Green Monkey Golf Course

The Sandy Lane Resort, located in St. James on the western coast of Barbados, has served as an exclusive getaway for celebrities and discerning personalities since it opened in 1961. It has also been busy accepting accolades from guests and travel industry critics alike. Once you get to Sandy Lane resort you will know why. Its 112 luxurious rooms and suites are set along the Caribbean Sea, and the attractive ambiance between the resort's facilities and the natural beauty of the area have coupled to make Sandy Lane resort one of the premier addresses in all of the Caribbean. Ever since the opening of Sandy Lane Barbados resorts have had a standard to compare themselves with. There is nothing you won't find here when looking for the ideal place for a Caribbean vacation. While Sandy Lane resort and its secluded locale offer a tantalizing getaway for couples and families, it also has become quite the destination for golfers. The resort features three golf courses, with the recently opened Green Monkey golf course leading the way in excellence.

The Green Monkey golf course is part of Sandy Lane's $300 million plus renovation project, $25 million of which went into the course's construction. The course was designed by Tom Fazio, one of the top golf course designers in the world, and it has significantly helped Barbados establish itself among other Caribbean golf destinations such as the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Several first attempts to open the Green Monkey golf course were delayed by Sandy Lane's owners, who were bent on presenting the course in all its possible splendor. For those who are fortunate enough to play a round at Green Monkey, the experience is hard to beat. The first eight holes of the Green Monkey golf course slowly work from a relatively benign first hole into the more drama-filled abandoned quarry. Besides the quarry walls, reaching almost 90 feet high, golfers will enjoy views of the Caribbean Sea throughout their 18-hole journey. Generously wide fairways make for nice shots off the tee, but by no means is Green Monkey golf easy. The greens can be quite complex, and depending on which tees you select, the course could run from 5,410 yards to a long 7,389. Among the Green Monkey golf course's visually pleasing holes is the picturesque par three 16th. An accurate shot down into the quarry will be needed here, or else you might just end up in the green-surrounding bunker. You just might land your shot on the bunker's grass island, which has been shaped like a Barbados green monkey.

The Green Monkey golf course offers five par 5 holes on its card, which could be a reason Tiger Woods likes it so much. In 2004, Tiger Woods, who is a friend of the owners, chose the Green Monkey golf course as the site for his wedding. If you are a soon to be married golf enthusiast looking to mix the ultimate in relaxation and the best in golf, you might consider having your Caribbean wedding at Sandy Lane resort. Although you probably can't hit 300-yard plus drives like Tiger, you can share the same wedding venue. While Green Monkey golf continues to attract professional and amateur players alike, you'll have to be a guest of the Sandy Lane resort to gain access to the course. Whereas this has disappointed those who had hoped the course would be open to the public, it provides the mean's by which Sandy Lane resort can attract golf vacationers to its famed premises.

A round of Green Monkey golf is certainly going to cost you, as the lowest rates you will find at Sandy Lane resort start at $950 a night. That's just the cost for the most modest accommodations during the off-season. As the prices work their way up through the chain of available lodging selections, you can pay up to $25,000 a night for a Villa at Sandy Lane during the peak weeks of mid-December to early January, making Sandy Lane one of the most exclusive Barbados hotels and overall vacation destinations. To play the Green Monkey golf course, you will have to shell out an additional $375, leaving you in a pretty exclusive club. The resort only plans for around 3,000-4,000 rounds to be played at Green Monkey each year, ensuring the course will stay in immaculate condition. The clubhouse is a remarkable venue, complete with the most ideal changing rooms and clubhouse atmosphere. If you need to rent clubs for your Green Monkey golf round, you can pay $65 for Callaway rentals, and you can also rent shoes for $20. There are two other golf courses found at Sandy Lane resort and both are open to players not staying at the Sandy Lane Resort. They are the nine-hole Old 9 course, and the 18-hole Country Club course. In 2006, the Country Club course hosted a World Golf Championship, and hopes are that the Green Monkey golf course will soon figure in among selected venues for professional golf tournaments. At just over 6 miles from the Barbados capital of Bridgetown, the Green Monkey golf course at Sandy Lane resort is an easy find once arriving on the island. The resort's facilities and overall amenities will keep each member of your group satisfied, whether they come to golf or not.

beach hotels in barbados

Visitors to Barbados often immerse themselves in one of two areas on the island: the chic, busy southern coast or the shimmering west coast. Barbados luxury hotels are everywhere though, even on the less visited areas. The island has no concern for price - it"s assumed if you are entering the island, you have plenty of money to throw around. Though the most expensive hotels in Barbados are along the west, you"re never going to be far from the action, no matter where you stay.

