Southern Cross Club Continues to Garner Accolades as it Gears up for 2014 Tourism Season

Wins World Travel Award as Cayman Boutique Resort and Receives Green Globe Recertification for Sustainability

Most visitors to the Southern Cross Club in Little Cayman praise the resort as the perfect place to enjoy a relaxing vacation on this secluded island Paradise, and their high opinion was affirmed last month by the 20th World Travel Awards (WTA), considered the “Oscars” of the travel Industry. The WTA once again named the Southern Cross Club as the 2013 winner in the category of “Leading Boutique Resort in the Cayman Islands”. The resort won this distinction in 2012, and was nominated in the same category from 2008 to 2011. The WTA was launched in 1993 to acknowledge and recognize excellence in global travel and tourism and travel agents around the world vote for the winners.

“We are all thrilled because this is one of the highest awards any individual or operator can aspire to within tourism,” says Jennifer Mills, General Manager of Southern Cross Club.

“To receive this prestigious award for the second consecutive year is an excellent indication that Southern Cross is maintaining a high level of customer service and providing guests with an exceptional experience, which keeps them returning year after year.”

The resort also recently received its Green Globe recertification for sustainable tourism, the only resort in the Sister Islands to hold the certification. Green Globe provides a framework and guidelines to help businesses develop and improve on best sustainability practices to save energy and water resources, reduce operational costs and positively contribute to local communities and their environment.

Green Globe Certification’s CEO, Guido Bauer, commented, “We are extremely pleased to award the certification to the Southern Cross Club in the Cayman Islands. The property sets a wonderful example for the environmental movement in the Caribbean, and I am impressed with the numerous sponsored and national conservation activities, initiated by the Southern Cross team. The long-term goal is to stimulate economic growth throughout the region, while maintaining each unique aspect of this beautiful area.”

“The Green Globe recertification signifies that we are doing the right thing for the environment of Little Cayman and the local community,” commented Mills. “All of us at the Southern Cross Club feel it’s extremely important that we take care of the environment and give back to the community here.”

Jennifer Mills credits resort owner Pete Hillenbrand, an avid conservationist who realizes the resort has an important role in protecting and enhancing the islands environment, with setting the sustainability standards that have always been a priority with the Southern Cross Club. Solar panels were installed in 2004, and energy efficient toilets and air conditioners were added to guest units. The resort’s best practices include closely monitoring water use, electricity use, and waste. Staff members also take and encourage smaller conservation measures such as turning fans off, reusing printer paper, using energy efficient light bulbs. Mills adds that these measures seem like small things but they can actually make a huge different on a small island.

At the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA) Stingray Awards in July, the Southern Cross Club was awarded the CEPTS Stingray Award, the highest honor bestowed by CITA in recognition of its exceptionally good stewardship of the environment and its ongoing commitment to preserving it. The CEPTS project is a groundbreaking joint venture between the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism and Department of Environment that encourages local businesses to become Green Globe certified.

The resort has just undergone a September refit to gear up for the 2014 tourism season; freshly painted and redecorated guest rooms, a newly thatched bar, a new bigger and better drying shed, bike shed and compressor room.

“The compressor room has been expanded to accommodate our new Nitrox compressor,” adds Mills. “The Southern Cross Club is going to be the only dive operator in the Cayman Islands to offer free Nitrox to our guests.”

The biggest improvement project will be a new dock and work on that will begin very soon. Jennifer Mills says while the recognitions and accolades are exciting and they affirm that they are doing things right, the ultimate recognition comes from guests who return to Little Cayman and the Southern Cross Club again and again.

“Little Cayman is a very special place and all of us are proud to call it home,” says Mills. “We understand that it is vital to ensure the preservation of this beautiful little island for future generations.”

About the Southern Cross Club

The casually sophisticated Southern Cross Club Fish & Dive Resort is Little Cayman’s original resort. It features 12 beachfront bungalows complete with a top-rated, professional in-house diving and fishing operation. A unique blend of rusticity and elegance the resort is often described as “Barefoot Luxury”. Guests can expect friendly and diligent service, delicious food, inviting rooms with breath-taking views and a comfortable dive boat ― a few of the things that bring them back year after year. The resort’s beach-based location also provides flats fisherman with access to Bonefish and Permit just minutes away.