SAINT LUCIA RANKED IN TOP 10 FOR RELAXATION & ROMANCE\\ 

John Emmanuel 
Tel: + 1 (758) 452 4094
johnemmanuel@stlucia.org

CASTRIES, Saint Lucia (June 29, 2010) - One of the world's top sources for travel tips and advice has placed the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia among its 10 best destinations.

The TripAdvisor 2010 Travelers' Choice Best Destination Awards put Saint Lucia in the Top 10 Destinations in the Caribbean & Mexico region for two categories: Relaxation & Spa as well as Romance.

"We are delighted to be recognized by travelers as tops in the Caribbean," says Saint Lucia's Director of Tourism Louis Lewis, who believes this latest award adds to an accomplished list of accolades earned by Saint Lucia and its hotel partners this year.

Lewis disclosed that the Saint Lucia Tourist Board had placed strong emphasis on promoting the island as an ideal place for both relaxation and romance over the past few years. "We are comforted that more and more visitors are responding with feeling to our romance messaging and feeling the relaxing effect of the massaging they receive once they visit our shores."

In addition to the two popular travel categories, Saint Lucia was also named amongst the Top 25 destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico for 2010. Trip Advisor's 2010 Traveler's Choice Awards also gave top-ranking to a number of Saint Lucia's inns, villas and resorts. 

TripAdvisor, an operating company of Expedia, Inc. and one of the world's largest travel websites, assists travelers with real information, advice, and opinions from millions of travelers. TripAdvisor.Com is a place for insights and tips, that is alive with experiences and opinions. A friendly and relaxed community filled with honest conversations between travelers, it's a place that feels like a local neighborhood coffee shop or café.

 

 

St Lucia's Jade Mountain is world number one for service
Friday, June 11, 2010/ www.caribbeannetnews.com
SOUFRIERE, Saint Lucia -- Being on a hill commanding breathtaking views from one of the most stunning architectural marvels helped Jade Mountain get to the summit of the world's top resorts - but it was attention to the little things that attracted its latest award. Attention to service in the hospitality industry made all the difference and Saint Lucia's Jade Mountain resort was named number one by a prestigious magazine.   Jade Mountain Resort, overlooking St Lucia's twin Piton peaks Much-admired Saint Lucian resort, Jade Mountain, was given full marks by Travel + Leisure magazine readers for charm and attention to detail "in a region where island spirit often equals slow or spotty attention." Number One in the Caribbean and Number Three worldwide based on the results of a 2009 Travel + Leisure "World's Best Awards" readers' survey, Jade Mountain placed number one out of 10 hotels for "World's Best Service" this year and was the only Caribbean hotel in the Top 10 according to the June 2010 edition of the magazine. Second and third place went to Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat in South Africa and The Goring in London respectively. In the Top 10 Caribbean category, Jade Mountain dominated, placing ahead of Eden Rock in St. Bart's and Couples Negril in Jamaica. Its sister property Anse Chastanet Resort placed fourth. "Our resort team continues to place service quality at the top of our agenda and we spare no resource to ensure that each day we are at the top of our game," said Karolin Troubetzkoy, the resorts' executive director of marketing and operations. Troubetzkoy thanked Travel + Leisure readers for continuing to refer Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet for its service excellence. The magazine features Jade Mountain butler Vitalis Louis, a master at towel art who creates impressive swan designs. "But I try to do more for guests than decorate the room," he commented. And what makes the Jade Mountain majordomo so special? "A newly married couple wanted to dine on cooked lobster while paddling in a dugout canoe. I caught two lobsters, which required a special permit; then I asked a fisherman to modify his small boat to look like a canoe. My work paid off!" Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet enjoy one of the most scenic settings in the Caribbean, overlooking Saint Lucia's twin Piton peaks, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Nestling in a 600-acre estate with two soft sand beaches bordering pristine coral reefs, Anse Chastanet is in complete harmony with its natural surroundings and offers excellent diving facilities plus many other activities. In the fall of 2006, Anse Chastanet's architect and owner Nick Troubetzkoy completed construction of Jade Mountain. His bold architectural design - individual bridges leading to extravagant infinity pool sanctuaries and rugged stoned-faced columns reaching towards the sky - have established Jade Mountain as one of the Caribbean's most unique resort experiences. The Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism (CMEx) awarded its special Emerald Award to Jade Mountain for high-end resorts which combine a commitment to luxury and the use of tourism to improve the destination, its people and the environment.

