A Luxury Travel Blog

If you enjoy golf, sunshine and unadulterated luxury then the Tryall Club in Montego Bay, Jamaica is the place for you to be.  The club are currently offering four free green fees for those booking holidays at the exclusive resort for the end of this year. The club treats its guests to house villas, fully staffed with chef, housekeeper and maids. It also has an excellent selection of entertainment facilities besides the fantastic golf courses.

In response to online travelers’ demands for upscale, luxurious accommodations, CheapCaribbean.com has introduced the Ultra-Luxury for Less product line, which promises lavish accommodations, sumptuous gourmet dining, and pampering service throughout Bermuda, the Caribbean & Mexico, for a price that you won’t find anywhere else. Among its partners are the Fairmont Southampton in Bermuda, The Palms on Grace Bay Beach in the Turks & Caicos Islands, the Sivory Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and Mexico’s charming Hotel Villa del Sol.

Jamaica has picked up the award of Caribbean’s Leading Destination at the 13th World Travel Awards. The Hon. Aloun N’dombet Assamba, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Entertainment & Culture accepted not only this award but also the Caribbean’s Leading Tourist & Convention Bureau, won by the Jamaica Tourist Board. Further success for Jamaica came in the form of the World’s Leading Cruise Destination and the Caribbean’s Leading Cruise Destination (Port Authority of Jamaica).

It’s the 13th Annual World Travel Awards ceremony tomorrow so watch this space for further news! The event is this year being held in the idyllic Turks & Caicos islands.

In a recent article by Molly Feltner for SmarterTravel.com, a shortlist of ten luxury hotels “worth the splurge” were identified. The lucky few to get a mention were:

• Forte Village, Sardinia
• Ladera Resort, St. Lucia
• Mount Washington Hotel, Bretton Woods, NH
• Hotel Secreto, Isla Mujeres, Mexico
• New York Palace Hotel, NY
• Casa Santo Domingo, Antigua
• Wentworth by the Sea, New Castle, NH
• Four Seasons Resort Nevis, West Indies
• Prince of Wales, Ontario, Canada
• Cheeca Lodge, Florida Keys, FL

Wearing flip-flops in 50-degree weather? You obviously can’t let go of summer. And why should you, with sensational Royal Caribbean Interational savings to hot spots like the Caribbean, Bermuda and the Bahamas. They’ve got lots of deals on at the moment so you might want to take a look.

Jade Mountain, St. Lucia is scheduled to open next month. The brainchild of a Russian-Canadian architect, Nick Troubetzkoy, and owner of the Anse Chastanet Resort, this new resort has its own private spa, beaches and concierge desk. Like the Ladera resort also on St. Lucia, rooms are designed so that they have three walls, and a fourth “wall” being the view.

According to a recent Concierge.com article, the top yoga retreats to be found worldwide are:

• Wildflower Hall, Shimla, India
• Como Shambhala at Parrot Cay, Turks & Caicos
• Chiva-Som, Hua Hin, Thailand
• Begawan Giri, Bali, Indonesia
• Adventure Yoga Retreats (all over the Americas)
• Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California
• LifeTime Private Retreats, Kangaroo Island, Australia
• Maya Tulum, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
• The Standard Miami, Miami Beach, Florida

Imagine saying your vows on a beautiful tropical island beach — absolutely free. The Bahama Beach Club, a family friendly luxury resort in Treasure Cay, Abaco, Bahamas, is offering a complimentary wedding package to couples tying the knot. When a wedding party rents five or more condominiums for a minimum of three nights, the wedding package is free of charge.

Tonight sees the 58th Emmy awards and, as per usual these days, the celebrity presenters will be in for a great selection of goodies. Among them will be a 5-day stay at Old Bahama Bay on Grand Bahama Island, plus access to all water sports, 2 nights at the US Grant in San Diego, including spa treatments, 6 days at the Wharekauhau Country Estate in Featherston, New Zealand, 4 days at the Dolphin Bay Hotel & Residences in Pismo Beach, California, 6 days at The Lodge at Molokai Ranch on Molokai, Hawaii, a food and wine pairing for six people from the Crustacean Restaurant in Beverly Hills. Can’t be bad.

The Caribbean resort of Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands closes today, but only temporarily.  And it’s not all bad news… the temporary closure is to facilitate a $35m renovation project. 24 luxury suites, 6 spa treatment rooms, a new 20,000 square foot lounge and a refurbishment to all three of its restaurants are planned in time for the re-opening on 1st November 2006.  That sounds like an awful lot of work in a short space of time!

After reviewing over 50,000 hotels and resorts across North America, AAA inspectors have announced the winners of the AAA Five Diamond Award. Throughout most of August, there will be a post a day summing up the 24 US states that have AAA Five Diamond accommodation, plus those in Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico.

Like the vibrant city in which it makes its home, San Juan’s beachfront Condado Plaza Hotel & Casino offers lots of possibilities for summer travelers seeking signature island diversions. With three freshwater swimming pools, a stretch of private beach, spa services, tennis, basketball and watersports, guests won’t know which way to turn. They can also choose from four onsite restaurants, enjoy dancing and live entertainment or try their luck with slots, roulette and a variety of table games in the resort’s 24-hour casino. And all this from just $119 per night as a summer offer until 1st September 2006.

Discounted summer room rates at El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa start from $99 until 5th October 2006. The resort offers an array of activities for summer travellers seeking island adventure. Diversions include the renowned Golden Door Spa, golf on the resort’s championship Arthur Hills 18-hole course, seven lighted tennis courts, three freshwater swimming pools and a private recreational island for sunning, horseback riding and watersports, not to mention the evening entertaniment: a 13,000-square-foot casino and dancing at the resort’s nightclub.

This is post twelove of twelve and so concludes our daily look at the best islands in the world to visit, when to visit them and where to stay (where individual recommendations are made). For December, the following are recommended:

• Bay of Islands, New Zealand: Cliff Edge by the Sea
• Cyprus: Hilton Cyprus and The Anassa
• Florida Keys: Sunset Key Guest Cottages and Little Palm Island
• Jamaica: Half Moon and Round Hill
• Mafia, Tanzania: Kinasi and