Late September and early October typically mark the reopening of many luxury resorts throughout the Caribbean. These properties usually close for about a month from the end of August through September as that’s peak hurricane season. This time off provides hotels a chance perform yearly updates—whether that’s guest-facing or back-of-house.
This year, there seems to be plenty that’s new and notable across a variety of hotels throughout the Caribbean, but, before getting to any of these reopenings, we’ve got the latest on the upcoming St. Regis Cap Cana Resort. Set to open in spring 2025 in the exclusive Cap Cana enclave, the resort will have 200 guestrooms, including 36 suites and swim-out suites. In addition, the resort (which was designed by the team behind The St. Regis Kanai, Mayan Riviera, Mexico) will open with nine culinary outlets; among these will be a modern fine dining restaurant, a casual beachside venue, and signature eatery Nina, helmed by celebrity chef Diego Muñoz.
On the accommodation side, we’re partial to the Oasis Suite. This 3,000-square-foot suite has a king bedroom and a separate living space—like most of the suites—but it also has a beachfront location, a private terrace and a private pool. Alternatively, the 1,430-square-foot Palm Suite Swim Out has one king bed separated from the living area by a privacy wall plus access to the swim-out pool. The only accessible room category are Superior rooms, which have two queen beds, a sitting area and a limited ocean view.
Elsewhere on the dining side, guests can enjoy rums and cigars at The Amber Room and culinary events, mixology tastings and chef pop-ups at El Huerto. The St. Regis Cap Cana Resort will also offer a rooftop bar, a signature St. Regis Bar and more.
As for what to do, guests can avail themselves of the Jack Nicklaus-designed Punta Espada golf course and The St. Regis Spa, not to mention a resort and kid-friendly pool. Good to know: Cap Cana is home to Punta Cana’s longest white sand beach.
(St. Regis Cap Cana Resort)
Seasonal Reopenings
When it comes to luxury hotels reopening for the season, here’s a rundown of all that’s going on:
As the trend of quiet travel continues to rise, The Somerset on Grace Bay this season launched a new spa by Spa Tropique. Beyond a few hardware updates (including a new color palette designed in the likes “of a summer sky and tranquil ocean”), the spa has rolled out new treatments, including the “On the Rocks” massage, which combines hot stone therapy with a Swedish massage.
After a day filled with spa treatments and/or lounging by the pool, guests can continue their slow-flow vacation into the evening with the Somerset Sundowner Menu. Research shows that sunsets have a positive impact on our emotional well-being, as it evokes a sense of awe in humans. This can improve mood, increase positive emotions and decrease stress. With the Somerset Sundowner Menu, guests will enjoy special seating on the beach positioned to enjoy the sunset, sunset yoga offerings and a champagne cart to celebrate “another day in paradise.”
Just about next door, the all-inclusive Alexandra Resort recently reopened following renovations to 41 of its Oceanfront Suites, Garden Suites and Studios, plus its lagoon-style swimming pool and lobby. The resort has also hired a new general manager, Aleisa Musgrove-Walkin, who was most recently the GM of Beach House Turks and Caicos on Providenciales.
Located throughout the resort, the newly renovated Oceanfront and Garden Studios and Suites have either Caribbean Sea or garden views, balconies or terraces, new furnishings, luxury linens, modern amenities and access to Grace Bay Beach. All suites have a king bedroom, new bathrooms, a separate living room with a?queen sofa bed and a?full kitchen, while studios offer new king beds and updated bathrooms.
At the pool, guests will find updated landscaping and lounge areas.
Looking forward, Alexandra Resort is slated to unveil further enhancements in 2025, including updates to the Sand Piper Kids Club and Elevate Spa.
Sandwiched between the two aforementioned hotels, The Palms Turks and Caicos is set to unveil a new look when it reopens in early December 2024. This renovation will mark the largest at the resort since it first opened its doors in 2005.
Among the highlights is a completely redesigned lower pool deck, which will be home to a brand-new culinary outpost serving lunch and dinner. Additionally, guests can expect a refreshed spa, retail space and lobby area. In the guestrooms, travelers will find upgraded kitchen countertops, modern lighting, fresh paint and new textiles. In time, the resort plans to continue its guestroom update with stylish new furniture.
Heading to Anguilla and St. Martin, Belmond recently reopened two properties for the 2024-25 season. Among them, Cap Juluca, A Belmond Hotel, Anguilla, which opened October 15, unveiled an array of family-friendly adventures, well-being experiences in partnership with Guerlain, and a retreat led by a celebrated sailor and motivational speaker. Guests can also look forward to a lineup of holiday events, from a Carnival-themed New Year’s Eve bash to spirited workshops inspired by Anguilla’s rich heritage.
(Cap Juluca, A Belmond Hotel)
Unveiled in spring, the Cap Juluca Spa by Guerlain offers exclusive Guerlain rituals that draw inspiration from the Indigenous Arawak tribe—Anguilla’s earliest inhabitants. For something unique, try the “Ocean Vibes” experience, which uses an ocean tambour and ice bubbles to “evoke the calming ebb and flow of the sea.”
Cap Juluca also launched new activities to further connect with Anguilla’s natural resources including?salt?picking—a?practice that harks back to the island’s history when?salt?picking?was a vital part of life.
Pretty Cool: From December 4 to 9, Cap Juluca will offer a five-day “Sail & Soul” retreat, hosted by Portuguese-born sailor and inspirational speaker, Ricardo Diniz. He will guide participants through a series of experiences that blend his nautical expertise with life lessons. Guests will enjoy catamaran adventures, plus morning yoga and sunset meditations led by yogi Jessica Labesehr.
