St. John, VINP and Caneel Bay Make Caribbean Travel + Life’s Best of Caribbean Readers List

With more than 250,000 individual votes cast, Bonnier Corp’s Caribbean Travel + Life revealed  its readers’ favorites in its annual Best of the Caribbean special issue (Jan./Feb. 2010), on newsstands Dec. 21.

St. John was named Best Island to Live On and given an honorable mention in Best Overall Destination. Caneel Bay Resort was named Best Midsize Hotel and the V.I. National Park was named Best Natural Attraction or Park by Caribbean Travel + Life readers. Trunk Bay was also given an honorable mention for Best Beach.

All 24 award recipients, including the biggest winner, Puerto Rico, will be featured in the magazine and will be honored at the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association’s Caribbean Marketplace in January in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Puerto Rico edged out Jamaica and St. John as top destination. Puerto Rico also picked up several honorable mentions in multiple categories, including Best Shopping; Best Adventure Destination; and Best Natural Attraction or Park.

The editors of Caribbean Travel + Life have spent the past 25 years scouring the Caribbean to find the region’s best beaches, hotels, restaurants and attractions. Each year, Caribbean Travel + Life invites its readers to vote for their favorites in the annual Best of the Caribbean Readers’ Choice awards.

“The response for the 2011 awards was overwhelming, with more than 17,000 registered voters,” said Guy Britton, Caribbean Travel + Life publisher.

For the first time, the awards will be presented at CHTA’s Caribbean Marketplace, which is widely regarded as the most important marketing event in the region. The CHTA represents the entire spectrum of the hospitality industry’s private sector, including 36 national hotel associations across the Caribbean region, more than 850 hotel members with approximately 125,500 rooms, and more than 600 supplier companies represented as allied members.

Best Overall Destination: Puerto Rico
Honorable Mention: Jamaica; St. John, USVI

Best Festival: Trinidad Carnival
Honorable Mention: Reggae Sunfest, Jamaica; St. Lucia Jazz Festival

Best Island to Live On: St. John, USVI

Honorable Mention: St. Thomas, USVI; Grand Cayman

Best Happy Hour: Rick’s Café, Jamaica
Honorable Mention: Sunset Beach Bar, St. Maarten; Soggy Dollar, BVI

Best Luxury Resort: Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos
Honorable Mention: Jade Mountain, St. Lucia; Fowl Cay Resort, Bahamas

Best Family Resort: Atlantis, Bahamas
Honorable Mention: Beaches Turks & Caicos; The Buccaneer, St. Croix, USVI

Best Rum: Cruzan
Honorable Mention: Tortuga; Appleton

Best Beer: Red Stripe
Honorable Mention: Carib; Presidente

Best Shopping: St. Thomas, USVI
Honorable Mention: St. Martin; Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

Best Adventure Destination: Belize
Honorable Mention: Riviera Maya, Mexico; Puerto Rico

Best Snorkeling & Diving: Belize
Honorable Mention: Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico

Best Small Hotel: Little Cayman Beach Resort
Honorable Mention: Rincón Beach Resort, Puerto Rico; Peter Island, BVI

Best Midsize Hotel: Caneel Bay, St. John, USVI
Honorable Mention: W Retreat & Spa, Vieques Island, Puerto Rico; Rosewood Little Dix Bay, BVI

Best Restaurant: The Cliff, Barbados
Honorable Mention: Kon Tiki, St. Maarten; Cracked Conch, Grand Cayman

Best Golf Resort: Four Seasons, Nevis
Honorable Mention: Sandy Lane, Barbados; Half Moon, Jamaica

Best Resort Spa: Silver Rain, Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman
Honorable Mention: Golden Door Spa, Las Casitas Resort, Puerto Rico; Hotel Guanahani & Spa, St. Barts

Best Beach: Seven-Mile Beach, Grand Cayman
Honorable Mention: Trunk Bay, St. John, USVI; Grace Bay, Turks and Caicos

Resort With the Best View: Jade Mountain, St. Lucia
Honorable Mention: Anse Chastanet, St. Lucia; Peter Island, BVI

Best Bang for the Buck Resort: Beaches Turks & Caicos
Honorable Mention: Lazy Parrot Inn, Puerto Rico; Sunset House, Grand Cayman

Best Mega-resort: Atlantis, Bahamas
Honorable Mention: Wyndham Sugar Bay, St. Thomas, USVI; Caribe Hilton, Puerto Rico

Best All-Inclusive Resort: Beaches Turks & Caicos
Honorable Mention: Peter Island, BVI; Jumby Bay, Antigua

Best Island for Celebrity-Watching: St. Barts
Honorable Mention: Turks and Caicos; Anguilla

Best Natural Attraction or Park: Virgin Islands National Park, St. John, USVI
Honorable Mention: El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico; Bonaire National Marine Park

Best Romantic Resort: Jade Mountain, St. Lucia
Honorable Mention: Peter Island, BVI; The Caves, Jamaica