The Best Hotels in Barbados

"This family-owned boutique hotel’s trump card, besides the photogenic striped pink scalloped umbrellas, is its quarter mile of powder-soft beach in a sleepy cove. Pastel-hued suites are dotted around tropical gardens festooned with palms and banana leaves and a terra-cotta pool terrace, which feels suspended over views of the bay like a theater seat. Tastefully dressed in subdued fabric of hand-printed corals, whitewashed rattan, and bamboo, rooms spill onto terraces framed by bougainvillea, inhaling the salty breeze. Camelot and Colleton are the hot-ticket turreted rooms of the coral-washed Great House, with their rooftop terraces and romantic bay views. The main spaces read like a British country pile, with a drawing room and cavernous hall, just with bright pinks and greens and plantation shutters—a blend that reflects the island's rich and complex history. Mornings at Cobblers Cove recall country clubs of yore, where a genteel breakfast din is occasionally interrupted by the pop of tennis serve or Champagne cork. Sedate afternoons typically slump between lounge chairs and the balmy sea, where guests can paddle out in search of turtles or gently part the calm, glassy on a paddleboard. When not leaning into the hotel’s afternoon tea tradition or its phenomenal spa, sailing and waterskiing sessions take place every day, and guests can now join local fisherman Barker on his ‘catch of the day’ adventures. Bajan chef Jason Joseph ensures Camelot preserves its status as one of the island’s top restaurants (an elegant white tablecloth affair), while weekly buffets and barbecues show off local dishes in a more buttoned-down setting. —Rosalyn Wikeley" - Angelina Villa-Clarke, Rosalyn Wikeley