HOT CARIBBEAN RESORTS

Three islands. Four resorts. Two of them brand-new. Why are they contenders for the Caribbean's hottest properties? Here's the scoop.

Turks & Caicos — pampering at The Palms

Palm tree. The Palms, Turks & Caicos.

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

The Palms, a US$85-million property on 19-km-long Grace Bay Beach, opened in January 2005. Pampering begins by the serpentine pool, where attendants serve tropical sorbets and spritz sunbathers with aromatherapy mists.

Each guest receives an iPod™, pre-programmed with hundreds of musical selections. (The iPods™ connect to in-room stereo systems.) The pool features underwater music and water banquettes for dining on Asian-inspired tapas and sushi, fruit liquados and cocktails al fresco.

International cuisine

A Great House-styled Mansion houses the dining room. "Its focus is food from the 23rd parallel," says managing director, Bill Anderson. "The display kitchen has a wood-burning oven, a wok station and a tandoori oven."

Torchlights illuminate the 15,000-square-foot spa, at night, and trickling water gardens cool it during the day. A yoga, Pilates and tai chi studio overlooks the 46-metre-long water garden, flanked by date palms. Twelve cabanas offer native herbal treatments and mother-of-pearl exfoliations with pulverized native queen conch shells.

Spas & plunge pools

In addition, guests can enjoy treatments and romantic candlelit dinners in two spa suites (with private plunge pools) or on eight bougainvillea-draped penthouse terraces. There are even spa programs to introduce young girls to the pleasures of manicures and pedicures.

The Palms' spacious 72 two- and three-bedroom suites are perfect for families. In-room entertainment includes flat-screen televisions, with 57 cable TV channels, as well as DVD and CD players with a selection of movies. Outdoor activities range from tennis to non-motorized water sports.

St. Lucia — culinary accolades

Tropical lobster cocktail with plantain chips. Chocolate and chili-seasoned pork tenderloin with carrot-mango sauce, yam and papaya tarte. Warm ginger and banana Tarte Marie with passion fruit froth. These are just three of the appetizing dishes that you'll enjoy at Windjammer Landing.

Pink hibiscus. Windjammer Landing, St. Lucia.

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

Swedish-born Chef Bobo Bergstrom is reigning Caribbean Chef of the Year and the gold medal winner of the Taste of the Caribbean Culinary Competition. New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel invited him to cook for Caribbean Week. The city's James Beard Foundation also invited him to prepare a feast for their guests.

Chef Bobo's secret

"You have to put love in your cooking or it won't turn out," he says, as he sprinkles seasonings from a heart-shaped dish. "Every dish is a piece of art." His philosophy has won him the Golden Knife and Salon Culinaire competitions in Sweden and three gold medals in Cologne, Germany.

Windjammer Landing's guests enjoy imaginative desserts prepared by Executive Pastry Chef Gilry Samuel. A native of St. Lucia, he earned a gold medal with the St. Lucian team at last year's Taste of the Caribbean Competition. His dessert, jelly coconut mousse, with spicy honey-vanilla caramelized pineapple and zabweicot ice cream, won “The Most Innovative Caribbean Dish” award. (Zabweicots, also called mammy apples, are apricot-like tropical fruits.)

Great food

Lush gardens, waterfalls and pools envelop refurbished white-washed villas, with 240 rooms, the new spa, and the 300-metre beach. Guests enjoy Euro-Caribbean cuisine at Dragonfly, Mediterranean food at Papa Don's, and grilled seafood and meat at The Upper Deck, on the water.

Bonnie Stern, author of 11 bestselling cookbooks and founder of The Bonnie Stern's School of Cooking, in Toronto, calls Windjammer Landing's food "the best in the Caribbean."

Jamaica — newest, biggest and furry friends

What’s Dutch, French, Italian and Caribbean? The new Sandals Whitehouse European Village and Spa. Located on the unspoiled southwest coast, the three European villages, with 360 rooms, surround a piazza and landscaped courtyards. Seven restaurants feature a European patisserie, an international buffet, and Italian, Caribbean, Asian and Tex-Mex cuisines. "One of our four swimming pools will be the largest in Jamaica," says general manager, Jeremy Jones.

Local artisans bring a craft market to the resort, once weekly. Guests can visit pristine Y.S. Falls, take a Black River safari to learn about the region's ecology and wildlife, and sample freshly pressed cane juice during an Appleton Distillery tour.

Sandals' largest couples-only property

Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Beach and Villa Resort was formed by the merger of Sandals Ocho Rios with the Grande Sport Villa Golf Resort and Spa, after a US$10 million refurbishment. The 529-room resort is the largest of Sandals' 12 couples-only properties.

Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Beach & Villa Resort. Jamaica.

Its highlights include 95 pools, 22 hot tubs, two full-service spas, the largest stretch of beach in Ocho Rios, 12 bars, and a PADI Gold Palm Scuba Diving Center. The dozen dining options feature international, Italian, Caribbean, Asian, Southwestern US, and Teppanyaki cuisine, as well as buffet stations and grills. "With 915 seats available for dinner, guests don't have to make reservations," says general manager, Michael Darby.

Sesame Street themed activities supplement Kid Kamp programs at Beaches' four family resorts in Jamaica and Turks & Caicos. Kids can bake cookies with the Cookie Monster, enjoy stories with Elmo, dance with Zoe, go on a scavenger hunt with Grover and create musical instruments and costumes for daily parades.

They'll find it as difficult to return home as the adults.

TRAVEL INFORMATION

Windjammer Landing: www.windjammer-landing.com
Sandals and Beaches Resorts: www.sandals.com and www.beaches.com.