Over the past few years, the Caribbean has weathered two kinds of storms: natural (hurricanes) and man-made (the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative). Despite this, tourism continues to grow. The islands are boasting expansive hotel growth, much of it in the luxury sector, with mega-resort construction mapped out for the coming decade.

Much of that growth is in the Spanish Caribbean. The Dominican Republic is reporting a 16 percent increase in foreign arrivals. Cancun, devastated in 2005 by Hurricane Wilma, has bounced back with renovated and improved resorts and a $24 million beach renewal project. And it is moving away from its spring-break image to one emphasizing luxury resorts with spas, golf, fine dining, and shopping.

Cancun is meeting the anticipated growth with construction of a third terminal at its international airport, one of several airport projects in the Caribbean. Sint Maarten and Curaçao have completed new terminals, while Montego Bay, Jamaica; Aruba; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, are expanding theirs.

Several island parks are also under way. Aruba, undergoing more than $200 million in enhancements to its tourism product, is creating a $16 million park that will be the Caribbean's largest. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Paseo de las Fuentes was dedicated last year. Dotted with fountains and reflecting pools, the urban park is across from the Caribbean's largest convention center, part of the $1.3 billion, 113-acre Puerto Rico Convention Center District, which will include hotels, retail space, restaurants, and residences; completion is planned for 2012.

Trip Tips!

• Puerto Rico is home to the Caribbean's toughest no-smoking regulations. Smoking is prohibited in most indoor public areas, including convention centers, restaurants, casinos, museums, theaters, pubs, nightclubs, and shopping centers.

• The most common group transport in the U.S. Virgin Islands is open-air jitneys, locally called safari buses. Topped by a canvas cover, the larger safari buses can hold 15 to 25 attendees.

• You can arrange a tour for your group of an old sugar plantation in Jamaica. Bellefield Great House, near Montego Bay, offers a glimpse into 18th-century life on the island — for both plantation owners and slaves.

It's also available as an event venue.

Ask the CVB

Antigua and Barbuda Tourist Office
(888) 268-4227
(212) 541-4117
www.antigua-barbuda.org

Aruba Convention Bureau
(800) TO-ARUBA
(954) 767-3395
www.aruba.com

Bahamas Ministry of Tourism
(800) BAHAMAS
(242) 302-2000
www.bahamas.com

Barbados Tourism Authority
(800) 221-9831
(212) 986-6516
www.barbados.org

Bermuda Dept. of Tourism
(800) 223-6106, ext. 213
(212) 818-9800
www.bermudatourism.com

Cancun Conven. Bureau
(52) 998 8812 745
www.cancun.info

Cayman Islands Department of Tourism
(345) 949-0623
(212) 889-9009
www.caymanislands.ky

Dominican Republic Tourist Board
(888) 374-6361
(212) 588-1012
www.dominicanrepublic.com

Jamaica Tourist Board
(800) 233-4JTB (305) 665-0557
www.visitjamaica.com

Puerto Rico Tourism Co.
(800) 223-6530

Puerto Rico Convention Bureau
(800) 875-4765
(202) 457-9262
www.meetpuertorico.com

Trinidad and Tobago Tourism
(800) 748-4224
www.visitTNT.com

USVI Dept. of Tourism
(800) 372-USVI
www.usvitourism.vi

Caribbean/Facilities Update

Antigua and Barbuda

• Sandals Grande Antigua Resort & Spa has completed a $70 million expansion. The project included the development of a 180-suite Mediterranean Village, bringing the total guest rooms to 373. Along with an expanded spa, the resort's convention facility added 9,000 square feet to the existing 1,425 square feet.

Aruba

• The Wyndham Aruba was reflagged The Westin Aruba Resort after a $16 million renovation. The 481-room resort has more than 20,000 square feet of meeting space, a casino, and a spa.

• Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort & Casino debuted its open-air lobby, part of $20 million in improvements. Renovation of the resort's 336 guest rooms is expected to be complete this month. There are nine meeting rooms and more than 25,000 square feet of meeting and pre-function space.

Bahamas

• The Westin and Sheraton Grand Bahama Island Our Lucaya Resort now offers an additional 5,000 square feet of event space. The resort consists of the 740-room Westin and the 478-room Sheraton, and has more than 45,000 square feet of indoor function space.

