By Alexander Britell

“To be able to spend several hours a day looking at this water, it starts to have an effect on you. You stop seeing it and you start to perceive it, to get a sense of its livingness and its fluid changes of color,” he says, looking out at the Creole Rock in the distance.

Roland Richardson has been painting St Martin for decades, often from this perch at the Sunset Cafe at the Grand Case Beach Club, collecting the oranges and yellows and greens of St Martin on canvas.

There’s always been a draw for the island’s most legendary artist here, something bewitching about this corner of St Martin, about the pair of beaches at the edge of town, about the red roofs and the blue water and the Rock.

That pull, that magnetism about the old French Caribbean town of Grand Case is what has drawn travelers to the Grand Case Beach Club for decades — and when the storms struck in 2017, a beloved part of the fabric of this place was taken away.

But now it’s back.

The Grand Case Beach Club opened with 48 of its 72 rooms completely transformed, with the Sunset Cafe returned and the rooftop pool rebuilt and a new lobby and a new energy —and sparkling, modern rooms filled with Richardson’s art on the walls.

And the moment it reopened, its longtime guests immediately rebooked.

That meant the families that have been coming back here, year after year, came back immediately, the Barkans and the Hendersons and the grandparents and the grandchildren and the friends who have felt that same pull here, who have fallen in love with this place.

The GCBC has perfected the art of the classic beach hotel, perfected the art of letting travelers experience what remains one of the Caribbean’s great little beach towns, without pretentiousness, delivering an experience that everyone can enjoy.

“If you want to relax and go on vacation, you don’t put on your fanciest dress shirt — you put on the shirt that feels the best,” longtime General Manager Stephen Wright says. “That’s what this hotel is — it’s a place that makes you feel good.”

It’s a proposition that’s hard to argue with, as one begins to settle into the routine of beach mornings and lazy lunches at the Sunset Cafe and evenings on the boulevard in Grand Case, which, it should be said, has seen a remarkable comeback in the last year and a half.

About half of the eateries have already reopened, including several new ones (like the terrific Barranco), and most of the town’s signature eateries: the Lolos and L’Auberge Gourmande and Bistrot Caraibes and the Rainbow Cafe and La Villa and Spiga and, most recently, Le Pressoir, which reopened with the added bonus of an adjacent rum bar.

Even at less than full strength, Grand Case offers an collection of world-class eateries that remains the envy of the Caribbean, a fun-loving town with a nightlife that’s already vibrant again, with the crowds at Blue Martini and the seaside beers at Max’s Place.

If you come for a few days or a week or two, you’ll have too many restaurants to choose from, a surfeit of authentic French Caribbean evenings.

And that’s what the Grand Case Beach Club has always been about, a gateway to this town, a place to enjoy the simple, wonderful pleasures that define Grand Case and St Martin.

And that’s what it still is, a way to really see Grand Case.

But here is the mark of a great hotel — when you stop seeing a place and you start living it.

For more, visit the Grand Case Beach Club.

See more in the latest CJ Video.

The post In St Martin, a Beloved Hotel Is Reborn appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

The former Gansevoort Turks + Caicos has officially relaunched with a new brand: Wymara.

The new Wymara Resort and Villas gets its name from the original developers of the resort – Wymara Ltd.

“Guests will enjoy a continuation of the warm hospitality, attentive service and amenities the resort is known for,” the property said in a statement.

“As we enter 2019 with the new Villas and the 10th anniversary of the resort, we took the opportunity to create a fresh, comprehensive new independent identity,” said Rob Ayer and Bruce Maclaren, co-developers and owners of Wymara Ltd. “We are committed to elevating the guest experience with contemporary elegance in all design aspects, quality and service; which will redefine Caribbean Luxury.”

The Wymara Resort and Villas has 91 rooms on the western end of Turks and Caicos’ iconic Grace Bay Beach.

Amenities range from a 7,000-square-foot infinity pool to a signature eatery, Stelle, and a beachfront Robata-style restaurant called Zest.

Last year, the Wymara added seven new four and five-bedroom villas on Turtle Tail Bay, about 2.5 miles from the property.

The move means the Gansevoort brand is no longer in the Caribbean, with developers at the brand’s other former outpost, Playa Imbert in the Dominican Republic, rebranding as well.

— CJ

The post A New Hotel Brand Makes Its Debut in Turks and Caicos: Wymara appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Cayman Islands is seeing torrid tourism growth, according to the latest numbers from the destination’s Department of Tourism.

The Cayman Islands reported 463,001 stayover visitors in 2018, a jump of 10.66 percent — meaning a total increase of 44,598 visitors compared to the previous year — a new record for the destination.

That included two record-breaking months — March and December, when the destination welcomed more than 50,000 stayover visitors in each month.

Visitor spend rose to $880.1 million, a jump of 12.5 percent over the previous year.

The growth was fueled in large part by strong demand from the United States market, which posted a 13.01 percent in visitors to the Cayman Islands.

“The mandate of the Ministry and Department of Tourism is to facilitate annual growth in visitation and economic contribution; my Ministry pursues this strategically each year,” said Cayman Islands Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell. “Through creative promotions, partnerships, and continued collaboration with our industry stakeholders, we have maintained the significant accomplishment of continuous record-breaking years. Our government has committed to investment in our points of entry at the Cruise Port and Airports. These much-needed upgrades will benefit of tourism operators, businesses, visitors and residents. My focus is to ensure that all subjects in my ministry portfolio operate efficiently and effectively to support the tourism sector. These results are an excellent indicator of the work accomplished in 2018.”

Overall, the Cayman Islands has seen 21 consecutive months of stayover arrival growth.

Combining air and cruise totals, the Cayman Islands welcomed 2,384,058 visitors, which was an 11.05 percent increase over the calendar year in 2017.

“The Department of Tourism goal of source market diversification coupled with the ongoing development of new routes to the destination and innovative marketing plans has continued to drive the record-breaking successes for the Cayman Islands and will continue in 2019,” said Cayman Islands Director of Tourism Rosa Harris.  “Noting that aviation is vital to driving visitation our global team remains committed to increasing capacity and are particularly excited to be officially opening the Denver, Colorado route in March with Cayman Airways.  As a gateway for the West Coast, we look forward to welcoming many new visitors from Colorado and new cities from the United States in 2019 to add to another year of success for the Cayman Islands.” 

And the destination continues to heat up, with new projects on the way led by the highly-anticipated Mandarin Oriental, Grand Cayman and the Grand Hyatt Grand Cayman.

The post Cayman Islands Tourism Growing at Torrid Pace appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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