A covered terrace with a long table set for eight and white chairs, sun loungers facing the open sea beyond the railing.

Little Good Harbour

£££

Grown-up & familyColonialHeritageCoastalRecommended

Recommended by friends and by publications we trust. We have not stayed yet; it is high on our list.

Suites in what is left of Fort Rupert on Barbados' north coast, and candlelit tables at the water's edge beside it, where the hotel's Fish Pot serves grilled lobster.

A small coast road runs through Little Good Harbour, and which side of it a suite is on decides most of the stay. Inland, among tropical gardens, are the two pools and most of the suites, in whitewashed coral-stone cottages that take after the Barbados chattel house. The one- and two-bedroom suites run to two floors and a terrace, with a four-poster and a full kitchen for anyone who can resist the restaurant across the road. One pool is small and Romanesque among the greenery, the other larger and lined in grey slate. On the sea side is what is left of Fort Rupert, named for Charles I's nephew, Prince Rupert, and now made into suites that open onto the sand. Beside it at the water's edge is the hotel's own restaurant, the Fish Pot, with tables for two on a terrace over the sea and candles on them at night. Guests get first refusal on those tables.

Recommended for couples after the quiet north of Barbados, with dinner a couple of minutes' walk from bed, and for families who need a gentle sea more than a kids' club. The three-bedroom Vineyard suites were made with families in mind, and babysitting can be arranged. The beach is a narrow strip of white sand that shelves gently, which is all a small child asks of a beach. Snorkelling and kayaking from it are included, and an in-house instructor gives private surf lessons. Speightstown, three kilometres south, has an old high street and a fish market; further down the west coast is a job for the hotel's water taxi. Rates are room only, so breakfast is across the road at the Fish Pot as well, with the same sea in front of it as dinner.

A covered wooden deck with a cushioned bench and coffee table, a bar height table with four chairs and an umbrella beyond.

A wood framed bed with white linen beneath a driftwood wall hanging, a window open to the sea.

A living room with wicker armchairs and a sofa, green shuttered windows open to a wide view of the sea.

Two empty sun loungers on a covered stone terrace, facing a wide view of the sea over a low railing.

A kitchen with white cabinets and a window open to the sea, a sailboat anchored offshore and green shutters either side.

A covered balcony with a round stone table and two wicker chairs, overlooking palm trees and a pink cottage roof.

Rooms

Rooms: 20
Family rooms: Yes

Pools

Pools: 2
Adults-only pool: No
Children's pool: Yes

Creche

Babysitting: Paid, about $15 an hour, arranged locally

Food and drink

Restaurants: 1
Bars: 1
Worth booking: the Fish Pot, the hotel's own restaurant across the road, for seafood and pasta with an extensive wine list
Board: Room only

Practical

Airport: Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI), about 45 minutes
Beach: Short walk, sand
Parking: Yes

Building

Converted: 2000
Floors: 2

Services

Spa: Yes
Gym: Yes
Boat: Yes
Watersports: Yes
Room service: Yes
Worth knowing: complimentary snorkelling and kayaking, private surf lessons from an in-house instructor, and a water-taxi service along the west coast

What's nearby

The Fish Pot restaurant, the hotel's own, across the coastal road: a couple of minutes, on foot
Speightstown's old high street and fish market: 3km, a drive
Port St Charles marina: 10 minutes, a drive
Six Men's Bay fishing village: 440m, on foot