November 1, 2010 (Bridgetown, Barbados) – Most hotels and resorts in Barbados are back to business as usual, following Tropical Storm Tomas which hit the island on Saturday, October 30. Although heavy rains and strong winds damaged some roofs and knocked down power lines, many hoteliers are reporting that the damage has been swiftly repaired and properties are fully operational.
“The Barbadian authorities moved quickly to restore the island to normalcy and generally speaking, the island is cleaning up from the effects of the Category 1 Tropical Storm,” said David Rice, President and CEO of the Barbados Tourism Authority. “We have received several reports from resorts such as Turtle Beach, The Colony Club, The House, Sea Breeze, South Beach, Bougainvillea Beach Resort, and the Crane, and they have all reported repairable damage and are now functioning as normal.
The newly renovated Tamarind (formerly Tamarind Cove) will open only three days after its scheduled official re-opening date of November 1st and, in the interim, it is providing alternative accommodations at sister properties for those set to check-in before November 3rd. The Crane was one of the players in the industry which was identified as having been affected the most but, as of this morning, the property reported that power is back as are most of its services. All of the resort’s restaurants except for L’Azure are open, and the computer and phone lines were expected to be back up by tonight. The Crane is waiving cancellations fees for those who choose to rebook travel booked up to November 8, 2010.
Flight operations resumed at Grantley Adams International Airport from 8:00 am yesterday morning, October 31, 2010. Operations at the Bridgetown Port Authority were also restored with cruise ships welcomed at the Bridgetown Port today.
The Barbados Light & Power Company Limited (BL&P) is reporting that already 65 per cent of customers have service restored and it is working with the Barbados Water Authority to restore power and water to the rest of the island as quickly as possible. Police personnel, alongside the Ministry of Transport and agencies like Red Cross and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) are helping to coordinate efforts.