By the Caribbean Journal staff

Panama-based Copa Airlines is making its return to the island of St Maarten.

Copa will be returning with weekly flights to St Maarten in June, according to Acting Minister of Tourism Cornelius de Weever.

“This is a significant development.  Copa Airlines is a strategic partner where airlift is concerned from Latin America,” de Weever said in a statement. “The airline is the Hub of the Americas in Panama which offers the most direct way to connect to the Americas, while SXM Airport is the hub for the North Eastern Caribbean.”

It’s an important boost for St Maarten in the wake of Hurricane Irma, given the importance of Copa’s hub in Panama as a gateway from Latin America to the Caribbean.

“These developments are positive signs that things are moving in the right direction and our country will be back better than ever,” de Weever.

Copa had been serving St Maartien since 2010 before suspending operations to the island in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

The post Copa Airlines Is Returning to St Maarten appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

The U.S. Virgin Islands is seeing a new airlift boom, and the island of St Thomas is the latest beneficiary.

Florida-based Spirit Airlines has officially launched new daily nonstop service between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and St Thomas’ Cyril E. King Airport.

It’s another big step for the US Virgin Islands as it makes its recovery in the wake of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria, both of which hit the territory.

The Emerald Beach Resort in St Thomas.

But the destination has been seeing a strong recovery, as more hotels and resorts have reopened their doors, including St Thomas’ Marriott Frenchman’s Cove and the Emerald Beach Resort.

There are also a host of reopened hotels on neighboring St John, including Gallows Point, Estate Lindholm and the Cruz Bay Boutique Hotel.

Gallows Point in St John.

Several other St Thomas properties will open in the next few months, including the Secret Harbour resort, which is planning a June 1 relaunch, as does the very popular Bolongo Bay which is currently renting rooms but planning an official reopening June 1 as well.

Spirit’s St Thomas expansion comes after the low-cost carrier announced it would be launching new nonstop service between Fort Lauderdale and the island of St Croix, service which will start May 24.

It’s also another example of Fort Lauderdale’s dramatic growth as a hub for Caribbean travel, as carriers including JetBlue and Southwest Airlines look to position the airport as the base of their Caribbean networks.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Air France has launched several new summer services in the Caribbean.

The focal point of the carrier’s schedule will be two weekly flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and St Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport, services which are being operated on an Airbus A330 aircraft.

That’s an increase from what had been a planned operation of just one weekly Paris-St Maarten flight.

Air France is also extending its service to Costa Rica, with two weekly flights to San Jose throughout the summer season.

Air France first resumed its flights to St Maarten in the December after its flights were suspended in the wake of damage from Hurricane Irma.

The soon-to-debut Gran Hotel in San Jose.

Air France is also continuing its recently-launched Atlanta-Guadeloupe flights, the company said.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Bermuda has long been an exclusive getaway — but now a new destination has upped the ante.

It’s called Hawkins Island, and this new retreat offers the best of Bermudian hospitality with a private-island touch.

Hawkins Island has completed its first phase, launching rentals of the island’s Main Villa and Guard House, a luxe getaway that comes with its own private chef.

Hawkins’ main villa sleeps eight guests across a two-bedroom master suite and two one-bedroom units, while the guard house accommodates another eight guests.

The 25-acre Hawkins Island is set in Bermuda’s Great Sound — and it once belonged to the Royal Navy.

Now, it’s your own private escape in Bermuda.

For more information, visit Hawkins Island.

The post Your Own Private Escape in Bermuda appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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There’s another kind of feel on the south coast of Barbados; a different energy, a different light.

There’s a special dynamism down here, fueled by the St Lawrence Gap, then washed down by the waves.

It’s a special corner of Barbados and a destination within itself.

And tucked away here on one of the island’s most stunning stretches of sand is a very exciting new place to stay.

The design is fresh and inventive.

This is Ocean Hotels’ Sea Breeze Beach House, a relaunch (and transformation) of the old Sea Breeze that’s turned what was an old-school Barbados hotel and turned it into a chic, refined but effortlessly cool beach hotel.

And did we mention it’s all-inclusive?

The design is the first thing that stands out at the south coast’s newest addition, bright and colorful with the feeling of a surf resort — yes, it’s contemporary, but it feels right at home on the sand in Christ Church.

And while it has a boutique ambience, there’s a broad offering here, from six restaurants to three pools to five bars, with the signature Mahogany restaurant.

You’d never believe Sea Breeze, which is holding its grand relaunch in April, has a total of 122 units — it feels so much smaller, so much more intimate. This feels like the next hip hotel in Barbados — not an all-inclusive.

The rooms are great, too, with a barefoot-chic, airy look that is accentuated by the presence of a wave of local art from Barbados luminaries like John Farmer.

It’s part of what is a property-wide commitment to making things Bajan.

And then there’s the beach — two of them, in fact, making every day into the quintessential beach day — without the big crowds.

Ultimately, it’s exactly what it says it is: an all-inclusive beach house.

And that’s a pretty cool combination.

For more information, visit Sea Breeze Beach House.

— CJ

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