In the Caribbean, luxury is different. 

Of course, any great resort must have excel in the fundaments of luxury: food and drink; interior and exterior design and, most importantly, service. 

But Caribbean luxury transcends that. In the Caribbean, luxury is also about beauty, about space; about the natural environment; about the sights, the aromas, about the art of experiencing the outdoors. 

In other words, it’s about all of the things that travelers prize most right now.

Compiling our annual ranking of the best luxury resorts is always a challenge; and this year, even more so. 

But the properties that made this list combined exacting quality in the aforementioned technical areas (including, of course, health and safety protocols) with that most important criterion of all: how special a resort makes you feel. 

Here are our favorite luxury resorts for 2021. 

The Shore Club, Turks and Caicos Now more than ever, travelers are drawn to residential resorts — properties that combine all the amenities of a home or villa with the ones you get at a hotel. Indeed, the things we want in a hotel experience have changed — and that’s what’s made the Shore Club Turks and Caicos even more of a masterwork. This Long Bay beach stunner has some of the most gorgeous — and gorgeously appointed — rooms you’ll find in the Caribbean, married with marvelous service, an exceptional culinary offering (including the wonderful new Almond Tree), a world-class spa and the kind of impeccable service that answers every request without ever being intrusive.