Went over to Vero last night.

[floridafam]

We drove over to the resort last night for dinner.

Shutters was busy. We had a perfect meal. My son walked in and saw Mary, one of the CM's, and got a big smile on his face and started waving at her.

Much of the lobby is blocked off. It looks like they have to replace most of the flooring. There is only about a 5 ft. space near the front desk and around the lobby to walk.

The stairs going up to the 2nd floor are blocked off.

There is now carpet at the entrance to the lobby from the porch (the porch facing the croquet lawn.)

Much of the 4th floor balcony has plastic sheeting over it.

We saw quite a few construction workers dining in Shutters and some CM's who we recognized who were staying at the resort. They must have had major damage to their homes.

One of the CM's said there are about 140 rooms open.

Spnya's is still closed from water damage. It rained all day and we were told they discovered some new damage to the drywall from the rain. They are working to get it up and running ASAP.

We didn't walk around outside because it was raining. The pool and everything is open. A CM said that there was TONS of sand in the pool right after the hurricane.

The carpet in Shutters looked brand new.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Thx for doing the legwork for us FloridaFam! It's good that the CMs can get back to work and that they've gotten 140 of the rooms back on line so quickly. Even better that Shutters is up, so at least the contruction workers and new locals like yourselves can have a nice restaurant meal (not many other good places to eat right nearby in Wabasso Beach, are there?). And this way, at least part of the repair expenses are getting cycled back into the resort's coffers, thru the construction workers eating at Shutters (or maybe that was a fringe benefit?).

As for sand in the pool, how can they take care of that? I'm sure it'll be back and close to 100% by the time we get there in January. At least it's slow season for them anyway, so they're not putting out a whole lot of ppl who want to come. I hope the repairs to those great CM's homes progresses nearly as fast as they do at the resort!

 

[Beth]

Thanks for the report, floridafam. We thought about running over this weekend, but I think we'll wait a while...

I'm confident they will get it back in ship-shape in no time!!

 

[donald...really]

It is great that they were able to open most of the resort as soon as they did. Did they mention how long it will take to get the lobby, etc. back to normal, or at least closer to normal?

 

[bobbiwoz]

Thanks for the report floridafam, but you did make me "homesick!"

Bobbi

 

[ErinC]

Originally posted by pumpkinboy
Thx for doing the legwork for us FloridaFam!

As for sand in the pool, how can they take care of that? I'm sure it'll be back and close to 100% by the time we get there in January. At least it's slow season for them anyway, so they're not putting out a whole lot of ppl who want to come. I hope the repairs to those great CM's homes progresses nearly as fast as they do at the resort!

I would imagine that they have to pump the sand back out of the pool. I'm kind of surprised they have been able to get things ready so quickly. We are in the midst of recouping from Hurricane Ivan. Much of our county is a complete disaster (Gulf Shores, and Orange Beach, AL) . My inlaws have a condo in Orange Beach which they still have not been allowed to view as of yet. According to the the real estate company that runs this particular condo brand (they have about 12 large condo developments) every single indoor and outdoor pool will have to be replaced. Some of the condos will have to be demolished and rebuilt because of the severe damage. I have never seen Vero so its hard for me to relate to the layout of the resort. Anyway, I'm glad for the CM's there that they will be able to get back to work.

FloridaFam, How long were your schools closed in that area? We are looking at probably 2 weeks here.

 

[floridafam]

I guess the lobby is blocked off because they have a huge lift in there, not because of the floor.

They were finishing painting the ceilind today when we were there.

The CM said that the yellow chutes we saw hanging from the building were like huge hair dryers that were brought in to dry the place.

THERE WAS NOT A SOUL AT THE POOL!

I have never seen the pool empty.

The slide was closed and so was Bleachers and there were no lifeguards on duty.

The CM in the Green Cabin Room also said that there were a lot of Red Cross people staying at the resort and they are gone all day.

He said we were the first customers he had all day.

The ramp to the beach is closed. They have a new ramp from near the campfire area but that was also closed.

School was out here for nearly 2 weeks. My children are going to go to school at home this year. They have to start new elementary school next year and we didn't want them to go to 3 schools in 3 years. Plus, the local elementary school is PACKED!

 

[EeyoreJMH]

Wow-- thanks for this report, floridafam! We've been wondering how the resort (and the rest of the area was doing). Up here we hear that the remnants of Ivan came back for a visit, too? Hang in there!

We have a reservation for a beach cottage at the end of October, and I can't imagine how those fared . . .

 

[danny1649]

 

[sandieb]

Thanks for the update. I really love Vero...the site is beautiful and the CMs are so friendly. Sandie