Security Cameras Coming For West Coast

Security camera mounted on a utility pole at Rockley Beach on the South Coast

"There is a $1.6 million project in the pipeline, led by the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association, which stakeholders are hoping will go a long way towards reducing crime in the vital tourism sector, and by extension the island.

The project, aimed for the West Coast and for which the BHTA is currently soliciting financing to get underway, is intended to place 26 cameras along the stretch from Batts Rock, St. Michael to Speightstown, St. Peter, the main western tourist belt, announced Executive Vice President of the BHTA, Sue Springer this morning.

Addressing stakeholders at the association’s first quarterly meeting at Accra Beach Hotel, Springer said the project would be comprise primarily of CCTVs, similar to what had been put into effect along the South Coast and into the City to help police those areas through use of electronic surveillance.

“We are working with the private sector and the TDC to see if we can raise the money; we need $1.6 million … to put up 26 CCTV cameras from Batts Rock into Speightstown. So if you know anyone who would like to be a good citizen or visitor, tell them how helpful they have been on the South Coast..."

Read more: http://bbtravel.freeforums.org/post37162.html#p37162

The Whales are back!

Read more: Barbados TravelAdvisor • View topic - The Whales are back!

Rihanna Barbados 2012 Tourism Campaign

"In these recession hit times we all know that it's important to support local businesses, but who actually puts their money where their mouth is? Well, Rihanna, that's who... because the boundary smashing pop juggernaut took some of her hard earned cash back to where it all started for her, literally; to the island where she was born. The Bajan star headed to Bridgetown, Barbados where she shopped (much to the delight of mobbing fans) at a local market and it's adjacent cheap 'n' cheerful shops." Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2251885/Rihanna-turns-Rodeo-Drive-minute-Christmas-shopping-low-key-Barbados-market.html#ixzz2FouHLDsI Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

RBPF Gets International Black Eye

"A man accused of raping two British women in Barbados has thanked the two victims for fighting to clear his name. Researcher Rachel Turner from Hertfordshire and Diane Davies, from Anglesey, north Wales, were attacked within days of each other in 2010. Barbadian Derick Crawford, 47, spent 18 months in jail, but a court dismissed the case against him on Thursday. The two women are convinced Mr Crawford was not the man who attacked them and have fought to clear his name. Dr Turner and Mrs Davies waived their right to anonymity to fight for justice for Mr Crawford. They have called on the police to investigate the case and find the real attacker."

Read more: Barbados rapes: Derick Crawford thanks women who fought to clear him

COW Rips Rihanna

BREAKING NEWS
In a passionate call into the popular local radio talkshow - Down to Brass Tacks - earlier today, local construction magnate, Sir Charles Williams, baring his soul of the many insults and hurts heaped upon him and his family and businesses disclosed that the most hurtful of all was that Rihanna never once visited the plot of land at the Apes Hill Club that was given to her a few years ago in recognition of her winning a Grammy.  Sir Charles revealed that the land with a market valuation of $1.2 Million was sold to the Government of Barbados for just $100,000.00 for onward presentation to Rihanna.  He said that when Rihanna was contacted about visiting the property her reply was: "How many cameras are going to be there?"

One Sandy Lane On Oprah's Top 3

Oprah Winfrey recently stayed at One Sandy Lane (arguably among the most hated buildings on Barbados' west coast) and apparently she loved it so much that she tweeted:

Leaving One Sandy Lane Villa.Now on my top 3 list of favorite hotels. They are planting Coconut tree in my instagr.am/p/N9FAfySSxv/
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) August 5, 2012

Oprah and her team were in Barbados ostensibly to interview Bajan singing sensation, Rihanna, with whom she is pictured above leaving the ultra luxury villa complex, driving off in a 4X4 with the Grammy award-winning artist at the wheel.

Oprah also shared pictures of herself hanging around the pool, and with her team, enjoying a One Sandy Lane breakfast spread.

