The Dominican Republic is a big country, and sometimes it can feel like everything about the DR’s resort areas can seem super-sized, too: big beaches, mega resorts, and all-inclusive hotels with giant buffets and endless dining options.

There’s nothing wrong with any of that—choices are good! But there’s also a time and place for an intimate vacation with low-key vibes, personalized service, and the sense that this getaway was designed just for you, not for you and 1,000 other people at the same time.

Boutique hotels, with limited numbers of rooms and plenty of staff on hand to take care of guest needs, are perfectly suited for such vacations, and the Dominican Republic has a fine collection of small luxury hotels to choose from whether you’re looking for a beach stay or a base for exploring the history of the national capital, Santo Domingo.

Tortuga Bay Hotel, Punta Cana

Designed by Oscar de la Renta, this boutique hotel is an enclave within an enclave, located within the Puntacana Resort and Club complex. With just 13 luxury villas, the Tortuga Bay Hotel puts the emphasis on attention to detail, from VIP service that speeds passage through the airport to private car service and a personal concierge to get you checked in when you arrive. All 30 resort suites have views of the ocean and golf course along with kitchenettes, and guests have easy access to the excellent restaurants, entertainment, and activities in the surrounding Puntacana Resort.

Amanera, Rio San Juan

Guests at this luxuriously private Aman resort will have the remote Playa Grande beach pretty much to themselves when they’re not seeking solitude in one of the 24 casitas and villas spread along the beach and up in the hills overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Some villas have private pools, but the infinity-edge main pool is no slouch, either. Restaurants and bars are all on the beach, which is also the site for moonlight yoga sessions, spa treatments, and a natural fitness circuit.

Eden Roc at Cap Cana, Punta Cana

This 65-room Relais & Chateau hotel — the only one in the Dominican Republic — combines fine dining with luxurious accommodations just like the best boutique hotels in Europe. Some thatch-roofed villas are arrayed at cliff’s edge along the Caribbean shoreline, while others overlook gardens or lagoon pools. Dining options include Mediterraneo, one of Punta Cana’s top restaurants, as well as the show kitchen at Blue Bar & Grill and the locally seasoned La Palapa.

Le Sivory, Punta Cana

With just 55 rooms, this boutique hotel turns the image of a Dominican Republic adults-only all-inclusive on its head. A AAA 4-Diamond property, Le Sivory has all of the amenities you’d expect from an all-inclusive resort — 24-hour room service, beach cabanas, use of non-motorized water sports, dining and drinking at your choice of 4 restaurants and two bars — in a small package. Rooms have soaking tubs and furnished lanais, some with plunge pools and ocean views.

Zoetry Agua, Punta Cana

Like Le Sivory, the all-inclusive Zoetry Agua is located in the quieter Uvero Alto district of Punta Cana, on the beach but well removed from the high-rises. A private helicopter speeds guests from the airport to the resort, where you’ll find four a la carte restaurants, a spa (with a 20-minute treatment part of the inclusive package), unique included activities like horseback rides on the beach, and 96 rooms with Taino-inspired decor, ocean-view and swim-up accommodations, and private terraces or balconies.

Casa Colonial Beach & Spa, Puerto Plata

A restored colonial estate is the setting for this boutique beach hotel in Puerto Plata, which has all-suites accommodations, a full-service spa, a pair of restaurants that includes the acclaimed French-Caribbean Lucia, and a rooftop infinity pool. When you’re not on the beach you can relax in the resort’s quiet orchid garden.

Billini Hotel, Santo Domingo

The Dominican capital is known for its colonial architecture and history dating back to the 16th century, but the Billini Hotel is decidedly modern with its avant-garde design, suites with a mix of Asian, Nordic, and midcentury furnishings, and secret spaces like a rooftop sun deck and Moon restaurant, with views of the Colonial Zone.

Bannister Hotel & Yacht Club, Samana

The Samana Peninsula, known for whale watching and parks with spectacular waterfalls, is home to this 30-room boutique hotel, located at a bustling marina on Samana Bay. Popular with both boaters and land-based travelers, the hotel lacks a beach but makes up for it with a beautiful infinity pool hugging the ocean’s edge, a freeform pool, and a variety of waterfront accommodations with plunge pools of their own. Guests can sample Dominican food at a waterfront restaurant, Italian cuisine at Le Regatta, and Mediterranean dishes at Le Deauville.

