Here we go…

Bahamas

Summary:
I have only spent a day on Paradise Island, touring The Atlantis resort property. I have to say, The Atlantis itself is quite impressive and probably worth looking into staying there. It looks appropriate both for romance between partners and fun for the kids.

Deals:

Local Currency: Bahamian Dollar (BSD)
Strength vs. US Dollar (as of 2/26/2009): Even (1 USD =1 BSD)
Happy Meter:  45%
GDP per Capita (recent estimate): $29,900
Unemployment Rate (most recent estimate): 6.9%

Barbados

Summary:
Lush and beautiful, the mountainous island of Barbados has stellar beaches and beautiful weather. We spent our actual honeymoon on Barbados after Hurricane Hugo destroyed St. John (where we were planning on going, but have yet to go to). With Barbados it’s best to stay on the beach and in your resort or go on a guided tour. The road maps of the island are poorly documented and the drivers dangerous.

Local Currency: Barbadian Dollar BBD)
Strength vs. US Dollar (as of 2/26/2009): Weak (1 USD = 2 BBD)
Happy Meter:  21%
GDP per Capita (recent estimate): $20,200
Unemployment Rate (most recent estimate): 10.7%

Belize

Summary:
Belize is wonderful once you get out of the capital of Belize City. There is a rain forest with Mayan ruins in the interior and the largest barrier reef in the Northern Hemisphere on the coast. Although quite poor, the people are extremely friendly. The official language is English.

Deals:

Local Currency: Belize Dollar BZD)
Strength vs. US Dollar (as of 2/26/2009): Weak (1 USD = 1.95 BZD)
Happy Meter:  65%
GDP per Capita (recent estimate): $8,500
Unemployment Rate (most recent estimate): 8.5%

Bermuda

Summary:
Bermuda is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom (UK), so it has a very British feel to it. The downside of this is that the food is British as well, not spicy Caribbean food that I like so much. The island itself is colorful and beautiful. There are only 66,000 residents of the island, but the island is very small. It is not really “Caribbean,” since it is north of the Caribbean. It is relatively expensive versus other islands, but it is a short flight from New York.

Deals:

Local Currency: Bermudian Dollar (BMD)
Strength vs. US Dollar (as of 2/26/2009): Even (1 USD = 1 BMD)
Happy Meter:  75%
GDP per Capita (recent estimate): $69,900
Unemployment Rate (most recent estimate): 2.1%

Cayman Islands

Summary:
Like Bermuda, the Cayman Islands are an overseas territory of the UK. Unlike Bermuda, however, the Cayman Islands are nested in the heart of the Caribbean, just south of Cuba. The weather is fantastic and the famous “seven-mile beach” on Grand Cayman is break-taking and beautiful. Since it is a coral island, the ocean is crystal clear and great for diving activities.

Deals:

Local Currency: Cayman Island Dollar (KYD)
Strength vs. US Dollar (as of 2/26/2009): Strong (1 USD = 0.84 KYD)
Happy Meter:  80%
GDP per Capita (recent estimate): $43,800
Unemployment Rate (most recent estimate): 4.4%

Jamaica

Summary:
Jamaica is a lush island, especially in the interior. There are several hotels that cater to romantic (even decadent) vacations. Two areas of the island that are worth visiting are Ochos Rios and Negril. The poverty on the island is pretty severe and, the last time we went, we are essentially in compound, shielded from the local population.

Deals:

Local Currency: Jamaican Dollar (JMD)
Strength vs. US Dollar (as of 2/26/2009): Strong (1 USD = 0.88 JMD)
Happy Meter:  15%
GDP per Capita (recent estimate): $7,700
Unemployment Rate (most recent estimate): 10.1%

Mexico

Summary:
Mexico is a big country and much of your experience will depend on where you go. I have never been to Cancun, but I hear it is nice, albeit very touristy. The Baja peninsula is nice as well, especially Cabo St. Lucas. We went to Puerto Vallarta and had a great time. I have heard that crime is a problem in Mexico, but we didn’t experience anything like that.

Deals:

Local Currency: Mexico Peso (MXN)
Strength vs. US Dollar (as of 2/26/2009): Very Weak (1 USD = 14.97 MXN)
Happy Meter:  40%
GDP per Capita (recent estimate): $14,400
Unemployment Rate (most recent estimate): 4.1% (with perhaps 25% underemployment)

Puerto Rico

Summary:
Puerto Rico is an overseas territory of the United States, so if you are coming from the U.S., you don’t even need a passport to visit the island. Also, they use U. S. dollars and no exchange is necessary. I enjoyed the island. There are some poverty-stricken areas of the island, especially around San Juan, but there are also some nice hotels, clubs and restaurants. I found the food in Puerto Rico to be some of the best I have found anywhere in the Caribbean (even Jamaica).

Deals:

Local Currency: US Dollar
Strength vs. US Dollar (as of 2/26/2009): Even
Happy Meter:  65%
GDP per Capita (recent estimate): Unknown
Unemployment Rate (most recent estimate): Unknown

St. Lucia

Summary:
St. Lucia is a beautiful, mountainous island near Venezuela. Because it is so close to the equator, wear sunscreen! The sun is extremely powerful. There are a number of romantic resorts on St. Lucia, including Sandals, Jalousie, Ladera and (a new one) Jade Mountain. I found that there was a “split” in attitudes of the local population – friendly and happy in the North, unfriendly and unhappy in the South. Also, don’t try and drive between Castries and Soufriere like we did – it’s right-hand drive on some of the windiest roads I have even driven on.

