The Caribbean his heating up for the winter season, and that’s being buoyed by a truly impressive lineup of hotel relaunches, from boutique St Barth stays to venerable Anguilla retreats.
And whether you’re planning a Thanksgiving getaway or looking to sneak in a shoulder season Caribbean vacation, there’s always something new to experience in the Caribbean.
This month’s Places to Vacation takes you from the rebirth of the island of Barbuda, which was almost entirely destroyed in last year’s Hurricane Irma, to one of our favorite iconic Caribbean hotels in Jamaica.
So where are you headed? Here are seven great options for your next Caribbean trip.
The South Coast of Barbados Yes, the Platinum Coast is the island’s capital of luxury and elegance, the heart of Barbados tourism. But there’s another side to Barbados, hip and energetic, bustling and effortlessly cool: the South Coast. At its core? The St Lawrence Gap, one of the Caribbean’s most fun-filled strips, now home to a major new hotel: the transformed Sea Breeze Beach House, an all-inclusive that is setting a new standard of cool for this coast.
Barbuda Wait — Barbuda is back? Well, an island that was pristine before last year’s storms is making its rebound — and at the centerpiece of the Barbuda build-back is the Barbuda Belle, a boutique beachfront escape that was the island’s leading place to stay before Irma — and reopens this month.
Grand Cul de Sac, St Barth There are already so many terrific St Barth hotels that are back on line: Pearl Beach, Les Ilets de la Plage, Le Village … But the autumn season is seeing a hotel renaissance in one particular corner of the island: the turquoise seas of Grand Cul de Sac. This month will have seen the returns of two world-class hotels: Le Sereno and Le Barthelemy, two of the best boutique beach hotels you’ll find, well, anywhere. So what are you waiting for?
The British Virgin Islands While the BVI’s magnificent tourism turnaround has been well-documented in these pages, there’s yet another reason to plan your return to the archipelago: the BVI Food Fete, one of the region’s tastiest culinary festivals that turns the entire BVI into an island-hopping foodie frenzy, from the Anegada Lobster Festival to the Cooper Island Rum Festival.
The Half Moon resort.
Montego Bay, Jamaica There was nowhere more chic in the jet-set days of Caribbean travel — but the iconic hotels that made Montego Bay a world-renowned playground in the first place are even more glamorous and charming today. That’s nowhere more true than the Half Moon resort, the sprawling beach-filled hotel that’s home to spectacular guest rooms, impeccable Jamaican service and one of the Caribbean’s few destination golf courses. Oh, and it’s about to debut a massive transformation project that will take the hotel to an entirely new level.
Belmond Cap Juluca.
Maundays Bay, Anguilla The Caribbean capital of beaches has embarked on its own tourism recovery effort — but no reopening will be more important than the relaunch of the Belmond Cap Juluca, the island’s signature hotel and one of the Caribbean’s halo hotels, which makes its return to Maundays Bay after a sweeping renovation and expansion project, on Nov. 17.
Caravelle Peninsula, Martinique If you’ve been to Martinique before, you know just how diverse a destination this French Caribbean island is. If you haven’t, well, it’s time to start planning your getaway. One of our recent favorites? The lush, under-the-radar Caravelle Peninsula, home to some of the island’s most marvelous views and its hottest boutique hotel, the Half Moon