http://www.hotelchatter.com/ Hotel Reviews, Hotel Ratings, Hotel Openings en-us Copyright 2008 - SFO Media 2008-11-21T07:22:21Z HotelChatter HotelChatter http://www.hotelchatter.com/images/hcwhite.jpg http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Caribbean%20Resorts http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/10/20/63126/543 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/WestCaicosReserve.jpg" class="imgborder"><p> <p>A year ago we were dreaming of <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2007/10/24/71632/828/hotels/Ritz_Carlton_To_Inhabit_the_Uninhabited_West_Caicos_Reserve">finding buried treasure</a> at the <b>Ritz-Carlton West Caicos Reserve</b>, which was meant to be up and running by late 2008--that's any minute now. But news out of the West Caicos makes it sound rather sure that we're going to have to wait a bit longer for our luxury eco-resort stay.<p>We <read <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/127983">last week</a> of something as exciting as hostage-taking on the island, somehow related to the Ritz-Carlton development. Turns out that the entire resort project went on hold a few weeks ago when the financing bank became insolvent and the Chinese workers there hadn't been paid since June--so they took their Israeli bosses hostage and demanded their pay.<p>It's amandak 2008-10-20T09:15:48-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/3/5/5436/38350 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/St_Kitts_Marriott_Pool.jpg" class="imgborder"><p><a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/maps/Warm-Weather-Hotels-Map"><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/warmweather_map.jpg" align="right"></a> We might not be super-impressed with the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/3/5/45734/43224/hotels/Marriott_Sells_Expensive_Bears">Marriott Bear</a>, but that doesn't mean we'll hold it against the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/St.+Kitts+Marriott+Resort+&amp;+The+Royal+Beach+Casino/ian/211439"><b>St Kitts Marriott Resort</b></a> in St Kitts and Nevis. After all, TripAdvisor <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147374-d265581-Reviews-Marriott_St_Kitts_Royal_Resort-St_Kitts_St_Kitts_and_Nevis.html">reviewers</a> have decided it's the best place to stay in St Kitts, and who are we to argue.</p><p>Well, we probably won't argue with all the previous guests, but you shouldn't forget that there aren't really more than a dozen resorts on St Kitts, which hasn't been in the tourist game that long. The St Kitts Marriott has its good points--convenient location close to the airport, a fantastic beach that's rarely too crowded, and the food is tasty.</p><p>But on the flip side, amandak 2008-03-05T09:00:01-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/1/2/64916/80290 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/GuanahaniStBarths.jpg" class="imgborder"><p><a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/maps/Warm-Weather-Hotels-Map"><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/warmweather_map.jpg" align="right"></a>A hotel room in St Barths is a good place to relax at any time of year--or a place where the art gallery comes <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2007/12/26/24235/427/hotels/Book+a+Hotel+With+An+Art+Gallery+Included+">within the hotel</a>, if you remember our story last week. But when winter gets you down then the warmth of St Barths is an especially good destination, and you could try the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Hotel+Guanahani+and+Spa/local/1042"><b>Hotel Guanahani and Spa</b></a> because, for a start, it has a lovely warm sounding name!</p><p>Get beyond the name and everything about the Guanahani is still screaming "winter escape". It belongs to the Leading Small Hotels of the World group and deservedly so, with its luxury cottages (some so brightly colored so you won't have any trouble finding amandak 2008-01-02T11:08:05-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2007/10/24/71632/828 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/WestCaicosReserve.jpg" class="imgborder"><p> <p>When we started to read about the coming-soon <b>Ritz-Carlton West Caicos Reserve</b> our environmentally conscious radar went up: West Caicos on the western end of the Turks and Caicos archipelago is a virtually uninhabited island. Why spoil it with a fancy hotel? But Ritz-Carlton are very careful to point out that the proposed 75 island villas are part of a very environmentally responsible development that included extensive consultations with an eco-tourism expert.</p><p>So then we relaxed and decided it sounded like a wonderful place. West Caicos is apparently the home to the Molasses Reef which is not only one of the world's best diving spots, it's also rumored that Columbus' ship Pinta sank here--that makes us dream of amandak 2007-10-24T09:16:32-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2007/10/24/15839/172 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/Hyatt_Regency_Aruba___King_Guestroom.jpg" class="imgborder"><p> Down on Aruba the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Hyatt+Regency+Aruba+Resort+And+Casino/ian/122029"><b>Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort and Casino</b></a> on Palm Beach has been busy this year doing a $20 million makeover. That $20 million adds up to 360 renovated rooms with modern designs, new colors and brand new bathrooms stocked with deluxe Portico products for your grooming pleasure. The official grand opening of the new look will take place in early 2008, but last week they held a "soft opening" for local attendees.</p><p>The local people were wowed not only with the new refurbishment but with a nice "think global, act local" kind of campaign that the Hyatt Regency Aruba is running. It's called the "You Can Do It Too" program and involves picking 10 amandak 2007-10-24T09:15:07-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/