Best Resort Hotels & Beaches in the Caribbean

Ask the average person what the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas call to mind, and you’ll get a familiar formula each time: Glassy waters that wow in shades of turquoise. Tropical palms swaying over talcum beaches.

Poolside Piña Coladas. And, of course, dreamy resorts that ensure all of the above is never far from reach. But in a destination where beautiful views are par for the course, how does a hotel set itself apart?

Every year for our World’s Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more.

Hotels (including safari lodges) were rated on their facilities, location, service, food, and overall value. Properties were classified as city hotel, resort, or safari lodge based on their locations and amenities.

Though they share common elements, the islands that comprise the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas are culturally diverse destinations that all offer something unique.

And much like their vast and varied locales, the region’s hotels, too, have their own set of features that make them individually special.

Secret Bay, for example, is a rain-forest resort with luxurious clifftop villas, each with a private plunge pool, dedicated chef, and on-call concierge — attributes that helped it snag the top spot in this year’s list. St. Lucia’s Jade Mountain.

Jade Mountain— described by one guest as simply spectacular — landed at No. 2, thanks to its stellar Piton views and three-walled suites.

Jamaica also had a strong showing with six resorts in the rankings, including first-time WBA Hall of Famer Jamaica Inn (No. 10); Negril’s Tensing Pen (No. 8), an intimate boutique hotel with thatched-roof cottages ideal for unplugging; and Round Hill Hotel and Villas.

1. Secret Bay, Portsmouth, Dominica.

Set on a lush hillside in rugged Dominica, this all-villa hotel prioritizes privacy. In fact, the Caribbean country calls itself the nature island, and Secret Bay puts that nickname on full display with its 10 tree-house-style villas made of sustainably sourced wood.

Of course, this eco-sensibility is coupled with luxe amenities, including individual terraces offering sea, rain forest, and mountain views; private plunge pools; outdoor rain showers; a gourmet kitchen for guests and their private chefs; and a dedicated butler.

There’s also a secret beach accessible only by paddle, kayak, or swim, and activities like night snorkeling and yoga. In short, the resort is truly untouched. Beauty, defined on an Caribbean island, where the indigenous.

Dominica, island country of the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It lies between the French islands of Guadeloupe and Marie-Galante to the north and Martinique to the south. The country has been a member of the Commonwealth since independence in 1978.

The island is of volcanic formation. Dominica has a number of active volcanoes, although eruptions are rare. There are numerous rivers, all of them un-navigable.

A range of high forest-clad mountains runs north to south, broken in the center by a plain drained by the Layou River, which flows to the west; the highest points are Mount Diablotins (1,447 meters) and Mount Trois Pitons (1,424 meters).

The population is mainly of African descent, with some Europeans, people from the Indian subcontinent, and Caribs.

Dominica is the only island with a relatively large and distinctive group of Carib Indians, descendants of the people who inhabited the island before European colonization.

Most of the remaining Caribs, a small number of whom are solely of Carib descent, live in the approximately 3,700-acre (1,500-hectare) Carib Territory in the east of the island and are among Dominica’s poorest residents?

English is the official language, but a French patois is commonly spoken, and the original Carib language is evidenced in a number of place-names.

The majority of the population is Roman Catholic, but there are also Methodists, Pentecostals, and Seventh-day Adventists. Dominica experienced out-migration throughout the 1970’s, a trend that culminated with a massive exodus after Hurricane David in 1979.

This wave continued in the 1980’s but moderated in the 1990’s. In 1992 the government initiated a controversial scheme to offer economic citizenship to investors from other countries.

Agriculture remains the most important sector of the economy, in terms of both employment and contribution to the gross national product.

The main crops are bananas, citrus fruits, and coconuts. Bananas accounted for nearly half of Dominica’s export earnings in the 1980’s, but in the late 20th and early 21st centuries the banana crops were devastated repeatedly by hurricanes.

Production also fell in the 1990’s in part as a result of a World Trade Organization ruling that the European Union had breached free-trade rules by offering Dominica and other former European colonies—notably, other eastern Caribbean banana-producing islands—preferential access to the European market.

There are several major hospitals. Local medical needs are handled by health centers throughout the island. Intestinal diseases, diabetes, anemia, tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted diseases constitute the major health problems of Dominica.

Primary education is compulsory and free in government-run schools. There are many secondary schools, a teacher-training college, a medical school, a nursing school, and a branch of the University of the West Indies. Literacy is estimated at nearly 90%.

Cocoa, coffee, and vegetables are also produced. Dominica is self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables and exports foodstuffs to Guadeloupe. The forests have potential for marketable timber.

The fishing industry was devastated by Hurricane David in 1979, when nearly all of the island’s fishing boats were destroyed, but, beginning in the 1990s, a new fishing port and market were built at Roseau (and subsequently repaired and renovated) with Japanese financial support.

Carib material culture remains evident in the production and use of dugout canoes and intricate woven baskets. The Carib community underwent a cultural renaissance in the 1990’s with the opening of a cultural center in Roseau and increased tourist interest in Carib art and traditions.

The government’s cultural agencies have encouraged the revival of slavery-era traditions, which had almost died out, including Afro-French dances, drama, music, and costumes.

Travel & Leisure.com / ABC Flash Point Caribbean Travel & Vacation Blog News 2023.