Tropical storm Fay is headed toward the U.S. after slamming Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and could be upgraded to low-level hurricane status as it moves ashore late today or early tomorrow.
As of this morning, a tropical storm warning remained in effect for the Florida Keys and parts of South Florida, and a hurricane watch had been issued for most of the Keys and along Florida's west coast to Tarpon Springs.
Keys officials earlier Sunday had issued a mandatory evacuation order for visitors and asked those who had not yet arrived to postpone their trips. Officials said hotels and businesses won't be forced to remove visitors, but they should use common sense.
Yikes. Due to the evacuation orders, it looks like Sheraton Key West is officially closed, as their website has a "Temporary Hotel Closure -- August 17 to August 21, 2008" advisory on the home page.
Considering a trip to Mexico to cap off your summer vacation? Consider that we are now about to enter hurricane season so there is a chance your idyllic time by the pool could be a bit interrupted.
To prepare for such vacation bummers, The Tesoro Manzanillo resort is offering travelers all-inclusive deluxe accommodations with free travel insurance, rum-based hurricanes at check-in, a large umbrella and waterproof mascara.
But what we might like best about this deal is that it's only $80 per person per night.
As Hurricane Dean finishes its way across the Caribbean to Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, tourists looking to head to the region have been advised to change their plans.
Things did not fare well for Kingston, Jamaica where Hurricane Dean slammed the capital yesterday and has overall caused for 300,000 Jamaicans to be displaced and the shutdown of airports. However, we did learn that the Sandals Whitehouse resort has been sheltering tourists stranded on the island.
Meanwhile, in Mexico, airlines are adding extra flights to get tourists out of the Cancun and Cozumel area but have shut down any inbound flights. Texas' Gulf Coast may also get hit by Dean later this week and the folks over there are also taking any and all precautions.
Over in St. Lucia, where two landslides caused power outages and the shutdown of a couple of highways, a hotel PR rep lets us know that:
Hurricane Dean has caused limited structural damage to the island of St. Lucia. Specifically, there are several uprooted trees and broken branches, and hotel pools are full of leaves, sand and branches.
But the damages were slight and cleanup has already begun.
We'll be on the lookout for any hotel closings/damages but if you have any of your own Hurricane Hotel updates, please share with the rest of us.
If you're making plans to go to the Bahamas anytime soon (June-November is hurricane season), take comfort: The Westin and Sheraton Grand Bahama Island properties promise to waive any cancellation or no-show fees if Grand Bahama Island gets placed under Hurricane Warning or even Hurricane Watch.
If anyone with a reservation can't get to the resort due to the closure of the hotel or Grand Bahama Island International Airport, they'll get a full refund or an upgrade on their next visit if they come back within a year.
But we wonder what they do, if you can't get out of the island due to a hurricane? Do you have to pay the full room rate. We hope not. Our advice? Avoid hurricane season altogether.
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by Jenna
