Barbados to host 2014 Top Gear Festival
Caribbean news. The Top Gear Festival will make its Americas debut on the Caribbean island of Barbados at the newly renovated Bushy Park Circuit on 17-18 May, 2014. Hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, Top Gear Festival Barbados will feature an awe-inspiring line up of cars and driving talent including The Stig, the Top Gear Stunt Team and guest drivers from the world of motorsport and entertainment.
Top Gear Festival Barbados is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors and will include high-speed motor stunts, extreme driving and races. Bushy Park is a short drive from the island’s capital Bridgetown and from the international airport. The official event website and online ticket sales will go live in mid-February at www.topgearfestivalbarbados.com
Jamaica’s Half Moon Resort celebrates diamond anniversary with special offers and opens new cottages
Half Moon, the luxury resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica celebrates its 60th anniversary this year and is giving guests the chance to join in the celebrations by winning treats ranging from private dinners to excursions and all inclusive stays. There will even be the chance to win diamonds.
The resort opened on 27 February, 1954 and the Open Me promotion will run on the 27th day of each month. Special envelopes containing details of special treats will be placed throughout the property giving everyone the chance to win. In addition, travellers who book a five-night stay to include the 27th day of any particular month will pay only $60 (£35) per room, for the night of the 27th.
Plus, Half Moon is also opening three luxurious cottages this year. The cottages offer spacious, individually styled accommodation furnished with luxurious wooden furniture including four-poster beds. They benefit from the addition of drawing rooms – one with a grand piano – sitting rooms, courtyards, private swimming pools and gardens. Prices start from $5,204 (£3,160) per night on a room only basis, based on Cottage 4 which sleeps 12. www.halfmoon.com
CeBlue – new boutique villas in Anguilla
Nestled in the hills surrounding Crocus Bay is CeBlue, a new luxury boutique villa hotel in Anguilla. The property offers eight private villas, ranging from one to five bedrooms, each spaciously arranged along the hills.
All the villas’ have outdoor and indoor dining and living space, a kitchen, a pool, and each bedroom as its own bathroom. Going hand in hand with a luxurious, private and quiet experience is the first class service. Each villa also has a golf cart which can be used to access Crocus Bay below, water sports, and the five-star restaurant DaVida, where guests have signing privileges. Prices start from £297 per night, with a minimum stay of three nights. www.ceblueanguilla.com
The Atlantique View Resort & Spa – new resort for nature lovers on Dominica
The Atlantique View Resort & Spa in Anse De Mai, Dominica is the latest luxury accommodation to open its doors on the island. Boasting 35 guest rooms and elegant suites this all inclusive, upscale getaway is nestled amongst lush green hillsides with a stunning view of the Atlantic Ocean and is hemmed in by picturesque mountains and plantations.
The resort is an ideal destination for divers, trekkers, honeymooners and eco-adventurers who appreciate Dominica’s natural beauty and wilderness, as it has fantastic access to secluded bays and the lush Dominican rainforest. Prices s start from $150 per room on a B&B basis. www.atlantiqueview.com
Zemi Beach Resort and Spa soon to open in Anguilla
Anguilla’s latest residential development, Zemi Beach Resort and Spa, has recently completed its first homes and is on track for a mid-2015 completion. The 5.81 acre resort, located along 1,000 feet of beachfront in Shoal Bay East, will feature 28 two and three bedroom residences priced from $2 million to $3.1 million.
Residents and visitors renting the residences at Zemi Beach will have access to unrivalled, first-class facilities including onsite restaurants, wine cellar, bars and lounges, infinity-edged pools, a luxury spa, state-of-the-art fitness centre and an outdoor yoga terrace. www.zemibeach.com
New luxury resort for Nassau, Bahamas
Baha Mar, which is scheduled to open in December 2014, is set on 3,000 feet of white-sand beach just 12 minutes from Nassau’s newly expanded Lynden Pindling International Airport. The resort will feature an elite collection of hotel brands with gaming, entertainment, private residences, and shopping – there is even a private island.
