DefinitiveCaribbean logo - The Definitive Caribbean Guide - written by James Henderson, and Caribbean travel specialists. James Henderson is of Britain's most respected travel writers and the author of The Cadogan Guide to the Caribbean & the Bahamas.
Caribtours
Category: Tour Operator
Location: London, UK
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2008 Caribtours Brochure, luxury Caribbean holidays
Front Cover of Caribtours Brochure 2008

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Members of staff at Caribtours, Caribbean holiday specialists, luxury Caribbean holidays
The Caribtours Team - 2006

 

Carlisle Bay Antigua - the sweep of beach
Beachfront at Carlisle Bay

 

The Clubhouse at Stonehaven Villas, Tobago
Sitting area, Villas at Stonehaven, Tobago

 

View to Master Bedroom, luxury Caribbean holidays
Plantation Suite at Coral Reef Club, Barbados

 

Stetches at The Bodyholiday LeSPORT, St Lucia
Yoga at LeSPORT, St Lucia spa hotel

 

Front of house, Caribbean exclusive resort, Barbados beach front properties with Caribtours
Main House at Cobblers Cove Barbados

 

Scuba Diving in the Caribbean with Caribtours
Scuba Diving in the Caribbean

 

Pool area at night, Blue Waters Antigua Hotel, Caribbean resorts and villas
The pool at Blue Waters, Antigua

 

Woman relaxing after stone therapy, Round Hill Hotel Jamaica
Spa treatments at Round Hill, Jamaica

 

Carlisle Bay Antigua - day bed on a veranda, luxury Caribbean holidays, Caribtours
Balcony at Carlisle Bay, Antigua

 

View along the beachfront, Couples Swept Away Negril Jamaica
The beach at Swept Away, Jamaica

 

Couple on a terrace, Sandy Lane Hotel Barbados, Luxury Caribbean holidays with Caribtours
Sandy Lane, Barbados

 

View down to The Great House, Nisbet Plantation Beach Club
Avenue of Palms, Nisbet Plantation, Nevis

 

Pool terrace at Montpelier Plantation Inn, St Kitts & Nevis
By the pool, Montpelier Plantation Inn, Nevis

 

Deluxe Oceanfront Room with direct access to gardens and beach,  exclusive Caribbean resorts
Deluxe Oceanfront Room, Four Seasons Nevis

 

Overview of Eden Rock Hotel St Barts, St Barths vacations
Bird's eye view of Eden Rock, St Barths

 

Beach from the west, DefinitiveCaribbean, exclusive Caribbean resorts, Caribtours
The beach at The Calabash, Grenada

 

View over pool at Little Dix, Virgin Gorda, BVI, Spa escapes with Caribtours
Spa pool at Little Dix Bay, BVI

 

Aerial view of Malliouhana Hotel & Spa
Aerial view of Malliouhana Hotel & Spa, Anguilla

 

View along the beach, Sir Frances Drake Channel, holiday in Caribbean
Bird's eye view of Peter Island, BVI

 

Moorish window at Cap Juluca, Anguilla resort
Cap Juluca, Anguilla hotel

 

Pool at Sunset - Rockhouse Jamaica, beach hotel Negril
Rockhouse Hotel, Jamaica resort and spa

 

The Caves Jamaica, hotel Jamaica small, The Caves all inclusive
The Caves Negril, Jamaica

 

Garden onto beach, exclusive Caribbean resorts, Barbados beach front properties
Caribbean garden view at Treasure Beach Hotel Barbados

 

Pine Pillar and Sea Grapes, Tensing Pen Negril, Small hotel Jamaica
Tensing Pen, Negril hotel, Jamaica

 

Entrance to Montpelier Plantation Inn Nevis - Nevis hotels, hotels in Nevis, Nevis vacation, exclusive Caribbean resorts
Shaded patio, Montpelier Plantation Inn, Nevis

 

Plantation House Suite at Petit Bacaye Cottage Hotel, Grenada
Plantation House Suite at Petit Bacaye, Grenada

 

Pool deck at Little Arch Hotel, Barbados hotel reviews by top travel journalist for Little Arch Barbados
Little Arches Hotel Barbados

 

Main Pool To Sea, Ladera St Lucia, Caribbean holiday specialists, Caribtours
Main pool at Ladera Resort, St Lucia

 

Hammock at Goldeneye, Hotel in Jamaica, Oracabessa Villas
Candle-lit relaxation at Goldeneye

 

Two Bedroom Villa at Windjammer Landing, St Lucia
Master Bedroom, Windjammer Landing

 

Half Moon Resort Jamaica, Caribbean Hotels and villas
Entrance to Royal Villa, Half Moon Club

 

Strawberry Hill, small luxury hotels in Jamaica, Island Outpost
Strawberry Hill, Blue Mountains

 