• Construction is under way on a $2 billion Baha Mar development at Cable Beach, with more than 3,000 rooms, which will make it the Caribbean's largest single-phase destination resort. By 2011, the site will also include a 1,000-room Caesars Palace Hotel, including a 100,000-square-foot casino; a 300-room W at Baha Mar; a 300-room St. Regis at Baha Mar; and a 700-room Westin at Baha Mar. The complex also includes the reopened 694-room Sheraton Cable Beach Resort, offering 25,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, and the renovation of the 550-room Wyndham Nassau Resort. Baha Mar will include 200,000 square feet of meeting space and an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. The complex will offer spas at the W and St. Regis hotels as well as a free-standing spa facility. Future phases will include additional hotels and a second 18-hole golf course.

• Scheduled to open in 2008 on the small island of Bimini, the Conrad Bimini Resort & Casino will include 250 guest rooms, a marina, a spa, and a casino.

• Four miles from Nassau and accessible by ferry or helicopter, the 157-room Ritz-Carlton, Rose Island, Bahamas is scheduled for a 2009 opening. The resort plans a spa and meeting space featuring a 4,200-square-foot ballroom, two meeting rooms, and a boardroom.

• RockResorts will manage the $700 million, 870-acre multi-use development on Rum Cay Island. The facility is being built in three phases. Phase one includes an 80-slip marina; phase two will include the RockResort hotel and spa; phase three will add additional amenities. The hotel, planned for 100 units plus 80 multiroom villas, will feature meeting space, restaurants, a spa and fitness center, a golf training facility, and a tennis center. Opening is planned for 2010.

Barbados

• Accra Beach Hotel and Resort has completed a new wing with 80 rooms, including four two-bedroom oceanfront suites and 24 oceanview suites. They all feature Jacuzzis. This brings the resort's room count to 222. The hotel offers 6,500 square feet of meeting space.

Cayman Islands

• Mandarin Oriental, Grand Cayman is set to open in 2009 on Barefoot Beach.

• This January, Grand Cayman's The Reef Resort added meeting space for up to 90 attendees. The 900-square-foot facility can be divided into two. The resort books only one meeting per day and also offers one-day experiential training programs out of the meeting room designed to challenge participants intellectually, physically, and emotionally. The Reef Resort offers 110 suites and one- and two-bedroom beachfront apartments and the island's largest resort beach, spanning 1,600 square feet.

Curaçao

• The 237-room Renaissance Curaçao Resort & Casino in Willemstad is scheduled to open in November. Adjacent to the cruise port, the complex will include 8,600 square feet of indoor meeting space, a six-screen movie theater, a casino, and restaurants.

• The 350-room Hyatt Regency Curaçao Resort, Spa & Casino is scheduled for completion in late 2008. It will include an 18-hole Pete Dye-designed championship golf course and 28,000 square feet of meeting space.

Dominican Republic

• The Westin Roco Ki Beach & Golf Resort is set to open in May 2008 in Punta Cana. The 315-room resort will include an 18,000-square-foot spa and 20,000 square feet of meeting space, plus a Troon-managed championship golf course.

• Punta Cana will become the home of the new $250 million Moon Palace Casino, Golf, and Spa Resort. Phase one will open in August; phase two debuts in December. The resort will offer 1,743 rooms as well as a convention center for 2,560 attendees. Opening is scheduled for fall 2008.

Jamaica

• The $51 million Montego Bay Convention Center is scheduled to open early next year on 23 acres at Rose Hall. It will have approximately 300,000 square feet of space for meetings and exhibitions.

• The 427-room Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort Rose Hall, Jamaica, has completed the first phase of a $15 million project featuring a renovation of all meeting rooms, lobby, guest areas, and Cohoba Lounge. The resort offers over 25,000 square feet of meeting and reception space. The second phase of renovations, upgrading guest rooms, is under way.

• Rose Hall Resort and Country Club (formerly Wyndham Rose Hall) is undergoing a $35 million renovation including a restyling of the 488 guest rooms and 14 suites, a pool update, a new Zen-style spa, and renovations to the 11,000 square feet of indoor meeting space. The resort is also home to the Cinnamon Hill Ocean Course, an 18-hole championship course. Renovations are scheduled for completion in mid-November.

