St. Barts Beauty
Hotel Saint-Barth Isle de France, located on picturesque Flamands Bay, French West Indies, launched its Flamands Villas in January 2011. Boasting nearly 4,300 square feet of living space, the Flamands Villas offer direct access to Flamands Bay, widely regarded as one of St. Barts’ most beautiful beaches. Each villa has a spacious living room, a fitness room, a cinema, a fully equipped kitchen, a complimentary mini-bar, and wireless Internet connection. Each of the three bedrooms has its own bathroom with handmade stone baths, double vanities, a separate dressing area, and oversized windows to let in natural Caribbean light. Rates at the Flamands Villas at Hotel Saint-Barth Isle de France start from around $3,500 per night. isle-de-france.com.
Rising Sun Pattaya, Thailand gets a bold new Hilton hotel.
Hilton Pattaya, a bold new hotel from Hilton Hotels & Resorts, brings sleek, modern, and high-concept elements to the heart of the international beach resort town of Pattaya, Thailand. The hotel, which is about 90 minutes southeast of Bangkok, sits atop the new Central Festival at Pattaya Beach complex, Southeast Asia’s largest beachfront entertainment and shopping. With an exclusive ground-floor entrance, the main lobby of Hilton Pattaya is on Level 16, with guest rooms and suites located from levels 19 to 33 of the hotel tower.
Hilton Pattaya opened its doors at the end of 2010. The property has 302 guest rooms offering stunning 180-degree views of Pattaya Bay from individual private balconies. Each room features a stylish business zone with wireless Internet access, spacious bathrooms with a separate rain shower and bath, and contemporary furnishings and décor. Select rooms and suites offer floor-to-ceiling windows and separate living and dining areas and have been fitted with outdoor bathtubs.
The hotel is the first in Asia to debut the Hilton brand’s global spa concept, eforea: spa at Hilton. The spa, which opened spring 2011, pairs the concept’s three signature spa journeys with customized treatments that draw from Thailand’s indigenous healing wisdoms and natural ingredients.
The resort is also home to three restaurants, including Horizon, the only rooftop sky venue in the resort town (which debuts in the fall) a lobby lounge bar and a poolside restaurant, as well as 24-hour room service. There are also wellness facilities such as an outdoor infinity-edge swimming pool and a health club, set among a landscaped garden. pattaya.hilton.com.
Pristine Peninsula
Set upon a peninsula surrounded by 9.5 miles of oceanfront is Punta Mita, Mexico’s acclaimed resort and residential community, which features two five-diamond-rated resorts, the St. Regis Punta Mita and the Four Seasons Punta Mita. The newest addition to Punta Mita’s real estate portfolio is the Las Marietas condominiums, a collection of oceanview condominiums with floor plans offering two to four bedrooms plus den options. Each condominium boasts more than 3,000 square feet of living space, a gourmet kitchen with granite countertops and high-end appliances, pocket glass doors that seamlessly integrate outdoor and indoor living spaces, an ensuite plunge pool, and 24-hour security. Owners also enjoy eligibility for Premier Membership in Club Punta Mita, which is home to two Jack Nicklaus Signature golf courses and a tennis and fitness center. Prices start from mid-$700,000s to the $800,000s. puntamita.com.
Great Horizons
Roatan, an island off the Caribbean coast of Honduras, welcomed its first golf course in January, The Black Pearl. Designed by legendary father-son duo Pete and Perry Dye, The Black Pearl features 14 holes with ocean views and a Dye-signature, island-green par 3. The island is also home to The Resort & Spa at Pristine Bay, a boutique resort and spa with 60 rooms and suites. Pristine Bay Resort, in partnership with Lancaster Group, is the island’s first five-star hotel. It also features a wide variety of residential products, including bayview and golf course condominiums, two-, three-, and four-bedroom villa units and one-quarter-acre custom home lots, many with unobstructed views of the ocean. Villas start at $800,000 and range up to $1 million; Phase I and II lots are priced from $250,000 to $1.2 million; and condominiums from $348,000 to $700,000. pristinebayresort.com.