The list of Barbados villas is almost as long as the one for the hotels. Better for those who are looking for an extended stay on the island - they are also popular with the many surfers and families that vacation here. Barbados villas are mostly located on the southern coast, in the Hastings-Worthing area, or even a little further north, towards the capital of Bridgetown. The west coast is mostly made up of giant Barbados luxury hotels or an ever-increasing number of time-shares. Hence, what villas you will find for rent are likely to be a short jaunt away from the beach.

The southern coast is where the young and trendy go to hang out. Equipped with enough bars to empty a rum distillery, the St. Lawrence Gap is also a great place to find slightly less expensive hotels (it is also home to most of the island"s hostels, though even those are pricey, relatively speaking). The Casuarina Beach Club is an apartment hotel that it is all peace and quiet during the day and just a short walk to the restaurants, shopping and nightlife that make the area such a draw for tourists. Here you will find a number of resorts, both regular and all-inclusive, amongst the hotels in Barbados.

The Hastings-Worthing area is just as exciting, with the Accra Beach Hotel and the Savannah at your disposal. These are geared a little more towards independent travelers, as they are just as close to the beaches and nightlife as they are historic areas, museums and other entertainment. All along Accra beach and the neighboring Sandy Beach, you will find many of the most competitively priced hotels in Barbados.

The west coast, particularly around Holetown, has more of the traditional Barbados luxury hotels and resorts. If the title has "Almond Beach" in it, you know you are set for a decadent vacation on one of the premier beaches on the island. But pretty much anything along Paynes Bay will be of the same high quality - including the Mediterranean-influenced Tamarind Cove Hotel, or the enigmatic beach sanctuary known only as "The House."

The east coast is the best for Barbados surf hotels. The rougher Atlantic waters are perfect for those who want to catch a wave while on vacation. Luckily for them, the east coast is less crowded, at least during the summer. Because the majority of visitors here are more interested in how the water is than what"s in their hotel room, there are a number of deals to be found here, mainly on simple Barbados villas that do little more than give you a bed and a place to store your surfboard.

beach hotels in aruba

Aruba has a warranted reputation of being one of the party capitals of the Caribbean region. Along with Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Antigua, there"s usually something for you to do at any time of night. Aruba also has a reputation for lavish accommodations. This reputation is equally warranted. The southwest coast is where it's at - two main boulevards house a ridiculous concentration of the resorts in Aruba, the more posh ones lying the further you get from the main city of Oranjestad.

L.G. Smith Boulevard is the cheaper of the two, and runs through the heart of Oranjestad. Many of the resorts in Aruba that you find here conform to the same description: spacious rooms, high prices, beachside bars and a million other vacationers to share your accommodations with. It's not that you have much choice, though. Aruba is a resort island - there's just not enough space for a lot of hotels in Aruba too. There are some, obviously, but most visitors head to Aruba with the images of posh resorts in their eyes. But there are few all-inclusive resorts in Aruba, meaning that you have to be careful when you think you"ve found a deal at one of the Aruba resorts that claim low prices - everything you want will be extra. The other thing that is everywhere along the boulevard are combination Aruba resorts and casinos. If you are staying at a resort, there's a good chance there's a thriving casino attached. Nightlife revolves heavily around dancing and gambling, which is why wave after wave of spring breakers hit the island's shores every year. The Renaissance Aruba Resort and Casino is one of the nicest you'll find, with the added bonus of being located almost directly in downtown Oranjestad.

But that is nothing compared to what you'll find on J.E. Irausquin Boulevard. Like a Caribbean Las Vegas, but with more bikinis, this street is just waiting to assist you with stimulus overload. It"s this street that defines the island, for better or worse. The Aruba resorts and casinos seem to stretch into the ocean and past the breakers. Here you will also find the handful of thriving all-inclusive Aruba resorts, such as the Tamarijn and the Divi.

If you are dead set on avoiding the resorts and staying in one of the few hotels in Aruba, you have your work cut out for you. There are only a few and they are often booked well ahead of time. The MVC Eagle Beach is one of the few that has been allowed to coexist on the beach with all the resorts. Since those establishments steal all the glamour and fashion from the island, the hotels in Aruba don't often bother trying to keep up. If you really want to stay away from Aruba"s main drag, try the Vistalmar, just south of Oranjestad. Free snorkel gear and breakfast almost make up for its distended location, and many visitors prefer it that way.

hotels in cayman island

Year after year, millions flock to the small, picturesque islands of the Caribbean. World-renowned for their laid-back, affable ways, travel to the Caribbean is for those who want to make a point of taking it easy. Mile after mile of bleach-white sand leads to the ethereal blue waters that make the region famous. The ubiquitous presence of fruity rum drinks doesn't hurt, either. Return visitors are common here, and there's no mystery why. Besides, Caribbean travel offers so many different kinds of culture and history that one trip is not enough to see it all. Many go to Jamaica, but no further. Others choose the Cayman Islands. But every island has such a fiercely unique identity that is hard to see just one - the experiences you have on Aruba, are going to be far different than if you visit Guadeloupe.

