Santosha Barbados

Set above Windy Hill on Barbados's east coast, Santosha Barbados looks out toward a shoreline better known for surf than swimming. The Soup Bowl break at Bathsheba lies about 5.3 km south, and the abbeys, windmills and plantation houses that mark this side of the island sit within easy reach. St. Nicholas Abbey, a Jacobean great house built in 1658 and one of only three surviving in the Western Hemisphere, is a short drive away, alongside Morgan Lewis Windmill and its intact 18th-century sugar machinery. The property itself holds ten self-catering apartments, air-conditioned, with kitchens and balconies facing sea or pool. Garden and ocean-view studios come with kettles, coffee presses and walk-in showers. The Oceanview Suite adds a dressing room and sofa bed for a third guest. Santosha House stands apart: a three-bedroom, two-bathroom villa with a king room, two guest rooms, an open-plan kitchen and dining space, and verandahs facing the water. It sleeps a family and comes with private parking. A shared pool sits on wooden decking. Speightstown's shops and restaurants are 15 minutes off, Grantley Adams International Airport about 40. Housekeeping and grounds staff are on hand, and yoga instruction can be arranged for guests at the villa.