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These are unusual times, and the state of affairs can change quickly. Please check the latest travel guidance before making your journey. Our writers visited these hotels pre-pandemic.
The Caribbean is one of the best regions in the world for indulging in a pampering beach-oriented holiday. Our pick of the best luxury hotels in the Caribbean are spread over nine islands and countries – Barbados, Antigua, St Lucia, Jamaica, Grenada, the Dominican Republic, Anguilla, St Barths and Nevis – and you can expect beautiful and cosseting bedrooms, the finest cuisine and exceptional levels of personal service. Some of the featured hotels also offer outstanding facilities such as heavenly spas.
Sandy Lane is all about conspicuous luxury, shameless pampering and oodles of glamour. Expect palatial, hi-tech bedrooms, an extravagant spa (treatment rooms all have private gardens or outdoor plunge pools), three of the region’s finest golf courses and an outstanding children’s club. It’s the kind of place where guests on sun loungers are regularly plied with refreshing treats, wet towels and a sunglasses buffing service; where staff will un/pack your luggage; and where days are spent relaxing in or by the colossal, multi-layered swimming pool (with underwater speakers) or gorgeous beach. Other facilities include a watersports centre, a fancy gym, and nine floodlit tennis courts.
From
£
737
This legendary Caribbean hotel enjoys a dream position in the heart of Maundays Bay, a classic crescent of white sand and bewitching blue sea that catches both sunrise and sunset. If you like the sound of a resort with gleaming white Moorish buildings, style-savvy interiors, a serious spa and restaurants serving Caribbean, Italian and Peruvian treats, this is the dream. Service is impressive with every guest looked after by a ‘villa host’ and there are two tennis courts, two pools, a basketball court, fitness centre and croquet lawn. Some suites have private pools, while amenities in all include a 6ft (1.8m) high ‘maxibar’, Bang & Olufsen speakers and own-label organic toiletries.
From
£
574
Hacienda-style Cap Maison is one of the classiest places to stay in northern St Lucia. The views – particularly from the excellent restaurant, a strong contender for the best on the island – are sensational, taking in Pigeon Island down the coast, and Martinique on a clear day. Elsewhere, there’s a smart, compact spa and gym, two swimming pools (the main one enjoying the clifftop views, the other in a courtyard setting), and down at Smugglers Cove some complimentary watersports equipment. Rooms are tasteful and elegant; if budget allows, go for an Oceanview Villa Suite which comes with a swanky kitchen, private pool and rooftop terrace.
From
£
310
Perched atop and alongside a rocky promontory, fringed by a creamy crescent of beach and lapped by a turquoise sea, this is the island’s most dramatically positioned hotel. Eden Rock began life in the 1950s as a guesthouse where French aviator Rémy de Haenen hosted celebrities such as Howard Hughes and Greta Garbo, and was bought by the English Matthews family in 1995. With its signature bright red décor, cuisine overseen by Jean-Georges Vongerichten plus hip boutiques, a spa, family activities and an art gallery, it has grown to become one of the best-known addresses on St Barts and is now part of the Oetker Collection.
From
£
805
With the 18th-century plantation where Horatio Nelson married Fanny Nisbet at its core, this Relais & Chateaux member in an unspoilt spot 750ft above the Caribbean sea is to be treasured. The intimacy of the hotel is perfectly complemented by the warmth of the staff, who are knowledgeable, loyal, and friendly without disturbing the calm; the hotel attracts an impressive number of solo travellers who are made welcome and – with great kindness – left alone. For those on a wellness mission, there’s tennis, yoga lessons on request, and a small but prettily set spa shed for massages and facials. Food is a delight, but the real treat is a night at Restaurant 750. Start with cocktails in the Great Room before dining on the terrace on Caribbean-inflected dishes.
From
£
124
Hidden beneath the coastal main road on a remote, rainforested section of the Dominican Republic’s north shore, Amanera overlooks a mile of superb palm-backed sand (where the waves can be big). The architecturally striking resort, whose contemporary Casa Grande (main house) and 25 very comfortable casitas hover above the superb Playa Grande beach, has an unusual design for the Caribbean – a mid-century feel updated with clean lines, where lightly-patterned Dominican ‘aguayo’ tiles, slender columns and full-height glass façades launch flying concrete roofs. There is a beach club, spa and a dramatic cliff-side golf course, all underpinned by the Aman brand’s highly personalised service.
