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Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesDIVI DAMAGED BUT STAYS IN OPERATION

DIVI DAMAGED BUT STAYS IN OPERATION

Rumors circulating that St. Croix's newest resort hotel was washed out to sea by Hurricane Lenny are totally unfounded.
Although the Divi Carina Bay Resort & Casino, on the east end of storm-struck St. Croix, did sustain some damage, only about 10 percent of the rooms were severely damaged.
General manager Allan Mallory said Thursday afternoon, "We're renting rooms tonight and should be able to provide full food and beverage service by tomorrow."
The 15 guests registered at the hotel when Lenny struck are all still on the property and without injury.
The central core of the hotel has hurricane shutters. During the worst of the storm on Wednesday, guests and staff gathered there safe from the freak late-season storm that traveled painfully slowly along St. Croix's south shore beginning early Wednesday morning.
Mallory said the casino located across the road from the resort hotel did not fare as well. The entire inside was destroyed, he said, when "cladding" on the outside of the structure was peeled away by storm winds, leaving the interior of the casino totally exposed.
"That put us about 60 to 90 days behind schedule," Mallory said, "but we'll get it back together."
"The staff was wonderful," he added, helping before, during and after the storm.
"My biggest concern is the beach," he said. "We lost a lot of sand."
Another rumor circulating, that the King Christian Hotel in Christiansted lost its roof, is also unfounded.

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