Sandy Lane Hotel

Character and identity

Set on Barbados's west coast on the site of a former sugar plantation, Sandy Lane has been a Caribbean fixture since 1961 and reopened in 2001 after a three-year, $280 million rebuild. The 112 keys (96 rooms, 16 suites, one villa) sit within neo-Palladian buildings facing white sand and clear water. The 47,000-square-foot spa is the largest in the Caribbean, three golf courses include the famously expensive Green Monkey, and dining runs across four restaurants and seven bars, with French-Mediterranean cooking at the open-air L'Acajou. Service is old-school, formal and hyper-attentive: beach staff polish sunglasses and mist guests with Evian.

Who's it for

Bottom line

What you're paying for here is the full estate: three private golf courses, the largest spa in the region, an immaculate beach, and a service culture built around celebrity-grade fuss. Book it if golf, family programming or the spa are central to the trip, choose an Orchid Wing room for beachfront proximity, and consider shoulder season to soften the rates.