By the Caribbean Journal staff

Riu Hotels and Resorts is planning to reopen the Riu Palace Paradise Island on Oct. 28, led by a significant change: the resort will become an adults-only property.

The 350-room all-inclusive in the Bahamas has been “completely renovated,” with a wide array of changes both to the rooms and common areas and the addition of a slate of new culinary options, too.

That includes in-room changes like new walk-in showers and new flooring, along with free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel. Riu has also announced the planned addition of a new “jerk” grill station, a new 24-hour lounge; a patisserie and ice cream parlor called “Capuchino” and an Indian restaurant called “Chutney.”

The company has also added a new gym, a new theater and a new pool with a swim-up bar called “Soca.”

The revamped lobby has also added a “360-degree” front desk, with guests receiving a glass of champagne upon arrival.

That’s all in addition to the existing offerings at the hotel, which include two other swimming pools, a Renova Spa and a private stretch of beach on the island’s famous Cabbage Beach, one of our favorite stretches of sand in the Caribbean.

– CJ Staff

The post Riu Palace Paradise Island Is Going Adults-Only appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

After a mostly sluggish first half, the Caribbean’s hotel sector is starting to show signs of strengthening, according to the latest data from hotel analytics firm STR.

Caribbean hotels reported a 71.8 percent occupancy rate in July, a 1.4 percent increase over July 2016 that was the region’s third straight month of year-over-year occupancy increases.

Average daily rates rose by 2.2 percent to $189.48 last month, while revenue per available room rose by 3.6 percent to $136 in the same period.

For the year, Caribbean hotel occupancy is now up by 0.4 percent to 70.9 percent, while average daily rates are up 0.6 percent to $216.92 and RevPar is up by 3.6 percent to $136.

STR’s hotel data surveyed 1,942 hotels comprising 245,548 rooms in the wider Caribbean market.

The post Caribbean Hotel Occupancy Beginning to Climb appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A construction company in Puerto Rico was sentenced last week to a fine of $1.5 million and three years of probation for violating the federal Clean Air Act. AIREKO Construction Company failed to comply with the asbestos National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air…

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Latin pop star, Luis Fonsi, is the new global face of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company’s (PRTC) upcoming international tourism campaign. PRTC’s partnership with Fonsi, who performs the record-breaking song “Despacito”, will launch the destination’s campaign…

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By Alexander Britell

No island is an island.

Even islands have needs, needs from afar: food, energy, connectivity — no island can be truly independent in today’s world.

Or can it?

There’s an island in the British Virgin Islands that has become the dream of what a Caribbean island can be — a place that is the ultimate sustainable, independent destination. It is the island of the future.

This is Eustatia Island, a 35-acre private island a stone’s throw from Richard Branson’s Necker Island in the heart of the North Sound that is unlike any other island on earth. And Caribbean Journal got an exclusive look at it.

For starters, it’s a natural marvel — green hills, perfect white sand beaches, swaying palms, a group of four beautiful villas and a capacity of about 16 guests (yes, you have to rent out the whole island).

But it’s what’s under the surface that truly amazes, starting with a 400 kWh Tesla battery system that is the first-ever application of one of these commercial Tesla systems on an island — one that stores all of the solar energy collected through Eustatia’s 400 solar panels. It’s the capacity equivalent of six Tesla cars.

And while some places boast about being green, Eustatia actually is — the only fossil fuels used regularly on the island are a few tanks of propane for grilling — even the golf carts are solar powered, thanks to a clever retrofit that turns their roofs into PV panels. The latter is the kind of thinking that is the driving force of Eustatia, a place that is constantly trying to get better and come up with new ways to be sustainable.

Food and landscape waste are composted into fertilizer, while plastics, aluminum, glass, paper and cardboard are collected for recycling and the island even has its own reverse-osmosis desalination plant, one that can generate up to 10,000 gallons of fresh water every day — and yes, it’s powered by solar energy, too. There’s even a farm.

But it’s not just about being green.

Eustatia’s four villas are set on the hillsides, with sparkling turquoise views and hiking trails and all the modern amenities you’d expect, with a beach bar and restaurant and features like a helipad and lightning-fast Wi-Fi and one bathroom that’s been built inside of a cave.

But it’s not just about the accommodations, either.

The biggest story just might be on the water.

Eustatia Island has an impossibly broad collection of watersports equipment — and I don’t mean kayaks and paddleboards. I mean the kind of stuff you can barely find in a store – like two-person windsurfs and even an assortment of hydrofoil kiteboards.

And that’s just the non-motorized equipment.

The motorized is even more unbelievable, with a veritable fleet of boats led by an Iguana Yacht, an amphibious, electric-motored boat that can actually drive on land.

The best part? If you stay here, it’s all included — the food, the drinks, every manner of seaborne activity.

And it’s all done with an ethos that is helping to build and set the model for the island of the future. Everyone who stays here is helping to buy in to the future.

It’s easy to say that this all sounds hyperbolic. But it’s not.

Because Eustatia Island isn’t an island. It’s perfection — and this is just the beginning.

See more in the video at the top of the page.

For more information, visit Eustatia Island.

The post VIDEO: The Amazing Eustatia Island appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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