Rock On Hard Rock Hotel & Casino opens in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Hard Rock International is splashing onto the Caribbean scene with the opening of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. The 121-acre property on Macao Beach is Hard Rock’s first all-inclusive hotel-casino. The January 2011 opening marked the brand’s debut in the Caribbean. Among the 1,800-room resort’s offerings are accommodations featuring the Hard Rock’s branded “Rock Star Suite,” the signature Rock Spa, iconic music memorabilia, and a Vegas-style casino.
Guests can test their luck at the 48,000-square-foot casino, the largest in the Dominican Republic. Avid and amateur gamers alike can go all-in at its exclusive high-limit poker room, VIP lounge, race and sports book, or any of its 457 slot machines and 40 gaming tables.
Or, get pampered at the renowned Rock Spa, home to an aqua center with hydrotherapy circuits, clay and color therapy steam rooms, saunas, a sensory experience pool, and an ice room. Golfers are challenged at the 18-hole Nicklaus-designed golf course, and gourmands go all out at 11 restaurants offering everything from Brazilian to Asian. Guests also enjoy 11 pools, four swim-up bars, a kid’s pool, and a lazy river. hardrockhotelpuntacana.com.
Little House Revamp
Located in the hills of Nevis, but also featuring its own private beach, the 18th century Montpelier Plantation & Beach offers 20 oceanview rooms, including 16 rooms and three suites. New for 2011, The Little House at Montpelier Plantation & Beach has been completely refurbished. The 1,500-square-foot two-bedroom house, set on two private acres, has breathtaking views of both the Caribbean Sea and the Nevis Peak. The house, which was built in the Nevisian style and originally dates back to the 1700s, is a minute’s walk from resort facilities. The Little House Villa features a master bedroom with a king bed, a second bedroom with two single beds, a living area, a fully furnished terrace, a fully equipped kitchen, and wireless Internet. The resort also welcomed a full-service spa and a new dining experience, Indigo, in 2010. montpeliernevis.com.
The Inlet Sports Lodge, a new 30-unit resort geared toward sport enthusiasts, opened its doors in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina this past November. A fractional-ownership resort, the Inlet Sports Lodge contains studios and two-bedroom luxury suites and truly caters to sporting. The resort’s amenities include a fish cleaning station, a courtyard with grills and a fire pit, and ample storage space for golf and fishing gear. The development also features a pool, a tiki bar, and Bliss restaurant, along with an owner’s club room and concierge services to help plan fishing trips and sporting outings. The Inlet Sports Lodge also caters to eco-tourists, as Murrells Inlet is a natural spot with a wealth of outdoor activities to enjoy. 
Pink Sands, the exclusive resort on the Bahamas’ idyllic Harbour Island, is now offering a limited number of private estates on the picturesque property to be built to owners’ specifications. Only 13 estates will be constructed adjacent to this favorite hideaway for celebrities. Of the privately sited building lots, priced from $700,000 to $1.9 million, 10 are available for purchase. Situated on 20 acres overlooking a beautiful stretch of pink sand beach, the resort’s amenities available to estate owners include concierge, housekeeping, private dining, and a massage studio. Owners can choose to hire their own architects or pick out one of Pink Sands’ turn-key plans; they are welcome to stay at the posh resort while their villas are being built. 
Two new scuba lodges opened in December 2010 in the Galapagos Islands, and a new Dive Academy is scheduled to debut later this spring. Red Mangrove Galapagos and Ecuador Lodges opened the nine-room Santa Cruz Divers Lodge in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island and the five-room Isabela Divers Lodge in Puerto Villamil on Isabela Island in the Galapagos. The Santa Cruz Divers Lodge is adjacent to the soon-to-open Red Mangrove Dive Academy. The Dive Academy will be a full-service diver education center, the largest in Ecuador, with a 20-foot-deep training pool, classrooms, and state-of-the-art diving equipment. Hernan Rodas, founder and owner, says the two new lodges represent his strategy to create a world-class dive destination in the Galapagos by utilizing sustainable small island-based accommodations scattered throughout the region for multi-island land-based dive packages. All-inclusive lodge/dive packages start at just under $1,000 per person for two days and three nights and include all meals, excursions with English-speaking naturalist guides, and use of snorkeling gear and diving equipment. Over 45 separate dive sites are accessible off of four different islands, geared to interest and ability. 
