Posts Tagged ‘review’

Patrick
Patrick

Deal of the Week: 35% Off Caribbean Luxury at Mount Cinnamon Resort, Grenada

Mount Cinnamon Hotel balconies, Grenada by Patrick Bennett

When I recently checked into the Mount Cinnamon Resort on Grenada, it was at the end of perhaps my favorite Caribbean travel adventure ever: an extended sailing trip through the unparalleled beauty of the Grenadines. Talk about a tough act to follow. I couldn’t help but wonder how this resort could possibly hope to be anything more than a footnote on what was already a magnificent journey?
But then I made the short drive from St. George’s Harbour to the end of Grand Anse Bay and actually saw the property — it was love at first site.

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Nov. 29th, 2011 | Tags: , , | No Comments »
Steve
Steve

Taste of the Caribbean: Experience La Dolce Vida at Tapas on the Boardwalk, Barbados

Entrance to Tapas, Barbados/SBPR

The Boardwalk in Christ Church is one of the great places to hang out in Barbados, especially if you go at dusk as I did recently. Here, at that time, anyone engaged in the simple act of strolling can gain a unique perspective on daily Bajan life. Moms and dads push strollers. Uniformed school kids laugh on their way home. Old men cast lines, suck teeth, curse and repeat, while an endless stream of joggers pass by. It’s the kind of place that begs the visitor to sit, enjoy a drink, and make friends. This is where Tapas comes in…

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Nov. 28th, 2011 | Tags: , , , | No Comments »
Steve
Steve

On-Site Nassau: Uncommonly Cool Compass Point Resort

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

For anyone traveling to Nassau, the prospect of finding accommodations at the type of special hotels that cater to our special style of travel can be daunting to say the least. The place is just so synonymous with humongous, one-size-fits-all resorts (with more on the way) that it’s easy to think you might be better off somewhere else.
That thinking, however, would be wrong, as anyone who’s ever happened along Compass Point surely knows.

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Nov. 22nd, 2011 | Tags: , , | No Comments »
Steve
Steve

Martinique’s La Suite Villa Raises Hospitality to an Art Form

Photo courtesy the Martinique Promotion Bureau/CMT USA

It’s not often that you’ll find original works of fine art produced by renowned artists adorning hotels in the Caribbean. Even when you do, the price you’ll pay to stay at properties showcasing such art makes buying the works themselves a better investment.
At La Suite Villa, though, you get the best of both worlds.

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Sep. 29th, 2011 | Tags: , , , | No Comments »
Steve
Steve

On-Site Grand Cayman: For Authentic Caribbean Hospitality, The Retreat Cannot Be Beat

Main House at The Retreat/SBPR

I like posh and fancy hotels as much as the next guy, but when I travel to the Caribbean, I much prefer to stay with friends and family. The Caribbean is home for me, after all, so while room service, seaside spa treatments and other fancy bits of pampering are nice, I’m generally happiest when my accommodations more closely match the trappings of my childhood.
That said, The Retreat at Lookout in Grand Cayman is one of the happiest places I’ve stayed in the past couple years.
I found this quaint, family-owned/operated property while driving around the island looking for a place to stay.

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Sep. 8th, 2011 | Tags: , | 2 Comments »
Steve
Steve

On-Site St. Thomas: What it’s Like to Stay at Bolongo Bay

More of that great Bolongo Bay beach/SBPR

Remember a few weeks ago when I set out to discover the soul of St. Thomas, that decidedly well-traveled sister island to my beloved St. Croix? I had high hopes of discovering the types of unique experiences, unexplained attractions and unmitigated “locals-only” fun that would support my theory that the uncommon exists in all Caribbean destinations, no matter how touristy. Over the course of the past year and change I had already successfully proven my theory in such popular ports as Grand Cayman, Aruba, Montego Bay and Grand Bahama Island. Surely St. Thomas would yield similar success, right…?!
Yeah, umm… no.

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Jul. 19th, 2011 | Tags: , , | No Comments »
Patrick
Patrick

On-Site Montserrat: St. Patrick’s Day Hangovers Are No Match for the Angels of Olveston House

St. Patrick's Day Celebrations, Montserrat

It was still dark outside when, at 5am, the alarm on my phone sharply shoved me awake. Actually, “awake” may be too generous a term for the state I found myself in. My brain sloshed about in my head. The walls of my room seemed to carelessly slouch against one another. And my stomach, usually a strong ally on long nights, was cowering in my darkest recesses, shell-shocked by the punishment I’d put it through from the early hours of the previous evening all the way up to just an hour or two ago.
Montserratian bush rum. We’d been such good partners in crime the night before.

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Mar. 17th, 2011 | Tags: , , , | No Comments »