Top Caribbean Resorts

Though the Caribbean is so beautiful, warm and hospitable that some people wouldn’t mind spending a vacation there in a shack on the beach, there are several top Caribbean resorts that are worth checking out.

Malliouhana Hotel, Anguilla

One of the top Caribbean resorts, the gorgeous Malliouhana Hotel in Anguilla sprawls atop a bluff on the island’s southwest coast. From below it looks like a great ship with all its sails unfurled. Inside, it’s paradisiacal, with spacious rooms, some facing the water, and a dining pavilion that gives a view of the area’s spectacular sunsets. The cuisine is French and the wine list is beyond extensive. There are more than 60 kinds of champagne alone. The best times to visit are from November to April, and the hotel is closed from September to October. It’s only seven miles from the airport. Is it pricey? Yes. Is it worth it? It’s that too.

Pink Sands, Harbour Island, the Bahamas

The folks who named the Pink Sands hotel were neither fussy nor pretentious. Their resort sits on a beach of pink sand. Set on 16 acres, it’s made up of pretty, gingerbready pastel bungalows with landscaping dominated by palms, bougainvillea and other gorgeous tropical natives. The cuisine is a delicious Caribbean-Asian fusion. One thing that makes it sexy is simply getting there. Take the “party plane” from Nassau to Eleuthera Island, then hop on the water taxi to the lush Harbour Island.

Strawberry Hill, Jamaica

The visitor takes a long, steep trip on a rickety bus just to get to this resort in Irish Town, one of the top Caribbean resorts in Jamaica. Even the bus ride is worth it, with its views of waterfalls and cycads, mango trees, banana plants and tropical flowers. Then, the guest checks into one of Strawberry Hill’s dozen little cottages full of lacework eaves and brackets and mahogany tester beds with mosquito netting and cloud soft bedclothes. The cuisine features the best of Jamaican food, and the guest, lounging on their own private verandah, won’t even mind that they’re nowhere near a beach.