By the Caribbean Journal staff

Playa del Carmen’s Mahekal Beach Resort has appointed a new director of sales and marketing, the property told Caribbean Journal. 

The Mexican Caribbean resort has named Maria Elena Armenta to the role, in which she will develop and implement marketing strategies and sales initiatives.

Armenta comes to the property after having served most recently as group account director at the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa in Arizona.

“Ms. Armenta is an exceptional addition to the Mahekal team,” said Lamont Meek, Chief Operating Officer of Circa Capital, the co-owner and manager of the Mahekal Beach Resort. “Her distinguished background, results-oriented outlook and overall passion for the job allowed Maria Elena to seamlessly ascertain our goals and objectives, and in turn develop prodigious plans that will undoubtedly contribute to our continued success.”

The post Mahekal Names New Director of Sales and Marketing appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By Alexander Britell

The island of Puerto Rico was quietly becoming one of the leading luxury destinations in the Caribbean before last year’s hurricanes.

But as the island continues its remarkable recovery, Puerto Rico’s luxury boom continues, from the launch of the new Serafina Beach Hotel to the imminent debut of the highly-anticipated O:LV 55 luxe boutique resort.

A rendering of a unit at the new Ocean Drive.

The latest step? A significant new luxury real estate project at the St. Regis Bahia Beach.

It’s called Ocean Drive, and it’s an $85 million ultra-luxury residential development right on the beach.

The new project, which will be serviced by and include the amenities of the St. Regis, will consist of 30 condominiums set across three beachfront buildings, with a combination of three- and four-bedroom residences and penthouses.

And that means homeowners get all the amenities of the resort, from the two miles of beach to the Robert Trent Jones II golf course to Jean-Georges’ signature Fern restaurant, among others.

The first building is set for completion by June 2019, according to a spokesperson for the project.

Miami-based SB Architects are the lead designers on the project, which will have land planning and landscaping architecture by EDSA and interiors by San Francisco’s Hirsh, Bedner Associates.

The announcement comes as the St. Regis announced its own $60 million renovation project, with plans to reopen in October of this year.

The post New Ultra-Luxe Real Estate Coming to Puerto Rico’s St. Regis Bahia Beach appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Barbados broke a 30-year-old tourism record last year, and the trend continues upward.

The island is on track for even more sustained growth in 2018, according to Petra Roach, the U.S. Director of Barbados Tourism Marketing.

“This is a really exciting time in Barbados’s journey and we want to spread the message that a vacation to Barbados is an immersive, transformative experience rather than just ‘sun, sea and sand,’” Roach said.

Barbados had a banner year that also saw the addition of a host of new concepts, from the debut of the New Nikki Beach to the launch of the new all-suite Sandals Royal Barbados.

That came as a wave of hotels completed transformation projects, from the Sea Breeze Beach House to the Fairmont Royal Pavilion.

The island has also been boosted by the debut of new, transformed hotels like Treasure Beach, above.

The centerpiece of the surge may have been the debut of the highly-anticipated Treasure Beach, Elegant Hotels’ adults-only stunner on the West Coast.

This year, Barbados is looking to focus on food, with its recently-launched “Year of Culinary Experiences” campaign, which highlights culinary and local experiences, led by the ever-popular Barbados Food and Rum Festival.

The post Barbados Looks to Continue Tourism Surge appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

It’s about new life in the face of adversity, reconstruction in the face of destruction.

It’s about turning a hurricane into a new opportunity for growth.

And the newest initiative by the British Virgin Islands is focused on just that — new growth.

It’s called Seeds of Love, and it’s a new program that aims to replant the islands’ indigenous trees and vegetation destroyed by Hurricanes Irma and Maria last year.

The plan began when Gabi Romberg of the BVI’s German agency, who saw the damage to fauna from the hurricanes and started a fundraising drive to purchase coconut palms to be replanted on the beaches of the territory.

Then, the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines donated 3,000 fruit trees to the BVI, and soon the Seeds of Love campaign was born, spearheaded by Director of Tourism Sharon Flax-Brutus.

The British Virgin Islands Tourist Board has also purchased 3,000 coconut seedlings and saplings in an effort to replant and maintain what was lost during the storms.

“We are sincerely thankful for their seeds of love as this is not only a valuable contribution to our environment, but to our very existence,” Flax-Brutus said. “I am excited that this project is taking shape, and I am pleased to announce that we have received our first shipment. Our intention is to distribute this shipment throughout the four main islands.”

Seeds of Love has already expanded throughout the territory, as the Tourist Board has partnered with other local government agencies and ministries to allow for the distribution of planting in public spaces.

The entire community will be involved through special planting days, with special celebrations centered around global arbor days.

“Tourism is the mainstay of our economy, there is no tourism without the environment. Whither the environment goes, so goes the economy,” said Kedrick Pickering, Minister of Natural Resources and Labour. It is extremely important for us to invest in, protect and prosper our natural heritage. Reforestation is a necessary component of building resilience.”

For more information and for ways to get involved, visit Seeds of Love.

— CJ

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines has added another new route in the Caribbean to its quickly-growing regional portfolio.

Spirit has officially launched new nonstop flights to Cap Haitien, Haiti out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

The Fort Lauderdale-Cap-Haitien flights will operate three times per week, year round, according to the company.

This week, Spirit also expanded its Fort Lauderdale-Kingston flights, which are now running daily on a seasonal basis.

The new Haiti service is another boost for the country’s surging beach destination, Cap Haitien, which offers a sandy, relaxed alternative to bustling Port-au-Prince, which has traditionally received much of the island’s tourist traffic. (Spirit had already been operating flights to the capital).

The Hotel du Roi Christophe in Cap-Haitien.

Cap Haitien has been seeing a steady increase in airlift, following the launch of new flights by both American Airlines and Sunrise Airways in recent years, among others.

Spirit also announced that it would be returning to the island of St Maarten on May 5, launching weekly Saturday service that will operate year round.

“Spirit is proud to support the Caribbean with its recovery, having provided relief flights for more than 3,000 people and transported more than 120,000 pounds of relief supplies to date,” said Mark Kopczak, Spirit Vice President of Network Planning. “The courage and dedication of the people of the Caribbean has been more than impressive, and we are excited to bring more of our Guests there to enjoy all the islands have to offer.”

Spirit will also be adding a new nonstop route to St Croix on May 24, with thrice-weekly, year-round service operating out of Fort Lauderdale.

It’s all part of a rapid transformation of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood into one of the leading U.S. hubs for Caribbean travel, as more and more airlines, including JetBlue and Southwest have all been ramping up their regional operations there.

The post Spirit Launches New Nonstop Flights to Cap-Haitien, Haiti appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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