You know the sound. You open the door to your balcony or patio and it’s there, the maritime metronome, the gentle roll or vigorous froth of the waves right near your room. 

But it’s not always so easy to find. Even at many beachfront (or waterfront) resorts, there’s often quite a distance between your room and the actual water’s edge. 

Not at these Caribbean hotels and resorts. We call them “water’s edge” hotels, where the rooms are either right at the water, perched right above the water or even directly in the water. 

Here are our favorite water’s edge hotels, from Aruba to St Martin and everywhere in between. 

All you have to do is listen to the waves. 

Grand Case Beach Club, St Martin We’ve long called it the best resort in St Martin, and that remains the case for this Caribbean classic, where the majority of rooms are perched right above the hotel’s magnificent French Caribbean sand. The service is outstanding, the on-site Sunset Cafe is splendid and the setting is rather hard to top. It’s all stewarded by legendary Caribbean hotelier Stephen Wright.