Also in December, the resort’s festive programming will include beachside barbecues and limbo competitions, as well as New Year’s Eve fireworks over Maundays Bay. Guests this season can immerse themselves in local culture with a Johnny cake-making class, a musical workshop led by a local Calypsonian and a costume-making workshop. Anguilla Craft Market Day on December 28 will offer a glimpse into the island’s artisanal traditions.
Over in French St. Martin, Belmond La Samana reopens its doors for the season on November 15. Surrounded by 55 acres of gardens, the resort “promises a season brimming with unforgettable experiences”—from bee-centric wellness therapies and relaxed fine dining to holiday celebrations.
Among the highlights, Diniz and Labesehr will venture to Belmond La Samana to host the “Sail & Soul” retreat December 10-14, right after the program ends in Anguilla. Then, from February 3 to 8, the property will welcome British former professional tennis player James Ward, a Davis Cup champion, to offer complimentary clinics.
Pretty Cool: To further support the ecosystem, La Samanna has launched an on-site apiary with 10 hives. Beyond the honey that will be used in culinary offerings, this new apiary will play a vital part in pollinating the surrounding vegetation, enhancing the health and diversity of the local plant life. Starting January 2025, La Samanna will launch bee-themed wellness experiences, including a “bee-watching” experience, during which guests will don beekeeper suits and climb atop a specially designed structure to observe the secret lives of bees. La Samanna will also introduce artisan workshops, using the wax to create sculptures.
On the festive side, Belmond La Samanna will offer a sunset Hanukkah celebration on December 30, a Christmas Day brunch and dinner and a New Year’s Eve bash, complete with live music, dancing and firework over the Baie Longue.
Also new for the season is a bistro menu at the fine dining restaurant, L’Oursin, helmed by two Michelin-starred chef Marcel Ravin. Highlights include taglioni with caviar and sea urchins and mahi mahi wrapped in banana leaf.
Earlier this year, La Samanna unveiled an interior restyle of the three- and four-bedroom villas. Each of these villas is named after tropical birds found on island (e.g., Sucrier, Colibri and Egret) and is decked out in original impressionist landscape artwork by one of St. Martin’s most celebrated painters, Sir Roland Richardson. Spread across 4,600 square feet, the villas have wrap-around terraces, fully renovated kitchens, al fresco dining spaces set within private gardens and infinity pools.
Tip: These accommodations also include round-trip airport transfers, a 24-hour villa host service and chauffeured transportation around the resort via private golf cart.
When it reopened on October 24, Le Barthélemy Hotel & Spa in St. Barth’s unveiled new dining experiences. These new dining concepts have a focus on fresh, healthy ingredients, rich flavors and immersive experiences.
New this season, Amis St. Barth will host a lively Sunday Brunch where guests can indulge in dishes served from live cooking stations, a boulangerie corner with fresh-baked pastries, and a smoothie and a salad bar. Beyond Sundays, Amis St. Barth will be open for daily lunch, serving up healthy, laid-back, island-inspired French cuisine.
The celestial-inspired Seven Stars Bar will open with a nod to Spanish influences. New for this year, the bar will serve 12 cocktails to reflect each of the zodiac signs, complete with tailor-made glasses that include each zodiac’s symbol and a leather coaster with a poem that captures the spirit of the sign. Live music will be offered every night.
(Le Barthélemy Hotel & Spa)
Le Barthélemy’s rooftop bar opens for the season on November 30 with a reinspired menu focused on Asian cuisine.
Additionally, the “Four-Hands” Guest Chef Dinner Series will bring world-class chefs to the island of St. Barth’s to create a multi-course menu with executive chef Jérémy Czaplicki at Abyss. On the roster for this season are Hong Thaimee, who has two poplar restaurants in New York; Yann Couvreur, acclaimed French pastry chef; Alvaro Clavijo, whose restaurant earned a spot in “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023;” and Antonio Bachour, who has a restaurant and patisserie in Coral Cables and Miami, FL.
On the wellness front, guests this season can book the new grounding experience, “Beachfront & Balanced,” an ancient practice to harness the electrical energy of the Earth by connecting bare skin with the Earth’s damp surface or a grounding mat. It offers such benefits as improved sleep quality, pain relief, reduced blood pressure and stress alleviation.
Alternatively, guests can connect with Earth by helping to regenerate the coral reefs off the Grand Cul-de-Sac with Coral Restoration St. Barth and by learning to reduce food waste with a private Zero Waste Cooking Class with chef Czaplicki.
Further Down the Road
Gencom, the owners of the Fairmont Southampton resort in Bermuda are injecting $550 million to redevelop and expand the 593-room resort.
The extensive redevelopment underway at Fairmont Southampton will modernize the historic resort. Guests will find entirely new guestrooms with updated furnishings and décor, as well as upgrades to the hotel’s lobby and reception area.
Further, the restaurant spaces will undergo a makeover to unveil “sophisticated settings and elevated menu offerings.” What does this mean? Among the other changes, Fairmont’s Beach Club will reemerge as a signature amenity that will include a new oceanside beach grill and a resort-style pool with ocean views. The redevelopment will add a multi-phased residential program with luxury residences branded under the Fairmont flag. The resort is slated to reopen in early 2026, following the comprehensive renovation.
(Fairmont Southampton)
Good to know: In May 2024, Gencom also announced the refinancing of the Rosewood Bermuda, an ultra-luxury hotel with 88 keys and views of the Atlantic Ocean, Castle Harbour and Harrington Sound.
The hotel’s amenities include a 12,000-square-foot spa with eight treatment rooms and a reflecting pool, as well as several dining options. The five-star resort is located in Tucker’s Point, spanning 240 waterfront acres and considered the longest private beach on the island. In all, Gencom will be spending $17 million on the renovation of the Rosewood resort, which will also include improvements to the golf course and clubhouse, the Beach Club and the addition of new amenities and food and beverage options.
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