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Idyllic island getaways: our top five Caribbean hotels

The Caribbean certainly ticks all the boxes for a luxury holiday – beautiful beaches, five-star resorts, irresistible island hideaways, fantastic food and exceptional experiences from snorkelling to gourmet dining – if you can drag yourself away from the pool and the pristine sands on your doorstep. It’s hard to narrow it down, but we have picked our top five Caribbean hotels for the ultimate luxury beach holiday, where you really can have it all… Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort, St Lucia Sugar Beach, a Viceroy Resort, has an outstanding location. It’s nestled between the famous UNESCO-listed Pitons, set amongst 100 acres of lush tropical rainforest, and has a marine conservation site offshore that offers amazing snorkelling and diving. However, it is its wow-factor accommodation that is the real highlight. All rooms have the minimum of a plunge pool, while the larger villas and residences have bigger pools to splash in while taking in the views over the Caribbean Sea. The style is contemporary Caribbean chic, featuring lots of whites and dark woods, with louvered doors and windows creating a traditional plantation house vibe, but with strikingly modern touches and little luxuries thrown in. The spa is also exceptional, perfect for a spot of pampering, and while we’re on the subject of indulgence, nightly cocktails at the Cane Bar are a must! Petit St Vincent, St Vincent and the Grenadines Petit St Vincent is a private island resort that is all about disconnecting from the world and reconnecting with yourself, and what a fabulous setting to do it in. If you’re after a digital detox, with no Wi-Fi and no guests making noisy phone calls on the beach, this is the place to be. Stay in an idyllic, secluded and spacious cottage, where, if you want room service, instead of the latest in-room technology, just raise a flag outside (yellow for service, and red for ‘leave me in peace, please’). You can also enjoy world-class dining, including fresh catch-of-the-day fish, and lose yourself in that book you’ve been meaning to read for ages. We can’t think of many other places in the world that get it so right. This is a stunning retreat on its own, but it’s also just a short hop by air from Barbados, making it ideal for a twin-centre island-hopping holiday. Malliouhana, An Auberge Resort, Anguilla The luxurious, boutique vibe of Malliouhana is simply irresistible, and its location certainly helps. It’s no secret that Anguilla is renowned for some of the world’s best and most award-winning beaches, with pristine bright-white sands (sunglasses required!), turquoise waters and shimmering tropical vistas. Add in the island’s bustling culinary scene, and Malliouhana really becomes one of the most quintessential luxury boutique hideaways in the Caribbean. From the beach-chic decor to the multi-level pool, fine dining and sheer romance of the setting, this is a hotel that is a destination in its own right. Can’t choose a beach? You’ve got three to pick from here, all secluded, private and Instagram-perfect. The level of service from the long-standing staff is not just attentive, it’s whatever you want, whenever you want it, and undertaken with the warmth and charm for which the Caribbean is renowned. Spice Island Beach Resort, Grenada The Spice Island of Grenada captures the very essence and the best bits of its bigger sisters, Barbados, Antigua and St Lucia, which all come together in one perfectly-formed island of lush green hills and first-class beaches. The Spice Island Beach Resort is the only recipient of the AAA Five Diamond award in Grenada, and one of the few hotels in the Caribbean to receive this accolade. It elevates its setting to new heights, focusing on the finer things in life, and the combination of beautifully-appointed suites, superb service and an eye for detail is simply flawless. The hotel is owned by celebrated retired cricketer Sir Royston Hopkin, who has spared no thought or expense in ensuring his guests are welcomed like family, but treated like royalty. The coveted Seagrape Beach Suites are one of our favourite places to stay in the Caribbean. Gorgeous, warm and inviting, they have pole position, with a terrace that steps directly on to the world-renowned Grand Anse Beach, which occupies a permanent position on lists of the world’s top 10 beaches, year after year. Jumby Bay Island, an Oetker Collection Hotel, Antigua It’s impossible not to mention Jumby Bay Island – this is one of the most exclusive, enchanting and idyllic private island resorts in the Caribbean, with accommodation options from beautiful rooms to a five-bedroom private villa: there is a space and place for everyone at this iconic resort. It’s all about the little touches and nuances here, with everything created, served or experienced being the best of the best. The spacious suites offer opulent privacy in a chic, understated, yet authentically Caribbean way. The luxurious Pool Suites are ideal for those who can’t choose between the beach and the pool – why compromise? You’ll get both here. A highlight is the White Night dining experience: this beachfront dinner is designed to be indulgent, luxurious and unapologetic, and is spectacular, featuring the very freshest lobster, snapper and intricate delicacies, elegantly served. If you can pull yourself away, the island of Antigua is just 10 minutes away by speedboat, and it’s a mere five- minute drive to the airport, so the resort is also easy to reach. There’s nothing left for you to do except relax in ultimate luxury. Thomas Ryves is Marketing Director at Exsus Travel. Exsus Travel specialises in creating the very best luxury tailor-made holidays, honeymoons and family adventures in over 80 destinations worldwide. If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.

Thomas Ryves

Thomas Ryves is Marketing Manager at Exsus Travel, a leading luxury tour operator, which gives him an opportunity to indulge in his love of travel all over the world – his recent trips range from Brazil to Thailand, and he has plenty more destinations on his wish list. Since 1998, Exsus Travel has specialised in creating the very best luxury tailor-made holidays, all over the world. Pioneering and passionate, our commitment is simple: to deliver first-class client service, every single time, to hunt down the very best hotels in compelling, hypnotic locations, and to plan unique and memorable personalised experiences along the way. The result? Extraordinary, immersive holidays. By combining our specialist knowledge of more than 80 countries on all seven continents with personal holiday wish lists, our team of experts will transform ideas into travel reality, and craft every detail of each trip to perfection. Whether it’s a relaxing beach break, an epic safari, an exhilarating adventure holiday, an idyllic honeymoon or the ultimate family getaway, we can make it happen. The name Exsus comes from the Latin ‘exsuscitare’: to awaken, to excite, to breathe life into.

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6 Comments

  1. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit several Caribbean islands. Anguilla is definitely on my hit list to take in the next time I head in that direction. From reading this and seeing picture it looks as if Malliouhana would do the job.

    1. Hi Peter,

      Lucky you! The Caribbean has a wealth of luxury hotspots and fantastic hotels that really do tick all the boxes – and we definitely recommend Anguilla, for some of the best beaches in the Caribbean and some of our favourite hotels.

  2. Of these, the Petit St Vincent would have to be my pick. It’s been on my radar for a while now. The flag-waving sounds like a bit of an effort, though. ;-)

  3. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit the Caribbean on a cruise last year, and it was a blast! We’ve chosen to stay at Jade Mountain Resort in St. Lucia that had a spectacular view of the Pitons. It also helps that we felt we’ve been waited hand and foot while we were there. A bit this wasn’t in the list, I thought for sure it was a shoo in. Anyways, the list also gave me an idea of where to stay on my next Caribbean cruise. I can never get tired of this paradise on Earth, for sure.

    1. Hi,

      We love Jade Mountain, and especially for those views, which certainly are amazing! Here we wanted to highlight a few different hotels as well – there are so many wow-factor hotels in St Lucia and across the Caribbean, it’s definitely hard to narrow it down! And there’s such a wide and wonderful choice of places to stay, so definitely time for another visit… you certainly can’t get tired of paradise on Earth… Enjoy your next trip!

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