It was more than a bar. 

For decades, Iggies Beach Bar was the spot on St Thomas, the place where the locals went and the guests stayed, where everyone of every stripe and spirit made pilgrimage. 

And then came “Irmaria,” as they call it now, and the signature bar at the Bolongo Bay Beach Resort was no more. 

In the early days after the storms, though, in a sea of blue tarps, there was one place left on the island for cold ones and Painkillers and sanctuary – the Lobster Grille, Bolongo’s main restaurant at the edge of the pool. 

“Right after the storm everything was a tarp,” said Richard Doumeng, whose family has owned and operated the Bolongo Bay Beach Resort for nearly a half century. “This was the only place.” 

And, as the Doumeng family, from Richard’s wife Katarina, the resort’s sales and marketing director to Richard’s brother, Paul, the general manager) has done for decades, through storms — and, more recently, a pandemic — it adapted.

And so, the “new” Iggies was born: Iggies Oasis. 

The elevated, two-level bar is perched above the pool that hangs over the 75-room Bolongo Bay’s beach, housed under the two gazebos that are part of the original resort property from the 1960s. 

But it’s much of the same team, with the same colorful cocktails and friendly service, with the same cast of characters like Rocky and Miriam. 

“That’s Iggies,” says Richard’s son Mikael Doumeng, who leads the property’s social media department. “The locals come and they feel like guests, and the guests feel like locals.”

And then there’s Iggies’ food, from the best fish tacos in St Thomas to steaks and sandwiches and, naturally, Painkillers, now serving food from the early morning to 11 at night. 

And one of the cores of the original Iggies is back, too: live music. 

Even amid the current realities of travel, Iggies manages five nights each week of live entertainment, Richard says — set at the kind of outdoor, breezy space that’s particularly prized right now. 

And while the original Iggies will soon begin the process of reconstruction (part of a broader initiative the Doumengs say will be one of the most ambitious sustainability projects in the area), its essence is alive and well just above the pool, drawing in the same pilgrims and beach lovers, the guests and the locals alike, just as it did before the storm, and just as it did right after.

“It was just natural that we call it the oasis,” says Katarina Doumeng. 

For more visit the Bolongo Bay Beach Resort. 

The post In St Thomas, the Rebirth of a Beach Bar appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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St Vincent and the Grenadines has announced a series of new protocols for travelers marked by a new mandatory quarantine requirement. 

All travelers from “high-risk” countries, including the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, must undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days in a Tourism Authority-approved quarantine hotel at their own cost. 

All travelers must arrive with proof of a fully paid reservation — in other words, if you want to travel to St Vincent, you’ll need to plan for a stay at your hotel of at least two weeks. 

So what does “quarantine hotel” mean? 

Effectively it means travelers will have to remain at their hotel — with dozens of accommodations already approved for that purpose, from the luxe Mandarin Oriental, Canouan to the Palm Island resort, among others. 

That is in addition to the country’s existing requirement of proof of a negative PCR test within 72 hours before arrival n the country. 

Travelers must also be retested a second time between day four and day seven of their quarantine. 

The aim of the new measures is the “safe entry of travelers to St Vincent and the Grenadines in a manner that reduces the risk of the importation and subsequent transmission” of the virus in the country, according to a government statement. 

For more, visit St Vincent and the Grenadines. 

— CJ

The post St Vincent and the Grenadines Tightens Travel Rules appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association says it is urging the government of Canada to reconsider its new testing rules for return travel to the country.

The rule, which took effect Jan. 7, requires all residents and travelers entering Canada from the Caribbean to provide proof of a negative PCR test before their planned departure to Canada. 

The move “will strain already stressed Caribbean public health systems and cause further damage to the region’s economy,” the CHTA said in a statement. 

“This policy is creating challenges and places even greater economic hardship on the people and governments of the Caribbean and on the thousands of Canadians currently in the Caribbean who are scheduled to return home in the coming weeks,” said CHTA’s Acting CEO and Director General Vanessa Ledesma.

The organization said that the “mere announcement” of the policy had resulted in a “rash of cancellations” by Canadians who had been scheduled to travel to the region. 

“As the policy takes effect, we anticipate many stranded Canadians being unable to return home due to their inability to get tests in the required time,” Ledesma said.

The organization said it naturally recognized that the policy was intended to mitigate the spread of the virus in Canada. 

“Our commitment to the health and safety of residents and travelers is best demonstrated by the COVID-19 protocols and containment measures which are in place throughout the Caribbean, and the thousands of tourism employees who have undergone health safety training conducted by CHTA and its health safety partners, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Caribbean Tourism Organization,” she said. 

“On behalf of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association and the 33 National Hotel and Tourism Associations throughout the region, which are part of our Federation, we respectfully request reconsideration of this policy for the Caribbean,” CHTA said in an official submission to Canada’s Minister of Transport Marc Garneau and shared with Canadian High Commissions and Consulates across the region.

The post Caribbean Hotels Urging Canada to Reconsider New Testing Policy appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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