Puerto Rico has its first-ever Hyatt Regency Resort.

Hyatt Hotels has completed its highly-anticipated transformation of the former Gran Melia resort in Puerto Rico, debuting the new Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico.

The property, which underwent a multimillion-dollar overhaul, is comprised entirely of suites and bungalow-style units. (The resort had been open under the temporary name The Resort at Coco Beach since August).

There are a total of 480 guest roooms, 93 suites, five club suites and a high-profile presidential suite.

It’s home to five dining concepts, from authentic Puerto Rican eats to Asian fusion, with amenities like four massive swimming pools — highlighted by what Hyatt’s calling the largest “lagoon-style” pool in Puerto Rico.

That’s along with a 12,000-square-foot “Rainforest Spa,” itself in the midst of an estimated $2 million renovation, along with 40,000 square feet of meeting space.

The resort’s most notable amenity, though, is its golf offering, which consists of a pair of Tom Kite-designed championship championship golf courses, one of which is home to the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open.

It’s being managed by fast-growing Aimbrdige Hospitality, which has been steadily growing its Caribbean footprint this year, particularly in American territories like Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

“Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico was designed to deliver high-touch service for a seamless, stress-free experience,” said Dave Johnson, chairman and CEO at Aimbridge Hospitality. “We aim to center on the guest’s experience and look forward to providing them with the ultimate escape.”

The property, which was purchased over the summer by Monarch Alternative Capital, is set in a 946-acre peninsula in Puerto Rico that will be renamed “Grand Reserve.”

Indeed, the peninsula could soon to be home to a massive new $1.5 billion tourism development announced at the same time as the property’s acquisition.

“We are excited with the opening of this important hotel for Puerto Rico under the Hyatt Regency brand,” said Carla Campos, executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company. “Tourism development is a key driver of economic growth and a priority for the Government of Puerto Rico. The Island offers highly competitive incentive packages and benefits, which makes us an ideal destination for investors, developers, and hotel management leaders such as Aimbridge Hospitality. We’re looking forward to all that is to come for the future of Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico.”

The new Hyatt Regency, Hyatt’s first true resort on the island, joins an existing portfolio of Hyatt-branded hotels including Hyatt House San Juan, Hyatt Place Manati, Hyatt Place San Juan Bayamon and Hyatt Place San Juan City Center.

For more, visit the Hyatt Regency Puerto Rico.

The post Hyatt Regency Resort Opens in Puerto Rico appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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American Airlines has officially begun its first-ever flights from New York to Georgetown in Guyana. 

The new nonstop flights will operate daily between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Guyana’s Cheddi Jagan International Airport. 

While much of the demand will likely be filled in the shorter term by the Guyanese diaspora living in the northeast, it’s hoped that the flights could boost Guyana’s burgeoning tourism sector — which has been having an excellent year in terms of stayover tourist arrivals in 2019.

The New York launch comes a year after American Airlines launched its inaugural service from Miami to Georgetown. 

Guyana, set at the northern tip of Southern America, is the seat of CARICOM, the Caribbean Community. 

— CJ

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Anguilla is one of the region’s buzziest luxury destinations — and if you’re heading there for the winter tourist season, there’s one great way to get there. 

The Caribbean’s leading luxury airline has relaunched its service to the island of Anguilla. 

Tradewind Aviation, which operates scheduled flights to some of the Caribbean’s most exclusive destinations (along with charter service across the region), has relaunched its flights from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Anguilla. 

From now through Jan. 5, the flights will be operating seven days per week. 

From Jan. 6-April 13, 2020, the Anguilla flights will be operating four times each week, with round-trip service on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Monday. 

Tradewind, known for its luxe Pilatus PC12 service to destinations like St Barth, Nevis and Antigua, is unquestionably the best way to get to Anguilla, meaning travelers can cut out long immigration lines and waits at the ferry terminal and instead arrive in style directly at Anguilla’s Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport. 

Tradewind operates a VIP lounge on the second floor of San Juan’s Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, meaning travelers can arrive in Puerto Rico, check in and simply take the elevator directly to the boarding area and lounge. 

And Tradewind’s broad network of interline agreements, from airlines like United and British Airways, mean you can book your Anguilla itineraries on a single ticket — and check your bags all the way through Anguilla. 

Even better, Tradewind recently signed an interline agreement with American Airlines, too.

Anguilla has long had one of the Caribbean’s most opulent hotel products, from the iconic Cap Juluca to the Four Seasons to what is now a pair of CuisinArt-branded resorts. 

It’s a hotel product that continues to grow, from the new Relais & Chateaux Quintessence Hotel to the recently-expanded Malliouhana, which just added 11 new beachfront suites, four new garden units and a two-bedroom villa to its portfolio on Meads Bay Beach. 

But Anguilla’s maritime arrival experience has often been less than luxurious, with excessive waits and processing times at the ferry terminal — making Tradewind the obvious choice for Anguilla’s luxury travelers. 

The relaunch of Tradewind is another boost for a destination that has seen record-breaking arrival numbers so far in 2019 — totals that actually surpassed the island’s previous all-time-high, set in 2017 before Hurricane Irma. 

And while its hotels are impressive, the ultimate way to experience Anguilla is at one of its ultra-luxe villas, from Nevaeh on Long Bay to the sleek Tequila Sunrise in Dropsey Bay. 

For more, visit Tradewind Aviation. 

— CJ

The post How to Get to Anguilla This Winter appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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A new hotel project in Turks and Caicos is moving forward, Caribbean Journal has learned.

The Bight Hotel, the brainchild of development firm EA Group, has received zoning and outline planning permission and will soon be announcing its hotel operator.

It was first announced at the beginning of this year.

The property, set on the edge of Grace Bay Beach in the Bight Settlement of Providenciales, will be a residential hotel, in keeping with the most popular trend on the island.

“We designed the Bight Hotel to be authentic, experiential, and bohemian with the longstanding primary objective that it be a great investment opportunity,” said Ryan Jones, Developer at EA Group.

The hotel will feature 66 units and a total of 89 keys, along with a restaurant, a bar, a coffee shop, a kids’ club and an event space-cinema.

Turks and Caicos Sotheby’s International Realty has been tapped to market the real estate at the project.

The firm said 10 reservations were already in place at the project, which it said fulfilled a “longstanding gap in the Turks and Caicos real estate market for an affordable, investment-driven ownership opportunity.”

— CJ

The post Turks and Caicos’ “Bight” Hotel Project Moving Forward appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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