• Plans are under way in Trelawny, east of Montego Bay, for the 1,400-acre Harmony Cove. The proposed resort will include a convention hotel with 1,750 guest rooms and a 75,000-square-foot convention center. Plans call for three more hotels ranging from 100 to 660 rooms, a 45,000-square-foot spa, a marina, a golf course, and a golf academy.

• The 266-room Breezes Runaway Bay completed a $20 million renovation, including 30 new rooms and suites. The resort features a golf school and meeting space for up to 400 attendees.

• In Ocho Rios, the 730-room Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort and Spa underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation in 2005. It has Jamaica's largest meeting space among it 32,000 square feet of space, including an exhibit hall for receptions of up to 2,500 attendees.

• Scheduled to open in 2007, Half Moon Resort is adding the new 68,000-square-foot Fern Tree Spa and six beachfront spa suites. The project follows the renovation of the resort's Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed golf course, the beachfront Hibiscus and the Oleander deluxe suites, two restaurants, and more, all part of a five-year master plan.

Mexico

• On the Riviera Maya, the 605-suite El Dorado Royale, A Spa Resort has added a Grand Ballroom for up to 600 guests and two salons for up to 150 guests each. The adults-only resort has also added two new presidential one-bedroom casita suites; the oceanfront casitas are 1,300 square feet in area and feature private pools.

• Following a $20 million renovation and expansion last year, the 296-room Hyatt Cancun Caribe Resort has now opened the Laguna Conference Centre, offering more than 7,650 square feet of space for up to 1,100 attendees.

• The 448-room ME Cancun has launched as the first property in the Americas under the new ME by Meliá brand. The resort, formerly known as Meliá Turquesa, features standard amenities including high-speed Internet, state-of-the-art DVD player with a 32-inch interactive plasma TV, surround-sound speakers, and iPod adaptors and connectivity docking stations. The resort offers an 11,000-square-foot spa and 11,000 square feet of meeting space with a capacity of 450 attendees.

• Élan Resort & Spa-Cancun opened in March; the all-inclusive resort offers 95 rooms, 51 villas, and 23,680 square feet of meeting space.

• Mandarin Oriental Riviera Maya is scheduled to open this fall. The 128-villa property, set on 36 acres, will include a 2,021-square-foot ballroom and a 25,000-square-foot spa.

• JW Marriott Cancun Resort and Spa reopened in September after renovations needed because of Hurricane Wilma. The 448-room resort offers 20,300 square feet of space for group use and includes a 35,000-square-foot spa. Next door, the 452-room CasaMagna Marriott Cancun Resort has also reopened after renovations and offers 10,980 square feet of space for group functions.

• The 220-room Presidente InterContinental Cozumel Resort & Spa reopened last November after an extensive renovation. The resort offers a 6,500-square-foot spa, a new golf putting green, and nearly 4,300 square feet of meeting space.

• The 601-room Cancun Palace reopened in February after renovations. The resort's new 17,000-square-foot convention center can accommodate up to 780 guests, and offers 10 meeting rooms and a business center.

• Palace Resorts plans to open the new Beach Palace in December, replacing the old property razed after Hurricane Wilma. The new resort will offer 287 guest rooms, including 24 two-bedroom suites, and 9,100 square feet of meeting space.

Puerto Rico

• The 983-room El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa opened a $32 million conference center in June. The new 50,000-square-foot facility features a 22,650-square-foot ballroom plus 16 breakout rooms ranging from 815 to 1,619 square feet. All existing meeting space also received updated interior finishes as well as infrastructure enhancements, including a 5,000-square-foot expansion of the banquet kitchen. With the addition, the resort now offers two adjacent conference areas and four ballrooms. The resort is home to an 18-hole championship Arthur Hills golf course, a 13,000-square-foot casino, and the Golden Door Spa.

• In May, the 600-room Westin Rio Mar was rebranded as Rio Mar Beach Resort and Spa — A Wyndham Grand Resort. A multimillion-dollar redevelopment of the property will include a complete overhaul of the casino and an upgrade of the golf courses, hotel lobby, and guest rooms. Currently the resort features 48,000 square feet of function space, a casino, two 18-hole golf courses, a spa and fitness center, and 11 restaurants and lounges.

• San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino completed phase one of a $35 million renovation. By year's end, all 402 guest rooms of the main tower and the 123 cabana wing rooms will have been upgraded. The meeting space at the resort, renovated in 2006, spans 10,900 square feet.

