Report Abuse

[Q=connys] We were in the area in September and went by the resort. There was a locked fence around the parking lot and the resort looked abandoned. We were there for a week and went by twice and saw no workers. There was obvious damage. I went to a Fairfield representative at Royal Vista resort and she assured me that repairs were being done to get the resort up to hurricane code and that the resort would probably open in the fall of 2007.[/Q] For what its worth I visited the resort last week (May 2007) several times to inspect it whilst I was on holiday from the UK. This is what I found: - Every day I visited there were several people working at the resort, including some guys looking at plans near the front entrance. - All the balcony doors to the units appear to have been replaced but the external walls around them need to be made good. - Mirrors were being taken into the entrance area. - A new 'Wydhams' sign had been fitted near the top of the building. - Somebody from the local water utility company was just leaving the building. I spoke to him and he had been testing the water supply. I also managed to speak to a young lady at Sea Garden Resort, who told me that they expected Santa Barbara to be open by Christmas this year at the latest. She confirmed my suspicion that the insurance company had taken a long time in paying out any money, but that this was now resolved. She also said that the local authority at Pompano Beach had been very difficult, delaying the issue of permits etc which hadn't help things. I also get the impression that all building projects (new and old) in the area are running late, probably due to skilled labour shortages. My feeling is that the resort will probably open some time this year. Just when is anybody's guess. If another big hurrican strikes, then this could potentially cause a further delay etc. Personally I am disappointed at the speed of the repairs and the attitude which seems to exist towards the owners. When anyone is contacted for advice or information the lack of help or information provided cannot be coincidental. Its as if people have been told not to be helpful or a lot of lazy inefficient people are employed. I'll let you make your own minds up. Hope that this was of some help! Regards, David W.