Book Shelf: 2007 Best of Barbados
Zagat Survey
60 pages
This is the first Zagat guide to a Caribbean island, and it packs in ratings and reviews from 1,484 residents and frequent visitors for 169 restaurants, bars, nightclubs, attractions and golf courses across Barbados.
One of the surprises in the restaurant category is that the island's west coast no longer has a monopoly on hot restaurants: The survey revealed that five of the 10 most popular eateries are on the south coast as are three of the five restaurants in the Top Food category.
Getting top marks in the after-dark scene are Harbour Lights in Bridgetown, Oistins Fish Fry in Oistins and McBride's Pub and Cookhouse in St. Lawrence Gap.
No matter where a restaurant, attraction or golf course places in the consumer-rated listings, the comments about each are colorful and candid.
Copies of the guide are free through the Barbados Tourism Authority at (800) 221-9831 or www.visitbarbados.org. -- G.N.M.
Island Outpost, founded by Island
Records' Chris Blackwell, added the boutique-style, 18-hut
Compass Point in Nassau, Bahamas, to its
collection of five resorts that include Goldeneye, Strawberry Hill,
Jake's and the Caves in Jamaica and Pink Sands in the Bahamas.
More new
hotels in D.R.
The latest
entries in the booming hotel market in the Dominican Republic
include Palace Resorts' 1,743-room, all-inclusive Moon
Palace Casino, Golf & Spa Resort, opening in Punta
Cana in two phases beginning in late 2007, and the 145-room
Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Santo
Domingo, opening in the capital city late next
year.
Both of the
brands are new to the destination.
Anguilla
villa set to open
Opening on
Thanksgiving Day on 10 acres above Cove Pond on Anguilla's west end
is Sheriton Estates, a three-villa luxury complex
in a gated enclave.
An introductory
three-night package at the three-bedroom Villa Infinity or Harmony
from Dec. 1 to 16 is priced at $4,950, not including
food.
Living
like James Bond
Many scenes in
the James Bond "Casino Royale" film that opened Nov. 17 were shot
in the Bahamas.
Taking a cue from
the film, the Double-O suite at the
British Colonial Hilton Nassau will get a major
re-do as part of the executive floor refurbishment.
Amenities in the
Bond-themed suite, which opens next summer, will include a martini
bar, a four-poster bed, personalized stationary and a collection of
classic Bond DVDs, CDs and books.
Dawn of a
new resort
The $120 million
development comprising the 317-room Westin St. Maarten Dawn
Beach Resort, Spa and Residences will open on Dec. 13 on
the site of what had once been the Dawn Beach Hotel, destroyed by
Hurricane Luis in 1995.
Hotel facilities
include several restaurants, two lounges and a swim-up bar, the
Hibiscus Spa, a casino, retail shops, St. Maarten's largest (to
date) infinity pool, and 20,000 square feet of meetings and
convention facilities. Close to 100 three-bedroom, private condos
are part of the project.
Another
on St. Lucia for Almond
Almond
Resorts, which operates three all-inclusive resorts in
Barbados and one in St. Lucia, will open its fifth all-inclusive
property and second on St. Lucia on Feb. 1.
The 360-room
Almond Smugglers Cove, the former Club St. Lucia
on the northwest coast of St. Lucia, will feature four restaurants,
five bars, in-room Internet access, water sports and golf at nearby
Cap Estate Golf Course (greens fees are waived for up to three
rounds per seven-night stay, but cart
rental is required).
The 60-acre
resort will offer tennis, squash, a fitness center, five pools and
the Almond Resorts Kids' Club. Extensive renovations and an
additional restaurant are planned.
Sonesta
now No. 1 on St. Maarten
Sonesta branded its second property on St.
Maarten, the 257-room Great Bay Resort, which
joins the 600-room Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino. The
total room count makes Sonesta the island's top hotel firm in terms
of inventory.
Crown Bay
to open
The $28 million
Crown Bay Center will open in December in
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, as the waterfront retail shopping and
commercial center at the Crown Bay Cruise Terminal.
The terminal,
which complements St. Thomas's Havensight terminal complex, will be able to handle the largest passenger
ships in the world; two can dock at the same time. This winter, the
QM2 will make regular calls at Crown Bay.
On St. Croix, the
Ann E. Abramson Marine Facility in Frederiksted and the area
surrounding the cruise pier have been renovated and improved.
Amenities include a park with fountains, cobblestone pedestrian
paths along the waterfront and a shopping area with vendors'
booths.
Sunset jazz
festivals are held monthly on an elevated stage near the cruise
pier. Taxis and tour buses depart regularly for Christiansted and
to beaches and attractions on the island.
Passport
promotion
Couples
Resorts and the Jamaica Tourist Board are
encouraging travelers to get their passports in accordance with the
new passport regulations for Caribbean air travel that take effect
Jan. 8.
The promotion,
which includes spa credits for up to $200 per room, targets
travelers who make Jamaica their first stop with their new
passport. The promotion is valid for travel from Jan. 1 to April
1.
Travelers need to
show their passport at check-in to prove Jamaica is their first
international stop.
A five-night
minimum stay is required, and the offer is valid at the four
Couples Resorts in Jamaica.
Old bar
stays at St. Lucia resort
Discovery
at Marigot Bay on St. Lucia's west coast, which opened in
September, retained the original Hurricane Hole
Bar from the former Marigot Yacht Haven Hotel that opened
on the site in 1956.
The resort, with
rates from $310 per room, per night, double, from Jan. 1 to March
11, has "strong advance bookings," said Grace Leo-Andrieu,
president of GLA Hotels, which manages the resort.
The suites are in
the rental pool when not owner-occupied.
Gay Nagle Myers is Travel Weekly's Caribbean editor. E-mail
her at [email protected].