20 room hotel and the surrounding area. The Yacht Club was located in Sint Maarten, on the peninsula just south of the border between French St. Martin and Dutch Sint Maarten. After Luis, the land was cleared and The Oyster Bay Beach Resort was constructed. It is perched on the coral reef peninsula where Oyster Pond Yacht Club originally and consists of the OBBR as well as its sister properties, Mainsail, Spinnaker and the Lighthouse. Don't think you can find a morsel of land on the peninsula that isn't now covered with building. The resort now offers an array of accommodations with great views of Oyster Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. OBBR is just north of Dawn Beach which is a beautiful white sand beach that has a coral reef just off the shore that is great for snorkeling. In 2008, Carol and I rented the Villa Sea Haven that is in the hills above Dawn Beach and slightly south of OBBR. From our vantage point above the water, we could see OBBR to the left and the newly constructed Westin to the right. Panoramic views of the land, ocean and the neighboring island of St. Barts greeted us every morning as we walked out onto our rear deck. Oyster Bay Beach Resort is a far cry from the original Yacht Club that occupied the peninsula back in the 60s to it's destruction, but draws the time-share crowd as well as weekly rental visitors. I have included a few photos of the views from our deck as well as a look at our villa, high above Dawn Beach. No matter where you stay on the island, you are greeted by fantastic views of either the Caribbean Sea or the Atlantic Ocean. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.View of the Oyster Bay Beach Resort that replaced the Oyster Pond Yacht Club. Photo taken from the hills above Oyster Pond.
View of OBBR as taken from Dawn Beach
Access to our villa was up this road leading to the Villas of Oyster Pond, Beach Side
The Villa Sea Haven as seen from Dawn Beach
Photo from our rear deck showing the OBBR to the left and the roof of the Westin to the right.
My wife and I spent our honeymoon at the Oyster Pond Yacht Club in 1982. Total charm. Back then it was 20 rooms, very secluded. Driving over that hill to get there was "thrilling," to say the least. We walked down to the Dawn Beach Hotel for dinner and entertainment a couple of nights. We went back to OPYC in 1994. By then they had added additional buildings to the original structure. Still nice, but less charming. Sad to read that it all was destroyed by Hurrican Luis and the other storms of that awful 1995. And Dawn Beach, too. Sadder still to see the awful places that have been put up in their place. Ugh! But "We'll always have the Oyster Pond Yacht Club!"
ReplyDeleteA Captain goes down with his ship-
Delete"There's something in the pain of change- unhappiness remembering happiness"
We loved the Oyster Pond Yacht Club - for many of the same reasons others have shared. Crisp white linens on candlelit tables- the absolute best lobster medallions w/asparagus, avocado & homemade roumelad dressing; Silver service in a fabulously remote & romantic locale.
We hail from Palm Beach, but found decent accomadations for our boat in St Maarten in the early 90's.... a convenient duty free hub to access our favorite outisland destinations.
Luis did quite a bit of damage to the boat, but that's not all. We brought it into Tortolla to be reprovisioned & repaired. The capt of my heart insisted on staying with her until complete to prevent pilferage; neglected to inform me that he had blood in his urine.
Finally, returning to stateside, he fesses up: one encapsulated tumor on his R kidney. Resected. He bravely fought the ugliness of the dx until 1999. It's too painful for me to consider revisiting. It's never the same anyways. Thanks for sharing all of the special memories.
I had the wonderful pleasure of visiting the place "where gentle manners still prevail"in 1979 with my soon to be wife..Evelyn.We went during the "off"season in the fall.The open courtyard was enchanting in the evening with the constant breeze blowing from the sea.There was no television or radio in the place.Communication with the outside world, aside from the house phone, was assured.It seemed that their was only one audio cassette tape in the salon,by Mantovanni and his orchestra which was played over and over again many times.So much so that those fabuluosly haunting melodies led me straight to Virgin records upon my return home.Dinner on Saturdays consisted of lobster(langosta),imported in from nearby Anguila and frog legs(tasted just like chicken) followed by a tasty dessert of Banana Flambe'. The rest of the evening was spent playing backgammon while sipping cordials in the lounge.since the bar was unnattended after 8p.m.all were left to prepare their own drinks on the "honor" system.Any guest enjoying "after hours" drinks would simply a bar ledger indicating which and how many were had.Of all the nocturnal creatures roaming the grounds, the flying Palmetto bug was by far the creepiest.More than once we were kamikazeed by them while strolling pathways lit only by moonlight.Of all the experiences in this 2 week vaca.,the most remarkable was at JFK on our return home.As we were crossing the concourse in the terminal,my girlfriend and I looked at each other astonished as to how fast people around us were walking, We realized then that we took a piece of the Oyster Pond with us back home.We"ve returned 3 times since, but have yet to recapture that first time feeling. sorry to hear it's all gone
ReplyDeleteCarol and I didn't have the good fortune that both of the previous visitors had. We didn't discover the island until the early 2000s. We have been visiting at least once every year since and fell in love with the island. When we visited last year, our realtor we use welcomed us with "Welcome Home." That's exactly how we now feel. If only Oyster Pond Yacht Club was still there and had it's original flavor...... just wishing. LDub
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I and our best friends spent a few nights there
ReplyDeletein 1970. We were on an Island hopping trip in a private plane.
We arrived after dark and were the only guests there. A husband and wife team managed the place . They had let the help go home already but we were made very welcome with dinner in the court yard and plenty of planters punch.
We had the whole place to ourselves and loved every minute of it. I am so sad that it is gone, but in my mind it still lives, beautiful and special.
I got separated in 1982 after a 4 year marriage. My first girlfriend (terrific girl but the wrong time in my life) and I stumbled upon this hotel after being horrified by the hotel we were booked into. The OPYC could not have been more charming--right on the beach, great room, friendly staff and cut-off from the outside world ( I guess no phone as noted above). There was one slight snag--my soon to be ex-wife was suing me for $20 mil. and I was so angry that I refused to have sex with my girlfriend(obviously this hurt me also.
ReplyDeleteWe were at the OPYC in 1982 for our 4th anniversary and still remember how wonderful it was. We had booked into a hotel in Phillipsburg and hated it and took off in our rental car to find a better place to stay. OPYC was magical!!
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