The best Caribbean resorts to visit by superyacht

Set in two hectares of sprawling tropical grounds bursting with coconut palms, popping pink bougainvillea and lush lawns, this stylish family-run hotel offers a spot of sequestered luxury in one of the Caribbean’s glitziest areas. Accommodation at the Sandpiper ranges from spacious one- and two-bedroom rooms finished with dark woods to three show-stopping Tree Top suites. Book the grand and airy Curlew Suite, with its stunning inside-outside lounge space, private plunge pool, a wet bar stocked with local rums and truffles and an expansive oceanfront terrace offering views of the pristine Platinum Coast.

While away the mornings at one of the hotel’s two swimming pools alongside the resident mongooses and hummingbirds before taking lunch at Harold’s Bar, which serves local treats such as cornmeal-crusted barracuda and beef roti with homemade mango chutney. The hotel’s beach is a 30-second stroll away, where you can paddleboard on the glassy sea or scrunch your toes in the sand with a rum punch in hand. After the sun sets, head to the Sandpiper Restaurant for cioppino of seafood or a rib-eye from the grill to a backdrop of calypso and jazz bands before shuttering yourself back into serene isolation.

Aqua ocean, emerald jungle, ivory sand and coral sunsets: St Lucia’s Caribbean Sea coast is a vibrant artist’s palette of colours. Nestled amoung this tropical outlook is Windjammer Landing, an established Mediterranean style-resort with more than 200 rooms and cool white villas spread across 60 acres of flower-jewelled landscaped gardens.

Start your day with a pre-breakfast yoga class in the shady hilltop garden, practising your eagle and crow poses while tiny iridescent-bellied hummingbirds hover overhead. Snorkel the turquoise waters with turtles and baby rays right off the beach or head further along the coast to Anse Cochon to spot octopuses crawling among canary-coloured pipe coral.

If you need to unwind from all that activity then book in for a massage, followed by a cooling dip in your villa’s private infinity pool before sipping on a blush-red rum punch or icy daiquiri sundowner. Dine in the restaurant on sesame-crusted tuna sashimi and champagne shrimp risotto, or bring a chef into your villa to cook up a catch of the day feast with Lucian flair – think callaloo and okra soup, mango-dressed salad and pan-fried mahi-mahi followed by red wine and basil ice cream.

With its marble pillars, manicured golfing greens and popping pink colour scheme, there are few hotels more synonymous with Caribbean luxury than Sandy Lane, which celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2021. The brainchild of British politician Ronald Tree – who dreamed of a lavish hotel with a golf course while enjoying his winter home on the island – the resort has been a must-visit destination for A-listers for the past six decades. Its sparkling white walls could tell thousands of stories, from Aristotle Onassis being rowed to shore from his superyacht while Maria Callas swam with a pet marmoset on her back, to Elton John adhering to the strict New Year’s Eve dress code by wearing his black tie as a garter. This colourful history will be celebrated in the hotel’s Trip down Sandy Memory Lane initiative, which will share archive imagery from private albums and memories from the resort’s first visitors. There will also be lavish events where guests can knock back the hotel’s signature SL-60 champagne cocktail.

Sitting on the blindingly white sands of Nassau’s Cable Beach, Rosewood’s first foray into the Bahamas has flourished since it opened its doors in 2018 following a multimillion-dollar refurbishment. It’s as grand as you would expect from the luxury hotel group, with an exterior wreathed in the greenery of tropical flower gardens, while the luxe interior is lined with shelves of books, coral sculptures and local artworks that add pops of colour to its British colonial style. 

Superyachts can dock at Albany Marina, a 30-minute drive away, and to get a taste of the surrounding cruising grounds, make the five-minute boat trip to Long Cay, Rosewood’s private island. A private butler will ensure your champagne glass is charged and waiting for you on shore while you’re snorkelling. Later, for an authentic Bahamian experience, head to Nassau waterfront’s “fish fry” and enjoy a rum flight at John Watling’s Distillery.

In-the-know celebrities scorn Barbados’s flashy west coast in favour of the palm-tree-studded grounds of the island’s oldest hotel. Built in 1887, the 16-hectare resort’s historic cobbled quarters artfully incorporate modern amenities; a spa pool with coastal views sits in the stone-walled carriage house, while a pink-sand beach is reached by a glass-fronted lift.

Have your tender drop you on the beach at sunset and sink into the powder-soft grains (the yacht can moor a 40-minute drive away in Bridgetown’s port), then head to one of the hotel’s five eateries for dinner. Try the local delicacy of crispy flying fish at the resort’s sea-breeze-scented, cliffside restaurant L’Azure, or spiced crab maki topped with fish roe at Zen, its Japanese restaurant. The only acceptable way to finish the night is with a sweet but strong rum punch at the suitably old-school Bar 1887.