Cottage veranda, Treasure Beach Jamaica, Island Outpost
Sea Puss View, Jake's Jamaica

 

One bedroom Oceanfront Suite at The Beach House, Barbuda
Decking and sea view, The Beach House

 

Main pool on Necker Island, BVI, villas for rent British Virgin Islands, Caribtours, Caribbean holiday specialists
Looking out over the Caribbean Sea, Necker

 

KEY FEATURES...
Established in 1979, privately owned company, dedicated Caribbean holiday specialists with a small and friendly team of Travel Counsellors with in-depth destination knowledge, known for their competitive prices and sound advice. Their portfolio includes the region's finest resorts, boutique hotels, inns, hotels with villas, family escapes, spa escapes and tailor-made weddings and honeymoons, but also many smaller, less known properties in a broad range (over 20) of islands.

CLIENT PROFILE...
A full range of clients in all price brackets, particularly good track record with families, honeymooners and single travellers.

 
Review
Caribtours is a London-based tour operator that specialises solely in the Caribbean. The company is relatively small but punches above its weight in the travel industry. It has a very strong brand and is rightfully respected as a Caribbean specialist. Founded in 1979, Caribtours has built up an excellent reputation for friendliness and particularly for its base of knowledge. It has grown with the huge increase in travel since then, but unlike many other Caribbean specialists, it has chosen not to expand beyond its Caribbean brief to sell holidays to other parts of the world. Caribtours remains a true Caribbean specialist, with undiluted knowledge and skills. It also has greater depth in a wider range of island destinations in the region than any other company.

Caribtours is still privately owned and its founder, Norman Brunskill, remains its chairman. The Managing Director is Paul Cleary. From its original programme specialising in Jamaica, Caribtours has been a part of the vast increase in travel to the Caribbean, but in a domain where so many companies are competing to sell the same products the company has chosen deliberately to limit itself to the region, going into greater depth. Caribtours distinguishes itself among tour operators selling to the Caribbean through the range and depth of its Caribbean product and by its level of service. In addition to their knowledge, Caribtours’ staff has an enthusiasm and love for the area that few other companies can hope to match.

At the top of the range, Caribtours do of course represent the Caribbean heavyweights, and many of their clients choose to go to the famous triumvirate of hotels on the west coast of Barbados – Sandy Lane, Coral Reef and Cobblers Cove – but in addition to these hotels Caribtours also offer many less known and often less expensive properties, true Caribbean gems that usually do not feature in other tour operator brochures. A few examples are Kariwak Village, a holistic retreat in Tobago, and two lovely independent hotels with great Caribbean style and character in St Lucia, Ti Kaye Village, and in Grenada, the tiny and delightful Petit Bacaye Cottage Hotel. In all Caribtours covers over 100 hotels on more than twenty islands.

As with any good tour operator, it is their knowledge that is the basis of their offer. The small reservations team (eight reservations staff) is properly abreast of the developments in the region and they are the first to hear about and often first to include new hotels. They travel to the area regularly, often on their own holidays, to update their knowledge. They are happy to share information and their enthusiasm for the area is clear. Clients can say what they are looking for and the reservations staff will make suggestions. Similarly, if they feel you might be headed in the wrong direction they will make suggestions of places that might be more suitable to your needs. Their stated aim is to fit the right person to the right holiday.

Caribtours are fully conscious of the fact that travellers to the Caribbean have far more knowledge of the area than was available even five years ago, and that they are doing so more and more research on the internet. And with Air-Miles and gradually more flexible travel, it is no longer a case of selling from a brochure. Most of the holidays they sell are effectively tailor-made. Recently they have adapted to the changing trends in Caribbean travel by developing specialities. These include special recommendations for spas and for holidays with children, for wedding and honeymoons and for sailing and cruising. They have also launched an active holidays programme (scuba, golf, even rainforest walking) and they even offer a couple of city side-breaks, which are unexpected for the Caribbean but entirely recommendable, such as Havana.

Caribtours is twenty five people in all and it is based at the western end of the Kings Road in London. It is a regular award winner. Recently they were rated 6th Best Tour Operator worldwide by Conde Nast, and they have picked up several awards from the St Lucia Tourist Board. It is also worth noting that Caribtours donate £1 for every client travelling with their company to Friends of Conservation, which works for the conservation of specific flora and fauna in the Caribbean, including turtles in Tobago and iguana in St Lucia.

Caribtours has an untypically broad range of clientele, some of whom can afford to spend tens of thousands on a Caribbean break and others that have saved for a less expensive dream trip to the islands. Either way they will be treated equally by the reservations staff, who will share their knowledge to fit each type of traveller to the best place for them. At the top of the range Caribtours is less expensive than some tour operators, but at the mid and lower range of properties they may turn out to be more expensive than other companies. It is worth bearing in mind that if you buy entirely on price then you will miss out on the extra service that Caribtours offers its clients.