Perhaps now that celebrity guests are showing up (and singing its praises, no less) and with the recent name change from the dowdy "The Sands" to the name-dropping "One Sandy Lane," sales of the half dozen or so slow-selling apartments may finally take off.  Who knows, Oprah (in the past falsely rumoured to own property in Barbados) may have just signed on the dotted line.

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More Bad Press For The West Coast

"Something disturbing is happening on Barbados – the Caribbean experience is being drowned in a tsunami of greed and gravel. With tax dodgers, celebrities, footballers and bloated businessmen all flocking to the island prices have soared. Even my rich friend Lady Carol Parsons complains.

Once I used to think to myself “oh just relax and put it on the plastic, after all you are on holiday”. I do mean literally once. That occasion was when a meal for 5 at the Lonestar came to £650 and I was paying. After that I was more careful. If someone said that Villa Rosa or Chin Chin were the latest places to eat, I would be sure to avoid them.

The turning point came about 10 years ago when property started to boom, and especially on the West Coast around Holetown, originally developed by the likes of the Guinness and Cunard families. This was The Place To Be. Now it is jam packed with mansions from end to end. The latest is One Sandy Lane, a sort of beachside British Museum opposite the famous Sandy Lane golf course and Barbados’s answer to One Hyde Park, that Qatari monstrosity near Harrods in London..."

Read more: Barbados: Don’t Bother, Frankly

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West Coast Demonized In Billionaire Heiress Death

"It is just an eight-hour direct flight from London Gatwick and once you arrive you are never more than 10 minutes’ stroll from a palm-dappled shore. Barbados is known as the Switzerland of the Caribbean for the high number of wealthy home owners, and its residents spend their days swimming, lounging on white sand beaches, lunching and golfing at the famous Sandy Lane Hotel — before playing long into the night. The drink of choice is, of course, rum, and the atmosphere, like the heat, intense, heady.

It is a life that the late Eva Rausing and her husband Hans knew well. The tragic couple split their time between the capital and Barbados where they owned an 11-bedroom beachfront mansion worth £15 million. Set on a private estate near Sandy Lane — said to be the Rausings’ spiritual home — Greensleeves comes with an oriental water garden and koi-filled lily ponds.

But for Hans and Eva, their sun-drenched second home in Barbados may have held a dangerous appeal. For all the island’s well-heeled affluence, it is also reportedly a place of hedonistic debauchery and widely available drugs..."

Read more - "Dark side of paradise... the death of Eva Rausing puts the spotlight on Barbados"

Almond Intrigue

"Chief executive officer of Almond Resorts Inc., Ralph Taylor, is leading an initiative to stop the financially troubled hotel chain from going under.

Yesterday he met with staff of Almond Beach Village in St Peter and Almond Beach Club in St James to discuss a “buyout proposal” that would require staff and management to give up ten per cent of their salaries as an investment.

Taylor, who met with managers and supervisors on Monday, also plans to meet next week with staff at the third property, Almond Casuarina Beach in Christ Church.

A document distributed to staff asking them to indicate their interest in “participating in any employee buyout of Almond Resorts Inc.”, was reportedly met with mixed response."

Source: Almond bid -- NationNews Barbados

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More Trouble At Four Seasons In 2012

"The Four Seasons Resort project seems to have hit another snag.
The Times reported yesterday that two billionaire investors, music titan Lucian Grainge and oil mogul Aidan Heavey, have filed court action locally against the developers, Paradise Beach Limited, demanding their money back.
The Times has also stated that three other celebrities, including Simon Cowell, the producer of the international music competition The X-Factor, could also be in danger of losing their deposit investments of over BDS$90 million each.
“Both Mr Grainge – dubbed the “killer shark” after engineering last year’s surprise £1.2 billion (BDS$3.7 billion) takeover of EMI’s recorded music business – and Mr Heavey have separately filed claims in a Barbados court demanding that their deposits are returned,” the newspaper said."

Source: http://www.nationnews.com/articles/view/resort-suits/