New Executive Chef L'Azure - Michael Hinds

The Crane, renowned for its historic charm and pristine beaches, is excited to introduce its newest addition to the culinary team – L’Azure’s Executive Chef Michael Hinds.  Prior to joining The Crane, Hinds served as executive chef and director at Aqua Restaurant & Lounge.

One of Michael's mouth watering creations - Herb Crusted Lamb.

Steel Pan in the Crane Village

This week The Crane unveiled the first opening in the new Village retail shopping and dining area, with a celebratory cocktail party for members, in-house guests, and Barbados’ Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Richard Sealy.

The party truly sparkled, with live steel pan music complementing the shiny jewels on display in the brand-new Colombian Emeralds store. A live fish cake station completed the Bajan village street feel, as guests mingled against the backdrop of the heritage architecture of an 18^th century Barbadian town.

Crane guests enjoying The Village celebration

With a phased opening over the next several months, the 55,000 square-foot Crane Village is expected to become the new heart of the resort community.

The next stage of opening, within a few weeks, will reveal a 3,000 sq. ft Duty Free shopping centre in partnership with Duty Free Caribbean (Cave Sheperd, Pages Bookstore, and Ganzee) followed closely by The Town Hall, a state-of-the-art conference facility.

The Town Hall meeting and function space will offer a spectacular venue for conferences, receptions and private functions, featuring a view of the iconic Crane pool. This area will accommodate up to 150 guests, banquet-style.

Along with duty-free shopping, the Village will also feature resort wear at Dingolay, Barbadian art and crafts at Tamarind Seed, resort keepsakes at the Crane Signature Shop and a selection of fresh food, wine and convenience items at The General Store.

Later in the year, guests will also benefit from the variety of dining and entertainment options, such as D’Onofrio’s for Southern Italian fare, Pizza Terrace with al fresco dining, The Village Café for fresh bread and coffee, and Bar 1887 featuring Rum Shop Happy Hour with authentic Bajan Tapas.

Guests strolling through the cobble stone streets will notice the grandeur of Barbadian design captured throughout The Village, featuring elements of historical architecture, steep gable roofs, wooden shutters and ornate fretwork integrated with fine mahogany features, distinctive lime stonewalls and typical breezy verandahs; all surrounded by beautiful landscaped gardens.

Barbados' Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy and The Crane's Paul Doyle check out Colombian Emeralds

What could be better than the sweet sounds of jazz combined with the cool breezes and spectacular backdrop of The Crane?

The Crane is pleased to announce that it is the official hotel sponsor of the Barbados Jazz Festival in January 2009, for the third year running.

As part of the week-long festivities, the resort will be hosting a dinner show in its two Zagat-rated restaurants followed by a two-hour performance at the fabulous Cliff Pools on Thursday, January 16^th, 2008.

This year’s show features Errol Ince, an accomplished West Indian trumpeter.

Tickets are going fast; for bookings, contact concierge@thecrane.com.  For more information on the Barbados Jazz Festival, visit www.barbadosjazzfestival.com.

The Crane, for over 100 years a distinctive part of the Barbadian hospitality landscape, has today received new recognition with the bestowing of the prestigious Four-Diamond Award by the Automobile Association of America (AAA), joining the ranks of three other premier properties in Barbados.  Developed on a phased basis from its original 18 rooms over the last eight years, today this premier residential resort features 202 rooms, five swimming pools, and three restaurants.  Priding themselves on warm Barbadian hospitality, the hotel’s management and staff have placed increasing emphasis on service over the last number of years and are pleased to announce that, along with the concurrent product development, these training and development efforts have been rewarded with the AAA designation.

AAA Diamond ratings for hotels represent a combination of the overall quality, range of facilities, and level of services offered by the property, and the descriptive ratings are assigned exclusively to properties that meet and uphold AAA’s rigorous quality standards.  In order to receive a Four-Diamond Award, the property must be upscale in all areas. Accommodations are progressively more refined and stylish, and the physical attributes reflect an obvious enhanced level of quality throughout. The fundamental hallmarks at this level include an extensive array of amenities combined with a high degree of hospitality, service and attention to detail.  In 2008, a total of 1,159 hotels and 756 restaurants received the AAA Four Diamond Award. AAA Four Diamond hotels and restaurants represent just 3 percent of the 60,000 AAA Approved and Diamond rated properties.

