Travel Agent - March 17, 2008 - Barbados Insert - (Page 70) COVER STORY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 69 courses—specifically, the world-renowned Green Monkey. It also offers the Old Nine, an executive nine-hole golf course, and the professional Country Club Golf Course, which hosted the PGA tournament in 2006. The Green Monkey, however, with its waterfalls and cliffs, is by far the most aesthetically rewarding course in all of the Caribbean. The course opened in 2003 but never had an official grand opening. Rumors continue to surface that Tiger Woods, who was married at Sandy Lane (and nity to check one out this time around. We saw room #401, a two-bedroom Dolphin Suite. Each of the four available comes with a small bedroom and master bedroom, each equipped with 42-inch plasma TVs. We were most impressed by the balcony, which offers stunning ocean views, and a small sofa for an outdoor nap. Sandy Lane offers a 10 percent commission. Agents should contact Michelle Babb, reservations manager, at mbabb@sandylane.com or 246-444-2001. Note: As it does every year, Sandy Lane will be conducting some minor upgrades to the property. We were told that this year’s improvements, which will include minor construction, might disturb guests because of the noise. So, the property will close from August 31 to October 2. What To Do Perhaps Barbados’ staple attraction is swimming with the turtles. The island is home to a huge population of hawksbill and leatherback turtles, or to put it quite simply, turtles that are about as big as a small child. Although most resorts offer turtle excursions at an extra cost, here are some independent companies that are also well known for providing the experience: Cool Runnings Catamaran Sailing Cruises (www.cool runningsbarbados.com) and Rubaiyat Catamaran Cruises (www.rubai yatcatamarancruises.com). Book in advance by calling Cool Runnings at 246-436-0911 or Rubaiyat at 246-436-6921. Coming in at a close second, as far as great Barbados attractions go, is Harrison’s Cave (www.harrisonscave.com). This is a crystallized, limestone cavern that is surrounded by clear water and flowing streams. To book your clients a tour of this attraction in advance, call 246-438-6640. For clients seeking a little bit of history, recommend the George Washington House (www.georgewashingtonbarbados.com), also known as the Bush Hill House. This simple yellow, two-bedroom, colonial-style home was the site of George Washington’s stay on the island. In fact, Barbados was the only place Washington ever vacationed outside of the U.S. He stayed at the house for eight weeks and traveled with his older brother Lawrence, who was dying of tuberculosis (it was rumored that the Caribbean breeze in Barbados could heal the illness). With the exception of some old beams in the ceiling, virtually nothing about the house is original. But through the work of the nonprofit group the Bush Hill Tourist Trust, Inc., it serves as the perfect replica. The tour is about 20 minutes long and also includes a 16-minute film about the property’s history. Admission is $10. We recommend tour guide David Jones. Call 246-228-5461. Clients looking to experience the true culture of Barbados have to visit Oistins fish market on the south coast. Here, visitors can experience live music, fish grilled and fried right before your eyes, locals mingling with tourists and an array of tables offering handmade crafts and jewelry. Everything in Barbados is cheap, as the Bajan dollar is twice the value of the U.S. dollar and there is no better example of that than at Oistins. We treated ourselves to a plate of mahi-mahi with a side of rice and beans and a cold bottle of Banks beer, all for $6. In fact, hours of eating, drinking and dancing and gifts for the whole family cost us about $60. “As the years have gone by, the government decided that this would be a great place for tourists to mix with the locals and taste some local food,” Joyeuce King says. “Now, it is considered one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Caribbean. Barbados still isn’t greatly known by Americans, but you can’t find one person in Canada or Britain who doesn’t know what Oistins fish market is.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 72 A light-filled room at Almond Beach Village is complemented by a balcony where guests can enjoy views of the ocean and property booked every room during his stay), will be on hand when the course hosts its opening celebration, whose date is still being planned. What makes it beautiful are the same traits that also make it one of the most difficult courses to play on and also one of the most expensive. Case in point: one round of golf costs between $300 and $400 for guests. In order to dissuade non-guests from playing on the course, they’ve set the fee at a whopping $4,000 for one round. We were told that this effort has failed and that, in fact, businessmen often fly a jet into Barbados for one day, play a round at the Green Monkey and then get back in the sky. It’s part of a golf-hopping trend that is growing in the Caribbean. If you have clients playing here, recommend Quintyne “Q” Griffith to be their caddy. As Green Monkey’s starter/marshall, he’s been employed by Sandy Lane for the past five years and knows the course inside and out, something that was pretty evident from the tour he gave us. From past visits to the property, Travel Agent knows how hard it is to actually see a suite, since they are rarely vacant. But we got the opportu70 | TravelAgent March 17, 2008 http://www.coolrunningsbarbados.com http://www.coolrunningsbarbados.com http://www.rubaiyatcatamarancruises.com http://www.rubaiyatcatamarancruises.com http://www.harrisonscave.com http://georgewashingtonbarbados.org/
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