Construction On Banyan Tree/Black Bess Golf & Villa Project Causing Local Headache

"CONSTRUCTION ON THE SITE of the $600 million Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts Ltd at Black Bess, St Peter, has taken a toll on 82-year-old Gellispie Springer.
Springer, who lives below the site at Upper Rock Dundo, St James, said her life has been disrupted by falling boulders and mould, loud noises from bulldozers and now a mass of water.
Whenever it rains, water gushes down the cliff above her and floods around her house and the road.
"If you see how the water rush down from there and flood my whole yard; I had to say Lord have mercy!" the elderly woman cried as she pointed to the cliff which is about 50 to 60 feet high..."

Click here for entire NationNews.com article.

Who knew that this project was restarted? Last we heard this project was shuttered and/or abandoned because of the recession. Be that as it may, the headache it is causing this old lady is another episode in a long string of problems construction on luxury tourism developments on or near the west coast have caused for locals and the environment. Some people in the area still blame a massive flood and rushing water which swept through the village of Weston, St. James several years ago washing one chattel house out to sea and drowning its occupant in the process, on construction related issues at the Royal Westmoreland golf and villa project. There has been no end of headaches for locals with the Apes Hill/Waterhall project involving everything from dry water taps to pushing people off lands. And, of course, the nightmare created in Road View/Mullins by the St. Peter's Bay condo project has been well documented on the Mullins Bay Blog. In all of these and other cases Government has stood aside with its arms folded and mouth shut - it too a victim and sometimes facilitator of the greed that currently grips Barbados by the throat.

New West Coast Boardwalk Already Buried In Sand And Rocks

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Without much fanfare the new West Coast Boardwalk in Holetown was opened to the public recently, but that did not stop Mother Nature from "welcoming it into the fold" by way of some northerly swells which battered the west coast for several days last week burying large swaths of the concrete, steel and granite boulder structure in sand and large rocks.  As the photos above taken yesterday illustrate it is already forcing patrons to gingerly climb on top of curbs and otherwise find ways to bypass the obstructions.  We have seen this sort of thing with the South Coast Boardwalk already, so here we go again...

 

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First, however, let me highlight what I think are some of the positive things about the new boardwalk.  It is a fantastic place to watch our famous west coast sunsets.  Ample sitting has been provided particularly on the section between the old Holetown Chefette and Beachlands for locals and visitors alike to relax and take in those magical moments as the sun goes down in the evening.  In doing so this boardwalk has reopened for all to enjoy a huge section of our coastline which was lost to beach erosion and other impediments like seawalls and rock revetments, etc.  Even though there are no wooden slats like those on the south coast boardwalk already many people are utilizing the new concrete path for walking, jogging and otherwise getting in or staying in shape.  Theoretically, one should now be able to walk on boardwalk or sandy beach from the area around Discovery Bay Hotel in Holetown in the north clear through to Sandy Lane and Paynes Bay in the south.  Whether that is yet practical is another matter.

    

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For that reason some have already labeled it "the boardwalk from nowhere to nowhere."  It starts in the north near Zaccios Restaurant (formerly Cocomos), in my view destroying the little sandy beach that was already there, and continues south to the old Chefette where the paved walkway stops and the sandy beach that was there widened and lengthend.  It starts back behind the old Regent Hotel and ends in a pool of water at Beachlands.  Most of it is really a granite rock revetment which gives the whole project the look and feel of a cliff walk - something you would expect in St. Lucy on the north coast or parts of St. Philip and Christ Church in the southeast of the island.

 

Beachlands End 

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Sandy Beach in front old Chefette and former Regent Hotel

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I think the jury is going to be out a long time deciding whether this boardwalk is a good thing or bad thing.  It does present an ugly straight line and rocky front when viewed from the ocean with very little sandy beach gained for all the effort.  For those of us who remember the sandy beach that existed for almost the entire length of this project the question therefore is:  Where is the beach?

Michael Winner Disses The Cliff Again

"Some people would place The Cliff at, or near the top of their list of favourite restaurants in Barbados. It sits overlooking the sea. It is owned by Brian Ward, whose family once had Treasure Beach Hotel. I think it's over-rated. Run by pompous, arrogant staff. Last time I went my so-called New York cut steak was three pieces of overcooked monstrosity..."

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Claire Clark scraps London plans in favour of Barbados

"Acclaimed pastry chef Claire Clark has turned her back on plans to open a business in London, accepting an offer to become executive pastry chef at iconic Barbados luxury resort Sandy Lane.
Clark, a two-time winner of The Craft Guild of Chefs’ Pastry Chef of the Year, was at the three-Michelin starred French Laundry under chef-proprietor Thomas Keller for nearly four years but left in June..."

