Damaged Sint Maarten hotels embark on road to recovery.

SINT MAARTEN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 14, 1995--Many of the hotels struck by Hurricane Luis on the Dutch Caribbean island of Sint Maarten on Sept. 5 are open for business, and those heavily damaged are actively implementing recovery programs.

There were no reports of injuries or casualties among hotel guests, hundreds of whom weathered the storm in resorts throughout the island.

Following is an inventory of the destination's major hotel properties:

Atrium Resort (90 rooms)--Open. Power and water were restored last Monday and phones are working.

Belair Beach Hotel (72 rooms)--Open. No structural damage. Lost its television satellite dishes, pool deck, three windows and needs a new roof coating. The hotel was 60 percent occupied during the storm. Power and water have been restored, and phone service is expected by week's end. Management reports a full recovery within eight to 10 weeks.

Dawn Beach Hotel (155 rooms)--Closed. Sustained serious damage, especially to its beach-front units. According to General Manager Mike Knipper, the resort could reopen within three to six months. No electricity, water or phone service at this time.

Divi Little Bay (224 rooms)--Closed until further notice. Awaiting personal inspection and appraisals from structural engineers, construction and insurance personnel before releasing any additional information.

Flamingo Beach Resort (172 rooms)--Open. Some shingles are off the roof, but resort is 90 percent operational. Has electricity and water and anticipating phone service by week's end.

Great Bay Beach Hotel and Casino (285 rooms)--Closed. Major structural damage. Will reopen within one year.

Holland House Beach Hotel (54 rooms)--Open. Has damaged air units on the roof of the hotel, some broken windows and sliding glass doors, and some water damage to ceilings and porches. Operating on generator power and cistern water, but expecting restored power and water this week. Has limited phone service, but can receive international calls. Housed 40 guests during the storm, and now "home" to more than 100 military personnel who are part of the island's recovery team.

Horizon View Hotel (30 rooms)--Closed. Will reopen by week's end. Electricity and water expected to be restored this week. Phone service anticipated within two to three days.

Maho Beach Hotel and Casino (600 rooms)--Closed. Sustained serious damage to 200 of its 400 rooms, but will reopen the latter within one month. Has its own power plant and desalination plant to supply electricity and water. Five of its restaurants are open and serving limited menus, and room service is available 24 hours to displaced employees of American Airlines and other major companies who are being housed at the resort. General Manager Bernard Hunt predicted phone service will be operational this week.

Mullet Bay Resort (600 rooms)--Closed. Sustained serious structural damage to its rooms and conference center. Management will have 100 rooms on line within two weeks, another 100 in four weeks, 150 additional rooms by the end of October, 100 more by the end of November and a total of 525 rooms operational by Dec. 15. The remaining rooms will be out of inventory for up to one year. Although the resort's famous beach is riddled with debris, clean-up is under way.

Oyster Pond Beach Hotel (40 rooms)--Closed. As the property closed on Sept. 1 for its annual cleaning in September, no guests were on site for the storm. The property sustained some minor water damage and its meeting room and dive facility will need repairs. It will reopen as scheduled on Oct. 6.

Pelican Resort (342 rooms)--Closed. Will reopen 307 units on Sept. 23. Housing Dutch military, Red Cross and fire department personnel in the meantime. Sustained serious structural damage to 20 rooms and has a total of 35 rooms out of inventory as a result of the storm. These units are expected to be completely repaired within six months. Never lost power, water or phone service. Sixty percent of the guests remained on property during the storm.

Port de Plaisance (88 rooms)--Closed until further notice. Sustained minor water and landscaping damage.

Royal Islander/La Plage (110 rooms)-- Closed, but will reopen within one month.

Royal Palm Beach Club (140 rooms)--Open. No major interior damage. Already cleaning up destroyed landscaping. Has power, water and limited phone lines, the latter of which are expected to be fully restored by week's end. General Manager Ken Knight expects to be "back on line within a few days." Can accept guests anytime. Several honeymoon couples arrived on island the day before the storm and stayed on property through last Sunday, despite the availability of outbound flights on Friday, just three days after the Hurricane struck.

Sapphire Beach Club (85 rooms)--Open. Forty-five of its rooms are available now, with minor damages being repaired in the remaining 40 within the next three weeks, when the resort will be fully operational. Has electricity and water.

Towers at Mullet Bay (81 rooms)--Open. All units fully operational with power and water. Cable television also available.

CONTACT: RY&P Public Relations, Orlando, Fla.

Jackie MacKay, 407/875-1111, ext. 291