And this also sets the company apart. Besides the knowledge they can impart before you leave, they offer excellent service on the ground. This includes private, air-conditioned airport transfers (rather than in a bus) and any number of concierge services (see below) including restaurant reservations and golf tee times, even setting up a special event for you such as a dinner in a romantic part of the hotel. These services come at no extra charge. And finally, you can be sure that you will get a friendly and knowledgeable person at the end of the phone, who really knows their stuff, loves their area and makes recommendations you can trust.
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Service
To begin with it is the specialist knowledge. They visit each hotel in their portfolio once a year, to make sure that it is still in form. The reservations staff love the place enough that they go on holiday there. Which means that when you ring up you will be passed on to the person who has been most recently and who can answer your questions in the most depth, which they do with honesty. They are not selling from a brochure. Their intention is to ‘fit the person to the place’ and they are not scared to tell you if they feel a particular hotel or inn may not be right for you.

When you depart for the holiday itself your travel details will be sent to you in a smart contemporary style wallet. With it you will find a detailed itinerary and destination information with recommendations of things to do and restaurants to visit.

While you are on the holiday, day to day management is handed over to their local representative, who will meet you on arrival and see you to your taxi or limousine (never a transfer bus!). The local rep will continue the one-to-one style of service that starts in London, treating each client as an individual rather than a booking reference. The representative can be contacted at any time and will organise everything that you need at the destination including tours, excursions, island hopping, birthday cakes and restaurant reservations. They don't hold group welcome meetings and they will not actively try to sell you anything, but will be in the background if there is something you need. And of course they are on call 24 hrs a day in case of an emergency. In islands that have no local representatives, in Dominica, St Barths or in the Grenadines, this service will not be offered, but clients are met and looked after at the point of arrival and departure in the Caribbean.
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Brochure
Caribtours produce an annual glossy brochure, Caribbean Escapes. It runs to 170 pages and carries a full page review of over one hundred hotels (99% with prices) and a double page spread to introduce each island. There are pages covering their various speciality areas - Island Hopping (with suggested combinations), Family holidays (with a special section on villa hotels), Weddings and Honeymoons, Spas and Active holidays. There are also sailing and cruising options.

If you would like to receive a free brochure from Caribtours (UK and Northern Ireland only), please fill in their enquiry form here:
www.caribtours.co.uk/brochurereq.asp
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Tailor Made Holidays
A sizeable proportion of Caribtours’ holidays are tailor-made. As travellers research their trips more and more and their knowledge of the area increases, so their expectations increase. It is quite possible to visit two or even three islands on one trip. The air links are certainly there. The reservations staff are able to draw on their Caribbean knowledge to help travellers build their holiday and get the best out of the area.

Caribtours’ special interests include

Spa Escapes
Most of the major hotels in the Caribbean now have spas and Caribtours has a dedicated page on which they recommend the finest spas in the area. They can give personal recommendations as they have tried them out. There are sixteen islands with spas. With the increasing number of travellers looking for activities in this vein, they flag up resorts that offer yoga.

Weddings and Honeymoons
Caribtours has long experience in helping clients to organise weddings and their travel counsellors will liaise with the wedding organiser in the hotel of your choice and oversee the whole thing for you, including the arrangement of venue, legal requirements and the ceremony itself as well as any special requests such as a vegan wedding cake or accommodating the in-laws in a separate wing of the hotel. They also make suggestions for the most romantic escapes for the honeymoon itself.

Children
There are Caribbean hotels in all price ranges that specialise in children and Caribtours can suggest the best hotels for the age of your children. They also suggest hotels with villas in case you would prefer an element of privacy within your hotel. In the background Caribtours will have your airline seats pre-assigned

Active Escapes
This is a new departure and reflects the increasing interest in activities beyond the beach among Caribbean travellers. Activities can include regular sports such as scuba diving, golf and horse-riding, but there are also two side-trips to Trinidad and Guyana on the north coast of South America. Trinidad has spectacular birdlife and there is a trip to the Asa Wright Nature Centre. In Guyana they visit the jungle interior along rivers with romantic sounding names such as Essequibo and Demarara.
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Staff
There are 25 staff in all at Caribtours.

Managing Director Paul Cleary joined Caribtours in June 1999.

Enquiries are handled by their eight Travel Counsellors. Each member of the team has visited the hotels that Caribtours works with and have regular overseas visits to ensure that our product knowledge is up to date.

Rebecca Burgess is Reservations Supervisor and responsible for the day to day running of the sales office. Rebecca has worked at Caribtours for four years but has many years worth of experience in the Caribbean. She loves St Lucia and her favourite hotel is The BodyHoliday at LeSport, which she has visited 12 times.

Gemma Dobson has worked there for 6 years and has travelled extensively to the region. Her favourite destination is Tobago

Sarah Miller has worked as a Travel Counsellor for the past ten years. She loves the Caribbean and never misses the chance to visit.

