The Caribbean’s Best Beach Bar – 2014

By: - December 24th, 2014

It’s one of the great pleasures of the Caribbean: a rum cocktail under the sun, toes in the sand, fresh-caught seafood on your plate.

The Caribbean didn’t invent the beach bar, but it perfected it. And it’s the essence of why people come to the Caribbean.

So you can imagine that this was one of the most difficult decisions we make each year: choosing the Caribbean’s best beach bar.

For restaurateurs, creating the perfect beach bar isn’t a science — it’s an art, and while there are terrific beach bars across the region, there are a small number that truly nail that perfect cocktail of ambience, food, drink and location.

Last year, it was the venerable Soggy Dollar Bar in the British Virgin Islands that took CJ’s Beach Bar crown, but this year the award goes to a truly spectacular venue: Le Petibonum in Martinique.

martinique

This bar and restaurant in the beach town of Le Carbet near the north of the island is more of a fantasy than a bar: world-class, gourmet cuisine; inspired cocktails and a superb rum selection; and a refined but oh-so-relaxed ambience, all with the sand right beneath your feet.

It’s stewarded by Guy Ferdinand, the Martinican chef who understands the art of hospitality about as well as anyone — someone whose desire to make his guests happy is infectious. And his food is really that good — creative, exquisite, fresh fare that will keep you coming back again and again.

ferdinand

Above: Chef Guy Ferdinand

We’re proud to give our Caribbean Beach Bar of the Year award to Martinique’s Le Petibonum.

ma2

Congratulations!

— CJ

Beach

Barbados Central Bank Challenges Standard and Poor’s Downgrade

Above: Barbados (CJ Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff The Central Bank of Barbados is challenging Standard and Poor’s recent downgrade of the island’s sovereign credit rating. In a statement released this week, the bank said the downgrade was “without justification.” “The current performance of the Barbados economy is better than a year ago in […]

Beach

New Life For Eastern Airlines

Above: an Eastern Airlines plane By the Caribbean Journal staff A legendary aviation brand is back. Eastern Airlines, once a global brand and the pride of Miami’s airport, has returned with a new look and new management after more than two decades. The newly relaunched carrier will initially begin life as a charter airline, following […]

Beach

Three New Reasons to Visit Grand Cayman This Season

By Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon CJ Travel Editor Grand Cayman has long been one of the most popular Caribbean destinations but this season there are several new reasons – beyond Stingray City and those famous Seven Mile sands – to visit the 76-square mile Paradise. Check out these three new options for where to stay, play and […]

St Lucia’s Anse Chastanet Debuts New “Casuarina” Suite

 Above: the new Casuarina suite By the Caribbean Journal staff St Lucia’s Anse Chastanet resort has unveiled a newly-rebranded “Casuarina” suite at the property. The suite includes a new 160-square-foot pool surrounded by a 135-square-foot deck. “The entire unit was redone and re-branded with a brand new bathroom as well as a huge walk-in closet,” […]

Dominica’s Big Health Plans

 Above: Dominica (CJ Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff Dominica has big plans in the country’s health sector, according to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit. Five years after the country made health care free for those under 18 and over 60 years of age, the country is on a new health push. “In this new term […]

Puma Names Rihanna Creative Director

 Above: the new Casuarina suite By the Caribbean Journal staff St Lucia’s Anse Chastanet resort has unveiled a newly-rebranded “Casuarina” suite at the property. The suite includes a new 160-square-foot pool surrounded by a 135-square-foot deck. “The entire unit was redone and re-branded with a brand new bathroom as well as a huge walk-in closet,” […]

USVI Lawmakers Reject HOVENSA Deal

 Above: the HOVENSA refinery By the Caribbean Journal staff In what could be a crushing blow to the US Virgin Islands’ economy, the territory’s Senate has voted against the approval of a deal to purchase the shuttered HOVENSA refinery on St Croix. The Senate rejected the Operating Agreement agreed in principle by the government and […]