Top 10 best luxury resorts in the Caribbean

Monday newsletters always feature top 10 travel lists to inspire.

Today (February 1, 2021): Top 10 most luxurious resorts in the Caribbean.

With an abundance of powder-soft sands, coconut covered hills, and lush valleys of sugar cane and bananas, it should come as no surprise that the Caribbean is the number one holiday destination in the Americas. With cold weather, dark days and winter storms gripping much of the northern hemisphere, some are craving for a warm sea breeze, poolside cocktails and glorious beaches. To help you pick the right spot, I made a selection of my 10 favorite Caribbean luxury resorts, which rank among the most exclusive hotels in the world.

There is more information below the slide show. Think I missed one? Share your favorite Caribbean hotel in the comments section, or take my poll below!

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10. COMO PARROT CAY, TURKS & CAICOS

COMO Parrot Cay, a favorite among celebrities, is an award-winning Caribbean luxury resort set on its own private island of 1,000 unspoilt acres with a mile-long powdery soft beach. This exclusive island hideaway delivers foot-in-the-sand luxury combined with COMO’s impeccable service ethic, holistic therapies, and world-class cuisine. All rooms and suites have whitewashed interiors furnished with soft, cotton-covered chairs, airy four-poster beds and teak furnishing. The real stars are the private villas, with their own pools, direct beach access as well as 24-hour service of COMO’s acclaimed butlers.

• Hotel website: COMO Parrot Cay
• Other accolades: COMO Parrot Cay also features in my top 10 lists of the world’s most exclusive private island resorts and luxury hotels loved by celebrities.
• Tip: get complimentary VIP perks when booking via Virtuoso (e.g. room upgrade, early check-in, late check-out, daily breakfast, and $100 USD hotel credit).
• Review: read my review of COMO Parrot Cay here.

9. JADE MOUNTAIN, ST LUCIA

Jade Mountain offers one of the Caribbean’s most mesmerizing and luxurious resort experiences, especially for honeymooners. The resort’s unique and impressive design, with individual bridges leading to exceptional infinity pool suites and rugged stoned-faced columns reaching towards the sky, have wowed guests since more than a decade. With the fourth wall entirely absent, Jade Mountain’s 29 suites (called “sanctuaries”) are stage-like settings from which to embrace the full glory of  St Lucia’s twin peaks, the Pitons World Heritage Site, and of course, the eternal Caribbean Sea.

• Hotel website: Jade Mountain
• Other accolades: Jade Mountain also features in my top 10 lists of hotel rooms with the best views, the world’s best luxury hotels, the world’s best honeymoon resorts, and the world’s best resorts with private plunge pools.
• Tip: get complimentary VIP perks when booking via Virtuoso (e.g. room upgrade, daily breakfast, early check in, late check out, and $100 USD spa credit).
• Review: read my review of Jade Mountain here.

8. DORADO BEACH, A RITZ-CARLTON RESERVE, PUERTO RICO

Somewhere between idyllic and perfection sits a Puerto Rico resort of such intimate luxury and rare character, it calls to those who believe every journey should be a voyage of discovery. Once a sugar plantation, Dorado Beach caught the eye of visionary Laurance Rockefeller, who transformed the lush landscape into Puerto Rico’s most exclusive luxury resort. With its serene coastline, private residences, spa sanctuary, and a harmonious sense of place that blends masterfully into the natural surroundings, Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, invites guests to arrive spellbound, and depart speechless.

• Hotel website: Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
• Tip: get complimentary VIP perks when booking via Virtuoso (e.g. room upgrade, early check-in, late check-out, daily breakfast, and $150 USD hotel credit).

7. BELMOND CAP JULUCA, ANGUILLA

Belmond Cap Juluca is an island chic beachfront hideaway located along the intimate crescent and healing shores of Maundays Bay on the exclusive island of Anguilla in the British West Indies. The glamorous and idyllic resort offers Belmond world-class service and is considered to have the best beach in the Caribbean. Capturing the charisma, character and charm of the Caribbean, Belmond Cap Juluca recently completed extensive renovations of its 23-whitewashed Moorish villas, taking the already impeccable resort to an even higher standard of excellence.

• Hotel website: Belmond Cap Juluca
• Tip: get complimentary VIP perks when booking via Virtuoso (e.g. room upgrade, daily breakfast, early check in, late check out, and $100 USD spa credit).
• Review: read my review of Belmond Cap Juluca here.

6. HERMITAGE BAY, ANTIGUA

Hermitage Bay is a natural paradise – a perfect retreat for anyone wanting to escape the stresses and strains of a busy life. The privately owned, luxury, all-inclusive, 5-star boutique hotel is located in a perfect bay on the west coast of Antigua. The 27 individual suites nestle on the beach and hillside in beautiful tropical gardens, in the perfect seclusion offered by the surrounding 140 acres of lush, undeveloped land. Reclining in a plantation chair on their verandah, guests here feel transported back to Antigua’s colonial era – with all the conveniences of an upscale hotel.

