Some of the loveliest places to stay in the Caribbean are not the glitzy hotels for which the area is known, rather smaller properties tucked away in an isolated cove or in a traditional Caribbean setting such as a plantation house.

These inns, many of them family-owned or owner-managed, may not have all the facilities of a large hotel, the spas and the jet-skis, but often they have limitless charm and instead offer friendly, very personal treatment. With careful choice you can find an ideal hideaway with oodles of easy-going West Indian style and charm.

There is no formal definition of an inn in the Caribbean, nor a standard price, but all the inns mentioned on DefinitiveCaribbean have their own tropical charm. Many are not well known outside the islands, usually because they are too small to have a large marketing budget. More’s the pity, because many of them are the most characterful and delightful places to stay in the islands.

There are THREE WAYS TO SEARCH – if you know the inn’s name and want to find out more, use the Keyword/Hotel name Search. Look here if you want a list of Caribbean Small Hotels & Caribbean Inns featured on DefinitiveCaribbean. Otherwise our innovative Key feature Search will help you to narrow down the choice. Select your choices from the categories below to reveal your closest matches.

Select one or more entries in as many columns as you wish. For multiple choices in each search category hold down your control button (Apple users please use Command key), scroll down and click to select. Search by Categories and/or keywords Accommodation: Any Cottages Rooms Suites only Self-catering Villas Stay/sail Size: Any Under 10 rooms 10-20 rooms 20-50 rooms 50-100 rooms 100+ rooms Nightly Rate/room: Any Under US$50 $50-$100 $100-$200 $200-$350 $350-$500 Over $500 Service: Any Ever Present Formal Friendly Hip Pampered Unobtrusive Fully inclusive Location: Any Beachfront rooms Seafront (not beach) Walk to beach ok Sea Views Hillside/mountains Dining: Any Seafront Good Dining Top cuisine French Local Healthy cuisine Special diets Beach/Swimming: Any Caribbean classic Active Beach and pool Secluded Local Beach Nude/private beach Pool only ok Swim/snorkel White sand only Beach unimportant Activities: Any Spa Health & Holistic Sporty Watersports Child friendly Nature Birding Diving Fishing Golf Setting/Appearance: Any Beachfront charm Gingerbread Plantation Style Funky Minimal/modern Secluded Rustic Traditional Caribbean Resort feel Town hotel Style: Any 4-5 star Barefoot Boho-chic 'Boutique' Casual chic Elegant Formal Glitzy Hip Low key Refined Which Island: Any Direct air access Onward flight ok Caribbean charm Small Island Undeveloped Lively Island Exclusive Private island resort English speaking French Caribbean Latin Caribbean Dutch Island Island List: Any Anguilla Antigua Barbados British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Grenada and Carriacou Jamaica Nevis St Barths St Kitts St Lucia St Vincent/Grenadines Tobago Trinidad

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Each profile contains a list of the key features and a review . If you wish to travel independently it enables you to link direct to the hotel’s own website , but if you want to travel on a package it will show which tour operators /travel organisers feature the hotel/inn in their programmes.