Ana Abiol has spent 7 years at Caribtours and has an extensive knowledge of the Caribbean from her time working in the travel industry.

Francesca D’Marco has worked at Caribtours for 4 years since graduating from a Travel and Tourism course at college. Fran has already clocked hundreds of air miles travelling the region to familiarise herself with Caribtours hotels.

Louise Gray joined 2 years ago with a background in luxury travel and when she quickly developed a taste for the Caribbean.

Fiona Ali-Williams and Sally Stileman are the most recent additions to the Caribtours team.
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Special Offers
Caribtours often have a good selection of special offers and it is worthwhile checking their website or giving them a call to see what offers are currently available. Please see their web link, telephone contact number or direct email facility at the top of this page.
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Hotels
The following hotels and resorts featured on DefinitiveCaribbean may be booked through Caribtours:


Rendezvous, St Lucia
Price: Fr £1,394 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A good quality all-inclusive hotel designed specifically for couples, set on a never-ending strip of beach in the north of St Lucia. Rendezvous has magnificent gardens in which you will find excellent facilities, including a spa and beauty salon, watersports and a dedicated wedding organiser.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Sandy Lane, Barbados
Price: Fr £2,525 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
The Caribbean’s most famous hotel, glitzy in season with large, elegant rooms on stunning Paynes Bay, at the heart of Barbados’s prestigious West Coast.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
The Calabash Hotel, Grenada and Carriacou
Price: Fr £1,263 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
One of the nicest, long established hotels in the Caribbean. Small and refined, with just 30 suites in modern two-storey cottages set in a semicircle around lawns and gardens and the beach. An enclave of calm and privacy in a lively part of the island. Understated beachfront elegance, with great food and wine. British owned and run.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Spice Island Beach Resort, Grenada and Carriacou
Price: Fr £1,746 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
An elegant beach hotel, among the Caribbean’s finest, set on Grenada’s most famous beach, Grand Anse. Spice Island has a stylish but relaxed atmosphere, with contemporary beachfront suites and secluded pool suites standing in a sandy garden, top-notch dining, a purpose-built spa, a children’s centre and watersports. A classic Caribbean beach wedding venue.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
St James's Club, Antigua
Price: Fr £1,020 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Set on its own calm inlet, Mamora Bay, in the South-east of Antigua, the St James's Club is a resort particularly popular with families offering an optional all inclusive plan. It has 250 rooms ranged in blocks looking out onto the ocean and villas overlooking the bay itself. Good for children.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Four Seasons Resort, Nevis
Price: Fr £921 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A full service beach resort with Four Seasons exacting standards, in the magnificent setting of Pinney's Beach on the Caribbean coast of Nevis.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Half Moon, Jamaica
Price: Fr £1,180 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A large and luxurious resort on 2 miles of shoreline and beaches just east of Montego Bay. Half Moon has hotel rooms, suites and villas in its extensive grounds, and an extremely wide range of activities, including a children’s centre, conference facilities, shopping centre, golf course, riding stables. A popular Caribbean and leading Jamaican resort.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Jamaica Inn, Jamaica
Price: Fr £1,216 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
One of Jamaica’s most elegant and loveliest hotels, set in its own cove just east of Ocho Rios, on one of the island’s prettiest beaches. Traditional Jamaican graciousness and grandeur, now sharpened up for a gradually younger and glitzier crowd, with a spa and a leaner redesign.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Curtain Bluff, Antigua
Price: Fr £2,007 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
An upscale resort in a lovely secluded setting on two bays on Antigua’s southern shore. Curtain Bluff has been a trusty fixture on the luxury Caribbean scene for many years and retains its position among the area’s best loved hotels.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Cap Juluca, Anguilla
Cap Juluca stands in a line of 18 spectacular Moorish-style villas on its own superb curve of sand tucked away on the southern shore of Anguilla. The atmosphere is upbeat, with activities and sports by day, and then elegant in the evenings, all underpinned by low-key Anguillan charm and reliable service. Cap Juluca is one of the best known and loved hotels in the Caribbean. Several special packages and programmes available.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
CuisinArt Resort & Spa, Anguilla
Price: Fr £1,612 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A lively hotel set on a superb stretch of sand on Rendezvous Bay on Anguilla’s southern shore. Its architectural inspiration from Mykonos, so its stark white buildings are flashed with diamonds and domes rich blue. Upbeat atmosphere, with an excellent, full service spa and a hydroponic garden.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Guanahani, St Barths
Price: Fr £1,972 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
St Barths’ only large hotel, with brightly coloured gingerbread style cottages and rooms set in sixteen acres of gardens sloping down to two lagoon on the island’s north shore. Plenty of activities, with watersports and entertainment.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Peter Island, British Virgin Islands
Price: Fr £2,001 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
