Resorts Brace As Hurricane Matthew Checks In

Disney World and other Orlando theme parks prepare for Hurricane Matthew. Photo: Sean Yu

With Hurricane Matthew expected to make landfall in Florida, hotels and resorts in popular tourist destinations like Miami and Orlando are taking the precautions to keep their guests and staff safe.

The Category 3 storm is currently in the Northwest Bahamas, and will likely strengthen before hitting the Florida coast Thursday night. A hurricane warning remains in effect along the entire east coast of Florida.

Club Med’s Sandpiper Bay property in Port St. Lucie, FL, is open and operating. With a Hurricane Contingency Plan in place, the staff is taking the necessary measures to prepare for the storm and keep guests safe. A spokesperson told TMR Club Med’s resorts have been built to withstand hurricane-force winds and the resort has been through storms in the past. 

Guests traveling to Club Med Sandpiper Bay or Club Med Turkoise in Turks and Caicos should be in touch with their air carrier. If there is a flight cancellation due to Hurricane Matthew, or if the airline is allowing revisions, guests may either:

• Revise travel dates through Dec. 22, 2016, at no fees on the land, same resort, same length of stay and same room category (subject to availability and black-out dates may apply). The new dates will be price- protected.

• Revise Club Med destination at no fees on the land, keeping the same travel dates, same length of stay and same room category (if airline allows for revised destination). Cancellations are at full fees.

If affected by cancelled flights, guests who booked an air-inclusive package can stay at the resort free of charge until the first available flight out. Guests who booked only their land stay can remain at the resort for a nightly rate equivalent to 50% of the local nightly rate.

Atlantis Paradise Island, meanwhile, reports it is “now experiencing hurricane force winds and over the next few hours the intensity will increase. On its current path, we hope that the worst of the storm will be past us by 2 pm. It is asking guests to “stay in designated shelter areas, away from doors, windows and from standing under skylights. When the storm passes, we will conduct inspections of the hotel towers and will inform you when it is safe to return to your rooms.”

Walt Disney World, Orlando Studios and SeaWorld will all close Thursday until the storm passes. Disney officials said on its website theme parks, water parks, Disney Springs, the miniature golf course and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex will close at 5 p.m. and remain closed through Friday. Universal Studios Florida, Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Universal Citywalk will follow suit, closing at 5 p.m. today and remain closed through Friday.

Intercontinental Hotels told TMR that “in accordance with the mandatory evacuations already issued in some parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, many IHG hotels along the projected storm path have closed. We will stay in close contact around the clock with IHG hotels in the storm’s path and will continue to closely monitor the development of Hurricane Matthew.”