Grenada hotelier wins top prize

Grenada’s Calabash Luxury Boutique Hotel’s owner has been named Caribbean Hotelier of the Year by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association.

Englishman Leo Garbutt was awarded in a ceremony during the CHTA’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace event in Nassau, The Bahamas last week.

“We all know that 20/20 vision is perfect and at this moment this is a perfect moment in my life,” Garbutt said. He first came across the Calabash by a twist of fate in 1985. His flight departing Grenada back to the UK was delayed and he ended up staying at the nearby Calabash.

As soon as he arrived at the hotel, he knew it was a very special place and somewhere he could never forget. “Garbutt is an adept, self-taught entrepreneur, whose love of his hotel, his adopted island and the Caribbean drove him to master the intricacies of the industry in our region,” said CHTA CEO and Director General Frank Comito.

The 30-suite hotel has long been one of the leading hotels in Grenada.