Posts Tagged ‘luxury’

Steve

Wish You Were Here

Photo credit: Jade Mountain

Marveling at the natural masterpiece that is St. Lucia‘s Pitons World Heritage Site from the comfort of your very own private infinity pool in one of the sublime sanctuaries at Jade Mountain.

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Steve

Uncommon Envy: New Spa at Christopher Hotel, St. Barts

Courtesy Christopher Hotel

Back on Saturday, I mentioned that we’d soon share details on affordable hotel options in super-swanky St. Barts. With rates starting at 300 euros (about US$400) per night, the stylish Christopher Hotel may not qualify as reasonably-priced for some, but it’s certainly a place just about anyone would aspire to check out.
Barely two years old (the first guests were welcomed in December 2009), the Christopher boasts an absolutely idyllic tropical location, with a lush, flowering landscape fronting a rocky shoreline in Pointe Milou along St. Barts’ north coast. It’s a quiet, secluded area a good 10-15 minutes outside of the main town, Gustavia.

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Steve

Jade Mountain’s Chocolate Festival Promises Decadent Dessert Fun

Photo credit: Jade Mountain

Cacao is not commonly seen as a prominent cash crop in the Caribbean. After all, sugar was king here for hundreds of years. Tobacco, cotton and coffee were even grown in various places at varying times.
Chocolate? Doesn’t that all come from Africa?
Indeed, a good 90% of all the world’s cacao is cultivated in West Africa, but the earliest evidence of cacao seeds being turned into the types of chocolate treats we enjoy today can be traced to Central and South America, so it wasn’t much of a stretch for the tradition to extend into the Caribbean. You can find (and taste) evidence of the Caribbean’s chocolate culinary tradition in a number of destinations, including Belize, Grenada, Martinique, and Trinidad & Tobago.

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Steve

Taste of the Caribbean: Barbados’ Other Best Spot for Lobster

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Remember last week when we told you about the very best place to enjoy lobster in Barbados? As I noted in the story, Lobster Alive holds the title IMO because the spiny guys served there are the freshest you can find anywhere in Barbados. For most lobster-lovers, that distinction alone provides more than enough reason not to stray anywhere else, despite the rustic beach shack motif that gives Lobster Alive part of its charm.
But let’s say you’re in Barbados with your in-laws…who want you out. Maybe it’s your first business trip with a difficult new boss or client. Either way, if it’s important to you that the restaurant itself make as lofty an impression as the fare it serves up, then the Fish Pot is the place to go.

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Steve

On-Site Barbados: Where to Go to Enjoy Fine Rum

The Bar at The House/SBPR

As the birthplace of rum, Barbados is without question one of the best places in the world to enjoy the sweet stuff. Rumshops here are legendary, offering more than just a place to drink, but rather a warm, open introduction to authentic Bajan lifestyle. Sit at a Rumshop for a while with an open mind and an open wallet to keep the drinks coming, and you’re sure to get a crash-course in local culture, politics, sports, sexuality, and other assorted and extremely funny old talk. It’s an experience not to be missed on any trip to Barbados.
Sometimes, though, your taste for rum, and where you might want to enjoy it, may skew toward a more upscale experience.

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Steve

On-Site Martinique: Cap Est’s 5-Star Flat Screen TV’s

Flat Screen TV at Cap Est Lagoon Resort & Spa/SBPR

If you’re ever lucky enough to stay at a five-star resort in some windswept Caribbean paradise, the in-room TV will likely be the least of your concerns. That’d go double if you’re lucky enough to find yourself at the fabulous Cap Est Lagoon Resort & Spa in Martinique. From the minute it opened in December 2002, this exclusive Relais & Châteaux property has been Martinique’s premier vacation address for luxury and pampering far more rewarding than any Must-See TV programming.
There are only 50 suites here, each boasting a marvelous ocean view and stylish, colorful decor combining Caribbean and Far East accents with the finest in modern conveniences.

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Steve

Wish You Were Here

Jason Pratt via Flickr

Anchored off the coast of Ronde Island, Grenada. One of the eight satellite islets that comprise Grenada’s section of the Grenadines, this 2,000-acre private island is available for sale at $100 million.

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