The Baha Mar Casino & Hotel, with 1,000 rooms, is the centrepiece of the resort, and includes a 100,000-square-foot Las Vegas-style casino – the largest in the Caribbean region. A 700-room Grand Hyatt, a 300-room Mondrian, the 200-room Rosewood Hotels & Resorts and the 694-room Meliá complete the accommodations at Baha Mar. Meliá International has announced it will take over the all-inclusive Meliá at Baha Mar this December. www.bahamar.com
Best for body and mind
Palm Island teams up with Team GB Olympic medal champion Becky Adlington for swim workshop in May 2014
Elite Island Resorts has teamed up with double Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Becky Adlington OBE and Virgin Holidays to launch a swim workshop for guests at the Palm Island resort. The free workshop, taking place from 4 – 7 May 2014, will combine learning about the health and therapeutic benefits of sea swimming whilst holidaying in a stunning Caribbean paradise.
Virgin Holidays is offering the Swim Palm Island with Becky Adlington package from £1,899per person, including seven nights in Palm Island with scheduled flights departing on 2 May 2014 with Virgin Atlantic from London Gatwick direct to Barbados, transfers and accommodation at the 4V+ Palm Island on an all-inclusive basis. www.virginholidays.co.uk
New adventure fitness escapes on Grenada
Mount Cinnamon Resort. Photo courtesy www.stylenest.co.uk
Mount Cinnamon Resort & Beach Club has launched new seven-day adventure and fitness experiences. Activities available on these special holidays include deep-sea fishing, scuba diving around shipwrecks, daily yoga and challenging hikes through mountainous topography.
Seven nights with breakfast in a Hacienda Suite costs from £991pp including a one day deep-sea fishing trip, two escorted Padi dives to see Grenada’s Underwater Sculpture Park, one day’s guided hike to Seven Sisters waterfalls, two massages at Beach Cabana, and daily yoga classes. www.mountcinnamongrenadahotel.com
Virgin Gorda’s Rosewood Little Dix Bay introduces a yoga retreat
Rosewood Little Dix Bay is launching a new wellness and yoga retreat for 2014. This four night yoga package, on the beautiful Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands, will be for yoga enthusiasts looking to restore their chakras and enrich their mind, body and spirit.
This special break will include four nights’ luxury accommodation, a three day wellness program with two yoga classes per day, one 60-minute Seaside Sedation massage, as well as take-home healthy recipes and fitness tips. Available dates are 8-12 January; 14-18 June and 18 to 22 June 2014. Prices start from £825 per night per person. www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/little-dix-bay-virgin-gorda
New spa-inclusive suites at Elite Island Resorts
Spa suites have been introduced at four Elite Island Resorts, offering guests the chance to have spa treatments included in their all-inclusive holidays. Guests can choose five spa treatments within a one-week all-inclusive spa stay from a specially designed spa menu.
Bath robes and spa packs, including a gentle exfoliating cleanser, sun protection cream and after sun mist for face and body, will also be included. The spa packages are available at The Verandah Resort & Spa and St James’s Club & Villas in Antigua, The Club Resort & Spa in Barbados, and St James’s Club Morgan Bay, Saint Lucia. www.eliteislandresorts.com/
New yoga studio and spa treatments at Grenada’s True Blue Bay
True Blue Bay in Grenada continues to add to the facilities at the boutique resort with the opening of a yoga studio and fitness centre and the re-launch of the spa. A new purpose built building houses the Cyclops fitness centre on the ground floor with the Sankalpa yoga studio above.
Guests can enjoy complimentary yoga sessions being cooled by sea breezes and with views down to the sea. The studio will also be used for meditation sessions and other holistic activities. The Blue Haven Spa offers a choice of massages and scrubs using fresh local ingredients such as coconut oil, honey, papaya, noni juice, nutmeg, cinnamon, chocolate and mint. Highlights include a mint blast back massage, a hot lava shell massage and the True Blue Bay Body Scrub. www.truebluebay.com
