they give it to you or whether you pay them for it. We have given timeshare weeks to young couples for the vacation of their choice and that proved successful (for them, especially).
Third (and definitely last) thought - take up a timeshare company's offer of a 'free' or cheap holiday at a place you think you would like to go to regularly or could easily exchange 'from' to go to the places of your preference using the exchange system. It is a sales pitch and you WILL be required to attend a pitch, which eats seriously into your time and see if it is for you. But do the math carefully and be prepared to refuse if it doesn't suit you.
CalgaryMark
Growing old is mandatory, Growing up is optional. Laughing at yourself is therapeutic.
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JoeD1949
Forum Member
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Posted - 07/29/2016 : 5:37:42 PM
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Calgarymark has described timeshare ownership perfectly. There is only one nude resort that I know of that features time shares and that is in Pasco County, Florida. Never stayed there as we're not into swinging. Check the reviews on TripAdvisor. One hilarious one about an RCI exchange. They claimed they didn't know it was CO when they booked it and didn't find out until they checked in. They definitely weren't nudists. I think they left a day or so later.
Time share presentations are no fun and you are at their mercy for 1 1/2 to 2 hours if you want the "free" nights. Even if you are at the resort on an exchange they go all out to get you into a presentation. The sad thing is the people who SELL you the presentation reservation aren't the same people who SELL the timeshare weeks. They get a fee just for booking the time. At Simson Bay Resort the nice lady told us when she tried to book our appointment for a "tour" that the only requirement was you had to be between 25 and 65 years old. I quickly told her I was 67 and she said that was no problem. We declined anyway.
We have used RCI exchanges in the Orlando area for the past three years. One in particular is Alhambra in the Poinciana community. For $219/week we stay there and get a two week guest pass at Cypress Cove for $100. The Cove is about a 10 minute drive. Cheapest nakation that I know of.
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calgarymark
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Posted - 07/30/2016 : 1:48:40 PM
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JoeD1949 - thanks for the compliment, and (indirectly) the recommendation in your last paragraph. I'll look into it ... or one like it. Our 'home' resort in Spain used RCI until a few years ago, when they switched to Interval International (II) which has a much larger catalogue of resorts with which to exchange.
I think my second-best-to-ideal would be a resort close to the beach at Orient Bay on St. Martin (this to get the conversation back to its starting point!
CalgaryMark
Growing old is mandatory, Growing up is optional. Laughing at yourself is therapeutic.
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Edited by - calgarymark on 07/30/2016 1:53:44 PM |
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Nudony
Forum Member
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Posted - 07/30/2016 : 4:27:49 PM
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When I stayed at St Martin, my GF got us a cheap Airbnb condo right at the far end of Orient Beach. It was like 60-70 bucks a night. I spent my time in the condo nude; and in the mornings I would jog or stroll nude over to Club O. (nudity is tolerated on Orient beach in the early morning) so I really got to be nude a lot in spite of not staying at Club O.
Sure it wasn't the 24/7 nude experience of staying at Club O., but for those with a tighter pocketbook, it's a healthy substitute.
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pc1961
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Posted - 08/09/2016 : 4:02:11 PM
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Nudony. Nudity isn't totally tolerated anymore. Will you get away with it? Probably. But it would be a damn good idea to be carrying a sarong in case the gendarmes stop you. As long as you are polite and comply with covering up, you will probably be free to continue your walk.
From Club O website:
Is it okay to walk Orient Bay beyond Pedro’s without clothes?
The history of Orient Baie is one of free unfettered nude usage. For most of Club Orient’s thirty-year history, you were free to be without clothing anywhere at any time. Over the last few years, some changes have come to Orient Beach. Walking past Pedro’s without clothes can result in being cited by the Gendarmes and possible detainment. Being stopped by the authorities is a rare occurrence, but it does happen. Walking past Pedro’s fully nude is at your own risk, even before 8:00 AM. The only exclusive 24/7 beach nude area is the frontage of the Club Orient resort.
So should you take the walk down to Mount Vernon clothing free? We can only make you aware of the possibility of being stopped and cited by the Gendarmes. The risk is yours.
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