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A report released by the Puerto Rican government today estimates that more … neglect of the people of Puerto Rico.
It is far past time … full federal aid requested by Puerto Rico. In New York, we continue … will continue to walk with Puerto Rico every step of the way …

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… , took place in locations across Puerto Rico. Softbox, based in the UK … site on a drone) in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. It was …

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Caribbean’s newest all-inclusive brand is coming to the island of St Maarten, Caribbean Journal has confirmed.

Planet Hollywood, which is planning to open its first all-inclusive branded resort in the Caribbean Basin in Costa Rica this fall, is coming to St Maarten.

The resort will be located at the site of the former Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort and Casino, which was destroyed by Hurricane Irma and eventually demolished.

What the Great Bay resort looked like before Irma.

That property was shortly thereafter purchased from Sonesta by Canadian travel giant Sunwing, which will soon begin construction on the property, according to a statement from St Maarten’s Ministry of Tourism.

The new all-inclusive will include a total of 450 rooms, according to the Ministry, set on what is arguably the signature bay on the Dutch side of the island.

It will represent the first Caribbean island property for the Planet Hollywood Hotels brand, which is branching out from a small portfolio of properties in Las Vegas and Goa.

One of the company’s PH spas.

The new Planet Hollywood all-inclusives will feature all of the brand’s signatures, from Hollywood memorabilia to aPH Spa and Beauty Bar.

It will be the second of two major new all-inclusives planned on the island, following next year’s planned launch of the Secrets St Martin resort on the French side of the island.

A rendering of the new-look Ocean Point.

While the Sonesta Great Bay is no longer, Sonesta is planning a major comeback on the island with its other two high-profile resorts: the Sonesta Ocean Point and the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort.

The Ocean Point is slated to return Nov. 15, while the Maho Beach Resort is targeting a reopening date of Feb. 15, 2019.

The post St Maarten Is Getting a New Planet Hollywood All-Inclusive appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By Dana Niland
CJ Contributor

One of the region’s most popular food festivals is fast approaching.

And while this year’s Barbados Food and Rum Festival will have all of the culinary and rum-filled features travelers have come to expect, it’s making some changes, too.

Launching on International Rum Day, this year’s festival will run from October 18 to 21, and will see some changes oriented towards refining the nine-year-old series for the long haul.

Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. CEO Billy Griffith said that the developments come as the organization continues to “delivery a product that both satisfies the appetite of our audience, while perfecting those unique selling points for which destination Barbados is known and loved.”

The first of the two major changes is the shift from the past November dates to October.

Griffith noted the decision was made based on feedback from local stakeholders, who requested that BTMI assist in driving business to the island during the lighter tourism period.

“But we didn’t just change the date, we met with restaurateurs, chefs, mixologists and even event promoters with the idea of expanding the Barbados Food and Rum Festival from just four days to a month-long experience,” he said.

 The month of festivities will include food truck crawls, restaurant specials and bar pop-ups spread across October.

The second change announced was the move away from the model that brought in multiple international chefs for the festival, to one that promotes the exposure of local culinary talent.

 “We have seen our local talent grow exponentially over the past nine years of the Festival,” said Griffith. “We now have a pool of award-winning chefs and mixologists that cannot be contained to our previous model; that’s why, beginning this year, we will be further elevating and capitalising on the wealth of talent we have in our island.”

BTMI has engaged Michelin-star chef Tom Aikens from the U.K. to be an ambassador for this year’s festival.

A celebrity chef and owner of four restaurants across the U.K., he has authored several cookbooks and has a large social media following.

In his role as ambassador, he will be using his status to officially endorse the festival– encouraging customers, readers, fans and more to journey with him to Barbados for the experience.

Among the featured chefs for 2018 are Barbados’ own Damian Leach, Taste of the Caribbean Chef of the Year; Craig Greenidge, owner and executive chef of CM Catering; Michael Harrison, executive chef of Camelot restaurant at Cobbler’s Cove; and pastry guru Javon Cummins of Tapestry restaurant, among others.

In the months leading up to the festival, BTMI will host a series of Food and Rum pop-ups across various restaurants such as The Mill & Co., East Point Grill, Fisherman’s Pub, Braddie’s Bar and Golden Sands Hotel.

The post Barbados Getting Set for Food and Rum Festival appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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… to almost 1.5 million Puerto Ricans, reported that thousands of its … fully. That same month, the Puerto Rican government finally acknowledged a higher … transcript database for mentions of “Puerto Rico” or “Hurricane Maria” from September …

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