GRACE BAY
CLUB in Providenicales, Turks and Caicos, will officially
open its 38 new family-friendly villas Nov. 1, representing a $45
million expansion project at the resort. The Villas at Grace Bay
Club are set in four five-story, Mediterranean-style buildings.
Each building houses two suites per floor. The 38 units include four penthouse villas, 14 two-bedroom
villas and 20 three-bedroom villas. Each villa includes oceanfront
balconies and nine-foot ceilings; open kitchens with granite
counter tops and stainless steel appliances; and bathrooms with
walk-in showers and double vanities. The
villa complex has a pool for family swimming, a new beachside grill
and bar and a Kids Town supervised activity area. The 21-suite,
adults-only hotel, which is in a separate area, has its own pool;
the Anacaona adults-only restaurant, which recently completed a
$100,000 renovation; and an on-the-beach lounge with couch, bed and
chair seating and a tapas and martini menu. In addition, opening in
December is the 5,000-square-foot Anani Spa & Fitness
Center. Three- and five-night packages,
available through Dec. 19 and from Jan. 4 to 31, offer savings up
to 46%. For details, call (800) 946-5757
or visit www.gracebayclub.com.
GWV
VACATIONS will launch weekly nonstop service Jan. 8 from
Boston to Montego Bay, Jamaica, for its seven-night programs
starting at $899 per person, double, to more than 20 Jamaica
resorts in Montego Bay, Negril, Ocho Rios and Runaway Bay. Travel
can be booked through January for travel that month and on select
dates in March, April and May. Rates include roundtrip air,
transfers, accommodations, meals, drinks and activities. For
details, visit www.gwvvacations.com.
GRENADA'S BLUE
HORIZONS Garden Resort instituted a no-smoking in-room
policy applicable to its 32 guest rooms, effective Oct. 11. Guests
will still be permitted to smoke on the patios or in any open-air
space throughout the property.
PACKAGE
DEALS
" Mark
Travel's six Caribbean vaction brands -- Funjet Vacations,
TransGlobal Vacations, US Airways Vacations, United Vacations,
Vacations by Adventure and ATA Vacations -- which account for
approximately 130,000 passengers annually to the Caribbean, have
expanded their product lines in the Caribbean region this winter.
Some specifics include: United Airlines' flights offered by Funjet
and United Vacations from Chiago (O'Hare) and Washington (Dulles)
to St. Lucia and St. Maarten; expanded programs with Sandals and
Beaches Resorts; the addition of several more hotels, including
Sandals Whitehouse and the Shaw Park, both in Jamaica; a new cell
phone rental feature in Aruba which permits Funjet clients to call
the U.S. for as little as $0.67 per minute with free incoming
calls; new service on Spirit Airlines to Turks and Caicos. To
access each brand's programs, visit www.marktravel.com and click on the individual
links.
" Apple
Vacations is paying 15% commission on its air-inclusive
packages, scheduled air programs and land-only offerings from the
New York area (Newark, LaGuardia, Kennedy and Islip) on Caribbean
programs booked through June 30 for travel anytime. In addition,
agents can earn 15% commission for all of 2006 if they have 100
passengers on the books by June 30. For
details, visit www.myappleonline.com.
WEB
SITE-INGS
" Sol Melia
Hotels & Resorts relaunched its site at www.solmelia.com. A promotion in conjunction
with the launch includes a shot at winning up to 10 years of free
vacations for every Web site booking in October. Surf on over.
" The Caribbean is the venue for Cricket
World Cup 2007, an event which takes place every four years. The
2007 event will run from the opening ceremony March 13 in the new
Sabina park in Trelawny, Jamaica, to the closing event April 28 in
Kensington Oval in Barbados. In between, 16 teams will compete over
47 days in eight Caribbean countries. For details and ticket
prices, visit www.cricketworldcup.com.