Executed right, there is nothing quite like a hotel bar. While other bars prize crowds, bustle and numbers, a great hotel bar is about the art of refined hospitality, of making you feel pampered.

It is a place to retreat, a place to reflect. And, of course, a place to drink.

And when it comes to such bars, there is none better on the island of Grand Cayman than the Silver Palm bar at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman.

With voluptuous design and a wonderfully clubby atmosphere, Silver Palm instantly envelops you in luxury, with the kind of service you expect from the RC brand without any trace of pretentiousness.

But the best part of this place is a very good rum list, easily the best on the island, home to everything from Havana Club Seleccion de Maestros to Rhum Clement VSOP (one of the few places to find rhum agricole in Cayman) to, if you’re feeling particularly indulgent, the Brugal Papa Andres.

They pair well with a nice selection of Cuban cigars (including the Cohiba Behika 54 and 56) you can puff on outside.

This is a full-fledged oasis and, hotel or otherwise, the best bar in Grand Cayman.

— CJ

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Delta is upping its uniform game in a big way.

The carrier has announced a partnership with lifestyle brand Lands’ End to produce its new Zac Posen-designed uniforms.

The uniforms, which will be used by around 60,000 Delta employees worldwide, will be unveiled Oct. 18.

“The new uniform collection will be a strong brand statement and builds on our team members’ sense of pride as they serve our customers around the world,” said Gil West, Delta’s Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “Fit, form, function and style are all integral to the uniforms for Delta people, and Lands’ End is the right partner to deliver on these things.”

The uniforms will be worn by ticket and gate agents, Delta Sky Club and in-flight service employees.

“This exciting project has leveraged the strengths of the Lands’ End team with the thoughtful and meticulous attention to detail they have put into the fit, function and design of the below-wing apparel collection to support the uniform needs of Delta,” said Joe Ferreri, Senior Vice President of Lands’ End Outfitters. “We are honored to collaborate with Delta Air Lines and be the supplier of their below-wing and above-wing uniforms.”

Delta last updated its uniforms in 2006 for above-wing employees.

“The employee uniform committee has been involved every step of the way,” said Chad Holmes, Delta ramp agent and CDUC member. “Lands’ End brought us innovative designs and fabrics, and their team was truly passionate about creating the most functional, high-quality uniform pieces.  Throughout the design process, they listened to our needs through job shadows and focus groups. Beyond the wealth of knowledge that Lands’ End brings, they have an amazing corporate culture that mirrors Delta’s of caring both for the customer and the employee.”

The post Lands’ End, Delta Partnering on Zac Posen Uniforms appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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Far off in the outer islands of the Bimini archipelago of the Bahamas, there is a secret place.

Here, off the tranquil turquoise coast, a team of researchers spends its days exploring one of the world’s most mysterious — and important creatures.

This is the Bimini Biological Field Station or, as it’s more popularly known, the Sharklab.

First founded by marine biologist Dr. Samuel Gruber in 1990, the Bimini Sharklab has become one of the world’s leading stations studying elasmobranch fish fauna, or sharks and rays.

Bimini is home to a broad population of sharks, from Lemon Sharks to Tiger Sharks to bull sharks to hammerheads.

And thanks to its position at the western fringe of the Great Bahamas Bank, Bimini is a great place to study a wide range of both shallow and deep water sharks.

If you’re a fan of the natural environment, the Sharklab, which is open to visitors who arrange in advance, is a must-stop for any traveler coming to Bimini, as it’s easily accessed by car on the island of South Bimini.

For more information, visit the Bimini Sharklab.

The post The Caribbean’s Secret Shark Lab appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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It’s perhaps the signature resort in Puerto Rico: El Conquistador, A Waldorf Astoria Resort set on the far eastern corner of the island.

But this sprawling hotel, home to a large marina and two resort components (not to mention its famous hill-climbing funicular) has a bit of a secret.

It’s called Palomino Island, and this 100-acre sandy speck might just be the single biggest reason to come to the property.

Accessed by a short ferry ride from El Conquistador’s marina, Palomino is the ultimate tropical island fantasy — sugar-white sand beaches, endless palm trees and even a Don Q rum bar. And because it’s effectively open only to resort guests, you will always be able to find your own private slice of paradise away from even the slightest of crowds.

Yes, there’s a rum bar. Naturally.

It’s the greatest perk to staying here — having your own private Caribbean island oasis. See what it’s like in the video above.

