By the Caribbean Journal staff

The world’s biggest hotel company is plotting another entry into the Caribbean.

Marriott International has just announced plans to bring its newest hotel brand, Moxy Hotels, into the Caribbean and Latin America.

The company has already approved four hotel deals in the region, with the first Caribbean-Latin America debut for Moxy pegged for 2020.

The four approved deals are in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Colombia and Peru, a Marriott spokesperson confirmed to Caribbean Journal.

Last week, Marriott signed a deal for a 165-room Moxy in Medellin, Colombia.

Marriott says Moxy is a “playful and vibrant hotel brand for the next generation of travelers.”

The boutique brand first debuted in Europe in 2014, with a current portfolio of 30 Moxy-branded hotels worldwide.

Each hotel has “vibrant” lobby spaces, 24-7 self-service grab and go food and beverage options, copious plug-ins for personal devices in the guestrooms and free-Wifi.

It’s a brand clearly targeting millennials, with small rooms, lower prices and a focus on shared public spaces.

A Moxy hotel in London.

“Who said that affordable hotels must be cheap-looking and dull?  Who said that lifestyle hotels cannot have the same, or better, investor returns than the traditional select-service brand?  You just need to know what the new customer really wants and be smart on the design and execution,” said Laurent de Kousemaeker, Chief Development Officer, Marriott International Caribbean and Latin America. “This brand is a great fit for our region – both from an economic model and consumer appeal perspective.”

It’s part of a wider drive by Marriott to increase its presence in the Caribbean and Latin America, where the company has 240 properties open, with another 110 set to be added by the end of 2023, according to the company.

— CJ

The post Marriott Is Bringing a New Hotel Brand to the Caribbean appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By Dana Niland

CJ Contributor

Grenada officially opened its 2018-2019 cruise season with an inaugural visit from Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Breeze cruise ship.

The ship, which has a capacity of 4,428 passengers, was welcomed with a steel pan salute.

Grenada has a diverse, robust chocolate-making industry.

Grenada is kicking off the winter season with strong momentum, with the cruise industry seeing year-over-year growth of almost 26.75 percent, according to numbers from the Grenada Tourism Authority.

The Eastern Caribbean port in St George’s continues to see growth, with the island’s diverse attractions — from chocolate plantation tours to rum-distillery visits — drawing in more and more cruise lines.

Officials say they are “expecting the growth to continue,” according to a statement.

— CJ

The post Grenada Begins Cruise Season With Strong Momentum appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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… & Company is advising the Puerto Rican government on a financial overhaul … been required to disclose any Puerto Rican investments it had via Whitebox … or any branch of the Puerto Rican government. But it says nothing … because Congress, as it wrote Puerto Rico’s restructuring law, excluded advisers …

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville hotel brand is adding another new property in the Caribbean Basin.

The new Margaritaville Beach Resort is set to debut in Costa Rica with a soft opening on Nov. 1, the company confirmed this week.

The property is now booking for travel beginning in 2019.

The new resort is set in Costa Rica’s popular Guanacaste province, the product of a rebranding of the Flamingo Beach Resort and Spa.

The 120-room property is located on the white-sand Flamingo Beach on the northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, with a large pool with a swim-up bar, an oceanfront restaurant and lounge, a family center, watersports and a spa.

A look at the lobby in Costa Rica.

The property also includes a tennis court and a fitness center, along with social and corporate meeting space.

It’s the latest addition to what is a rapidly expanding portfolio of Margaritaville-branded resorts in the wider Caribbean Basin.

Margaritaville has already opened its new resort in Grand Cayman, while earlier this year the brand announced plans to build a $250 million Margaritaville resort complex at the Pointe project in downtown Nassau, The Bahamas. (The Nassau property is eyeing the beginning of a phased opening in mid-2019).

The planned Margaritaville in Nassau.

The company also recently reopened its Margaritaville Vacation Club by Wyndham in St Thomas.

Last year, Margaritaville formalized a partnership with all-inclusive operator Karisma for a series of Margaritaville all-inclusive hotels across the Caribbean region.

For more, visit Margaritaville Costa Rica.

— CJ

The post Jimmy Buffett Is Opening a New Margaritaville in Costa Rica appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By Dana Niland
CJ Contributor

The Bahamas is looking to spur a rebirth on the island of Grand Bahama.

The plan, according to Bahamas Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar, is to position Grand Bahama as a multi-destination vacation paradise “catering to all tastes.”

D’Aguilar said the government’s recently-announced purchase of Grand Bahama’s Grand Lucayan resort could be the catalyst to the island’s rebirth, “a chance to improve the mood and confidence level on island, and really allow for a proper re-branding of Grand Bahama.”

The Viva Wyndham Fortuna on Grand Bahama.

“Grand Bahama’s awe-inspiring natural assets – outback forests, mangroves, extensive cave systems, miles of secluded beaches and surrounding seas teeming with trophy fish and an underwater wonderland, will easily allow us to entrench the island as an eco-tourism paradise and haven for fishing, diving and birding,” he said. “On the drawing board are plans to make Grand Bahama a mecca for world-class sporting events from road races, cycling, kayaking, sailing, golf, tennis and sports retreats.”

The Grand Lucayan complex.

Grand Bahama has already gotten a boost from the recent addition of a second cruise ship from the Grand Celebration firm, which is now bringing daily ferry service to Freeport from South Florida.

The 1,680-passenger-capacity Grand Classica ship.

“We have seen significant improvement in the total number of passengers coming to Freeport, and we have now focused all of our incentives in getting more of those passengers to get off the ship and spend a couple of nights in Freeport with the full knowledge that, with daily service, they can stay as long as they want and return whenever they are ready,” the minister said.

Indeed, an additional 26,000 passengers arrived in Grand Bahama in the first six months of 2018, compared to the first half of 2017, thanks to growth in cruise and ferry passengers.

— CJ

The post The Bahamas Eyes a Rebirth in Grand Bahama appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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