By the Caribbean Journal staff

Club Med is planning a significant new all-inclusive resort project in the Dominican Republic.

The Club Med Michès Playa Esmeralda will be the first outpost of the company’s Exclusive Collection in the Americas, in the heart of the northeastern coast of the island.

The 93-acre project is Club Med’s biggest project in the Caribbean in four decades, part of a special premium category for the company.

The beach in MIches.

Indeed, the resort will be the new flagship of the Exclusive Collection, Club Med said in a statement.

Now, Club Med has offered the first look at the new all-inclusive resort, which will be built across four boutique “villages,” each with a unique identity.

A room at the family-friendly Explorers Cove wing.

The villages will include the Caribbean Paradise, a garden-filled wing; Emerald Jungle, which will focus on wellness (and include Club Med’s Zen Oasis adults-only concept); Explorer Cove, which will focus on family-friendly activities; and the Archipelago village, which will be an adults-only area with suites featuring private pools and outdoor showers, right on the beach.

The company said the property would be designed around an “eco-chic” atmosphere, devoting its “design, activities and elements to the surrounding region.”

A rendering of a room at the Archipelago village.

“For almost 10 years, our team searched to find the perfect new land in the Caribbean to introduce to our guests. Miches was a natural fit – we found many locals, and even our own employees in Punta Cana, would spend their free days visiting this unspoiled location,” said Xavier Mufraggi, CEO of Club Med North America and the Caribbean. “We decided to explore this area for ourselves to see what made it so special. Little did we know how remarkable it would be: from its unparalleled beaches and breathtaking sights of whales swimming off the coast of Samaná Bay to the famous peak and swing of Montaña Redonda and the cascading waters of El Limón – Miches had it all.”

A rendering of a room at the Caribbean Paradise village at the new Dominican Republic all-inclusive.

The new-build retreat is slated to debut in December 2019.

For more, visit the Club Med Miches.

— CJ

The post Club Med Opening New Dominican Republic All-Inclusive appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Airbnb has been making major inroads in the Caribbean — and one destination is seeing bigger growth than the others, according to newly released data from the sharing economy giant.

The leader? The island of St Thomas, which topped the Caribbean rankings for 2018, followed by San Juan, Puerto Rico.

St Thomas, the tourism hub of the United States Virgin Islands, saw a 600 percent increase in bookings over the last year on the home-sharing platform, led by Charlotte Amalie.

“We have been working diligently to rebuild and revamp our tourism product, and we are encouraged that our efforts to increase overnight visitors to the United States Virgin Islands are bearing fruit,” said USVI Commissioner of Tourism Beverly Nicholson-Doty.

The rankings are based on internal Airbnb data as of September 2018.

They measured future guest bookings for the upcoming peak tourist season for November 2018 to March 2019 in the Caribbean, with only destinations with a minimum of 100 guest arrivals making the cut.

Those projections were compared to future guest bookings for the period in 2017-2018.

It’s yet another example of what has been an admirable tourism recovery for the greater US Virgin Islands in the wake of last year’s crippling hurricanes.

Indeed, the island has seen a rebirth in its aviation network and airports (with new airports on the way), while hotels and villas have also bounced back significantly.

“With the return of traditional hotels, resorts and villas – along with the strong growth of sharing platforms – we are pleased with this validation by Airbnb,” Nicholson-Doty said in a statement.

The Bolongo Bay in St Thomas.

Of course, the island’s hotels have returned in strong numbers, from boutique hotels like The Fred in Frederiksted to the signature Buccaneer in St Croix to the iconic Bolongo Bay in St Thomas.

— CJ

The post St Thomas Is Airbnb’s Top Caribbean Destination Right Now appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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