An extremely luxurious, private island resort in the British Virgin Islands. Peter Island Resort has just 56 rooms and a handful of villas set around the 1800 acres of the island, including rooms on the spectacular Deadman’s Bay beach. A very elegant, sometimes glitzy island getaway with a full service spa. Stay sail option available.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Malliouhana Hotel & Spa, Anguilla
Price: Fr £1,647 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
The most refined and elegant of Anguilla’s hotels. Malliouhana, all slender columns and arches, sits on an outcrop above Meads Bay, a truly spectacular beach, where a sophisticated crowd gathers for low-key activity in the full-service spa and around the bistro (and its children’s area), later gravitating to the hotel’s excellent French dining room on the clifftop.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Tamarind Cove, Barbados
Price: Fr £1,337 pp 7 nts incl flights ex-London
An excellent all round Barbados beach resort which has been a feature of the famous West Coast for several decades. Ranged in a series of buildings overlooking pretty gardens and excellent sand, Tamarind Cove is a lively and upbeat hotel set at the heart of the Barbados action.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Crystal Cove, Barbados
Price: Fr £1,393 pp 7 nts incl flights ex-London
A buzzing resort hotel, particularly popular with families, set on the West Coast of Barbados. Crystal Cove stands in brightly coloured buildings ranged over multiple levels around lagoon pools that descend to the beach. It is well priced (on an all-inclusive plan) and has an upbeat atmosphere with good facilities including a kids’ club, teens’club and a gym.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
The Jalousie Plantation, St Lucia
Price: Fr £1,111 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A large, active resort in a truly spectacular setting, between the Pitons in the south of St Lucia. The Jalousie Plantation’s 112 rooms and villas are scattered in 190 acres of forested land that descends to a Great House just above the sea. Excellent facilities, four restaurants (beachside simplicity up to fine dining), spa, tennis courts, children’s centre.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Anse Chastanet, St Lucia
Price: Fr £1,252 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A classic Caribbean resort set in its own secluded cove, its rooms and suites ranged on a steep hillside, climbing from beach level up to the (soon to open) Infinity Suites, which have the most stunning views of the Pitons. A great hideaway but also a lively atmosphere if that is what you are looking for, excellent facilities, including a spa, scuba diving, watersports and mountain-biking
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Isle de France, St Barths
Price: Fr £2,410 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A small, gracious hotel tucked away in Flamands on St Barths’ north shore, set on a superb stretch of sand. Its setting is exquisite, half on Flamands Beach and the rest in a very pretty tropical garden tucked into a steep sided valley.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Cobblers Cove, Barbados
Price: Fr £1,496 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
One of the most exquisite of Caribbean hotels, small, low key and extremely elegant, 40 suites hiding in enviable tropical gardens at the northern end of Barbados’s West Coast.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Raffles Resort, St Vincent and the Grenadines
Price: Fr £1,698 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A large and extremely luxurious resort hotel with excellent facilities, set in a private enclave in the small Grenadine island of Canouan. The oriental chain Raffles has come to the Caribbean, bringing an elegant atmosphere and excellent service with a spa, children’s club, golf course and casino.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Cap Maison, St Lucia
Price: Fr £1,518 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A suite hotel that opened in July 2008 in the Cap Estate in the far north of St Lucia. With 50 rooms in 22 apartment suites (with one, two and three bedrooms), it is in top notch Mexican ‘hacienda’ style. Cap Maison will be informal but have excellent facilities including a spa, gym, yoga and waterfront restaurant.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Treasure Beach Hotel, Barbados
Price: Fr £1,155 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Treasure Beach is a small but leading hotel in Barbados set at the heart of the action on the West Coast, 35 suites overlooking restaurant, pool and pretty gardens giving onto a good beach.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Coco Reef, Tobago
Price: Fr £1,089 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Large and lively beachfront resort set on its own secluded beach and in delightful gardens at the western tip of the island.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
The BodyHoliday at LeSPORT, St Lucia
Price: Fr £1,765 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A lively and very popular resort set in its own pretty cove at the northern tip of St Lucia. As the name suggests, it offers everything for the body on holiday, from sports and watersports to a spa and holistic rejuvenation. Special single rooms.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Royal Plantation, Jamaica
Price: Fr £1,279 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Royal Plantation offers modern Caribbean luxury in a very attractive cliffside setting just east of Ocho Rios. Some traditional Old colonial elegance, but an upbeat air, with plenty of activity and modern amenities in the suites, spa and watersports.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Blue Waters Hotel, Antigua
Price: Fr £1,208 pp 7nts inc flights ex-London
A large and lively Caribbean hotel tucked into its own secluded bay in the North-west of Antigua. Blue Waters is a resort hotel with its own strong character, with plenty of watersports and other activities, including a spa and entertainment.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Colony Club, Barbados
Price: Fr £1,358 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A large and gracious beach hotel set on the famous West Coast of Barbados. Colony Club takes the best of elegant and classic Barbadian style to create a very comfortable, modern beachfront resort. Leisurely, social atmosphere, good facilities on property, plenty of activity nearby.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Little Dix Bay, British Virgin Islands
