Island Hopping in the Eastern Caribbean by Melanie Reffes
Featured Hotel in Maundays Bay
Cap Juluca
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With high hopes for a busy winter season, several of the islands in the Eastern Caribbean are actively marketing ‘island hopping’ as a way to lure business to the tropics. Looking for more than a suntan and a swim-up bar, tourists are discovering a multi-destination holiday can be more rewarding than a single-island vacation.
"Thanks to our convenient and reliable airlift from every major U.S. gateway,” said Regina Labega, Director of Tourism for the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, “most island hoppers begin in St Maarten, from where they can access countries such as Anguilla, St. Barts, Saba and St Eustatius via fast, affordable ferry or air transportation."
St Maarten/St Martin
With only a ‘welcome’ sign separating the French side from the Dutch side, the smallest territory in the world shared by two nations is a cosmopolitan slice of Caribbean life. Bustling from dawn to dusk, St Maarten/St Martin showcases gourmet eateries, duty free shopping, casinos, thirty seven beaches and an impressive array of accommodations.
On the Dutch side, Sonesta Maho Beach Resort is geared toward the business and leisure traveller with packages ranging from ‘Girlfriend Getaways’ to the recently-launched ‘Two-for-One All-Inclusive’ aimed at the MICE market. Re-branded as a Sonesta property, Great Bay Resort has been an accommodation mainstay for three decades. Targeting the growing dive market, four-day packages include credit in the Golden Casino and four tank dives.
On the southeastern shore, Westin Dawn Beach is the largest hotel on the island with 317 rooms, casino and gourmet dining at the Aura restaurant. The property, however, has limited participation in the Starwood Preferred Guest program.
On the French side, the 252-room Radisson St Martin Resort sits pretty along the picturesque Anse Marcel cove. The four-star property – highest rating given on the French side – opened a year ago and is the second Radisson in the region after the Radisson Aruba Resort. “The global economy will dictate our ultimate success,” said Jeff Lesker, General Manager, “but we are confident we will earn our share of the business.”
"Island hopping within a closely-knit circuit of island paradises such as those surrounding St Maarten gives one the opportunity to experience the unique charm of each destination,” adds Regina Labega. "You can actually see Anguilla from the north side of our island – it almost seems close enough to swim."
Anguilla
Seven miles north of St Maarten, Anguilla is the most popular destination for an island hop. Ferries make the 20-minute trip daily from Marigot on the French side of St Maarten while flights with Winair depart daily from the Princess Juliana International Airport on the Dutch side of St Maarten. Anguilla Air Services fly $400.00 charters that can accommodate up to nine people.
Sixteen miles long and three miles wide, Anguilla doesn’t come with tropical amenities like mountains, waterfalls, volcanoes, casinos and duty-free shopping. What it does come with is 12 miles of white coral coastline, some of the finest hotel rooms and restaurants in the Caribbean and a gracious population who work mainly in tourism.
“When you visit more than one island in one vacation, it’s like getting two vacations in one,” said Marie Walker, Director of North America for the Anguilla Tourist Board. “Anguilla is a great combination with St Maarten because our heritage is British unlike the French and Dutch heritage of St Maarten.” says Marie.
For clients wanting to spend a few days on the island, accommodations run the gamut from the recently upgraded five-star Cap Juluca where Glendon Carty, crowned Chef of the Year by Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), dishes up spicy island specialties to the swishy CuisinArt Resort with a brand-new and expanded Venus Spa. Smaller properties include the more intimate 27-room Kú and 30-room Sirena Hotel.
St Barts
The high-speed catamaran, Rapid Explorer, departs daily from Dock Maarten Marina and arrives in St Barts 45 minutes later. Winair makes the daily 15-minute flight from the Princess Juliana International Airport.
A playground for the rich and famous, St Barts tempts with 20 beaches, spectacular vistas of the Caribbean Sea and 80 restaurants including Le Select – reputed to be the inspiration for Jimmy Buffett’s ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise’.
Accommodations rival the best in the world and include the opulent Guanahani Resort and Le Sereno with three new butler-staffed villas that overlook the Grand Cul-de-Sac on the east end of the island. Designed by Parisian designer Christian Liaigre, the property boasts the acclaimed des Pecheurs restaurant and a chi-chi Spa.
Saba
A 12-minute flight from St Maarten or a one hour ferry ride, Saba is a statuesque volcanic rock jetting up from the sea and one of the most unique destinations in the Caribbean which is so far unnoticed by mass tourism. The Edge, a high-speed ferry, sails three times weekly between St Maarten and Saba and Winair flies daily from St Maarten and St Barts.
The island has one gas station and one road, four towns and four street sweepers and ten cab drivers and ten churches. Mandated by law, gingerbread-style houses are white with red sloping roofs and green shutters. If not painted to these specifications, the government will re-paint or issue a fine. The first car arrived in 1947, the first plane landed in 1959 and the Road was built in 1943 by muscled men who took the How to Build a Road course from the School of Correspondence in Chicago.
Although he sometimes gets cabin fever and grabs a flight to St Maarten, Glenn Holm, Director of Tourism is happy as a clam drumming up business for the rock. “People want to come here, you just don’t end up here,” he says.
The only four-star hotel, Queens Gardens Resort, is perched high above the sea with 12 suites including ten with Jacuzzis. For nature buffs, Ecolodge Rendez-vous is a collection of solar-powered cottages at the edge of the rainforest and Scout’s Place Hotel sells dive packages and hiking tours and offers a 10% commission to agents.
“Living here is like the TV program Cheers,” observes Glenn Holm, “people really do know your name.”
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