Le Grand Courlan Spa Resort

Le Grand Courlan is adults-only, built on a gentle slope above Stonehaven Bay on Tobago's Caribbean coast. Stone paths run down through the grounds to a white sand beach, and every room, whether facing the water or the tropical gardens, opens onto a balcony or patio. The resort holds 79 rooms in total. Ten Deluxe King Garden rooms come with a private plunge pool set into the garden, and nine one-bedroom King suites have a Jacuzzi in the bathroom; all rooms are air-conditioned, with flat-screen TVs and blackout drapes. The spa is the resort's centre of gravity, with 16 treatment rooms, a sauna, steam room and spa tub, offering aromatherapy, hot stone and Swedish massage, facials, body wraps, reflexology and hydrotherapy. Outside, an oversized freshwater pool has its own swim-up bar and a whirlpool alongside. You can hear the tennis courts' floodlights hum after dark, or take a game of squash in the air-conditioned court. A dive shop sits right on the beach, running trips out toward Buccoo Reef, a stretch of coral known for its channels and colour. Three restaurants and two bars, including a swim-up bar in the pool itself, cover the day from breakfast through late cocktails. It is a quiet, adult base for a Caribbean stay, not a family resort.