Saman Boutique Hotel, Samana

Tucked into lush gardens in Las Terranas, this 24-room boutique hotel blends seamlessly with the natural surroundings of Samana with its rustic decor (rooms make rich use of local wood, and some even include whole trees), a rooftop sunset bar and pool, and the Albizia restaurant, where the culinary journey ranges from local picapollo to shrimp tagliatelle.

Casas de XVI

Multiple formerly private residences in the heart of Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone have been combined to create a unique boutique hotel full of luxury suites and private courtyards that provide a respite from the urban cacophony, while still making a great starting point for exploring the old town’s cobblestone streets and ancient churches. Guests can book a room or a whole house, each individually decorated to accent the historic setting of exposed stone walls, arched passageways, and intimate outdoor spaces.

The post 10 Small Resorts to Visit in the Dominican Republic Right Now appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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It’s one of the most highly-anticipated hotel openings in The Bahamas in years: the new Goldwynn Resort and Residences, set to debut on Nassau’s Cable Beach early next year. 

The new Goldwynn, a residential resort that’s set on the white sands of Cable Beach, is planning to welcome its first guests in February. 

That includes a Feb. 1 opening date, according to the property’s Web site. 

It’s a different kind of resort for one of the Caribbean’s most popular destination, with a residential concept that means space and comfort typically reserved for condominiums in a luxury package — along with in-suite kitchens.  

That ranges from 530-square-foot studios to the stunning 1,950-square-foot Goldwynn Suite. 

There will be four dining concepts: the signature restaurant, OIA, a Mediterranean-Peruvian-Japanese fusion eatery; the bar and entertainment lounge called Bar Paul; Amara, a “Bahamian delicatessen on the terrace; and Atria, a sleek coffee lounge. 

There will also be in-room dining, from light bites to full meals. 

The resort is billing itself as a new kind of destination: the Riviera Bahama, with a “new beachfront Bahamian resort that celebrates the luxury of leisure.”

That’s along with a signature spa called Rhizophora and a state-of-the-art fitness center powered by Technogym. 

The resort is the brainchild of the Wynn Group of Companies, a family-run company out of Canada. 

It’s another significant boost for a destination that has been at the pinnacle of the Caribbean’s tourism rebound, buoyed by the Atlantis and the Baha Mar. 

For more, visit the Goldwynn Resort.

The post A New Luxury Resort Is Opening Soon in Nassau, The Bahamas  appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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It’s been an exemplar for the Caribbean in the post-Covid tourism world, and the US Virgin Islands continues to see outstanding tourism performance. 

But that doesn’t tell the whole story. 

The US Virgin Islands has actually seen the highest increase in visitors from 2019 to 2022 of any destination in the Caribbean, according to global hospitality consulting firm HVS. 

The data was shared by Parr’s Jodan, chairman of the HVS’s CHICOS investment conference, which was held this past week in the Dominican Republic. 

The US Virgin Islands has seen a 31.6 percent increase in visitors since September 2019, the highest rate of any destination.

Puerto Rico was the next-highest, with an 11.5 percent growth rate, followed by the Dominican Republic at 8.1 percent and Curacao at 2.7 percent. 

Aruba, for example, is down 3.8 percent since September 2019, while Trinidad is down 47 percent in the same period. 

The US Virgin Islands is far outpacing the Caribbean at large, which has seen tourism down 16.7 percent overall since September 2019 (That is changing lately, however, with many destinations in the region starting to eclipse their 2019 totals). 

The US Virgin Islands, which has seen a wave of new airlift to the destination since the onset of the pandemic, is also set for a major boost in 2023 with the entry of two new Marriott resorts in St Thomas: the Westin Beach Resort and Spa and The Seaborn at Frenchman’s Reef, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. 

