charlsROSS

vancouver commercial photographer

La Belle Creole St Maarten

I had a chance to visit La Belle Creole abandoned resort in St Maarten a few years ago.  La Belle Creole has a spooky history and years of ill fated luck.

Originally a Waldorf Astoria resort in the 60’s, this beautiful hotel was made to look like a Mediterranean village. The construction was abandoned until the 1980’s when another developer finished the buildings. It opened in 1988, and after a hurricane in 1995, the resort was closed permanently.

On the property is 27 buildings, terra cotta floors, dramatic ceilings, stunning pools and Italian marble bathrooms. Currently, the beach is frequented by nudists and the grounds are open for tourists to roam about. There are also security cameras throughout,  and a friendly security guard is often found patrolling the grounds.

I have been lucky to do a few photoshoots here, including a wedding, fashion shoot and family session. I don’t recommend climbing the buildings or using the staircases as some areas are quite dilapidated and if anyone gets hurt, future explorers won’t be allowed to visit. There are beautiful views in the courtyard to do a photoshoot in and ground level rooms to visit. The best time of the day for lighting is early morning or late afternoon. The sun is quite bright throughout the day, creating uneven light speckles through the trees, but there are some locations that  have even light and beautiful open shade.

View Family Session Here
View Wedding Here

Read more: https://barcann.livejournal.com/260356.html

 

 

 

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