All Seasons Resort Barbados

Walking from the pool deck to the sand takes about ten minutes, past Holetown's shops, bars and restaurants along the way. All Seasons Resort Europa sits in Sunset Crest, on Barbados's west coast, its villa-style cottages painted in bright Caribbean colours and set among palm trees across a 4.5-acre plot. Suites run to 750 sq ft, each with a kitchenette, a separate living and dining area, and a private patio; Standard Suites sit up to 75 m from the main building, across the road, while Deluxe Suites cluster nearer the pool. Ceiling fans do the daytime work; air conditioning in the bedroom costs extra. You can hear the pool from most rooms, and a resident troop of monkeys sometimes crosses the road outside around mid-morning. Dinner is Indian, at the on-site Asian Spice restaurant, with Mughlai dishes served against a view of the gardens and pool; its bar stays open to non-residents too. Breakfast and lunch draw on an international menu of comfort food and local dishes. A gym and a billiards table round out the on-site amenities. In winter, a scheduled shuttle runs guests to the Beach House, a nearby supermarket, and the Lime Grove shopping centre. Each suite comes with its own parking space, a detail that matters more here than at most beach hotels, given how much of Holetown is built for walking rather than driving.