Price: Fr £1,625 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Set behind a sweeping crescent of white sand in Virgin Gorda, Little Dix has 100 guest rooms, suites and cottages ranged across acres of colourful gardens, with a hilltop spa and a commendable children’s club. Its recently refurbished rooms and smart new villas have given a facelift to this long established and elegant BVI hotel.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Galley Bay, Antigua
Price: Fr £1,576 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A large hotel with a magical setting, stretched along a cracking strip of sand and sea on the west coast of Antigua. Galley Bay’s 70 rooms are in both rustic, Gauguin-style cottages and in modern Caribbean style. All inclusive plan, but full of character.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Eden Rock, St Barths
Price: Fr £2,118 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A small, stylish, lively and extremely fashionable hotel set around its own rocky promontory on St Jean beach, right at the heart of St Barths’ north coast. Glitzy atmosphere.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Nisbet Plantation Beach Club, Nevis
Price: Fr £1,462 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Unhurried, Unspoiled, Uncommon...is what they say about Nisbet, an elegant plantation house hotel set (uniquely) right on the beach; large and attractive rooms in cottages scattered around stunning grounds with tall palms; Great House refinement, excellent wedding venue.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Turtle Beach, Barbados
Price: Fr £1,422 pp 7 nts incl flights ex-London
A large and lively all-inclusive resort set on a pretty stretch of sand on the south coast of Barbados. The hotel is laid out in a horse-shoe of buildings that looks over a central garden, two pools, beach restaurant and watersports to the surreal blue sea. Turtle Beach Barbados has extensive facilities including a kids club, gym, conference rooms and a small spa.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Biras Creek, British Virgin Islands
Price: Fr £2,217 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A delightful, trusty retreat. Elegant and full of character, set on its own bays in the North Sound on Virgin Gorda. Just a few very comfortable suites in cottages, excellent dining room on the hilltop, with a superb view. Best for adults except in summer school holidays. Stay sail holiday available on crewed yacht.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
La Source Grenada, Grenada and Carriacou
Price: Fr £1,684 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Active resort set in its own cove at Grenada’s southwestern tip. Large (by Grenada hotel standards) and lively, with everything for the body. Sports, watersports and structured plans of spa treatments by day, entertainment in the evenings. All inclusive plan.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Round Hill Hotel & Villas, Jamaica
Price: Fr £1,316 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Jamaica’s most refined hotel, in an exquisite setting of villas and hotel rooms on a hillside and private peninsular just west of Montego Bay. Round Hill has been a trusted escape for a well heeled, often glitzy crowd for the past five decades and offers the very best in tropical elegance.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Montpelier Plantation Inn, Nevis
An extremely refined plantation house hotel with an air of historic romance, set on a sweeping hillside. Small, elegant, with gracious hosts (it is family owned and run).
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Carlisle Bay, Antigua
Price: Fr £2,609 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
An exquisite hotel set in its own very attractive, natural bay on Antigua’s southern coast. Carlisle Bay is in the vanguard of modern Caribbean style, decorated with metropolitan verve but in keeping with the loveliest tropical calm and charm.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Coral Reef Club, Barbados
Price: Fr £1,403 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A Caribbean classic, family owned and very personable West Coast, waterfront hotel. The best in low-key Caribbean elegance rather than glitz.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
The Sandpiper, Barbados
Price: Fr £1,386 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A friendly, well loved, family run hotel set in pretty tropical garden fronting a classic Caribbean beach. Intimate, easy atmosphere.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Long Bay Beach Resort & Villas, British Virgin Islands
Price: Fr £1,138 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Long Bay Resort Tortola is a 52 acre estate set on rising ground and fronting an excellent stretch of beach on Tortola’s north shore. It has beachfront cabanas, hillside rooms, and 1-4 bedroom self-catering villas, some with their own pools as private villa rentals.
See details for this property on tour operators web site
Couples Swept Away Resort, Jamaica
Price: Fr £1,361 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
The most sympathetic of the all-inclusive resorts that line the beachfront at the northern end of Negril. A very large hotel with endless facilities on a broad and excellent stretch of white sand.
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The Fairmont Royal Pavilion, Barbados
Price: Fr £1,559 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Leading beachfront hotel, 72 newly refurbished rooms and suites set on an excellent stretch of the West Coast. Swimming pool, watersports, tennis.
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Jumby Bay, Antigua
Price: Fr £2,666 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A small and stylish Antigua hotel set on its own island just off the north-eastern shore of Antigua. Jumby Bay is understated and elegant, and set on a superb beach that gives onto a fantastic sea.
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Small Hotels & Inns
The following small hotels and inns featured on DefinitiveCaribbean may be booked through Caribtours:


