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Barbados / Hotels & Resorts

By James Henderson

Barbados has some of the Caribbean’s finest and most famous hotels along its fabled West Coast. In with such a large tourism industry both the west and south coastlines are pretty much built up with hotels. South Coast Barbados hotels tend to have a different feel, in keeping with the area’s generally younger, often livelier atmosphere and are generally less expensive too. There are places to stay beyond these two main areas, but few are of any size.

There is a well trodden path to Barbados, of reliably smart hotels (and many of them quite expensive too) that are regulars in the Caribbean specialist brochures. Beyond this however, there is actually a bit of a shortage of good mid-range accommodation on the island.

Part of the reason for this is that in recent years many of the hotels in Barbados have become ‘all-inclusive’. To an extent all-inclusives have forced prices down, making holidays more available - if it’s the cheapest holiday around that you’re after then there is plenty to choose from – but in many cases the formula has brought a uniformity of product, a loss of character and eventually in the experience too.

The rationale behind Definitive Caribbean is to recommend the hotels and other businesses that give the best service and experience in all price brackets. Only a few of the all-inclusive hotels and then mainly the fairly expensive ones on the West Coast, really manage to reach beyond the limitations of the formula and have their own strong character or style. Perhaps try Colony Club, Tamarind Cove and children’s specialists Crystal Cove and Almond Beach. Although not all the mid-range hotels have become all-inclusive, there are still not many mid-priced places to stay. Another alternative is to try the self-catering accommodation such as the apartments and condominiums.

Barbados also has a number of hotels that specialise in family holidays, an increasing number have full service spas and a couple of the large resorts have golf courses attached.

Please see below for our Barbados hotel and resort recommendations and listings.

Browse Hotels & Resorts on other islands

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Anguilla | Antigua | Aruba | Bahamas | Barbados | Bermuda | Bonaire | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Cuba | Curacao | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Grenada and Carriacou | Guadeloupe | Haiti | Jamaica | Martinique | Montserrat | Nevis | Puerto Rico | Saba | St Barthélemy | St Eustatius | St Kitts | St Lucia | St Martin/St Maarten | St Vincent and the Grenadines | Tobago | Trinidad | Turks & Caicos Islands | US Virgin Islands

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When to go and weather

Looking for inspiration?

  1. Ride the waves at kitesurfing mecca Silver Point
  2. Drive along the breathtakingly beautiful East Coast
  3. Go underground at Harrison's Cave
  4. Hobnob with the stars watching a polo match
  5. Step back in time at the impressive Jacobean plantation house - St Nicholas Abbey

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