The first thing you notice is the view: a beautiful and vast ocean lies before you, unobstructed and inviting. 

Walk into any room at the Bellafonte Luxury Oceanfront Hotel and you can hear it calling.  It’s the sound of the ocean and nature, the endless soundtrack at a hotel that sits literally at the edge of the sea. 

The Bellafonte has 22 one and two bedroom units with private balconies and fully equipped kitchens.  

The Bellafonte is located 5-minutes from downtown Kralendijk. For Bonaire’s relatively small size there are numerous award winning restaurants, such as The Brass Boer, At Sea and CHEFS to name a few. There is also a great restaurant on-site adjacent to The Bellafonte. It’s called “The Beach” and the hotel staff works with the restaurant to prepare meals and provide room service.  They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner from 8 am to 10 pm.

There is WiFi throughout all rooms and outside areas, daily housekeeping, room service, night security, and on-site dive facilities including tank exchange. 

But there’s one amenity that towers above them all: the magnificent reef right at the edge of the hotel. 

The Bellafonte is located at the edge of the Bonaire Marine Park, one of the oldest marine conservation zones in the world, established in 1979.  

The protected zone starts at the waterline and extends to areas 60 meters (200 feet) deep. The zone covers about 6,700 acres around Bonaire and Klein Bonaire and includes Lac Bay.  

There are 60 varieties of coral surrounding Bonaire:  all corals, seagrass, mangroves and wildlife are protected. 

It’s one of the greatest natural resources in the Caribbean and home to some of the best diving and snorkeling in the world — including this prime spot right at the edge of the Bellafonte. 

At the Bellafonte, you walk down the pier and take a few steps into the ocean and you are on a spectacularly beautiful reef. 

It’s like your own private reef, with hundreds of tropical fish and live coral surrounding you.  

This is Bonaire after all, so nature and beauty is all around you.  

But to have a reef at your doorstep is a rare luxury.

Here, they call it a “house reef.”  

You can walk up to your room for a drink or a quick bite, take a splash in the plunge pool and in seconds you’ re back on a shaded pier at the edge of the sea and the reef.  

This is life on Bonaire. This is living at The Bellafonte. 

For more, visit The Bellafonte.

The post In Bonaire, Your Own Private Caribbean Reef  appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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Mojito, an adult hawksbill sea turtle, was just spotted off the southeastern coast of Martinique. 

Hawksbills are classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature; they’re a marvelous, mysterious species notable for often returning to the same places where they were born to nest. 

That’s how Mojito was outfitted with a GPS tracker back in 2017 on Lovers Beach in Nevis, thanks to the efforts of the Sea Turtle Conservancy, the Nevis Turtle Group and the Four Seasons Resort Nevis, which have for years held a unique event in the Caribbean: the Sea Turtle Conservation Weekend, which runs later this month from July 23-25, 2022.

Mojito is one of dozens of turtles who have been tagged for all-important tracking thanks to the efforts of the STC and Four Seasons — and now the event is back again for its 2022 edition. 

In four years, Mojito has traveled almost 3,120 miles since she was first tagged in Nevis. 

And this year’s event is all about sea turtles, with a packed agenda of education events, a kids camp, Night Walks and sea turtle releases. 

The Night Walks, held after dark at beaches in Nevis, see guests join STC team members on a search for nesting sea turtles, with the hope of tagging and releasing them to learn more about their movements and to help protect them. 

If a turtle is spotted and tagged, it’s then released the following morning right on Pinneys Beach at the Four Seasons Nevis. 

It’s a rare, rich event in the Caribbean, one that marries the magnificent hospitality of the Four Seasons with an authentic, on-the-ground conservation experience. 

“For more than 15 years, Four Seasons Resort Nevis has been dedicated to the conservation of sea turtles that inhabit the waters of Nevis and nest on its beaches. Our partnership with the Sea Turtle Conservancy and Nevis Turtle Group has aimed to educate and create awareness about the protection of these beautiful sea creatures through a joint program that helps researchers study the migration patterns of the endangered species that nest on our shores.”

For those who can’t attend the Turtle Week, the Four Seasons is also holding a summer-long program called the Sea Turtle Summer Camp Package, aimed at guests who stay for seven nights or more, featuring a Sea Turtle Adoption Kit, family-friendly activities, daily classes and arts experiences, guided nature walks, beach clean ups and even eco-bio golf. For more, visit the Sea Turtle Summer Camp. 

To learn more, visit the Sea Turtle Conservancy.

Caribbean Journal is proud to be a media partner for this year’s event. 

The post At the Four Seasons Nevis, Saving Caribbean Sea Turtles appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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Fresh off its celebrated debut in Curacao, Sandals has launched reservations for its next all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean:: Sandals Dunn’s River.

The new all-inclusive resort is slated to open its doors on May 24, 2023, according to Sandals Resorts International.

It’s a complete transformation of the former Jewel Dunn’s River Beach Resort and Spa in Ocho Rios, which was acquired by Sandals in 2020.

The all-new, 260-room resort is in the midst of a “thoughtful, top-to-bottom restoration,” one that’s “designed to embrace the essence of Jamaica, its curving rivers, lush forests, and majestic banyan trees – with amenities, accommodations and culinary concepts brought forward by the brand’s uncompromising quest for innovation,” according to a statement from Sandals.