There are three main regions of the Caribbean. The first are the Greater Antilles, home to Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico, amongst others. Caribbean Island vacations that include these countries (with the notable exception of Cuba) often find a strong American influence. Whether that is a selling point or not is for the individual to judge.

The Lesser Antilles are comparatively small in size, but the sheer amount of islands make it the bulk of the Caribbean arc. Here, the most popular destinations for travel to the Caribbean are the Virgin Islands, Antigua and St. Martin. The final group, the Windward and Southern Islands are the most diverse group for Caribbean travel - you can stay on relatively untouched islands such as St. Lucia or Dominica (where the Pirates of the Carribean was filmed) that remain natural wonders in the face of Caribbean overdevelopment, or you can stay somewhere that has the soft touch of familiarity, such as the always popular Aruba.

A large percentage of tourists come to the islands having purchased Caribbean vacation packages. And while these are easily the best and comfortable, allowing you to take in the luxury of the coral reefs and palm trees, there are many different types of ways to enjoy the islands. The most ambitious, if not popular, approach to Caribbean travel is to get an airpass granting unlimited travel for a selected period of time (usually a month). This way you are free to see a number of islands on one trip. Tired of St. Lucia? Hop a 20 minute plane ride over to Barbados. Or try to get to Trinidad for carnival. Stay a few days on Martinique, and see what Paris would look like if it were located on a sun-kissed beach and it was 80 degrees everyday. Or fly to the British Virgin Islands and escape onto deserted coves where you won't see another human for days.

Long the home of bitter battles and famous pirates, Caribbean island vacations are surpirisngly complex when it comes to rich history and cultural milestones. See the remainder of the Carib Indian lands (for whom the islands are named) or the cave-drawing and ancient landmarks of the peaceful Arawaks for a real look into the past. For years England, Spain, France, Denmark and the Netherlands fought for control of the Caribbean - often resluting in a fascinating combination of cultures on a single island, a rich mixture that only became more mysterious with the addition of the many African tribal traditions that came across the Atlantic as a result of the slave trade.

Travel to the Caribbean doesn't come without a price, however. Those looking for discount Caribbean island vacations have their work cut out for them. But that doesn't mean it's impossible, and if you can avoid the overpriced resorts and restaurants catering primarily to tourists, your dollar can be stretched a lot farther than many would have you believe.

haitian hotels

For low prices and casual resorts, Haiti is the place to go. The stigma attached to Haitian travel is, unfortunately, still there, and the country barely exists as a tourist destination. Regardless of the many hotels in Haiti, many of them are criminally underbooked, many of the beaches go unvisited. The social inequality is appalling, yes, but it is also a land of beauty and mystery. Unfortunately, it is only the former that many countries see when footage of Haiti comes on television.

While many prefer to stay away from the urban setting of Port-au-Prince, those who want to get real insight into Haitian culture will choose its humble array of lodgings. The vicinity of the slums are certainly off-putting, but it is also near many Haiti attractions. Located on the bay, the capital city is a sweeping metropolis that spreads across the Cul-de-Sac Plain to the foothills of the Massif de la Salle. The Hotel Oloffson was once one of the best Haiti hotels, though more elegant models have cropped up since its inception over 20 years ago. Staying here will grant you with access to the Haiti attractions such as Fort Jacques, an ancient fort that bestows guests with unmatched views of the harbor.

One of Haiti's most affluent areas is Petionville. Situated on a serene hillside overlooking the capital, Petionville is the epicenter for restaurants, art galleries and hotels in Haiti. The Kinam Hotel is here, and unlike some of the downtown areas of the city, you are perfectly safe to stroll around at night. Within walking distance are some of the finest Haiti attractions, making this one of the few areas where Haitian tourism thrives. The Hotels El Rancho and Montana are other coveted Haiti hotels.

Although most travelers head to the mountains when on the island, Haiti beaches are quite underrated. One of the most popular Haiti hotels is the Kaliko Beach Club. Though about an hour's drive from the downtown area, it is still considered part of Port-au-Prince. But it looks nothing like it. The black sand beaches and general atmosphere is more like the luxurious Caribbean resorts on other islands – a far cry from what many might expect in this country.

While most of the hotels in Haiti are on the outskirts of the capital city, the island's northern Atlantic coast is growing as a tourist destination too, albeit slowly. Near Cap Haitien, you will find the Citadel, a gigantic fortress built after the country freed itself from French rule. An attempt by the island's first king to build a palace that would rival Versailles, those lucky enough to find a room nearby will be treated to incredible views of the towering structure.

st lucia hotel

Though the island is mostly famous for its sophisticated resorts, there are quite a few hotels in St. Lucia that live up to the same high standards. The island's predilection for all-inclusive St. Lucia resorts – almost all located directly on the beach – means that many of the hotels and villas are not on the water. But what you can afford on St. Lucia is the key – this is definitely not one of the cheaper islands in the Caribbean.

