Aruba is preparing to reopen its borders to international travel as early as the end of next month — and the island’s leading resort is making preparations for the potential relaunch of tourism.  

For years, the adults-only Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort on Eagle Beach was the island’s most innovative hotel, from iPad check-ins on the way to your room to high-standard air filters in the suites. 

And now the resort is at it again, this time implementing new safety protocols amid the new COVID-19 reality of travel. 

While Aruba remains closed to tourists, the Bucuti & Tara is “open and awaiting guests as they return,” a spokesperson for the resort told Caribbean Journal.

Now, it has revealed how it is adapting its practices to ensure guest safety once the relaunch of Aruba tourism occurs. 

That includes four phases of sanitization: one, using environmentally-safe hospital-grade hydrogen peroxide cleaning solution; an AtmosAir Rainier Summit ionizer treatment that removes bacteria and viruses; a UV-technology portable air and surface sanitizer treatment and what was already part of the hotel’s practices: HEPA air cleaners in every room. 

Once every room is cleaned, it will be sealed with a sticker “sealed with a sticker ensuring guests they are entering a hospital-grade, sterilized room.”

The UV and ionizer treatments alone meant an investment of more than $100,000, according to a statement from the resort. 

On the culinary front, the resort is spacing out its already “uncrowded” table layout, with new regularly-sanitized menus for guests who place their orders from a social-distanced server. 

On the beach, travelers will see sun loungers with 24 feet of space between them. 

“Every day we hear from guests and travel professionals who are ready to return to Bucuti & Tara and we are pleased our new touch-free safety protocols will provide guests with peace of mind so they can focus on what is most important – one another,” shares Owner/CEO Ewald Biemans.  

The carbon-neutral, LEED Gold hotel has always been at the forefront of industry trends — and now it’s setting the standard for Caribbean hotel practices in the COVID age. 

The hotel, which has been open and providing food delivery for locals in recent weeks, has even been housing ICU doctors and nurses who are themselves helping to train resort staff. 

For more, visit Bucuti & Tara.