Top 10 Secret Hotel in the Caribbean by Conde Nast Traveller

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Islanders travel miles to the old seaside fort in the fishing village of Shermans to eat at this hotel's restaurant, The Fish Pot. The most sought-after seats in the house are those overlooking the sea, particularly at sunset when you can order lobster, grilled prawns and mahi-mahi while watching the sky slowly turn from fuchsia to mauve. But not many regulars have cottoned on to the New England-style, sea-facing wooden cottages in the lush tropical gardens (there are also a handful of suites above the restaurant). Each has a wraparound veranda, a fully equipped kitchen and a light, airy living room filled with books and Barbadian designs. The teak beds upstairs are enormous and the bathrooms small but perfectly formed. Breakfast isn't always quite as spot-on as dinner, but the banana bread - freshly baked each morning - is delicious. There's a tiny spa and two blissful pools, the smallest in the style of a miniature Roman bath with stone columns and water features. Laze in the sun with the resident tabby cat or clamber over the rocky headland to search out hidden coves and glimpse the rock-star mansions that back onto the bay (watch out for the tide, which comes in quickly so that by early afternoon there's only a narrow strip of white sand peeking out from under the shallows). On Friday nights, the nearby Six Men's fish market is the place to go for ice-cold Carib beers and grilled meat, eaten with greasy fingers while perched on wooden benches.

BOOK IT

Essential Hotel Collection (+44 20 8614 0077; www.essentialhotelcollection.co.uk). Doubles from about £195