• Condado Plaza Hotel & Casino is renovating its 570 guest rooms and its meeting space and adding a restaurant that will offer three private dining rooms, including a banquet room for 90 persons.

• Paradisus Puerto Rico, with more than 29,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, has been reflagged the Gran Meliá Puerto Rico. It has a new 11,000-square-foot spa.

• Work is under way on a 500-room hotel to serve the Puerto Rico Convention Center. The first of two planned hotels, the $209 million facility, scheduled to open in 2009, will be a Sheraton with 60,000 square feet of meeting space and a 15,000-square-foot ballroom.

• The 300-room Condado Vanderbilt Hotel is scheduled to open in fall 2008 with 20,000 square feet of meeting space.

• The 248-room La Concha, A Renaissance Resort, is scheduled to open this September with nearly 16,000 square feet of meeting space, a casino, three restaurants, an oceanfront pool, and a fitness center. It is located on the beach in the Condado section of San Juan.

St. Lucia

• Phase one of The Landings St. Lucia will open in December under RockResorts management with 62 guest suites, a five-story entrance pavilion, 7,000-square-foot spa, salon, fitness center, pool, water sports, and Beach Club restaurant. Groups can also utilize a 2,000-square-foot meeting room and 600-square-foot boardroom. Three additional phases will bring the total to 231 suites and add pools and restaurants; the final phase will be completed in 2010.

Sint Maarten

• The 537-room Sonesta Maho Beach & Casino has undergone a $2.5 million renovation. The resort features a casino, three restaurants, a shopping promenade, a spa, and more than 25,000 square feet of meeting space.

Trinidad

• A 428-room Hyatt Regency Trinidad will open in January 2008 with 43,000 square feet of meeting space, a 16,000 square-foot ballroom and a 10,000-square-foot multipurpose facility.

• Scheduled for completion in late 2007, the Hilton Trinidad & Conference Centre is undergoing a renovation including guest rooms, which will increase from 380 to 419. The hotel will enclose a terrace as a pillarless meeting and function space and create a Hilton Meetings area with four meeting rooms.

U.S.V.I.

• St. John's Caneel Bay, A Rosewood Resort is undergoing the second half of a $3.6 million guest room renovation begun last summer. Half of the 166 rooms were done last year; the remaining half are now being renovated and should be completed by November. Meeting space for 80 persons is available as well as outdoor venues for receptions of up to 200 delegates.

Special Venues

• Thirty minutes from Ocho Rios, Jamaica, the lush White River Valley serves as a backdrop for group functions. Activities range from tubing to river kayaking to horseback riding, with all-inclusive meal plans available. (876) 972-2506, www.chukkacaribbean.com

• In Puerto Rico, in the foothills of El Yunque, the Caribbean National Forest, groups of up to 3,000 can be accommodated at Coco Rio, a 20-acre venue located 35 minutes from San Juan. The facility offers teambuilding as well as reception facilities with over 17,000 square feet of open-air, covered pavilions. (787) 889-7430 or (866) 247-2121; www.cocoriopr.com

• Aruba's De Palm Island, located seven minutes offshore, offers an all-inclusive getaway for groups. Options include SNUBA (a scuba experience for nondivers); SeaTrek, which gives participants the chance to walk on the sea floor; a day spa; a new waterpark; and a food and beverage program. (781) 821-1012, (800) 766-6016, www.depalm.com

• The Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute in Hamilton offers groups the chance to take a peek at the area's shipwrecks, reefs, and undersea life without getting wet. The facility includes a 148-seat auditorium, a boardroom, and a 60-person pre-function room. The Caribbean Room, with a capacity of 25 attendees, is shaped like a ship's bridge and is decorated with ship models. The lobby, with its terrazzo floor representing a map of Bermuda, is available for groups of 250 people. (441) 292-7219, www.buei.bm

• Located near La Romana about 100 miles east of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Casa de Campo's Altos de Chavon was constructed as an artisans' village and built in an old-world style. A 5,000-seat open-air amphitheater, along with restaurants, galleries, and a museum, welcome large groups to this cultural center perched above the Chavon River. Along with the amphitheater, Casa de Campo offers two conference centers with more than 15,000 square feet of meeting space. The resort is home to three championship golf courses. (809) 523-8011 or (305) 856-7083, www.altosdechavon.com or www.casadecampo.com.do