On the fashionable west coast, next to Colony Club, 13 km north of Bridgetown, this quintessential upmarket Bajan resort is a lavish tropical redoubt with colonial accents.
Family owned and managed since the 1950s, this veteran and elder sibling of The Sandpiper offers old-world charm on a new-world beach, with enough salt-worn character to temper any snobbery.
Similar to Cobblers Cove, this superb property bests its rival with a top-notch staff, closer attention to detail, spacious grounds and more comfortably proportioned public areas. A tree-lined drive leads to the waterfront mansion built of coral limestone. From this, wings and cottages fan out across the five landscaped hectares, with judicious fretwork lightening up the buildings' solidity.
The lobby and adjacent lounge are done in sumptuous island style, mixing antiques with comfortable bamboo appointments. The terrace flanking the mansion leads to a beachside lawn and garden with comfortable Mediterranean furniture.
The breezy but sophisticated restaurant boasts fine panoramas, and the seasonal luncheon buffet features the Bajan creations of a highly trained chef. The a la carte menu is expensive, and weekly floorshows and steel bands provide entertainment.
Reciprocal dining is offered at Cobblers Cove, Sandpiper and Treasure Beach, but guests must provide their own transportation. The main bar, open 24 hours, and the beach bar have comfortable nooks and offer excellent food and service. Dispatch to the pools and beach lets you laze. Food of some sort is available all day.
Guests enjoy free use of sailboats, sailboards and snorkeling equipment at the superb tree-lined beach, where they have access to a 10-m catamaran. Two pools and a pair of recently renovated lighted tennis courts also share the grounds, and two additional tennis courts are at neighboring Sandpiper.
The hotel is affiliated with the Royal Westmoreland and Sandy Lane golf courses, and a daily complimentary shuttle takes guests shopping in Bridgetown. The hotel will debut a new spa in November 2008.
The individually decorated accommodations vary widely, but privacy reigns everywhere. All provide air conditioning, phones, refrigerators, safes, paperback books and fresh flowers, but otherwise there are few common denominators.
TVs (provided only in villas and plantation suites) can be requested elsewhere for an extravagant supplement, but most guests hunker down in the public TV room for free.
Four rooms are so small as to hold only one person. Garden rooms feature fabrics in carefully modulated tropical colors, and superiors facing the sea are smaller than cottage units and have tiled baths and spacious furnished patios.
A garden-view room is nothing to 
regret; so vast, luxuriant and well-landscaped are the grounds that they merit guided tours with the head gardener. The 14 cottage suites each have a private plunge pool, done in faux stone and screened by foliage.
Some of the most popular units are in the colonial-style Windward House. The two-bedroom suites are actually a combination of junior suites, suites and cottages; an array of inter-connecting abodes, depending on availability.
The five Luxury Plantation suites offer four-poster beds, stately appointments in neutral-toned decor, wraparound terraces with bar and whirlpool, large living rooms with TVs, VCRs, CD players and sumptuous baths. Room service runs until 10 pm.
This resort is popular with mature well-to-do Americans, many of whom have been coming here for years. Children younger than 12 are not welcome from January 15 to March 15.