 

 

 

A French flip for St Lucia Carnival
Wednesday, June 9, 2010/ www.caribbeannetnews.com
CASTRIES, Saint Lucia -- Saint Lucia's premiere cultural showpiece, Carnival, is receiving additional overseas exposure thanks to a French-based media outlet. Last week, the island played host to a three-member broadcast crew from Martinique's national radio and television station, RFO (Radio-Télévision Française d' Outre-Mer). Facilitated by the Saint Lucia Tourist Board, the RFO team started documenting the 2010 carnival season which officially got underway on Sunday, June 6 at Samaans Park. The team was led by RFO's Director of Caribbean Affairs Max Maurice-Madelon who, over the past 10 years, has played a pivotal role in getting French media authorities to pay greater attention to Saint Lucia's rich and diverse cultural heritage. Maurice-Madelon says although RFO has covered Saint Lucia Jazz and Carnival celebrations for close to a decade, this year marks the first time that coverage is being provided from the start of the festival. The RFO team will return to Saint Lucia during the peak of carnival celebrations from July 16 to 21 to document the Carnival Queen show and the two-day Parade of the Bands. The team will produce an hour-long documentary on the street parade together with two half-hour shows. The first will showcase events staged at various venues like Samaans Park, while the other will highlight the participation of a Martiniquan band in local carnival. It will trace their departure in Fort-de-France on board L'Express des Iles to their arrival at Port Castries, their interaction with Cultural Development Foundation officials and their actual participation in the carnival jump up on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. Saint Lucia's Director of Tourism Louis Lewis says, "The French market of Martinique and Guadeloupe has always been a priority for Saint Lucia and continues to hold tremendous potential for further boosting tourist arrivals and increasing revenues." According to Lewis, "all is being done to further expose Saint Lucia and its many offerings to as wide a cross section of that market as possible, and the Saint Lucia Carnival serves as the perfect vehicle for doing that." Last year, a record number of carnival bands from Martinique and Guadeloupe participated in Saint Lucia Carnival.

 

 

WINAIR adds St Lucia, Dominica and Tortola to routes
Friday, June 9, 2010/ www.caribbeannetnews.com
BRADES/PHILIPSBURG -- Three new routes have been added by the regional airline WINAIR, which has been the main carrier into Montserrat since the opening of the new airport in 2005. Starting June 28 the airline will be offering flights into St Lucia, Dominica and Tortola. WINAIR's Managing Director, Edwin Hodge said after extensive and significant talks, the airline was able to secure the new routes, noting it will help to boost the company's operations. "We are very excited to launch these new routes as it helps us to provide better and more enhanced services to the people of the region," Hodge added. "The new flights will complement our existing service and provide our customers with more travel options when using WINAIR." WINAIR hopes the additional routes will be attractive to those travelling for business, diplomatic service, to visit family and friends, and the tourism industry. Hodge, who once flew for the airline, said the company's continued growth will be based on their experience and commitment to service. He added this new investment perfectly reflects that. A Jetstream 32 aircraft has been acquired to service the new routes. Vice President of Marketing, Claudio Buncamper said that the relevant stakeholders are happy. "Our primary aim is to not only offer our passengers excellent connections and service but we want to ensure they are safe and secure." Buncamper pointed out that WINAIR continues to set standards in travel and there is much untapped potential in the region. "I am of the firm view that with the addition of these three routes it promises to serve the unmet needs of discerning corporate and leisure flyers," the VP of Marketing said. Buncamper declared that WINAIR's goal is to emerge as the market leader within the Caribbean and they are on course to do just that. WINAIR is presently loading its online flight schedule for the new destinations which will connect to all of WINAIR destinations. The airline is also hopeful that even more routes will be added in the coming months.