Continuing its product development, The Crane will also open a Barbadian retail village in early 2009, to offer guests and visitors to the hotel a 3,000 square foot duty-free environ, a number of small shops and boutiques featuring local art, fashion and food products; two additional restaurants, and a new conference centre.  The resort is also adding three phases of garden residence suites before the end of 2009, bringing its total room inventory to 282.

While Crane Beach has long been recognized as one of the best beaches in the world, The AAA Four-Diamond award is added to a growing list of accolades that the resort has received recently, including the Pillar of Tourism Award in 2007 and the Top Restaurant - Food in the Best of Barbados Zagat 2009 Guide, for Zen restaurant.

Perched atop a cliff overlooking Crane Beach, Zen restaurant took the top rating in the Food category, of all restaurants on the island. The restaurant, which features classic Thai and Japanese cuisine, has a fantastic panoramic ocean view, traditional Grand Tatami room, an exquisite sushi bar and private rooms for dining. It’s no wonder that reviewers declare it is “worth the drive” for Zen’s delicious cuisine.

We are extremely proud to be the home of the top restaurant in Barbados!

The accolades were presented to The Crane at Zagat’s award ceremony held at the Fairmont Royal Pavilion in St. James on Saturday, September 13.

Both Zen and L’Azure restaurants were honoured with ratings in the ‘Top Ten Most Popular Restaurants’ and ‘Top Hotel Dining’ categories. L’Azure was praised for its “incredible Gospel Sunday brunch” and described by one reviewer as “heaven on earth.”

The Best of Barbados Guide is the only Zagat Guide for a Caribbean destination. Now in its third year, the 2009 Guide features 181 restaurants, night spots, attractions and golf courses stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Caribbean Sea. The ratings and reviews are based on the collective opinions of more than 1,500 savvy locals and frequent visitors.

About Zagat Survey:
Zagat Survey is the world’s leading provider of consumer survey-based leisure content. With more than 250,000 surveyors, Zagat Survey rates and reviews restaurants, nightlife, movies, music, golf, shopping and a range of other entertainment categories.

Zen Restaurant's Grand Tatami Room

So it’s always nice to have a second (and third) opinion!

Thanks to the “Cruise Foodie” at Concierge.com and Neysha Soodeen of MACO magazine, who recommended us to The Travel Channel, Crane Beach has now been officially recognized as one of the world’s Sexiest Beaches by these two significant authorities on travel. 

This is in addition to our renowned accolade as One of the Best Beaches in the World (Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous) and the BBC’s Holiday programme recognition of Crane Beach as one of the “Top 100 places to see before you die.”

So if you haven’t dipped your toes in our pink sand yet, what are you waiting for?

The "Sexiest..." Crane Beach

Links:

Cruise Foodie

http://cruise4cuisine.blogspot.com/2008/08/worlds-sexiest-beaches-2008-little.html

Travel Channel

http://www.travelchannel.com/Travel_Ideas/Beach_Vacations/ci.World%27s_Sexiest_Beaches.artTravelIdeasFmt?vgnextfmt=artTravelIdeasFmt

Ready for Play...

The Crane’s anticipated tennis courts are now open and playable and we invite all tennis buffs to come and play to their heart’s content!  Two floodlit tennis courts are now located North of Building 9, with a gazebo offering water for refreshment.  Rackets will be on loan to our guests, and tennis balls will be available for sale.

In other renovation and expansion news, the iconic Crane pillars by the Crane Beach pool have been restored (as they were starting to show a few signs of their very respectable age in the history of the property).  

The Village 

Barbados boasts a wealth of architectural treasures and one of the most unique is the Chattel House. This charming style forms the core ambiance of The Crane Village, which will feature steep gable roofs, wooden shutters, and ornate fretwork, integrated with distinctive coral stone walls and typical, breezy verandahs.  The grandeur of Barbadian Victorian design will also be captured in the village’s gas lamps, iron work, defined arches and architectural ceiling cornices.

The Village will be the new hub of The Crane, offering an opportunity to enjoy the best of Bajan street life without any traffic!  Stroll through the Rum Club, sip on a rum swizzle, stop by the Bakery for freshly baked bread, grab a Pizza or drop into the General Store and hear the latest village talk.  If you are just after some shopping, The Village will offer a signature collection of retail shops, an artisan store, a Caribbean art gallery, a resort wear boutique, and a 3,000 square foot duty free environ featuring jewelry, destination souvenirs, surf wear, liquor, perfumes and tobacco.

Stay tuned for progress updates on the Village as it moves forward to anticipated exterior completion in December 2008. 

The Main Village Street

Village Exterior Facade