By Alexander Britell and Guy Britton

There are lots of great luxury hotels in the Caribbean.

But a truly Caribbean luxury hotel is a different matter entirely.

It isn’t easy to define Caribbean luxury — but you know it when you see it.

Caribbean luxury means a different level of authenticity, of service, of personality. It means a place that celebrates the local culture, the local community and the local environment, all without compromising on the kinds of traditional luxuries a guest expects.

A Caribbean luxury hotel has a soul.

And that’s the thing that stands out about Ladera, the rarefied adults-only hideaway perched above the Pitons in Saint Lucia, one of the Caribbean’s legendary hotels.

This hotel, which first opened its doors in 1972 and first debuted as a resort in 1992, was the originator of the open-wall, or three-walled suite concept, meaning your room is open to nature — and one of the best views on the planet.

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The collection of 37 suites is set on a cliffside some 1,100 feet above sea level in this UNESCO World Heritage Site, with some of the most spectacular vistas at any hotel on the planet.

You can stay in either a traditional suite (all of which come with their own private pools) or the extravagant Paradise Ridge Suites, the newest addition to Ladera that are jaw-dropping examples of design.

But it’s the Caribbean luxury that is the story here, from the spectacular, locally-focused cuisine at the on-site Dasheene restaurant to some of the friendliest, warmest service you’ll encounter in the region.

A Paradise Ridge suite.

But this isn’t just a hotel that celebrates Saint Lucia — it’s made of Saint Lucia.

It isn’t a stretch to stay that the entire hotel is build by hand. The rooms and the resort resound with remarkable wood carvings and wooden furniture crafted in an on-site woodworking factory.

When you look around your room, you see elaborately carved posts, coffee tables made from local trees — just about everything save for the Nespresso machine is made within steps of the suite, made from Saint Lucian wood. Yes, even the bed is made 30 seconds away from your room.

A table at Dasheene.

It’s almost overwhelming, the sense of authenticity, the feeling that the hotel is at one with this dramatic natural environment.

But the only feeling you do get at Ladera is one of almost impossible tranquility, an escape from the synthetic, a kind of interdimensional journey toward enlightened relaxation.

Yes, that’s the view.

This this is a place worth traveling for, a bucket-list hotel, an experience that transcends a luxury hotel.

What Ladera achieves is stunning, marrying the unbelievable with the authentic. It all sounds like hyperbole.

But at Ladera, it’s very much real, it’s tangible, it’s there. It’s right in front of you.

And it’s unapologetically, wonderfully, impossibly Caribbean.

For more information, visit Ladera.

The post VIDEO: Ladera: The Ultimate Caribbean Luxury Hotel appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

One of the Bahamas’ most famous marinas is about to be transformed.

A new $250 million project has been announced for Paradise Island’s Hurricane Hole marina: Sterling Hurricane Hole.

The new mixed-use project will include a transformed marina, residences, retail restaurants, office space and yachting services, according to a government statement.

The property will also offer condominiums that begin at $500,000, according to David Kosoy, president of Sterling Hurricane Hole.

The project aims to be a “neighborhood revitalization” that will also include the latest in technology and renewable energy, according to Bill Green.

Hurricane Hole is located on the harbor-facing shore of Paradise Island, just a few minutes away from the Atlantis resort and adjacent to the Warwick Paradise Island resort.

Construction on the project is slated to begin in January 2019, with a five-to-seven-year total timeframe.

The project will employ an estimated 500 people on a permanent basis upon completion.

It’s the latest in what has become a wave of exciting new projects in Nassau, from the Baha Mar to the Pointe development in downtown Nassau, which recently announced a new Margaritaville project.

The post A New $250 Million Mixed-Use Project Is Coming to Paradise Island appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By Alexander Britell

There is no crowd here, just a few curious travelers, less than a handful of staff.

The buildings wear the fraying wardrobe of time.

But in the empty silence of an off day at River Antoine, the sentiment quickly emerges that this is a truly special place.

