Grenada - hotel update, new restaurant, chocolate cruise, music & gardens tours
More Britons visited Grenada in 2011 than in 2010, reports Grenada Board of Tourism. The UK endures as the most important market for the Spice Isle as year on year visitor numbers rose 4% to 30,625 in 2011.
Accommodation & Restaurant News
Mount Hartman Bay Estate in Lance aux Epines, Grenada has re-launched to the UK market as a luxury boutique hotel offering eight individually designed suites - including The Black Suite , The Jacuzzi Suite, The Romantic Suite - in the quirkily-designed hillside house. With a waterfall cascading through the entrance hall and exteriors reminiscent of Hobbiton, guests will not find a boutique hotel experience like this anywhere else. Opened just before Christmas 2011, The Cave House Restaurant within the Estate is the latest dining hot spot on Grenada, and can be reached by road, by yacht – or via the property’s private helipad. Visit MountHartmanBay.com
Peter de Savary’s hillside retreat overlooking the white sands of Grand Anse has taken on a new name and is now Mount Cinnamon Resort and Beach Club. New Grenadian-born General Manager Kisha Smith, appointed December 2011, has brought in Parisian skincare experts Yon-Ka to create a new Spa Room, and now offers treatments on the white sands below the resort in a new Beach Cabana. Visit: MountCinnamonGrenadaHotel.com
Laluna is now featured by travel zeitgeist hub Beach Tomato. The chic beach side retreat boasts hillside villas surrounded by tropical forest, a Yoga pavilion by the sea and a Balinese-inspired spa. A favourite retreat for the likes of Kate Moss and Dave Stewart, the resort blends discretion, privacy and Grenadian hospitality. Visit beachtomato.com
Sir Royston and Lady Hopkin, founders of Spice Island Beach Resort, added another award to their already packed mantelpiece as the five-star ocean view resort was named the Most Excellent Property in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Pacific Islands by Condé Nast Johansens in January 2012. The resort is widely featured by the UK’s upscale tour operators. Visit: SpiceBeachResort.com
Specialist Tours: Gardens, Chocolate And Music
March 2012: Gardens
The gardens of Grenada are showcased each year at RHS Chelsea Flower Show by Grenadian designer Suzanne Gaywood, and Kudu Travel has created a 12-day tour of Grenada so that fans of Caribbean flora can see first-hand the gardens and nurseries that have inspired Gaywood to nine Gold Medals. The itinerary takes time to visit sister island Carriacou and the private idyll of Hog Island, and includes gardens, spice plantations and attractions in capital St George’s. Gardens of Grenada departs London Gatwick on 1 March 2012 and costs from £3,890 per person including accommodation, all meals (with wine and cold beer), a dolphin spotting excursion and the chance to snorkel in Grenada’s cerulean waters. Visit kudutravel.co.uk
June 2012: Music
Some serious beats are on the cards for the inaugural DJ Tour to Grenada organised by Kalinago Resort. Featuring artists such as Choice FM’s Martin J, LiveLinq Sounds and Antz International from the UK supported by local talent, Explosion in the Sun runs 6-20 June 2012 and includes a packed calendar of waterfall parties, BBQs, beach fests, catamaran cruises and river rafting – as well as fantastic music. Available from £1,090 per person including flights, accommodation, entry fees and all-inclusive drinks exclusively from SN Travel at SNTravel.co.uk
October 2012: Chocolate
An exclusive and escorted visit to upscale chocolatier Rococo’s Grenadian cocoa plantation is the highlight of Mundy Cruises’ Gourmet Chocolate Cruise, 29 October to 9 November 2012. Guests will explore Grenada with Rococo founder Chantal Coady, and discover how chocolate goes ‘from bean to bar’ on the island. The cruise starts from £2,895 per person including British Airways flights, 7 nights aboard the Silversea Whisper in a sea view Vista Suite, 3 nights’ accommodation in Barbados and a full day tour of Grenada with Chantal. For full itinerary visit: mundycruising.co.uk
And Finally…
The Grenada Board of Tourism has won Caribbean Web Award for Best Tourist Board website at the second annual TravelMole Caribbean Web Awards held at Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) Marketplace on 21 January 2012. Grenada was selected based on its website’s use of the latest technology, its user-friendliness and the degree to which it highlighted the destination’s key selling points. Check out: Grenadagrenadines.com