12 Caribbean Resorts Fully Recovered After This Season’s Hurricanes
Hermitage Bay, Antigua
This gorgeous little all-inclusive resort has a spectacular strand of white sand beach and gorgeous villas built up into the side of a hill, with outdoor showers and mosquito-netted beds. (Some at the peak even have private plunge pools.) The island was largely unscathed—a surprise since the eye of Hurricane Irma appeared at one point to be headed straight there. The property itself sustained minimal damage (such as downed foliage) during the severe storm season and opened within a week of Hurricane Irma, and it looks like the mild winter—see the predictions here—will guarantee a drama-free stay. Bonus: The resort is donating $50 to the One Caribbean Family initiative for every booking taken up to December 15.
Viceroy Sugar Beach, St. Lucia
This verdant island lies 400 miles away from where Hurricane Irma hit and about 100 miles away from Hurricane Maria, and so this stylish property on the site of an 18th-century sugar plantation was fortunate not to lose as much as a palm frond in the storms. They didn’t have to close for even a night, and now are finding that guests who may have planned to travel to St. Bart’s or Anguilla this winter are flocking to their lovely shores—in Soufrière, on 100 acres of rainforest—instead.
Belmond Maroma, Riviera Maya
This swathe of shoreline on Mexico’s Caribbean coast is another one that sustained only minimal damage. Sure, newer properties exist, but we find this one hard to beat: Maroma has a stunning piece of white sand shoreline—one of the best on the coast—with plush lounge chairs lining the shore and buttoned up service as well as a great location near the cenotes (underground rivers) of the region as well as the Mayan ruins. And if you fall in love with Mexico while you’re there, you may want to consider applying for this job…
Park Hyatt, St. Kitts
This brand new property (the brand’s first in the Caribbean) opened its doors for the first time on November 1, and while the island was spared the worst of the hurricanes, the opening was pushed back because of the storms. Because all 300 employees of the property are locals (which has a huge impact on the island’s economy), you can know you’re contributing while still, you know, sitting in the sun under a palm tree.
Breezes Nassau, Bahamas
While the Bahamas did feel Irma’s wrath, the path of the storm was further south from Nassau. This all-inclusive resort is a favorite of honeymooners and couples looking for a one-fare-gets-you-everything rate—here are some more affordable, all-inclusive options. Having weathered the storm with light rain and wind, the hotel has remained open. All activities are running normally, from the included water sports to the included frozen drinks being whipped up at the swim-up bar.
Azul Beach Resort Sensatori, Jamaica
This modern resort on Negril’s Seven Mile Beach opened a major expansion last May, and (like the rest of the island) was spared from the storms. The sprawling property has seven pools and nine restaurants and serves families as well as couples with everything from kids’ clubs to swim-up suites and an adults-only section.
Amanera, Dominican Republic
While the stunning, Asian-influenced Amanyara in the Turks and Caicos isn’t scheduled to reopen until mid-December, her sister property in the Playa Grande part of the Dominican Republic reopened November 1. (The resort had been closed for maintenance when the storms hit, and had always planned to reopen on that date.) Picture Balinese-style daybeds by the pool, a lush golf course, and holistic spa treatments that use local plants and herbs.
We can’t get enough of these beaches with the clearest water in the world.
Ocean Club and Ocean Club West, Turks and Caicos
These two properties on gorgeous Grace Bay Beach in stunning Turks and Caicos are both reopened and only had minimal cosmetic damage to begin with, such as downed trees and damaged shrubbery. Once again, the pink umbrellas are open along the palm-lined beach which is lined with apartment-style accommodations. Bonus: You’re not too far from the Island of Puppies—check it out!
Sandals, Barbados
This resort—the newest in the chain—opened in 2015 after a $65 million renovation, and now has a wide array of dramatic room options, including beachfront butler suites and swim-up river suites in the resort’s tropical garden. Popular with honeymooners, this couples-only property caters to newlyweds with all-inclusive fares and private soaking tubs on most of the terraces.
Curtain Bluff, Antigua
This luxury all-inclusive was closed for a six-month, $13 million renovation this fall and reopened in October. Now, the resort—known for its diving and gorgeous strand—offers beach concierges that can set up, say, a hammock wherever you would like to stretch out and deliver a chilled cocktail to your lounge chair on the edge of the surf or even bring water sports equipment right to you. And it’s one of the top five Carribean destinations to cure your winter blues!
Bucuti Beach Resort, Aruba
Aruba is outside the so-called “hurricane belt” in the Caribbean, and was spared the wrath of all of this fall’s storms, as usual. This gem-like adults-only beach resort, a honeymooner-fave, was not affected at all and was able to leave their doors open for couples whose trips to other isles were canceled. Be careful when you go—you could get hooked: Aruba is the most revisited travel destinations in the Caribbean.
Four Seasons, Nevis
This island only had cosmetic damage from both hurricanes—fallen shingles, downed trees—and the Four Seasons closed for about a week for each of the two storms to clean up. Today, their palm-lined golden shores, golf course, tennis courts, and three infinity-edge pools are open as usual.