• Hotel website: Hermitage Bay
• Tip: get complimentary VIP perks when booking via Virtuoso (e.g. room upgrade, daily breakfast, $100 USD resort credit, early check in, late check out, and roundtrip airport transfers for stays of 3 nights and more).

5. FOUR SEASONS RESORT & RESIDENCES ANGUILLA

Throughout this ultra-luxury resort on the tiny Caribbean island of Anguilla, modern architectural forms interplay with the natural environment, while sophisticated, contemporary interiors by designer Kelly Wearstler add rich textural contrasts to a laid-back, beachy feel. From elegant garden-view guestrooms to beachfront villas with private pools, the resort’s wide range of luxury accommodations fit all tastes. And if that’s not enough yet, the resort sits atop a bluff overlooking two of the most gorgeous beaches in Anguilla with sugar white sand and turquoise waters.

• Hotel website: Four Seasons Resort & Residences Anguilla
• Other accolades: Four Seasons Resort & Residences Anguilla also features in my top 10 list of the world’s best hotel beaches.
• Tip: get complimentary VIP perks when booking via Virtuoso (e.g. room upgrade, daily breakfast, early check in, late check out, and $100 USD spa credit).
• Review: read my review of Four Seasons Resort Anguilla here.

4. JUMBY BAY ISLAND, AN OETKER COLLECTION RESORT, ANTIGUA

Nestled on a 300-acre private Caribbean island two miles (three kilometers) from Antigua, Jumby Bay Island, an Oetker Collection property, is a secluded luxury haven filled with lush landscapes, stately palm trees and stunning white sand beaches. Reachable only by boat, with no hint of urban intrusions in sight, this privately owned hideaway has remained largely unchanged for centuries. The resort features 40 tastefully decorated rooms and luxury vacation villas, that embody both the beauty of nature and the tradition of elegance with inspiring surroundings and simple sophistication.

• Hotel website: Jumby Bay Island
• Other accolades: Jumby Bay Island also features in my top 10 list of the world’s most exclusive private island resorts.
• Tip: get complimentary VIP amenities when booking via Virtuoso (e.g. room upgrade, early check-in, late check-out, daily breakfast, and $100 USD spa credit).

3. AMANYARA, TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS

Set on the island of Providenciales in Turks and Caicos, Amanyara is a secluded haven embracing the best elements of the Caribbean. Bordering the pristine reefs of Northwest Point Marine National Park, acclaimed for some of the world’s best wall and reef diving, the ultra-luxury Caribbean resort is managed by Aman – one of the world’s most exclusive hotel brands – and blessed with a magnificent white beach. Offering 40 timber-shingled guest pavilions tucked along the coast, the resort enjoys a contemporary layout and design, open to the sights and sounds of the crystal clear turquoise sea.

• Hotel website: Amanyara
• Other accolades: Amanyara also features in my top 10 lists of the most beautiful hotel beaches in the world, the best Aman hotels in the world, the most beautiful overwater bungalows in the world, and the world’s most expensive hotels.
• Tip:get complimentary VIP perks when booking via Virtuoso (e.g. upgrade on arrival, daily continental breakfast, one a la carte lunch for 2 persons, early check-in, and late check-out).
• Review: read my review of Amanyara here.

2. ROSEWOOD LITTLE DIX BAY, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

Rosewood Little Dix Bay is situated on one of the Caribbean’s finest shorelines – beyond a colorful barrier reef, where gentle blue waters meet the powder-white sands of a stunning half-mile crescent beach. The luxury Caribbean resort is surrounded by the untamed wilderness of Virgin Gorda, an island of volcanic origin featuring rugged hills, quiet coves and unspoiled beaches. The iconic property was founded by Laurance S. Rockefeller over 50 years ago. The resort recently reopened following a complete redesign of the property’s glamorous guestrooms and suites, its three restaurants and overall enhancements to the resort’s gardens and landscaping.

• Hotel website: Rosewood Little Dix Bay
• Tip: get complimentary VIP perks when booking via Virtuoso (e.g. room upgrade, daily breakfast, early check in, late check out, and $100 USD food & beverage credit).

1. AMANERA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Nestled within more than 2,170 acres of pristine Caribbean jungle,  Amanera overlooks the ocean from Playa Grande, whose golden sands make it one of the region’s most beautiful beaches. Presenting the first fully-integrated Aman Golf Course, the resort is located alongside the lauded fairways and greens of Playa Grande. Amanera has 25 free-standing Casitas, that all come with ocean views from an expansive terrace, as well as a private garden and biodiverse roof that seamlessly blends with its surroundings. Thirteen casitas have a private pool.

• Hotel website: Amanera
• Other accolades: Amanera also features in my lists of the 40 hottest luxury hotel openings of 2015, the 10 best Aman hotels in the world, and the 10 best honeymoon resorts in the world.
• Tip: get complimentary VIP perks when booking via Virtuoso (e.g. upgrade on arrival, daily continental breakfast, one a la carte lunch for 2 persons, early check-in and late check-out).

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