The news coming out of St. Maarten following the destruction caused by Hurricane Irma continues to get sadder as several reports now indicate that both the island’s airport and major resorts have been severely damaged.
Sonesta Hotels, which represents three major resorts on St. Maarten, issued a statement Wednesday night, detailing the damage assessment of its resorts, as well as the rest of the island.
While all guests and staff members of all three hotels - Sonesta Maho Beach Resort Casino & Spa, Sonesta Ocean Point Resort and Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort & Casino - are safe and unharmed, the hotels themselves suffered major devastation.
“The damages to our resorts, however, are severe, as is widespread damage and destruction on our beloved island of Sint Maarten,” according to the statement. “Severe damage has also occurred at Princess Juliana International Airport, and we do not have news as to when the airport will resume operations.”
According to The Telegraph, the hurricane destroyed the airport with rocks smashing into planes and passenger walkways being sent crashing onto the tarmac.
Due to the damages the resorts suffered, all further reservations from now through the end of 2017 will be cancelled, Sonesta announced in the statement.
All pre-paid reservations from now through the end of 2017 will be refunded as soon as the restores operations, pending future updates and situation assessment.
Keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for more Hurricane Irma updates and be sure to follow Travel Agent’s Joe Pike on Twitter @TravelPike and Instagram @pike5260.
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