“The USVI Department of Tourism is working hard to support local businesses and new investors,” said US Virgin Islands Tourism Commissioner Joseph Boschulte, who led a USVI delegation to CHICOS this week. “As part of our ongoing efforts and assistance with tax incentives, financing and brand awareness, we expect to see continued interest and growth in our islands in 2023.”

The USVI’s growth is a testament to its nimble approach to entry protocols during the height of the pandemic, and a continued push to promote both stayover and cruise passengers visits to the territory. 

The post The USVI Is Growing Faster Than Any Other Caribbean Destination appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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There’s another new route to one of the most beloved destinations in The Bahamas. 

Fast-expanding Bahamian carrier Aztec Airways has added another new nonstop route between Fort Lauderdale and the island of Great Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands. 

Aztec Airways, which has long operated service to a host of destinations across The Bahamas, is now operating service to both the private-island destination of Chub Cay and to Great Harbour Cay. 

The routes are operating twice each week. 

Both flights are operating out of Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, meaning that while they’re regularly scheduled they’re semi-private — a very good combination. 

It’s a particular boost to Great Harbour Cay, a very popular vacation home destination for Floridians that will soon unveil a brand-new international airport.

“Thanks to our awesome team for another successful launch of a new destination in The Bahamas,” Aztec said in a statement. “We continue to add routes to our scheduled flight service and it’s all thanks to our loyal passengers.”

Aztec is operating the Chub Cay and Great Harbour service on Piper Chieftain aircraft. 

Aztec now offers scheduled service to 11 different destinations in The Bahamas, including Andros Town, South Bimini, Chub Cay, North Eleuthera, Governors Harbor, Eleuthera; Great Harbour Cay, Marsh Harbour in Abaco; Rock Sound, Eleuthera; San Andros; and Treasure Cay, Abaco. 

The Bahamas has been seeing surging visitor arrivals 2022, buoyed by a continued growth in new airlift. 

That now includes these already-popular new routes. 

For more, visit Aztec Airways. 

The post More New Flights to Islands in The Bahamas  appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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“West is best,” they like to say here on the far edge of the island of St Croix. 

Here in Frederiksted, things are a little different than the rest of St Croix. There’s a funky, fun vibe here, one that weaves effortlessly with the charm of the centuries-old streets. 

And while it’s one of the oldest, most historic towns in the Caribbean, somehow Frederiskted still feels like a closely guarded secret. 

But that’s been changing in recent years, with the injection of new energy into the town: coffee shops, eateries, and one very important hotel. 

Indeed, it was the debut of The Fred, an adults-only hotel that marvelously reimagined a collection of historic buildings at the water’s edge in Frederksted, that largely ushered in the new era in town when it opened its doors back in 2017 — at the time the first new hotel in St Croix in more than 30 years. 

And now the hotel, the only beachfront property in Frederiksted proper, remains one of the major heartbeats of Frederiksted, a sleek, hip, vibrant place that’s become a haven locals as much as it is for guests. 

The pools and the bar regularly draw in day visitors (thanks to a clever membership called Club Fred) and the restaurant is one of the best on this side of an island that’s known for its culinary prowess. 

The hotel itself is terrific: it’s a wonderful amalgam of historic charm and Key West cool, with colorful, eclectically-designed rooms, 

There’s also a lovely boutique spa, a pair of pools, free Wi-Fi, a hot tub, a bar and restaurant (including a cool rooftop deck) and beach chairs. 

The hotel has also added a waterspouts program, with paddleboards, transparent kayaks and the like. 

And the adults-only concept is executed exquisitely — it’s a serene beachfront oasis if that’s what you’re looking for, or a fun, lively destination for a weekend getaway. 

And a half-decade after its debut, the hotel remains an exemplar of historic reconstruction, a remarkable project that turned six buildings dating back to the 1700s into a cutting-edge boutique hotel, a property formerly known as Totten House that got its name from civil rights luminary Ashley Totten. 

It’s a versatile, vibrant hotel, and one thing it’s clear: it’s the top adults-only resort anywhere in the US Virgin Islands. 

West is best. And so is The Fred. 

For more, visit The Fred. 

The post The Best Adults-Only Resort in the US Virgin Islands Is In St Croix appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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