By Alexander Britell

Yes, much of St Barth’s luxury hotel inventory has been temporarily compromised by Hurricane Irma, with most hotels slated to reopen next year.

But you can still stay at a beautiful beachfront resort in the heart of St Jean — at Les Ilets de la Plage, the beloved property just a stroll from the airport that just reopened last month.

While the resort did close for repairs after the storm, it took the opportunity to perform a refresh, upgrading everything from the furniture to a new satellite TV system and Internet.

It’s a collection of bungalows and villa units.

Les Ilets has also added new sun loungers, new parasols, new kitchen appliances and new decor in the beach villas.

The tiny villa resort has long been a closely guarded secret, but now it’s been thrust to the forefront of St Barth’s tourism industry.

And it’s ready to deliver.

For more information, visit Les Ilets.

The post How to Stay on the Beach in St Barth appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By Dana Niland
CJ Contributor

Comfort Suites Paradise Island has named Yasmine Mills-Strachan as its new Director of Sales.

Strachan joined the Comfort Suites Paradise Island team in May 2014 as Sales Manager in the Sales and Marketing Department, and was recognized as Manager of the Year at the all-suite property in December 2015.

“Having such exemplary sales and management professionals in leadership positions at Comfort Suites Paradise Island strengthens our efforts to attract and serve our valued clientele,” said William Naughton, Senior Vice President and Managing Partner of the hotel.

In her new role, Strachan will be responsible for growing the local and international market, while maintaining working relationships between Comfort Suites Paradise Island and tour operators.

In addition to managing local public relations for the hotel, Strachan will continue to drive marketing efforts for the hotel, which is also home to Crusoe’s Restaurant and Bar.

Her hospitality career began in 2000 at SuperClubs Breezes Bahamas, where she handled responsibilities, ranging from retail, front office, sales and weddings.

The post Paradise Island’s Comfort Suites Names New Director of Sales appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Another new all-inclusive project has broken ground in the Dominican Republic.

Dominican Prime Minister Danilo Medina laid the first stone for the new Grand Fiesta Americana Punta Cana Los Corales this week.

The $130 million project will open its doors in 18 months, according to estimates.

The new project will be the first Dominican Republic outpost for the brand, which has properties across much of Mexico.

The Grand Fiesta Americana will include 554 “luxury” room on a site on Bavaro Beach in the heart of Punta Cana, about 20 minutes from Punta Cana International Airport.

It will include seven restaurants and a variety of watersports operations.

The post Grand Fiesta Americana Breaks Ground on New Resort appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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It began in 2012 with an idea: to lift up rum. The aim was to celebrate the glory of rum, to honor the greatest rums just as wines and spirits and so many other categories are honored.

Rum Journal’s Rum Awards is now in its sixth year, having growth into one of the world’s most important and influential measures in the rum category.

And every year, the judging by the Rum Journal special panel of judges gets more difficult, as rum continues to grow both in diversity and quality.

The most striking advancement of late has been the rum world’s renewed focus on the art of barrel aging, from special finishes to long-term aging.

This year’s final judging, performed at the terrific Casa de Montecristo by Prime Cigar in Miami, was the product of a year’s worth of tasting and research that ultimately evaluated more than 200 rums from the Caribbean and around the world.

As always, the Rum Awards is led by the awards for Rum of the Year and Rhum Agricole of the Year, along with 10 other categories across the world of rum.

Congratulations to all the winners.

Rum of the Year: Angostura No. 1, Trinidad

The premium aged rum category gets almost exponentially more competitive each year, but this year an old favorite returned to take back the Rum Awards crown. Trinidad’s Angostura No. 1 series, which won Rum of the Year with its first edition back in 2014, simply wowed this year’s panel of judges.

The latest expression of Angostura No. 1 is the result of aging Trinidadian rum for 10 years in American oak casks and then another six in French oak casks that formerly held cognac. The result is a masterwork, a rum that reaches the highest achievement in the rum world – an exquisite roundness and smoothness without sacrificing personality. Congratulations to the House of Angostura.  It’s also a sign of the increasing importance of the art of barrel aging — and barrel diversity — a theme that we’ll see across this year’s awards.

Runners Up: Papa’s Pilar Sherry Finish (Gold Medal) (Florida), Facundo Exquisito, Puerto Rico (Silver Medal), St Lucia Distillers 1931 (Bronze Medal).

The post Rum Journal: The Rum Awards 2017 appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

European low-cost carrier Norwegian continues to show booming passenger growth, according to the carrier’s latest numbers.

Norwegian carried 2.5 million passengers in November, a jump of 11 percent compared to the same period in 2016.

The carrier reported a total of 2.52 million passengers last month, an increase of 255,075 passengers overall.

Total traffic growth and capacity growth rose by 28 percent.

Last month, Norwegian launched a wave of new flights to the French Caribbean, including new routes to Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“We are pleased that more passengers are choosing to fly with Norwegian ,” said Norwegian CEO Bjørn Kjos. “Global expansion is important to position ourselves in a market with such strong competition, but also for creating economic value in the markets we operate.”

The post Norwegian Passenger Growth Continues appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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