caribbean: island by island
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Bahamas An archipelago of about 700 islands east of Florida, the Bahamas offers a holiday to suit all tastes, from lively beach resorts on New Providence and Grand Bahama to hideaway hotels on the ‘Out Islands’ for couples who want to get away from it all. What’s new: Starting March 2015, British Airways’ (
batraveltrade.com) Sunday fl ight from Heathrow terminates in Nassau instead of going on to Providenciales, adding extra seat capacity to the Bahamian capital. The airline has fi ve direct fl ights a week to Nassau, departing Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Baha Mar (
bahamar.com) is a $3.5 billion resort opening on Cable Beach in Nassau in spring 2015. The complex will be home to a variety of hotels including a 700-room Grand Hyatt, 200-room Rosewood and the giant 1,000-room Baha Mar Casino and Hotel. The complex will also have an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus golf course, 2,000-seat performing arts centre, two spas and more than 30 restaurants and 14 pools.
Hot tip: The fi rst phase of a $19m refurb at the 694-room Meliá Nassau Beach (
melianassaubeach.com) completes this month, with all work scheduled to be fi nished in early 2016. It will be part of the new Baha Mar complex.
honeymooners for its 365 white-sand beaches (one for every day of the year) but also its upscale resorts and world-class sailing. What’s new: Rosewood Jumby Bay (jumbybayresort. com), on a small island off the coast of Antigua, has an exclusive new beachfront estate called Lazy Lizard, with eight suites set around a free-form swimming pool with a dining pavilion in the middle. Designed as a private retreat, it has a kitchen, indoor and outdoor living areas, a tennis court and fi tness centre, and comes with a private chef, butler and housekeeper.
Hot tip: D-Boat (
dboatantigua.com) takes the award for the island’s (and possible the Caribbean’s) most unusual bar and restaurant – it’s in a 1974-built oil tanker moored fi ve minutes off Maiden Island and accessed by shuttle boat from the nearby harbour.
Aruba One of the Dutch ABC islands (the others are Bonaire and Curaçao), Aruba is in the southern Caribbean just 15 miles off the coast of Venezuela and combines Dutch style with a Latin vibe. The beaches are a big attraction, but so too is the arid, rocky landscape full of cacti. What’s new: Riu Hotels and Resorts (
riu.com) has
“Mahogany Hill is a new $23m boutique hotel due to open in New Providence, Bahamas, by February 2015 with 33 rooms”
mahogany-house.com
Barbados The most easterly Caribbean island, Barbados is also the most visited by British holidaymakers, who love its ‘Little England’ feel, its calm waters, white-sand beaches and ample supply of well-priced all-inclusive resort hotels. What’s new: Sandals Barbados (
sandals.co.uk) is re-opening on January 28 2015 after a
acquired the Westin Aruba and will reopen it this winter as Riu Palace Antillas, an adults-only all-inclusive resort, after a £35.5m renovation. The property will have a buffet plus three
specialty restaurants, bars, lounges and patisserie café. It is next to the Riu Palace, which closes April 13 to July 11, 2015 for renovation. Both properties are operated exclusively by Thomson Holidays and First Choice.
Hot tip: A new Hard Rock Hotel (
hardrockhotels.com) opens late 2015 near the ‘old city’ of Oranjestad, the capital. The hotel will offer multiple restaurants and a casino.
sellingtravel.co.uk
Above left: Fresh from its refurbishment, the Malliouhana Hotel and Spa Right: Bequia Beach Hotel, St Vincent
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