St. Martin’s will tomorrow welcome the re-opening of the island’s luxury hotel at Lower Town. Karma St. Martin’s (formerly St. Martin’s on the Isle) is the newest member of the Karma Resorts Collection, conceived by visionary British entrepreneur and philanthropist, John Spence.

The Karma Collection is an expanding portfolio of hotels, elite boutique villa developments, and stand-alone residences in some of the world’s most fascinating and desirable locations. Properties include Bali, Koh Samui, The Bahamas, St. Tropez, Mykanos, and now the Isles of Scilly.

“The peace, tranquility and the unspoilt natural beauty of St. Martin’s and the surrounding islands is the ideal place to spend a week away from a busy city life,” says John. “We want to promote the Isles of Scilly as an ideal short-break and holiday destination – a place where guests can relax and enjoy themselves surrounded by the islands’ outstanding natural beauty.”

Karma Resorts is also keen to respect and support the local community. Part of the company’s ethos is to source local products and employees wherever possible; to use an environmental consultant to help ensure the wellbeing of ecosystems, and to be involved where possible with community events held throughout the year.

Karma St. Martin’s will be open from 1st August until 31st October 2014. The hotel features 25 rooms most of which overlook the stunning Tean Sound, an indoor pool, restaurant and bar. The restaurant will be offering something unique to the islands, with a selection of well known indian dishes on the lunchtime menu. The landscaped gardens and grounds with their subtropical plants are also a particular feature of the hotel, and lead directly to a beach of powder white sand and crystal clear water. The hotel is also dog-friendly.

The Islands’ Partnership is recruiting a new Executive Director to lead the current team of one full-time coordinator and three part-time employees.  The Board is seeking a dedicated tourism professional, with expert marketing credentials, to spearhead the work that will secure the continued recovery of the islands’ tourism economy.  After 18 months of work by the IP, the industry has seen a 6% rise in advanced travel bookings compared with last year, reversing the 10-year downward trend, and all indications are that interest in visiting the islands is continuing to grow.

“The board is in no doubt that this is the right move,” says Chairman of the IP, Chris Gregory. “Despite the positive progress over the last year and the great work done by the IP team aided by the expertise of Wolf Rock Marketing consultancy, we recognise that we need to move up a gear, ensuring that all the challenges we face are dealt with by a team that has full time professional leadership, and not just the consultancy services that we currently rely on.”   Click on this link to view the job description.