Long Bay Beach Club’s accommodations include beachfront suites and cabanas
From hotel refurbishments, renovations and re-openings, to a new member of the tourist board, Travel Agent breaks down the latest news from the British Virgin Islands.
Biras Creek Resort in Virgin Gorda recently underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation. The renovations for the resort, which is on a 140-acre peninsula accessible only by helicopter, included new Caloi bikes for island exploration, and renovations to the restaurant (one of the island’s most popular).
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Accessible only by boat or helicopter, Biras Creek Resort has 31 suites set among 140 acres on Virgin Gorda. Biras Creek is on a narrow strip of land between two hills on a narrow peninsula, with views of three distinct bodies of water—the protected lagoon of the North Sound, the open Atlantic Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea. Biras Creek provides a great spot for swimming, sailing, and snorkeling at the edge of the resort’s private white-sand beach—the perfect romantic escape for you and your loved one.
Agents should reach out to Preka Berishaj ([email protected], 877-883-0756), reservations manager for Biras Creek Resort, with any queries.
The former Long Bay Beach Resort & Villas in Tortola re-opened on October 26 as the new Long Bay Beach Club. Recent enhancements have created a more romantic and intimate beach club-style atmosphere, centered on the resort’s beachfront location as well as its highly personalized service.
The 40-room resort now exclusively offers its most popular room categories: beachfront deluxe suites, beachfront rooms and beachfront cabanas. Remodeled on-property offerings include the 1748 Restaurant & Bar, personal check-in service, tennis courts, a gift shop, and the reception and guest services desks.
The original swimming pool and pool bar have been discontinued, but a new swimming pool will be added near the beachfront rooms by mid-2014. A new massage treatment cabana was also slated to be installed near the beachfront rooms in November.
Direct your questions about the hotel to Cathleen Londons ([email protected], 800-858-4618), director of reservation sales.
Oil Nut Bay, residential development on Virgin Gorda owned by American developer David Johnson, and popular with the affluent set, just launched The Cliffs, a special collection of cliff-top retreats. The best room here is the Cliff Penthouse Suite, which is furnished by FENDI Casa and is situated on Virgin Gorda’s eastern cliff tops.
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Oil Nut Bay features just 88 home sites spread along 300 acres. Only accessible by water or helicopter, it is well suited for families seeking a secluded getaway. Nut House Kids Club and Nature Center features a range of activities and programming designed for the entire family while encouraging respect for the land and sea. Oil Nut Bay offers age-appropriate activities for younger children, tweens and teens, led by a team of dedicated professionals. The property also has a spa and wellness center, its own marina, and is adjacent to Tortola’s YCCS Marina.
The go-to person is Emily Oakes ([email protected], 284-393-1011), director of marketing.
Guana Island recently renovated about half of its 15 cottages and four villas. Another addition to the property is an elBulli-trained head chef, Xavier Arnau Gili, whose dishes—apple gazpacho with shrimp, etc.—incorporate local ingredients from the organic orchard. There are also plans to harvest winter vegetables from a new greenhouse.
Agents with questions about the Guana Island should get in touch with Jason Goldberg ([email protected], 800-54-GUANA), general manager.
In anticipation of the Bitter End Yacht Club’s 40th anniversary in 2015, Managing Director Dana Hokin announced last month a refresh of the resort, and the opening of the Adventure Center. Guests returning to Bitter End this season will find a revamped pool, expanded pool deck, also known as the “West Deck,” and brand new furniture throughout the premises.
In addition to Bitter End’s U.S. Sailing-accredited Sailing, Windsurfing, and Kite Surfing School, the new Adventure Center gives guests access to a fleet of over 100 sailboats, kayaks, windsurfers, stand-up paddleboards, and small motorboats. Seasoned experts are on hand to train guests at any level on all of the watercraft. The resort has plans to hold the weekly Beer Can Regattas and the morning sessions of the Sunday Regatta in the Eustatia Sound as well.
The resort is also in the early stages of planning to repurpose and convert the North Sound Cottages into a residential villa property, offering guests the opportunity to call the Bitter End home. Dana Hokin ([email protected], 284-494-2746) can answer travel agents’ queries.
New Marketing Consultant
In September, the British Virgin Islands Tourist Board announced the appointment of a new global marketing consultant, Nerdin St. Rose. St. Rose is a veteran in the tourism industry with 20 years of international experience gained from working in the fields of tourism, hospitality and marketing for countries such as the Cayman Islands, Turks & Caicos Islands, the United States and her native island of St. Lucia.
She started her career in the hotel sector in the 1980s, and most recently served as vice president, marketing and sales, for the St. Lucia Tourist Board for more than three and a half years. There she developed and managed the implementation of the island’s annual global tourism marketing plan and budget, as well as successfully instituting several processes that have resulted in the island’s growth in tourism arrivals since 2010, despite the economic recession.
New Corporate Jet Center
The British Virgin Islands Airport Authority and IAM Caribbean, headquartered in Barbados, signed an agreement on October 30, 2013, for the establishment of a Jet Centre at the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport. Based on a robust and steadily increasing demand for premium business Jet facilities in the British Virgin Islands over the last few years, IAM Jet Centre Tortola is set to open by mid-January 2014, and will join an expanding family of IAM facilities across the Caribbean: in Barbados; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Grenada, which is scheduled to open later this month.
Oil Nut Bay’s Cliff Penthouse Suite bathroom