Sandals began accepting reservations on July 6, marking the birthday of the company’s late founder, Gordon “Butch” Stewart.

It’s “just a small homage to him that we know will make him smile,” said his son, Adam Stewart, executive chairman of Sandals Resorts International.

“This was an extraordinary project and the last I worked on with him as his final masterpiece,” Stewart said. “He handpicked this location more than three decades ago for its white-sand coastline, cool breeze, azure waters and its close proximity to the destination’s archetypical falls. It will not only serve to breathe new excitement into a corner of Jamaica loved and cherished by so many, but it will set a new standard of luxury for tourism right here in our backyard with a next-generation resort worthy of its nostalgic past.”

As is the case with every Sandals opening, the new property will boast a series of firsts for the brand.

This time, that will include new Tufa SkyPool Butler Suites, which will include pools stretching the length of their balconies, with glass panels spanning the length of oceanfront balconies, for a “cascading infinity effect.”

That’s along with Coyaba Swim-Up Rondoval Butler Suites with Private Pools, and Mammee Bay Beachfront Butler Suites with direct ocean-view balconies.

The resort will have 12 restaurants including another first, a Greek eatery called Edessa, along with an Asian-fusion restaurant called Banyu.

The South American-focused Zuka, which first debuted at the Sandals Royal Curacao, will also be featured at Dunn’s River, along with favorites like the Jerk Shack.

In a nod to the growing (and welcome) focus on rum at Caribbean resorts, it will include Dunn’s Rum Club, which will feature Jamaican cocktails and a curated list of rums (and even domino tables).

Sandals will also be opening its first rooftop bar in Jamaica, Ocarina, among other additions.

“Ocho Rios is the place where my father grew up, where he first learned to fish and felt the breeze blow along the West-facing beach and where he first saw the pure joy of the island on the faces of visitors,” said Stewart. “Here along Jamaica’s North Coast, he witnessed a blossoming tourism industry and became aware of how to please and serve a new Caribbean customer. Every touchpoint at the new Sandals Dunn’s River is designed to do that and more.”

For more, visit Sandals Dunn’s River.

The post Sandals Launches Reservations for New Jamaica All-Inclusive appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville brand is opening another new all-inclusive in the Caribbean. 

And this time it will be just for adults. 

Margaritaville and Karisma Hotels and Resorts are collaborating on the new Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Maya, slated to open in 2023 as the brand’s first adults-only resort. 

The property will feature 355 suites in 13 categories, along with nine food and beverage concepts, three swimming pools, two pickle ball courts, a St. Somewhere Spa and the first Landshark Brewery in Mexico. 

That’s along with 13 different room types, from King Paradise Suites to Beachfront Honeymoon Suites and the Coral Reefer Signature Suite, which includes its own oversized infinity pool, an outdoor pool table and a custom-built gaucho-style grill, among other touches. 

It will be the third Margaritaville Island Reserve in the wider Caribbean, joining existing properties in Cap Cana, Dominican Republic and the Riviera Cancun. 

The company has already launched reservations for the resort, which is slated to open in early 2023. 

As our third property to open under the Island Reserve brand, we wanted to create a new experience for our guests that is different from the others, which is why Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Maya is our first adults-only destination,” said Mario Mathieu, SVP Business Development, Design and Construction of Karisma Hotels and Resorts.

The property will feature all of the Margaritaville signatures, from the JWB Steakhouse to Italian trattoria Frank & Lola’s and the Five O’Clock Somewhere Bar & Swim-Up Bar. 

“Guests will be transported to an upscale coastal retreat where every room offers a view due to its crescent moon shape,” Mathieu said. “With an unmatched all-inclusive experience filled with gourmet and immersive culinary experiences, unique beverage options, exceptional personalized service, and the first LandShark Brewery in Mexico, guests will have ample opportunity to mix and mingle with other guests with the resort’s highly social ambiance.”

That’s along with other concepts like Salted Rim, an “agave-inspired mixology bar” and Far Side of the World, featuring the food of the Pacific Rim. 

In another first for the Island Reserve brand, the resort will have almost 5,000 square feet of meeting space, with capacity for up to 400 people. 

It’s yet another new development to add to what is a blazing hotel pipeline on the Caribbean coast of Mexico.

For more, visit Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Maya. 

The post Margaritaville to Open New Caribbean Adults-Only All-Inclusive  appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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While Dominica’s stayover arrivals were crippled by the pandemic, the island has seen a full-fledged renaissance in its cruise industry. 

The Nature Island reported more than 200 cruise calls this season, welcoming 144,781 passengers, according to data from the Discover Dominica Authority. 

That included eleven ships making their inaugural calls to Dominica. 

Cruise lines calling on the island for the first time included Seaborne, TUI, Celebrity, P&O, AIDA and Holland America. 

In April, Dominica lifted its protocols on cruise visitors, allowing cruise passengers to freely roam the streets of Rosea and undertake other excursions with “minimal restriction.”

Next year, the island is projecting 211 cruise calls, with as many as 280,000 cruise passengers. 

“It is anticipated that these figures will increase by the start of the 2022/2023 cruise season in October,” the DDA said in a statement. 

The post A Renaissance for Dominica’s Cruise Industry appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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