From
£
1,046
Carlisle Bay
Old Road, Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda
Situated on the south of the island with a view to Montserrat, this well-designed contemporary resort enjoys a solitary spot beside a long, sheltered beach. Most guests spend their time here, flopping out or dining at Indigo, but there is also a large curvy pool to splash in, a spa, and when it’s time to get active, there are nine tennis courts, a fitness centre, mountain bikes and watersports. Complimentary activities include a hike in the nearby Mt Obama National Park, sailing and windsurfing clinics, and sunrise/sunset yoga and pilates on the jetty. The suites come in six categories (honeymooners head for the Bay Suites with butler service and a vodka and rum bar) but they all feature balconies or terraces with day beds.
From
£
306
Part of the Oetker Collection, this pristine resort is all about the contemporary, laid-back, tropical style. Open-sided rooms and leafy plants bring the beauty of the outside in, while the white marble bar and blue-painted walls give it a seaside feel. Rattan furniture removes formality and giant wicker lampshades add a touch of playfulness. The food here is top-notch, whether you opt for private dining on the beach under a fairy light-strewn gazebo, a formal meal at the Estate House or buffet lunch at the Veranda. Service is slick, entertainment options are endless, and rooms are varied; from the rondavel huts to the super-luxe villa or estate home, which comes with its own housekeeping staff, butler and chef.
Round Hill is understated, discreet and beautifully laid out above its own secluded beach, with shoreside rooms styled by Ralph Lauren and villas that overlook the bay. Inside, Caribbean elegance dominates, with traditional Jamaican colonial architecture (steeply pitched shingle roofs, louvered windows and white walls) touched with white and black or the hotel’s signature British racing green, all standing out against the myriad greens of the gardens. The look continues to the rooms where dark-wood four-poster beds contrast with muslin drapes. Service here is old school, with waiters in white shirts and bow-ties, and there is a pool, a watersports deck, tennis courts and a large spa.
From
£
278
• The best hotels in Jamaica
Sugar Beach
Soufriere, Saint Lucia
Many millions have been spent turning what was a tired hotel (the Jalousie Plantation) into the very swish and sophisticated luxury resort that is Sugar Beach. The style varies from pared-down tastefulness in the villas and cottages that are dotted widely over the forested slopes of the estate, to grand colonial living in the original plantation building, where outré modern art provides a contemporary twist. All accommodation has a private pool of some sort and butler service, but plump for a Luxury Beachfront Bungalow for direct access to the beach. Facilities include a vast communal swimming pool, a memorable spa with eight treehouse treatment rooms, watersports (snorkelling in the bay is first rate), tennis courts and beach volleyball.
From
£
339
With soaring mahogany trees and palms, frangipani, bougainvillea, ponds and much else besides to enjoy, Coral Reef Club’s expansive grounds are the loveliest of any hotel in Barbados (there are weekly tours). Bedrooms and public areas are, for the most part, the epitome of unshowy elegance (many guests are regulars and stay in the same room each year) and the property delivers graceful, old-school luxury better than any other Barbados hotel.
As for facilities, the spa is a highlight and there are two big and attractive swimming pools set tranquilly in the grounds. Dinners are cosseting, candlelit occasions, and the food is satisfying and rich.
As for facilities, the spa is a highlight and there are two big and attractive swimming pools set tranquilly in the grounds. Dinners are cosseting, candlelit occasions, and the food is satisfying and rich.
From
£
306
This is an old school Caribbean classic, with a horseshoe of low-rise buildings overlooking neat, palm-dotted lawns. Major selling points include its setting on a pretty and sheltered bay, the tranquil and civilised atmosphere, the elegance of the rooms (all are suites), and perhaps above all else, the first-rate food. In addition to this, facilities include an infinity-edge swimming pool with a spa alongside with three smart treatment rooms, plus a gym, two floodlit tennis courts, a dive centre, and kayaks, hobie cats and paddle boards. By Caribbean standards, the ambience is fairly formal – for example, everyone dresses up a bit for dinner (‘smart casual’ attire is expected).
From
£
361
Contributions by James Henderson, Nigel Tisdall & Antonia Windsor
Source: Telegraph