Deals:

Local Currency: Eastern Caribbean Dollar (XCD)
Strength vs. US Dollar (as of 2/26/2009): Slightly Weak (1 USD = 2.67 XCD)
Happy Meter:  50%
GDP per Capita (recent estimate): $11,300
Unemployment Rate (most recent estimate): 20%

St. Marten

Summary:
St. Marten is divided into a Dutch-controlled area and a French controlled area. Frankly, I found the French side to have better food and beaches. We found a sheltered bay on the French side that our kids could swim in, protected from the rough waves. Unfortunately, Saint Marten is rather expensive because they use euros. Of course, there airport is named Princess Juliana International Airport, which delighted my wife, Juliana.

Local Currency: St. Marten Euro (EUR)
Strength vs. US Dollar (as of 2/26/2009): Strong (1 USD = 0.78 EUR)
Happy Meter:  55%
GDP per Capita (recent estimate): Unknown
Unemployment Rate (most recent estimate): Unknown

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Hotel Del Coronado

In February, I stayed at the Hotel Del Coronado near San Diego California. Like the Jekyll Island Club, the Hotel Del (as it is called by the locals) is a historic landmark and worthy of the robber baron lifestyle. The hotel has been visited by ten U.S. presidents and numerous luminaries over the years including Marilyn Monroe, Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth and Charlie Chaplin. The Hotel Del also sports a colorful history including the ghost of Kate Morgan, who, according to Hotel Del legend, checked into the hotel on November 25, 1892 and never checked out. Interestingly, November 25th is our anniversary.

I stayed in an older room in the main building. It was nicely appointed with a high ceiling and a comfy bed. The bathroom was missing something important though – a bathtub – it only had a shower stall. The hallways of the Hotel Del have settled with age and are crooked, which is expected in a building over 100 years old. The Hotel Del has added Ocean Towers and California Cabanas down on the beach and adjacent to the main Victorian style building. The best thing about my stay was the weather, seventy degrees and sunny, while it was about five degrees and snowing back at home in New York.

The Hotel Del also has a full-service spa, although I didn’t take any treatments. The restaurants are wonderful, but pricey. In fact, the Hotel Del is quite pricey in general. I had to pay a “resort fee” (I think it was $29 per day, but I can’t remember exactly).

I was able to arrange a boat tour of the San Diego bay and it was quite interesting and informative.

The Hotel Del is situated on Coronado Island southwest of San Diego proper. The island itself is a very upscale community with the median house price above $1 million. It’s nice to walk around the island and see this beautiful community.

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The Pitons in St. Lucia

I have found paradise! Its name is Jalousie! In my travels so far I have found no getaway to compare. Jalousie is a fairly new resort created by Hilton hotels on the island of St. Lucia, in the West Indies. Now before I describe this heaven on earth I must let you know it does not come cheap. No, it’s pricey, but worth it.

The resort sits on what must be described as the best parcel of real estate on this already stunning island. Nestled between the twin “pitons”, mountains that rise directly from the ocean to a height of 4000 feet or so, on a quiet cove, Hilton has procured 400 acres of lush tropical land. The great house, modeled after an old sugar plantation houses the restaurants, a ballroom, and a conference room. Down the expansive lawn from the great house is the huge pool just steps from a white sandy beach, with restaurant/bar pavilion. The beach features thatched umbrellas to shade you from the strong St. Lucian sun. You can choose to swim in the soft Caribbean bay or the pool with the effort of a few steps. Or if you don’t feel like getting up at all you can have you lunch and drinks delivered to you at your seat. For those really active, there is a small water sports pavilion where you may indulge in sunfish sail boats, water-skiing, snorkeling and day and half day boat trips to other areas of the island. Also just a short ride from the resort is the islands volcano where you can view an impressive smoking crater. There are also trips to the regenerative sulfur springs and a gorgeous botanical garden filled with indigenous plants and cooling waterfalls.

Whether you choose to fill your day doing nothing or scouting the area an even bigger treat awaits you back at your “room”. Each accommodation is in a cottage complete with comfy beds with mosquito netting (not that you need it), terraces and your own plunge pool. The cottages come with an ocean view or a view of the amazing pitons. The rooms are set away from the great house up in the plush tropical hills and you are ferried around by small vans on demand, to the beach, great house, etc. The resort boasts several restaurants, one very upscale with good local and continental fare and one beach side, where the food is somewhat less than exemplary. Room service is 24 hours, a lovely perk for those late night munchies. I found the room service food far superior to the beach side restaurant.

This is not a place to dance ’til dawn, unless of course it is just you and your significant other. Most of the resort closes down by around nine and nighttime entertainment consists mainly of a game of pool or chess on the resorts huge outside chessboard. However as I said the booze and food can continue to come all night long with room service.

The resort also boasts a full service spa, offering massage, facials, scrubs, etc. and the service in the spa is impeccable, something I don’t often say of spas. The treatments I got at the Jalousie spa rival the ones I have gotten anywhere.

The staff is friendly and attentive, something often lacking unfortunately. Jalousie is the place to go if you want peace and quiet, unobtrusive service and the ultimate in pampering and despite the sticker shock, worth every penny.

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