Theme Parks, Hotels and Resorts Prepare For Hurricane Irma’s Arrival

As Hurricane Irma makes its way across the Caribbean, Florida is preparing for the Category 5 storm, one of the biggest ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, to make landfall.  

With winds of 185 mph, Irma tore through the islands of St. Martin and Barbuda early Wednesday, leaving a wake of destruction in its path, and threatened Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands “with life-threatening wind, storm surge and rainfall,” the National Hurricane Center said. Now, Irma is forecasted to hit Florida late Sunday or early Monday.  

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As one of the country’s most popular vacation destinations, Orlando’s theme parks are taking precauctions to limit the damage that Irma will bring.  

At Universal Orlando Resort, the parks’ hours are operating as normal as they monitor the weather. Visitors can reschedule or seek refunds, the Orlando Sentinel reported.  

Walt Disney World, currently operating under normal conditions, posted a “Tropical Weather Update” on its website, saying guests are able to reschedule or cancel their vacation packages and most room-only reservations without any fees if a hurricane warning has been issued within seven days of the arrival date. It’s hosting its Mickey’s Not-So-Scary-Halloween at Magic Kingdom and the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. 

Last year, Hurricane Matthew forced Disney and Universal to close for a day. 

In South Florida, tourists are being urged to cut their trips short ahead of evacuations. 

The mayor of Miami-Dade County said people should be prepared to evacuate Miami Beach and most coastal areas. The Florida Keys, a chain of 42 low-lying islands that includes Key West, issued a mandatory evacuation order starting on Wednesday morning for visitors and Wednesday evening for residents.  

Some hotels are no longer accepting reservations. The Loews Miami Beach Hotel, for example, said it is not accepting new reservations until Tuesday, Sept. 12, or until the evacuation is lifted and will be waiving cancellation fees through this weekend. In the Keys, where hotels previously allowed visitors to stay at their own risk, emergency managers urged all visitors to leave, warning that very few places within the 113-mile island chain were built to withstand Category 5 winds, the Miami Herald reported.

Hyatt closed four hotels in the area due to mandatory or suggested evacuation orders, including the Hyatt Centric in Key West, the Hyatt Place Marathon/Florida Keys, the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six in Ft. Lauderdale, and the Confidante in Miami Beach. Hyatt guests with pre-paid reservations will get refunds and cancellation fees will be waived.

“As quickly as we can reopen if hotels are in fact closed, which looks like that may happen, [we will]. Hotels will be ready to get back and accommodate people as soon as possible,” Wendy Kallergis, president of the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association, told the paper.

Other hotels are remaining open as shelter for displaced Miami and Orlando residents. Hotels along I-75 in Florida and Georgia are seeing a surge in reservations, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

Marriott International said its hotels in the projected path have put storm preparation protocols in place and will communicate directly with travel agents and guests, adding plans are in place to evacuate and close hotels “if local authorities or conditions require such action.” Hotels in the impacted area are waiving hotel cancellation and change fees.

Hilton said all of its properties in the Caribbean and South Florida have implemented their hurricane preparedness plan and emergency procedures in anticipation of the storm. Hilton properties located in affected areas of the Caribbean are waiving cancellation penalties for reservations arriving Sept. 5 through Sept. 8. 

The Caribbean Tourism Organization said it has been in contact with its members and they have been taking all the necessary steps to ensure that they are in a state of readiness.  

In the Turks and Caicos Islands and the south-eastern Bahamas, water levels are predicted to rise by 20 feet. Hotels, resorts and villas throughout the islands have activated their hurricane response programs. Tourism officials have begun urging visitors to make preparations to leave. 

Assessing the damage
Sonesta St. Martin Resorts announced that all guests and staff of the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort Casino & Spa, Sonesta Ocean Point Resort and Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort & Casino are safe and unharmed, but that the damages are so severe, all further reservations through the end of 2017 are cancelled.

All pre-paid reservations from now through the end of 2017 will be refunded as soon as the hotel can restore operations, pending future updates and situation assessment. All other reservations will be treated according to the cancellation policy of the reservation. The resort is asking travelers to contact its toll free line for more information.

Photos of nearby Princess Juliana International Airport, famous for its runways extending out onto Maho beach, where sun bathers take photos and videos of aircraft landing directly overhead, show the airport has suffered severe damage as well.

With additional reporting by Richard D’Ambrosio.