The majority of St. Lucia resorts are in three areas: Rodney Bay, Castries and Soufriere, all on the Caribbean side of the island. The rest of St. Lucia is bathed in mountains and forests – where lodgings are sparsely found, though the city of Vieux Fort on the southern tip has a few to offer. The Coconut Bay Resort St. Lucia has been the heart of many a vacation and honeymoon, but most of the St. Lucia hotels are by the airport, however, and not on the beach.

Of the three main areas, Castries is the most popular place to find villas or hotels in St. Lucia. Far more developed than most of the island, Castries is home to everything that makes St. Lucia so enticing: the beaches, the shopping, the fine rum and the shadows of nature resting in the background. Regardless, many still prefer to stay at one of the posh St. Lucia resorts found here, such as Rendezvous (for couples only) or the Sandals Regency, a resort chain that has spread itself all across the shores of the Caribbean islands.

Rodney Bay is near the north tip, and here you'll find the closest thing to cheap St. Lucia hotels and resorts as you can hope for. The best value is the Caribbean Jewel Beach Resort – just up the hill from the bay. The Reduit Beach area is home to most of these bargain lodgings. The Bay Gardens hotel is probably the best bet for independent, budget conscious travelers, as long as you don't mind sharing your hotel with a large contingent of business people incongruously wearing suits and slacks in a beautiful beach locale.

Soufriere is by far the most traditional and likable setting on St. Lucia. The locals invariably consider Soufriere the best the island has to offer – the cultural center, and surrounded by the tropical Piton peaks and cobalt waters. Resorts and hotels in St. Lucia don't get much better than those at the bottom of Petit Piton. The Stonefield Estate is especially popular, as is the Hummingbird Beach resort which can look out into Soufriere Harbor or the Pitons, as you request. The Ladera is one of the most charming St. Lucia hotels and is located just a couple miles south of Soufriere, and is adjacent to Dasheene, St. Lucia"s most elegant restaurant.

Antigua hotels resorts

When you see the image of a stereotypically lush Caribbean resort on TV or a postcard, you are probably looking at a picture of an Antigua resort. As the years pass, more and more have found their way to the island – crowding around the healthy amount of villas and hotels in Antigua that have been there for years. But with so many beaches on the island, it"s not like you"ll be hard pressed to find the bright sand, regardless of where you choose to stay. Even so, there are a handful of ultra-exclusive Antigua resorts sequestered so far away that they can exist only as all-inclusive choices for the package tour traveler.

In fact, Antigua's nature is to market to a mainstream crowd – thus the all-inclusive resorts in the heavily populated areas are some of the most popular in all of the Caribbean. Thus, many are chain resorts (such as Sandals) offering deluxe grounds that ensure that you see as little of the island as possible. Ideal for honeymoons, family vacations or when traveling with large groups, these people often head to the southern coast, where they effortlessly intermix with the yachting crowd that calls the area home.

For most, however, the western coast of the island is where to stay. The main city of St. John has everything that the Caribbean is famous for – you can play on the beach all day and in the clubs all night. From surfing to clubhopping, the west coast has it all. The most popular resorts and hotels in Antigua curl out from St. John, reaching Dickenson Bay, Runaway Beach and Five Islands Harbor. You can hardly go wrong in this area, but Coco Bay, the Siboney Beach Club and Sunsail Club Colonna have been getting the job done for years. Many choose to stay at Antigua villas, and St. John doesn't disappoint there either. The Dickenson Bay cottages are one of the most affordable, but you have to be prepared to share your lodgings with many neighboring children. For whatever reason, families seem to stake out these Antigua villas.

Jolly Harbor, south of St. John and Hawksbill's beaches, is the other popular place to stay. The Harbor, along with Darkwood Beach and Johnson"s Point have attempted to wrest the title of island party capital from St. John. They have failed, but their attempts are laudable anyway, and make the area an entertaining section to stay in. As far as Antigua villas, the finest are found here, just off the harbor. Here you will also find the largest Antigua resort, the Jolly Beach Resort. What it lacks in personality it more than makes up for with a location on a stunning beach. You will find a wide range of travelers here too, those who have been put off by the pretentiousness of so many of the other resorts and hotels in Antigua.

Every beach, every cove and every harbor tend to have lodging options aplenty - from quaint beachside inns to large-scale luxury resorts, mid-size hotels to hilltop villas overlooking the vast Antigua beaches. The hardest part is choosing which one fits you best.