THE 65-ACRE
ATLANTIS RESORT on Paradise Island, now at 2,317 rooms,
will total 3,767 rooms spread over an additional 75 acres by spring
2007. The $1 billion expansion project at Atlantis includes a
600-room, all-suite, 21-story tower and a 450-unit condominium
hotel, plus two pools, access to two beaches, a fitness facility,
restaurants, another casino, expanded meetings facilities, a host
of new sports-based attractions and what the hotel is calling the
Caribbeans largest water park, including a dolphin education and
interaction center. Tower rooms will feature full balconies,
flat-screen TVs, wireless Internet access, walk-in rain showers and
a Club Lounge on the top floor. Condo units, which will be placed
in the rental pool when not owner-occupied, will offer full
kitchens and a range of living spaces from studios to two-bedroom
units. The tower pool, accessible only to tower guests, also will
have 30 private 12-foot-by-12-foot cabanas, available on a daily
rental basis. The cabanas, open on one side to the pool and on the
other to the beach, will feature butler service, a flat-screen TV,
phone and wireless Internet access, a mini-bar, a bathroom, seating
and dining areas, and a large terrace. A new 48-acre waterpark will
include a 68-foot-tall water slide, eight feet higher than the
resorts existing Mayan Temple water slide; a one-mile tidal wave
river ride; and a childrens village. Meetings space at the resort
will be doubled by another 100,000 square feet. For details, visit
www.atlantis.com.
LODGEPODGE
" Marriott
International will expand its presence in Curacao with the opening
of the 240-room Renaissance Resort Curacao in Willemstad in 2008.
The hotel will be a component of a retail and entertainment complex
adjacent to the cruise port, which will feature a manmade beach, a
waterfront promenade, six movie theaters, a casino and restaurants.
Marriotts current portfolio in the Netherlands Antilles includes
the 247-room Curacao Marriott Beach Resort & Emerald Casino,
the 413-room Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino, the
560-room Renaissance Aruba Beach Resort & Casino and Marriotts
Aruba Ocean Club vacation ownership property.
" Last-minute
availability at three properties represented by luxury tour
operator Island Destinations includes a four-night, all-inclusive
package at Peter Island Resort in the British Virgin Islands,
available March 15 to 19, from $900 per room, per night, double,
and a seven-night plan at the same resort, available March 18 to
25, from $1,230. A five-night plan at St. Barth Isle de France from
March 31 to April 5 is priced from $810 per room, per night,
double. Details are included in the operators ID News Flash sent to
preferred travel agents. For details, visit www.islanddestinations.com.
CONGRATULATIONS TO DOMINICA, which received
Benchmark designation as a Green Globe Destination for the second
year in a row from Green Globe 21, the international eco-tourism
organization developed by the World Travel & Tourism Council
and established in 1994. Green Globe 21 measures and certifies
eco-tourism standards in key performance areas that include energy
consumption, solid waste production, social commitment, resource
conservation and sustainability policies. In addition to the
national designation, five hotels on Dominica also achieved
benchmarking status from Green Globe 21: 3 Rivers Eco-Lodge,
Tamarind Tree Hotel, Garraway Hotel, Fort Young Hotel and the
Hummingbird Inn. For information on Green Globe, visit www.greenglobe21.com; for Dominica information, visit
www.dominica.dm.
PENCIL IT
IN
" 6th Annual
Carriacou Maroon Music Festival, April 28 to 30. Street activities
known as maroons celebrate the music, dance and theater on
Carriacou, the small island off the coast of Grenada. For details,
e-mail [email protected] or call the tourist board at
(473) 443-7948.
" 1st Annual
Curacao Dive Festival, May 20 to 27. Registration is free and
participants can take part in guided dives, workshops, seminars,
live entertainment, and barbecues and movies on the beach.
Participating hotels offer an air fare credit from $100 to $200 off
the final hotel bill for stays of five or more nights. For details,
visit www.curacao-event.com.
" 10th Annual St.
Kitts Music Festival, June 29 to July 2. Island-wide festival
features Dionne Warwick among the top performers in jazz, hip-hop,
gospel and calypso entertainment. Other performers will be
announced over the coming weeks.