Category: Island Life

A New All-Inclusive Boutique Is Coming to the Riviera Maya

 

By the Caribbean Journal staff

In a sea of large resorts, a new boutique all-inclusive is coming to the Riviera Maya in Mexico.

The new La Casa de la Playa Resort, which will be set in the Xcaret eco-adventure community, is slated to make its debut this summer.

The property, the latest resort from the developers of Experiencias Xcaret Group, will have 63 suites, all with private plunge pools.

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That will come with four eateries, two pools, a spa, a mezcaleria, a chocolate confenctionary shop, a wine cellar and a library, according to the company.

The vision is simple, the company says — to be “the best boutique hotel in Mexico.”

The first Xcaret Hotel opened at the end of December 2017, part of a wider 10-year plan for Destination Xcaret.

The Xcaret campus is set on 915 acres, with plans for an eventual total of 6,000 hotel rooms, along with a 12,000-seat stadium and an 800,000-square-foot convention center.

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“The All-Fun Inclusive program will continue to develop as we add parks and tours to the Experiencias Xcaret offering, and we will maintain our position as the leading Mexican tourism group, the only company to offer sustainable tourism entertainment, creating a new destination within Mexico and celebrating our commitment to our country,” the company said in a statement.

The post A New All-Inclusive Boutique Is Coming to the Riviera Maya appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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VIDEO: Belle Mont Farm in St Kitts: A New Kind of Caribbean Destination

 

By Alexander Britell and Guy Britton

ST KITTS — There’s always an analog. There’s always a place it reminds you of, a hotel just like one you’ve seen in another destination.

And then you come here — and you realize that there isn’t one.

It’s a bit of a journey to get to here — a nonstop flight to St Kitts, a drive along the rugged coastal road, a search for a sign and a trip up the foothills of a volcano.

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But when you arrive here, it’s not just that the journey was worth it. It’s that the journey was to a different destination than you imagined.

This is Belle Mont Farm, and it’s a totally different hotel for the Caribbean.

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It began years ago with a vision – to build a sustainable hotel, one set on a working farm, where even the golf course is organic — and that’s precisely what’s been achieved here.

There are 40 units at Belle Mont Farm at Kittitian Hill: 33 cottages and seven larger villas, all gorgeously designed, all with sweeping views of St Kitts and neighboring islands like St Eustatius.

caribbean belle mont farm

Plainly, without hyperbole, it’s one of the most beautifully designed properties you will ever see, from the stone construction to some of the Caribbean’s sexiest cottages (all with their own private plunge pools)

That’s without mentioning the rugged, impossibly scenic golf course that is an adventure unto itself.

But what stands out here is the feel.

As you walk around the grounds, as you sit at your pool, as you eat in a remarkable farm-to-table dinner (that’s actually on the grounds of the farm), you feel something.

caribbean belle mont farm

You feel a serenity, you feel a connection to the beauty that you see, you feel what is not here: bustle and noise and the synthetic.

It’s an initially peculiar feeling that turns into a grand one: because while this is an exquisitely executed eco hotel, it’s far more than that: it’s a luxury resort with the soul of a green retreat.

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It’s a luxury that’s rooted in the almost remarkable design, in the stone construction that’s brand new but instantly feels timeless, in the wooden cottages that offer charming comfort, with their massive bathrooms and outdoor showers and slide-down projector screens.

You will come here and feel your sense of time and space wonderfully warped.

caribbean belle mont farm

And no, there is no compromise – you have your Wi-Fi and your streaming and your coffee and your toiletries, wonderful food and a great bar inside of a sugar mill.

This place is not a detox — this is a jump forward, into what a Caribbean hotel can be — how the real and the natural can be used to enhance — not compromise — the experience. Luxury through authenticity.

caribbean belle mont farm

It’s a feeling that you are living— not just staying – in an organically, beautifully, wonderfully Caribbean hillside destination.

It’s a vision of what a Caribbean hotel can be — and there’s not anything quite like it.

For more, visit Belle Mont Farm.

See more in the latest CJ Video.

The post VIDEO: Belle Mont Farm in St Kitts: A New Kind of Caribbean Destination appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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HUD delays release of billions of dollars in storm protection for Puerto Rico and Texas

… prompting complaints from officials in Puerto Rico and Texas, who say … and hurricanes in 2017. Puerto Rico was slated to receive … relief funds. In August, Puerto Rico’s non-voting congressional representative … ’s lashed out at Puerto Rican leaders who’ve been …

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In Cancun and the Mexican Caribbean, a Free Wi-Fi Expansion

 

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Cancun and the government of the state of Quintana Roo continue to make progress increasing Internet access for travelers.

In the last two years, officials have added 17 Wi-Fi and three access point modules in the area, with a simple premise: more internet means more free publicity from travelers sharing the travels with their own social networks.

“Being connected to the Internet at any time and anywhere, from any mobile device, is a must for travelers — and a way to spread and promote the natural beauty of the Mexican Caribbean,” the government of Quintana Roo said in a statement.

That Wi-Fi expansion has covered both the tourism hub of Cancun and other locations including Tulum, Isla Mujeres, Isla Holbox and others.

It’s a push that we hope spreads across the Caribbean — as it has in other destinations like Curacao, which several years ago added free Wi-Fi across downtown Willemstad — and Antigua, which recently launched free Wi-Fi in its cruise port.

— CJ

The post In Cancun and the Mexican Caribbean, a Free Wi-Fi Expansion appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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VIDEO: A French Caribbean Moment on Diamant Beach

 

By the Caribbean Journal staff

There’s a mystical quality to Diamant Beach in Martinique, a raw, rugged feeling, an exotic sensation.

Here on the southern coast of the French Caribbean island is a beach on the edge, in view of the famous Diamond Rock, a beach that seems to feel like its own island entirely.

It’s home to one of the hottest beach towns in the Caribbean — but when you walk through to the gleaming volcanic sand, everything else seems to vanish.

It’s just you and the waves, sitting under the palms, enjoying the perfect beach moment in Martinique.

— CJ

The post VIDEO: A French Caribbean Moment on Diamant Beach appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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