 Click link below for entire article:
Claire Clark scraps London plans in favour of Barbados - 15 October 2009 - CatererSearch

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Limegrove Wins Marketing Awards

"Limegrove, Barbados’ first mixed use lifestyle centre, (under construction) has captured two online marketing ADDY Awards. The 2009 Caribbean Advertising Federation judging was recently held in St. Thomas, U.S.Virgin Islands to recognize creative excellence from the Caribbean region. Limegrove.com and the Limegrove electronic sales kit both brought home silver awards from the increasingly competitive interactive categories in which they competed.

Launched in December 2008, limegrove.com designed and developed by Virgo Communications, Inc., provides users information on the Limegrove Lifestyle Centre which will offer patrons a merge of retail mixed with luxury living. The dual functionality of the site allows users the opportunity to explore what will be available at the Limegrove Lifestyle Centre as well as The Grove Residences...."

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New Cave Attraction?

 

Apes Hill Cave

"Move over, Harrison's Cave. Here is Barbados' best kept modern-day secret. Welcome to Apes Hill cave, on the border of St James and St Andrew..."

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Barbados TravelAdvisor • View topic - Trouble On First Street

 

Construction proceeding on the Holetown Boarwalk as seen from The Beach House

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The stresses and strains of the rapidly changing heart of the West Coast - Holetown - are beginning to show.  Traffic has become a nightmare in the area, and although construction has slowed to a crawl there seems to be little hope for residents and visitors in the area being able to breathe free any time soon.  Some have described entering the town from the south and passing the construction fences stretching all the way from Beachlands to the old Chefette Restaurant with no construction going on behind them as visiting a prison camp.  Now this: Barbados TravelAdvisor • View topic - Trouble On First Street

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Apes Hill Grinds To A Halt

 

Like the old 17th century sugarcane windmill which still adorns the property, work on the billion dollar luxury residential golf and polo resort at Apes Hill has ground to a halt.  In its heyday its principal developer used to boast that business was so good that he had "nothing to sell."  However, he is now lamenting about the fruitlessness of his sales trips to London and that sales have "slowed right down to a stop."  The same economic storm that shuttered other tourism-related condo and villa projects up and down the west coast, including the Four Seasons at Black Rock and Banyan Tree at Black Bess, has now also reached even Apes Hill which (because of its partnership with deep-pocketed interests in the USA and Britain and its appeal to the wealthy high end) was once thought of as being immune to the vicissitudes of the real estate market.

Sandy Lane pulled out early in the rush to build more and more luxury villas on, near or overlooking the booming "Platinum Coast," but up until very recently, Sir Charles Williams (the principal developer at Apes Hill) together with Michael Pemberton of Four Seasons and John Morphet of Royal Westmoreland were all still celebrating the seemingly insatiable demand for a piece of Barbados coming from primarily the British nouveux riche and trust fund types, now all of a sudden that market has disappeared.  One now has to wonder whether the plans recently announced to begin construction of a new marina near Six Mens next month isn't simply just more singing in the dark also.

 

    

Pictorial Tour Of The Controversial West Coast Development - St. Peter's Bay Villas

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Click here for more information about this controversial west coast development.

Secret Caribbean's Barbados Coverage Disappointing

"I found Trevor McDonald's portrayal of Barbados so dissapointing and was left wondering what impression it gave to anyone who has not been lucky enough to visit...probably that it is an overdeveloped playground for the uber rich only.Most of the programme was spent discussing Sandy Lane and Port St Charles and the high end developments, no mention of the ordinary people who for me make the island so special, neither did it show any of the beautiful scenery that we are all so familiar with, there was a 10 second snapshot of the coastal highway and that was it! What a shame it did not examine the fascinating contrasts between North, South, East & West and some of the islands history and rich culture instead..."  robiv

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Vera Wang’s Sandy Lane Chic

 

"If versatility is that key word that makes a fashion season collection rank above the rest, then Vera Wang got it right on as she showed her Resort 2010 collection in New York on Thursday, June 18.

"I wanted this collection to feel light, airy, and athletic … pieces that reflect a resort mood yet sophisticated enough to go urban," Wang said in a statement. Naming the line "Sandy Lane," after a luxurious premier resort spot in the Caribbean-island of Barbados, Wang mixed vivid tropical colors like peacock, chartreuse, and orange alongside a variety of skin-tone shades like nude, blush, a light sandy brown and rosy-red accents.

Wang kept silhouettes narrow, long and tastefully close to the body, and toyed with hemlines of asymmetry in both upper and lower spheres. She invigorated a new sense of dimension and volume by layering colors, themes and accessories. A series of nude-colored dresses and tops crafted under a delicate lace were both seductively suggestive and aesthetically appreciated. Pairing "tresses," a personal moniker Wang coined for tunic-dresses, with lace shorts and skirts, charcoal knit cardigans, and her go-to "basketball" T, casual was vamped up with iridescent sequined daisy chain accessories and sparkling hippie scarves.

Draped, wrapped and overlapped, Vera Wang's dexterity with diaphanousness is skillful, and from the West Indies to New York she executed effortless chic sophistication to perfection."

Click here for original FWD article and photos.