Recommend April 2013 - (Page 86)

Rhum Clement occupies an 18th century plantation house and, in addition to estate-bottled rhum, offers splendid art exhibitions and gardens. Except for the family-friendly Hotel Carayou and Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek, each with about 200 rooms, most Martinique hotels have fewer than 100 rooms. The Club Med is unusual, too, insofar as it is an all-inclusive and it generally wraps air from Atlanta into its rates, which start at $3,918 for a week for two, off-season. Many of Martinique’s hotels, including the Carayou, are in Pointe du Bout and Les Trois-Ilets, at the south end of the large, west coast bay shared by Fort de France. This neighborhood boasts a marina, restaurants, tennis courts, a casino, and golf—only one course, but it’s a Robert Trent Jones, Sr. The three-star Hotel Carayou has a small beach, 207 units in several 3-story buildings, and good children’s programs. Studios with kitchenettes from about $120, low season. Hotel Bakoua Martinique - MGallery Collection also features accommodations in several low-rise buildings, meticulous landscaping, and a beach, but this hotel is favored by business as well as leisure travelers. Off-season rates start at about $230 a night. The premier hotel in Martinique is the ﬁve-star, couples-friendly Cap Est Lagoon Resort & Spa, on the east side of the island. A Relais & Chateaux property with 50 suites in 18 villas, Cap Est Lagoon is chic to the max, with a pretty beach where women can be as topless as men. Off-season rates from about $400 a night, including breakfast for two. In keeping with the new ﬂights, there are new hotels, as well. The ﬁve-star, 17-suite Hotel French Coco is opening this summer. Located next to a protected reserve on the Caravelle Peninsular, it will offer world-class service, design (hint: lots of pure white), and cuisine. Introductory rates start at about $400, including breakfast. P.S. As part of Martinique’s renewed determination to woo American visitors, expect some announcements of FAMs in the coming months. ● Archived related articles (available on recommend.com/magazine/issue-archive): St. Barthelemy Avec Amour (November 2012) contact information Cap Est Lagoon Resort & Spa: capest.com Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek: (888) 932-2582; clubmed.com or clubmedta.com (travel agent login) Eco Dive Grenada: ecodiveandtrek.com Grenada Tourism Board: (800) 927-9554; grenadagrenadines.com or grenadagrenadines.com/media-travel-center/travel-professionals Hotel Bakoua Martinique - MGallery Collection: (800) 221-4542; mgallery.com Hotel Carayou: hotel-carayou.com/anglais.php Hotel French Coco: hotelfrenchcoco.com Laluna: (866) 452-5862; laluna.com Martinique Tourism Board: (212) 838-6887; martinique.org Spice Island Beach Resort: (800) 501-8603; spiceislandbeachresort.com Villa Beachcliff: (473) 456-4323; grenadavillabeachcliff.com 86 april 2013 82-87 CB Martinique.indd 86 New: An Agent Assist for Getting Intimate? Classic Vacations has two new programs for 2013: One is Intimate Escapes, packages featuring luxury boutique properties with fewer than 55 rooms; the other is a new online service center for travel agents called Classic Assist. Since boutique properties are, to a great extent, what Grenada and Martinique are all about, they are both featured in Intimate Escapes. But there are other reasons, too, why Classic Vacations picked resorts on these islands. “Grenada is blessed with incredibly lush vegetation, and it offers a pristine and unspoiled setting,” says Federico Moreno-Nickerson, director, Caribbean & Mexico product development. “Martinique, the ﬂower of the Caribbean, has the best infrastructure in the region, with an airport, roads, and medical services just as you would ﬁnd in France,” continues Moreno-Nickerson. “In Martinique you ﬁnd exceptional culinary experiences,” he adds. “The rhum has earned Denomination of Origin (DOM) status, and waiters are truly knowledgeable about wines.” Intimate Escapes packages are good for travel through Dec. 15, and their added-value features include a romantic dinner worthy of the oyster scene in Albert Finney’s movie “Tom Jones”—but with better food. Much better food. In Grenada the program features Laluna, which certainly fulﬁlls the boutique luxury criteria; in fact, London’s Sunday Times recently named Laluna one of the top 100 hotels in the world. In Martinique the program includes chic, sophisticated Cap Est Lagoon Resort & Spa. “Classic Assist is a one-stop resource to ﬁnd everything travel agents need to help grow their businesses,” explains Elizabeth Rojo, manager, marketing communications. “It includes...ebrochures that agents can customize with their own logos and contact information. They can share the e-brochure through their social media networks.” Classic Assist also includes customizable itinerary tools, webinars, a new global concierge service, a host of how-to guides, and print-on-demand lifestyle brochure. As always, she adds, “Classic Vacations’ Royalty rewards lets travel agents earn points for every qualiﬁed booking that can be redeemed for fabulous travel awards.” (800) 221-3949; classicvacations. com or classicvacations.com/travel-agent/login recommend.com 3/21/13 7:07 AM IB13_05 http://www.recommend.com/magazine/issue-archive http://www.capest.com http://www.clubmed.com http://www.clubmedta.com http://www.ecodiveandtrek.com http://www.grenadagrenadines.com http://www.grenadagrenadines.com/media-travel-center/travel-professionals http://www.mgallery.com http://www.hotel-carayou.com/anglais.php http://www.hotelfrenchcoco.com http://www.laluna.com http://www.martinique.org http://www.spiceislandbeachresort.com http://www.classicvacations.com http://www.grenadavillabeachcliff.com http://www.classicvacations.com/travel-agent/login http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend April 2013

Editor's Notes
The Islands of Tahiti
Hotel Desk: Song Saa Private Island, Cambodia
Tour Talk: Islands in the Sun
A Med Escape: Greek Isles & Cyprus
Set Sail
The Seychelles' Private Island Resorts
Portrait of Israel
Booking 2 on the Isles: Easter Island & Galapagos
Island-Hopping in Mexico: Cozumel, Isla Holbox & Isla Mujeres
The Pulse of Poipu, Hawaii
Florida's Islands: Amelia, Captiva & Sanibel
The Real Caribbean: Grenada & Martinique

Recommend April 2013