Jake's, Jamaica
Price: Fr £903 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A fantastic, funky hideout in the delightful and dozy village of Treasure Beach, quite remote on Jamaica’s southern shore. Jake’s is a scattering of brightly painted cottages in pretty shorefront gardens, centred on a small main house and bar. Relatively simple rooms, massage, but without doubt one of the coolest places to stay in the Caribbean.
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The House, Barbados
Price: Fr £1,771 pp 7 nts incl flights ex-London
A small and stylish hotel set on Paynes Bay on the prestigious West Coast of Barbados. The House is striking for its sleek, minimal style – all polished wood with white and deep blue decor – which gives it a calm and cool atmosphere right on an excellent stretch of beach.
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Tensing Pen, Jamaica
A delightful, very small hotel, set on the cliffs in Negril at Jamaica’s western tip. Tensing Pen is a series of thatched wooden cabins hiding among lovely gardens on the cliffs. It is cool, calm, and extremely laid back. Also excellent for a Jamaica wedding location.
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Rockhouse Hotel, Jamaica
A classic laid back hotel on the cliffs in Negril, set in a series of stone walled and wooden, thatch-roofed cottages that line the cliff tops of the West End. Secluded and low key, Rockhouse Jamaica has great tropical style and a distinctly cool vibe.
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Jamaica Inn and Spa, Jamaica
Price: Fr £1,216 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
One of Jamaica’s most elegant and loveliest hotels, set in its own cove just east of Ocho Rios, on one of the island’s prettiest beaches. Traditional Jamaican graciousness and grandeur, now sharpened up for a gradually younger and glitzier crowd, with a spa and a leaner redesign.
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Rawlins Plantation Inn, St Kitts
A wonderful plantation house retreat in the north of St Kitts, rooms in charming traditional cottages and an old sugar mill set in delightful, tranquil lawns and gardens around an estate house; a classic Caribbean inn
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Montpelier Plantation Inn, Nevis
An extremely refined plantation house hotel with an air of historic romance, set on a sweeping hillside. Small, elegant, with gracious hosts (it is family owned and run).
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Nisbet Plantation Beach Club, Nevis
Price: Fr £1,462 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Unhurried, Unspoiled, Uncommon...is what they say about Nisbet, an elegant plantation house hotel set (uniquely) right on the beach; large and attractive rooms in cottages scattered around stunning grounds with tall palms; Great House refinement, excellent wedding venue.
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Treasure Beach, Barbados
Price: Fr £1,155 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Trusty, small hotel on the West Coast of Barbados, 35 suites in a horseshoe around the pool and gardens leading straight onto a good beach.
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Kú, Anguilla
Price: Fr £1,129 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A small and stylish hotel set on the truly spectacular sands of Shoal Bay on Anguilla’s northern shore. Ku is very low key and has 27 very comfortable self-catering suites. It is well priced for a generally expensive island.
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Settlers Beach, Barbados
Price: Fr £1,057 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A long-standing favourite 'villa hotel', 22 attractive two bedroom villas set in well tended gardens on a lovely stretch of beach on Barbados’s famous West Coast. Good choice for couples, families with children or groups of friends, and weddings.
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Ottley's Plantation Inn, St Kitts
A delightful plantation house hotel set in lawned gardens high above the Atlantic coast in the northeast of St Kitts. Centred on a restored great house surrounded by stone and wooden cottages, Ottley’s has a traditional West Indian elegance to go with a spa, spring-fed pool, lovely gardens and a wonderful traditional tranquillity.
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Kariwak Village, Tobago
Price: Fr £816 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Small, environmentally friendly and holistic retreat set in lovely tropical gardens, a calm enclave in the busy west end of Tobago. 24 rooms, pool, healthy and excellent cuisine, yoga and Tai Chi programmes, 3 massage rooms, close to good beaches
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Little Arches Hotel, Barbados
Price: Fr £1,022 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A delightful small and stylish hotel, tucked away on the South Coast just across the road from the excellent Enterprise Beach; family run. Excellent dining room. Child-free zone. Romantic and good for weddings.
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Ladera, St Lucia
Ladera has the most dramatic setting in the Caribbean, overlooking the Pitons in southern St Lucia from over 1000 feet. With just suites and villas (which are open on the side facing the view) set in beautiful tropical gardens, Ladera is low key with off-beat style and is a very romantic hideaway. Excellent dining room, Dasheene.
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Ti Kaye Village Resort, St Lucia
Price: Fr £1,037 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Cool, totally secluded and well-priced hideout on the west coast of St Lucia with fantastic views over the calm Caribbean Sea. Good for weddings and divers.
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The Caves, Jamaica
A discreet and very stylish hideaway on the cliffs in Negril, at Jamaica’s western tip. The Caves has just eleven rooms in a series of brightly coloured stone and wooden cabins strung along the cliff edge. An extremely calm and quiet escape.
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Eden Rock Hotel, St Barths
Price: Fr £2,118 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A small, stylish and extremely fashionable hotel set on its own rocky promontory above a lively stretch of St Jean beach, right at the heart of St Barths’ north coast. there is a real sense of Caribbean magic about its miniature, extremely pretty setting. Eden Rock is one of the Caribbean’s very few Relais and Chateaux.
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East Winds Inn, St Lucia
Price: Fr £1,653 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Small but elegant inn set in lovely gardens sloping down to a calm beach. Rooms in cottages, very good food, quiet and secluded but close to the action if you want it.
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Laluna, Grenada and Carriacou
Price: Fr £1,460 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Tucked into its own calm cove in Grenada’s south-western peninsular, Laluna is a small but stylish hideaway. Just sixteen one and two bedroom cottages stand ranged in a swatch of earthy colours on a steep hillside. They are large and breezy to take advantage of open-air tropical life, decorated in a blend of Indonesian and Italian, but above all they are Caribbean chic. Laluna is the hippest Grenada hotel, home to the occasional star.
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Strawberry Hill, Jamaica
Price: Fr £1,523 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
An exquisite small hotel in modernised plantation style, set at 3000 feet above Kingston in the Blue Mountains. Strawberry Hill is a Caribbean gem with an extremely and luxurious air. With a full service spa, an excellent dining room and high levels of service, it is a superb escape.
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Villa Resorts
The following villa resorts featured on DefinitiveCaribbean may be booked through Caribtours:


