Aruba's first luxury all-inclusive, the OCCIDENTAL GRAND ARUBA RESORT, opened May 1 on Palm Beach. The former Allegro Resort has undergone $24 million in renovations, and now features 391 deluxe rooms and suites, seven restaurants, a spa, a casino, and the Royal Club, a 50-room, boutique-style hotel within the resort that offers exclusive check-in, a private restaurant, 24-hour room service, and more. Occidental Grand Aruba offers complimentary nonmotorized water sports such as wind surfing, kayaking and snorkeling. The resort has also refurbished its two tennis courts. The Grand Aruba Spa has been expanded and redesigned, and will open in fall 2006.

Last year on the south coast of Jamaica, Sandals Resorts opened SANDALS WHITE HOUSE EUROPEAN VILLAGE & SPA. The all-inclusive resort has 360 rooms in three European-themed villages: Dutch, Italian, and French. Amenities include a Red Lane Spa, seven restaurants, two beachside bistros, six bars, and four swimming pools. There is 12,000 square feet of meeting space and a three-level amphitheater.

In Negril, Jamaica, COUPLES SWEPT AWAY is adding a 4,500-square-foot conference center, including a divisible conference room and a small executive meeting room, and dining. The project is scheduled for completion this spring.

Palace Resorts' XPU-HA PALACE RESORT on the Riviera Maya, Mexico, now plans to re-open June 1. Construction delays changed the original April opening date twice. Palace Resorts has honored all reservations at neighboring resorts. Xpu-Ha is completing a multimillion-dollar renovation that reduced the number of rooms to 144, put double Jacuzzis in each room, and added other amenities. The all-inclusive resort is geared toward ecological getaways.

Barceló Hotels & Resorts has acquired the Karmina Palace Hotel on Mexico's Pacific Coast in Manzanillo. The 324-unit, all-suite, all-inclusive BARCELÓ KARMINA PALACE HOTEL is part of the company's Barceló Premium Collection. It features an on-site, 18-hole golf course, three restaurants, four bars, eight swimming pools, a children's activity club, a fitness center, spa services, shopping, and nightly entertainment. Eight meeting rooms can accommodate up to 1,200 people.

BARCELÓ MAYA BEACH RESORT on the Riviera Maya has opened a freestanding conference center in conjunction with two new hotels: the five-star, all-inclusive BARCELÓ TROPICAL BEACH HOTEL and THE BARCELÓ MAYA COLONIAL BEACH HOTEL. The complex now includes four hotels offering more than 1,900 guest rooms and meeting facilities that can accommodate groups of up to 850 people. The convention center includes a 12,000-square-foot ballroom and five meeting rooms.

In Mexico, the 400-room all-inclusive HOTEL RIU PALACE RIVIERA MAYA in Playa del Carmen, opened in February. Rooms are all junior suites. A Renova Spa offers relaxing treatment options, and guests have access to three sister properties in the Playacar Resort: Riu Yucatan, Riu Playacar, ClubHotel Riu Tequila and the Riu Palace Mexico.

The RIU PALACE PUNTA CANA opened in May in the Dominican Republic. The hotel, featuring 612 junior suites, is located on Arena Gorda Beach, inside the Riu Resort. Guests have access to the five other Riu properties in the resort: the Riu Palace Macao, Riu Taino, Riu Melao, and Riu Naiboa hotels, as well as the ClubHotel Riu Bambu.

In Ocho Rios, Jamaica, the refurbished DUNN'S RIVER VILLAGGIO GOLF RESORT & SPA is scheduled to re-open in December after a $25 million restoration and redesign. The 250-room resort offers an Italian-themed experience for couples.

The new Tesoro Resorts all-inclusive brand launched early this year with the rebranding of three Costa Real resorts along Mexico's Pacific Coast. In southern Baja California, TESORO LOS CABOS offers 181 guest rooms and 105 suites in the Cabo San Lucas Marina. Work is under way on a softgoods renovation as well as a rooftop restaurant. Seven championship golf courses are nearby. The resort has six meeting rooms, with a total of 6,030 square feet of meeting space. TESORO MANZANILLO offers 331 guest rooms, as well as seven meeting rooms, with a total of 10,909 square feet of meeting space. Tesoro Manzanillo has plans to create new outdoor activities and a children's pool area in the coming year. Farther south along the Pacific Coast, TESORO IXTAPA offers a smaller, 170-room hideaway.