“Hamilton, you are back!” 

Under a sunbeam on the water’s edge in Charlestown, Nevis, historian Harvey Hendrickson reads his ode to a still-shrouded sculpture on the lawn. 

A few minutes later, the bronze is revealed, and Alexander Hamilton is finally back in the place of his birth nearly 257 years after his family moved to St Croix. 

It was in Nevis that Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the United States, must have dreamt and aspired and “as a consequence, achieved great things,” Nevis Premier Mark Brantley said. 

Hamilton, whose towering life returned to the public consciousness with the launch of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-sweeping musical in 2015, was born on the Eastern Caribbean island in 1757, spending his early years in Nevis and then periods of his youth in St Croix and Statia. 

While his birth abroad in Nevis precluded him from being eligible to serve as president of the United States, Hamilton’s extraordinary career included being the first secretary of the treasury, founder of the Federalist Party, founder of the US Coast Guard and arguably the father of the United States’ financial system, among other achievements. 

Today, Hamilton’s birthplace is a centerpiece of downtown historic Charlestown, Nevis‘ capital, home to a museum and, on the second floor, the site of the Nevis Island Assembly. 

And Hamilton remains a major draw for the island, which has seen a wave of new tourism interest driven by the reinvigorated public curiosity about Hamilton; the island’s top resort, the Four Seasons Nevis, has an Alexander Suite, for example; there’s even an Alexander Hamilton Rum on sale in the museum shop. 

Because it all truly did begin in tiny Nevis, and Hamilton’s Caribbean contribution was the subject of a thoughtful ceremony at the Alexander Hamilton Museum in Charlestown this past weekend, one that included a moving appearance by Hamilton re-enactor Scott MacScott. 

“We, as I like to say, must agree that the United States owes Nevis a debt of gratitude,” Brantley said. 

In a world where statues and their place are the subject of sometimes tumultuous conversations, the bigger purpose of the Hamilton work  is “not to glorify but to recognize the impact that individuals from small island states can have,” said Jahnel Nisbett, director of the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society. 

The idea is for visitors to come to learn about Hamilton “and leave knowing more about Nevis itself and its rich history,” she said. 

More broadly, the hope is to inspire young people in Nevis “of the contribution of a Nevisian, that an island this size could have contributed so much to a country the size of the United States,” Brantley said. 

The life-size bronze statue, donated by Robin Sommers, is part of a series of statues by American sculptor Benjamin Victor, whose first Hamilton statue debuted at the US Coast Guard Academy in 2018. 

Hamilton, set on the grass in front of his onetime home, is portrayed as a younger man to represent his youth in the Caribbean, carrying a scroll – a symbol of his skills and knowledge, said Nicole Scholet, president of the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society. 

The series will also include statues in Statia and St Croix, Hamilton’s other stops in the Caribbean. 

And now in Nevis, Hamilton is back, peering out at the sea and the streets of Charlestown, the place that by the caprice of history drove him to one day help forge the American Republic.  

“It’s a welcome addition,” Brantley said. “It reminds us that we are never limited by the station of our birth, only by the extent of our ambition and imagination.” 

The post Alexander Hamilton Is Back in Nevis  appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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Every time you come back, you feel better. 

Maybe you’ve just spent a morning snorkeling the 1,000 Steps, or a day windsurfing at Lac Bay. 

But the moment you punch in the passcode and walk through the door at Bamboo Bonaire, you feel something. 

It’s not easy for a tiny hotel to cultivate that.

It’s a boutique hotel that’s been around for just over a decade, hidden away in plain sight just off the western coastal road, steps from Captain Don’s and Buddy Dive.

But you’d never know it. Because it feels like its own dimension. 

There are just 13 sleekly-designed rooms here, most of them cottage-style, some of them with their own private patios with magnesium plunge pools or jacuzzis. 

And they’re all wonderfully, deliciously, indulgently quiet. And that’s the biggest story here: the almost impossibly vast sense of tranquility. 

With the high walls and the breeze and the Bonaire sky, you almost feel like you’re somewhere in the American desert — surrounded by cacti somewhere in New Mexico or Arizona. (This is Bonaire, of course, so you do actually have cacti on the other side of the wall.) 

It’s a lovely, ethereal feeling, that you’re in a unique place in space and time – and that’s precisely what Bamboo is trying to achieve.

This is an oasis and a sanctuary, whether you’re a honeymooning couple or on a weeklong aquatic adventure (Bamboo even has its own partnership with VIP Diving, meaning you get 24/7 unlimited tanks on property — just pack up and head to your favorite dive site in Bonaire’s Marine Park). 

There are the little touches — my name was painted on a wooden sign above the lintel of the door, or the fact that every room has a kitchen or kitchenette and a outdoor shower. 

And then there are the bigger touches: a lovely common area that feels like your own private spa, with a pool and living-room style loungers and a hot tub; a terrific boutique spa and, happily, one of the top restaurants in the Caribbean, CHEFS Bonaire. 

It’s not easy to classify it — it’s a boutique hotel, but it’s got all the amenities of a far larger resort; it’s certainly a wellness hotel, but it easily transcends that category. It’s not dive hotel, but you get all of the same needs filled with far more luxury. 

And then there’s that marvelous soundtrack again: shaking palm leaves and desert breezes and wooden chimes. 

This isn’t like any other resorts in Bonaire, and it isn’t really like anywhere else in the Caribbean. 

It’s the kind of place you’ll just keep coming back to. 

For more, visit Bamboo Bonaire. 

The post A Secret Caribbean Oasis in Bonaire  appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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Wyndham is adding new all-inclusive resorts in the Riviera Maya of Mexico, part of a new, broad alliance with Spanish firm Palladium Hotel Group. 

That will include the Grand Palladium Colonial Resort & Spa, Grand Palladium Kantenah Resort & Spa and Grand Palladium White Sand Resort & Spa, along with the TRS Yucatan Hotel, all of which are in the Riviera Maya on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. 

Wyndham, in the midst of a large all-inclusive expansion, is adding a total of 14 all-inclusive properties in the Palladium Hotel Group portfolio in destinations including including Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Brazil.

Later this summer, Wyndham will also add the Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa near Cancun; two TRS resorts in Cap Cana; a Grand Palladium resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; and the Grand Palladium Jamaica and Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton in Jamaica. 

All of the properties will be joining Wyndham’s Registry Collection, under a long-term agreement “leveraging Wyndham’s extensive distribution,” the company said. 

The move will eventually bring Wydham’s total all-inclusive count to 26 hotels in the hemisphere. 

“Expanding Registry Collection Hotels continues Wyndham’s global growth in the luxury space and grants more travelers access to new, preeminent experiences in some of the most remarkable destinations,” said Geoffrey A. Ballotti, president and chief executive officer of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. “These unique, all-inclusive hotels are designed to ensure that guests – whether redeeming Wyndham Rewards points or booking directly – will enjoy an elevated vacation.”

The Grand Palladium brand is focused on family-friendly vacations, while the newer TRS brand covers adults-only stays. 

As the all-inclusive space continues to get more competitive, more and more hotel brands are joining forces, most notably Marriott’s alliance with Blue Diamond and, more recently, with Playa.

For more, visit Wydham’s Registry Collection. 

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