The post VIDEO: This Caribbean Hotel Has Its Own Secret Island appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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On Jamaican growth

By Dennis Chung
CJ Contributor

The World Economic Forum has just published the 2016/17 Global Competitiveness Report (GCR), and it shows that Jamaica has improved its ranking from 86 of 140 countries to 75 of 138 countries. This is an improvement of some seven per cent on the ranking when the number of countries surveyed are considered.

In the 2012/13 report, Jamaica ranked 97 out of 144 countries surveyed. This means that on a percentile basis, in just four years we have improved by 13 per cent. This, in my view, is in no small measure due to the partnership between all stakeholders that saw us successfully manoeuvring through the International Monetary Fund programme to date, which started in 2013. It shows us what we can achieve as a country if we all work together, and what it also shows me is that progress in Jamaica will only come through advocacy and involvement from private sector and civil society.

As a result of this, we have seen a significant recovery from the 2008/9 recession which hit Jamaica, and a significant increase in business and consumer confidence. We have also started to grow the economy at marginal rates, and growth for this fiscal year is expect to be just under two per cent.

Although we should realise the improvements we have achieved — which includes being the number one place in the Caribbean to do business — the fact is that we are still a very far way from where we should be. In fact, one of the primary challenges we face is that even as we grow the economy, there is the very real danger that if we do not ensure equitable growth, that it will not be sustainable.

Sustainable growth and development only comes about when growth is evenly spread across all sectors and the entire population. This is how countries like the US and Switzerland have experienced growth. We could also say that the rise of Trump in the US can be attributed to the reports that many middle- and lower-class people in the US say that they are not benefiting from growth in the economy. On the other hand, in Switzerland the benefits are widespread and they don’t have a “Trump” as yet. What is happening in the US as well as the recent Brexit vote show that growth without inclusiveness is not sustainable.

This has been recognised in the report from the Economic Growth Council (EGC), which speaks to the need for “Citizen Security and Public Safety” and “Social Inclusion” as fundamental pillars for any sustainable economic growth. As part of the suggested solutions to these challenges, the EGC refers to much-needed improvement in the delivery of justice, proper housing solutions, and improvement in the education facilities.

In August 2009, I wrote an article titled ‘Are Jamaica’s economic problems also social’. This for me was obvious then and it is also obvious now, as is highlighted in the EGC’s report. The fact is that economics is based on the behaviour of people; that is, their social interaction with each other. So when we speak about macroeconomic solutions and ignore the impact on social behaviour, then we only fool ourselves about economic progress – as we have consistently done with failed fiscal policy and tax measures in particular.

When I look at the latest GCR, it is obvious that we have failed to do anything about the challenges we have always had. And so the problems we face today are the same ones we have always faced and failed to do anything about.

So the top four challenges to doing business remain the same year over year, which are in order (1) Crime and theft (was number two previously); (2) Inefficient government bureaucracy (previously one); (3) Tax rates; and (4) Corruption. Just focusing on solving these issues addresses over 50 per cent of the challenges to doing business. So why have we not done anything to remove them as business challenges?

We have made some progress with corruption (from 10.5 per cent to 8 per cent) and government bureaucracy (from 16.4 per cent to 14.4 per cent), but the challenges of crime and tax rates have worsened. Even though we have made some progress in these areas, they still remain significant challenges.

If we drill further in the report, we see that the main areas of challenges centre around bureaucracy, crime, and tax. So areas such as wastefulness of government expenditure, burden of government regulation, cost of crime and violence, government debt, effect of tax on incentives, trade tariff percentage, and government procurement remain significant challenges and hold back the ultimate progress of the country.

The irony is that these challenges that we speak about today are the same ones that have always been with us, and to date we have failed to address them. So as the chairman of the EGC, Michael Lee-Chin, said, we all know what the problem is and what we must ensure this time is that we implement solutions.

The irony also is that we all know, and have known, what the solution is, but we have never been able to get them done. That for me is a straight failure in our governance at the government and bureaucratic levels.

In other words, we all know what the problems are and we know what the solutions are, but we have just not been able to implement them for decades. And that is what management (governance) is responsible for.

So, as we ponder the latest GCR (2016/17) and also the EGC report, let us not make them just another report, as usual, which we read, analyse and not do anything about.

We must concede that we have made strides in Jamaica, from an economic and institutional perspective. The problem for me is that we could have done much better as a country and do have the potential to easily grow at five per cent per annum.

We already know what the problems are and we know what the solutions are. What we must now do is focus on implementation, which is what has gotten us some gains since 2013.

The post Jamaica’s Growth: Same Problems, Same Solutions appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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