Half Moon, Jamaica
A large and luxurious resort set on two miles of beaches and sandy shoreline just east of Montego Bay in Jamaica. Half Moon has hotel rooms, suites and villas in its extensive grounds, and an extremely wide range of facilities, including a full service spa, a children’s centre, conference facilities, duty-free shopping, golf course and riding stables. A very popular Caribbean and leading Jamaican resort.
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Maca Bana Villas, Grenada and Carriacou
Price: Fr £1,082 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A lovely collection of one- and two-bedroom villas in bright Caribbean colours set on a secluded cove in the south of Grenada. Romantic and very comfortable, with all mod cons and a fantastic view from your private deck. Also the lively Aquarium restaurant. Art and cooking classes, massage, yoga.
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Villas at Stonehaven, Tobago
Price: Fr £1,033 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A collection of 14 elegant and comfortable villas in French colonial style, set above Stonehaven Bay on Tobago’s northern shore with good wedding, honeymoon, golf and dive opportunities.
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Settlers Beach Villa Hotel, Barbados
Price: Fr £1,057 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A long-standing favourite Barbados 'villa hotel', 22 attractive two-bedroom villas set in well tended gardens on a lovely stretch of beach on Barbados’s famous West Coast. Good choice for families and weddings.
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Cotton Bay Village, St Lucia
Price: Fr £1,289 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A luxury villa resort designed specifically for families in the far north of St Lucia. Cotton Bay Village is a series of suites, townhouses and free standing villas in its own community behind a curve of Atlantic-facing sand. There are very good facilities including a spa, a children’s club, golf right next door and optional butler service.
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Windjammer Landing, St Lucia
Price: Fr £1,058 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Village of whitewashed villas clambering up a hillside (and some hotel rooms nearer the beach), set in 55 acres fronting onto Labrelotte Bay, a calm beach on the Caribbean side of St Lucia. Very popular with families in holiday periods, but otherwise a good all-round resort, with something for everyone. Popular wedding venue.
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Goldeneye, Jamaica
Just a few stylish and very comfortable waterfront villas in the attractive gardens of Goldeneye, Ian Fleming’s house in Jamaica, where he wrote many of the James Bond novels. Set on the north coast east of Ocho Rios, the small resort uses traditional Jamaican and oriental style to create an extremely chic air. Plenty of low key activities. The haunt of music stars and models.
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Round Hill Hotel & Villas, Jamaica
Round Hill, Jamaica’s most refined hotel and villa resort, has an exquisite setting on a hillside and private peninsular just west of Montego Bay. A trusted escape for a well heeled, often glitzy crowd, it has been offering the best in tropical elegance for the past five decades.
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Villas
The following villa featured on DefinitiveCaribbean may be booked through Caribtours:
Rock Cottage, Antigua
Price: Fr £2,079 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A secluded, very private five-bedroom villa in a stunning location at the tip of a point at Blue Waters Hotel. Spectacular master suite, bathroom and pool with a view, very comfortable living areas on a small clifftop, private jetty.
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Bookings
You may contact Caribtours by using the DIRECT EMAIL ENQUIRIES facility or WEB link at the top of this page. If you prefer to telephone the company, their telephone number will be revealed if you click on the CONTACT TELEPHONE NUMBER link.
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