It’s difficult to imagine a more quintessentially Caribbean escape than Marigot Bay, where every suite looks out on to the lush, palm-covered peak across the water and isolated beaches flanked by sugar canes are just a short kayak paddle away. The resort has undergone a major renovation in recent years: inside the chalet-style villas you’ll find cool white linens punctuated with pops of coral or sea blue, botanical prints on the walls and sculptures that reference the island’s abundant flora and fauna.

Three on-site restaurants make the most of St Lucian produce, from breadfruit tacos with freshly caught mahi mahi, to mangos, avocado and soursop picked from nearby trees. For a bespoke menu, there’s a secluded tree house, which comes with a private chef who’ll prepare everything from fine-dining dishes to his family’s fried chicken. Or, for additional local flavour, you can visit the local Anse La Raye fish fry. Back at the hotel’s many bars you’ll find a good-spirited crowd sharing stories from the day’s adventures and sipping rum cocktails that pack a punch. A good job, then, that your yacht will be just a few tipsy footsteps away at the resort’s marina.

The emerald islands and glittering turquoise seas of the Grenadines have been a celebrity bolthole for decades, and Canouan is the jewel in this Caribbean crown. Located at the northern end of the island, strung along the blindingly white Godahl Beach, lie the 26 colonial-style suites and six four-bedroom Lagoon Villas of the Mandarin Oriental, Canouan. Cruise into the island’s recently-opened Sandy Lane Yacht Club & Residences (which can accommodate yachts up to 90 metres) or arrive via jet on the private runway, before being whisked away to the palm tree scattered resort. Recently acquired by Mandarin Oriental, the chain’s first foray into the Caribbean, the property combines old school charm with state of the art technology – use your in-room iPad to set the temperature or order a rum cocktail. Ideal for golf lovers such as Eddie Jordan, guests can play on the Jim Fazio-designed golf course. Its verdant green fairways are lined with tropical flower boarders and all 18 holes provide spectacular ocean views. And the sport doesn’t need to end there with three flood-lit tennis courts, a mountain cycling circuit and guided hikes to Mount Royal, the highest point on the island.

Flanked by flourishing rainforest on one side and a palm-tree-lined beach on the other, this Caribbean institution is based in one of Antigua’s most beautiful bays. Its understated style combines colonial touches with minimalist sophistication; dark grey tones and neutral marble are interspersed with plantation shutters and flashes of colour. Its laid-back vibe is contagious and guests – who are greeted with a walkway over a lily pond – quickly swap stilettos for flip-flops and espressos for rum punch.

Relaxation is aided by thoughtful touches rather than in-your-face service: chilled water coolers are placed twice-daily by the cream beachside sun loungers and a wash bowl topped with fuchsia petals is left by your door so that you can rinse the sand off your tootsies. It’s been a firm favourite with snowbirds since it opened in 2003 and its modern jetty and calm anchorage mean that it is on the up with the superyacht set. Less than five nautical miles from English Harbour, its four restaurants, floodlit tennis courts and cavernous spa offer plenty to tempt you ashore.

Sitting at the southern end of the three-kilometre curve of golden sand that is Grenada’s Grand Anse Beach, Spice Island Beach Resort is a gleaming white example of Grenadian hospitality. The property is run impeccably by Sir Royston Hopkin and his family and exudes old-school luxury: porters in gleaming gold buttons and pith helmets greet you upon arrival, staff address you by your surname and “elegant casual” dress is required for dinner.

The low-lying resort, which was rebuilt after Hurricane Ivan struck in 2004, is undergoing a rolling revamp to ensure it keeps up to date with Grenada’s luxury tourism boom. Its traditional interior colour palette is being modernised to include brighter blues and lighter woods to complement its spectacular views of the gently shelving beach and cerulean waters beyond. This picturesque location is also handily located just a short drive, or quick tender spin, from the Camper & Nicholsons Marina – making it the perfect stop-off before or after an exploration of the unspoilt Grenadine chain by boat.

Set on a small peninsula on Antigua’s southern coastline, where the turbulent waters of the Atlantic meet the gentle Caribbean Sea, Curtain Bluff’s destiny was secured when Sir Howard Hulford flew over the site in 1957. With a personality as flamboyant as his colourful shirts, he and his wife Chelle set about creating Antigua’s first luxury resort. Howard died nearly a decade ago but Chelle continues his legacy, still hosting weekly guest cocktail parties on their huge wraparound patio with views across to Montserrat and Guadeloupe.

It is this personal connection that allows the term “all-inclusive” to take on a new meaning, with its fiercely loyal staff more akin to a superyacht crew. The resort’s two palm-lined beaches are less than 30 minutes from English Harbour but, with two fine dining restaurants, a tennis centre, water sports, scuba diving tours, a kids’ club, gym and yoga studio at your fingertips (and at no extra cost), you’re unlikely to find a reason to return to your yacht.