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Sitting outside of a noisy bar in the San Juan Airport that’s been blaring Jimmy Buffet for hours (ironically, it’s the only place I can pick up Wi-Fi on my phone), I have a perma-grin and glow that I surely didn’t have when I sat in this same chair a few days earlier while waiting for my short island hop to St. Kitts.
For years, I’ve heard about the good vibrations in the Caribbean, but I always chalked it up to good hospitality and customer service. Well, I can’t speak for any of the other islands, but I can say without a doubt that whatever St. Kitts puts into its water (yes, you can drink the water from the tap) or those tasty, too easy to drink Carib beers, they need to bottle and sell it the world over, because the island’s people are some of the sweetest I’ve ever encountered in my travels and their spirit is contagious, so much so that even an 8-hour layover couldn’t wipe the smile from my face.
First off, let me just say the staff at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort and The Royal Beach Casino is some of the best in the business. There is a genuine happiness and excitement among the employees to make sure your stay at the resort is as comfortable as possible. Let’s just say I’ve never seen so many smiles and smizes–smiling with your eyes (thanks ladies, you know who you are)–on a hotel’s staff, and I’ve also never felt as welcomed either. See, the staff isn’t just putting on a smile to please management, I got the feeling from my interactions with the employees—Lavern, Oral, Ash Moore, Valencia and Paulette to name a few, and the many others I spoke to but didn’t catch their names—that they have a strong pride in their island and its culture, and if you asked, they’d be more than willing to share its secrets with you or just a few Kittitian ghost stories (thanks Lavern).
But the Marriott isn’t the exception on St. Kitts; instead, it seemed no matter who we met on our travels, including Ivan and the rest of the crew with Leeward Islands Charters, they were excited to share stories about the their island and were just as interested in finding out more about you. Heck, even the island’s taxi cabs shine with the Kittitian spirit (see the photo below). And don’t even get me started on the island’s immigration officers, who, in my opinion, are some of the friendliest in the world. And if that doesn’t speak volumes about the Kittitian spirit then I don’t know what does.
Here are a few shots from my visit to the island. Stay tuned for more stories and adventures from St. Kitts and my time at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort.
What’s the friendliest place you’ve ever visited?
*The St. Kitts Marriott Resort sponsored my holiday stay in St. Kitts; however, as always, my thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
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*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website, Nariko’ s Nest Weddings & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you do want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!
