From the instant you set eyes on Castaway – A Grenadian Idyll, you can help but think “WOW”. Even with all the hustle and bustle of the flower show going on around, the exhibit has an amazing ability to transport you to a tranquil beach in the tropics.

Then the steel pans start up and the party began. Passersby, media and celebrities immediately flocked over to the exhibit, drawn in by the bright colours, music and the rum punch. Even other exhibitors abandoned their own stands and made a beeline over to us – Grenada stood out like a shining beacon and we all new we were headed for gold.

Awards are something Suzanne Gaywood is used to. As we speak she is down at Buckingham Palace rubbing elbows with the Royals to collect her well deserved MBE.  This is her 9th Chelsea Award, and I imagine they’ll be many more to come.

For more photos of the flower show, have a look at the album on our facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/calabashhotel

Grenada’s devastating beauty resonates from its golden lined shores to its mountainous interior, which seems to reach up to the heavens and is showered the most fantastic tropical flowers that will adorn the little beach shack at the centre of the exhibit.

Entitled Castaway, the exhibit is an inspirational piece of art with a very powerful message:

“We want to send a clear message about the importance of preserving the natural riches of islands like Grenada for future generations.  Action now to embrace sustainability can help to ensure Grenada survives as a paradise for the castaways of today and tomorrow, and RHS Chelsea provides an opportunity to raise environmental awareness.’’ – (Suzanne Gaywood, Exhibitor and Designer)

Suzanne was recently appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). A regular exhibitor at the Chelsea Flower Show, where she has mounted displays of plants from the Caribbean island for more than a decade, her honour is in recognition of her services to tourism in Grenada and to horticulture.

Team Grenada will be joined on Press day, Monday 23^rd May, by LCpl Johnson Beharry VC , recent semi -finalist of ITV’s ‘Dancing on Ice’ programme, & Celebrity chef Gary Rhodes OBE

With the help of three of our villa owners, we managed to raise the substantial amount of money to pay for the equipment as designated by Dr. Earlyne Thomas. At the ceremony Leo Garbutt stated that when he was asked to assist the Eye Clinic, the request hit the right spot as his mother in law needed a lot of assistance with her eyes as she had glaucoma, an all too common ailment in Grenada.

In receiving the equipment Dr Thomas,  thanked Leo Garbutt and the other donors for their generosity and stated that she knew that the equipment would help in her daily diagnosis’s at the Eye Clinic.

The Calabash has been nominated in the category of “Grenada’s Leading Resort” by the World Travel Awards which will take place in Orlando in September. The nominations are based on last year’s voting and recommendations made by travel, tourism & hospitality industry professionals.

Added to this Grenada has been nominated in the “Caribbean’s Leading Honeymoon Destination” and Grand Anse beach may well be voted “The Caribbean’s Leading Beach”.

Very exciting news for the hotel and the island, so fingers crossed everyone!

At the end of the week Kevin Derbyshire our head chef will be leaving to go back to England. Although we are very sad to see Kevin go we are also very excited about the fact that Grenadian’s will now be in charge of the “Rhodes Restaurant” kitchen.

Dexter Burris will be taking over as head chef while Dandy Smith will be his sous chef. Both Dexter and Dandy have been trained to the highest standards by Gary Rhodes who is very pleased that locals will be running the kitchen.

So from all at The Calabash Hotel & Villas, we would like to wish Kevin the best of luck for the future.

Delta will fly to Grenada from JFK, New York as of July '10

It’s a busy week in news of flights to Grenada. Unfortunately we lose the Air Jamaica service as of next month but the good news is that Delta has now put a date on the commencement of its service from JFK, see the full press release below for details.

The world’s largest airline will begin operations into Grenada this summer. Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister, Glynis Roberts on Wednesday confirmed that Delta Air Lines will commence scheduled service from John F Kennedy International Airport in New York to the Maurice Bishop International Airport in St George’s starting from July 3, 2010.

In addressing the 2010 Budget at the Grenada Trade Centre Minister Roberts said that the government will continue its aggressive efforts to expand airlift service to Grenada. The nonstop service departs JFK at 8:30 am and arrives in Grenada at 1:20 pm with the return flight scheduled to depart at 2:10 pm and arriving in New York at 7:30 pm.

Delta will use its 737-800 aircraft which offers 16 First Class seats and 144 Coach Class seats. The Minister said that the new service from Delta will also encourage more nationals to return home during the Festive seasons, starting with Carnival this summer.

Roberts, who is also the Parliamentary Representative for St George South, said that the new flight, which will operate only on Saturdays, is also as a result of the Grenada Board of Tourism’s road shows on the eastern corridor and the excellent work of the Airlift Committee led by Michael McIntyre.

The weekly service is expected to provide additional seats to the island which is already served by American Airlines and Air Jamaica from the United States; British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Monarch and Condor from Europe and Air Canada, Sky Service and Zoom from Canada during the winter.

Passengers flying with Delta will be able to make connections to more than 360 destinations, using the airline’s hubs in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St Paul, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City, Amsterdam and Tokyo-Narita, as well as its Northwest subsidiary and Delta Connection carriers.

“This fleet reduction has become necessary as we seek to meet our financial obligations, however Air Jamaica continues to be the best choice for convenient schedule and excellent service as we have ensured that adequate capacity is provided on our core routes”, stated Bruce Nobles, Air Jamaica’s President and CEO.

Effective March 9, 2010, Air Jamaica will suspend service on the New York (JFK) – Grenada and Jamaica – Orlando route, among others.