It’s a long drive to get to the northeastern edge of Grenada, around perilous curves, under the canopies of rainforests, past processions of seemingly every kind.

If you did not know better, you might even think this place had been forgotten centuries ago, with its rusted beams and its earthy paint.

But beyond the old stone walls, underneath the metal roof is, well, the real thing.

They have been making rum at the River Antoine since 1785, always one way: with the same centuries-old water mill (the oldest working water wheel in the Caribbean) the same sugar cane grown right here; the cane juice heated at just the right temperature in four different copper stills in the boiling house.

It’s all organic, from seed to bottle — and it was organic before the term existed.

In an age many rum conversations find their way towards authenticity, this is a distillery that is doing things the right way, the honest way, the only way.

It is also one of the strongest rums in the Caribbean.

This is serious stuff, white overproof rum that lives up to the legend — with a minimum bottling at both 75 and 69 degrees (the latter is the one you can legally take on an airplane).

There’s an aroma of pure alcohol, pineapple and licorice, and a flavor profile marked by sweet, peppery, earthy notes before evolving into something more savory, suggesting cane stalk, firewood, and saltine crackers.

Sipping Rivers is a journey of its own, a robust stroll into rarefied territory, a different plane of the rum world.

Even if you don’t indulge, you can walk right into the distillery here for a tiny fee, survey the grounds, step through the cane cuttings and take home a bottle, one of the most purely Grenadian things you can put in your suitcase.

I ask around about a bottle of aged Rivers — you’d think with centuries of experience they’d turn special white rum into legendary aged rum.

But, even at the distillery, the response is always the same.

Every year, every harvest, they sell everything they make.

Because things are simple here, in one of the greenest, most beautiful corners of Grenada. They make it, they sell it, they drink it. They make more.

You can see the way they talk of Rivers in the beach bars of southwestern Grenada, with a reverence — and a respectful fear.

Rivers is something pure — a traditional, authentic symbol of Grenada, a rum distillery whose pride extends beyond the village of Tivoli.

It is powerful stuff, but those who drink it — and those who don’t – all agree: it is the real thing.

The post Rum Journal: River Antoine, Grenada’s Mecca of Rum appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Riu Hotels is readying for the relaunch of its significantly expanded Riu Santa Fe in Los Cabos, Mexico.

The family-friendly Los Cabos all-inclusive property, which will unveil its transformation on April 21, added everything from a seventh swimming pool (one that includes a swim-up bar) to the company’s second Splash Water World aquatic park in Mexico.

Riu has also added another main restaurant, Medano, which will be a buffet offering show cooking facilities as well.

Riu has also hadded a new bar, “Wet and Drink,” which will be the on-site bar at the Splash Water Park, along with a new snack bar.

But the centerpiece of the project is the addition of 288 new rooms, supplementing Riu Santa Fe’s existing 901 guest rooms — for a total of 1190 rooms.

Riu had already completed a renovation at the Santa Fe’s sister property in Los Cabos, the Hotel Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas, in 2016.

The post Riu Set to Debut Expanded Los Cabos All-Inclusive appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Carnival Cruise Line has announced plans for a major expansion of Cuba cruises.

The company has added another 20 cruises to Cuba on in its Carnival Paradise ship out of Tampa.

The new cruises, which will begin operations in 2019, will complement Carnival’s existing 11 cruises to Cuba.

Carnival had already announced another 17 cruises to Cuba on Carnival Sensation sailing out of Miami in 2019.

“Our Cuba cruises have been met with phenomenal guest response since we began sailing to the island last year and we’re thrilled to add yet another 20 voyages to this fascinating and sought-after destination,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

The new five-day Cuba cruises on Carnival Paradise will depart Tampa on Saturdays and include either a day-long or full day and overnight call to Havana, along with stops in Key West and Cozumel.

The post Carnival Plans Big Expansion of Cuba Cruises appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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