Tiny Saba is a short flight (or ferry) from St Maarten, but it feels like a totally different universe. Low-key, charming and naturally beautiful, it’s a destination that’s all about nature, tranquility and laid-back island vibes. That’s also true of its hotels, a collection of decidedly boutique, unpretentious, warm places to stay where the emphasis is on intimacy and personality. Here are our favorite places to stay on the Caribbean island of Saba.
Billed as a “hotel, bar, and kitchen,” the Queen’s matches 10 all-suite guest accommodations with courtyard dining and an indoor-outdoor cocktail bar with an extensive selection of single-malt scotches and a particular fondness for new twists on gin & tonic drinks. Every room has a view of Saba’s mountains and shoreline, and the restaurant serves three meals daily, including unforgettable special occasion dinners in the Bird’s Nest, with seating high in the branches of a mango tree. This is Saba’s premier hotel.
Juliana’s has the widest choices of accommodations of any Saba hotel: select from a pair of standalone two-bedroom cottages, a trio of suites, and ocean- and garden-room hotel rooms. Tropics Cafe offers poolside farm-to-table dining — locally caught lobster is a speciality — and happy hour is a daily tradition at the Tipsy Goat bar. A full breakfast is included in the price of a stay. The hotel also now has several units around the island, including the four-room Captain’s Suites and the Mango Suite in Windwardside.
Named for the native inhabitants of Saba, this 27-room hotel debuted in 2022 with all-suite accommodations located in a series of three-story hillside buildings on the Windward side of the island. Attractive one-bedroom and junior suites have dark wood furnishings and updated tile baths, and resort amenities include a swimming pool with great views of the island and ocean and a restaurant, Liam’s, which serves a mix of Caribbean and Asian food.
The Bottom is the top town on Saba, and for travelers who want to be close to Saba’s version of bustle, Lolipop’s is a fine choice. Rooms are small, simple, and reasonably priced, especially when you consider that a vegetarian breakfast is included, and some have surprisingly good views. Attractions like Ladder Bay and hiking trails are nearby, and the popular on-site restaurant is known for its goat stew, fish cakes, and other local favorites.
Views of the village of Windwardshire, Mount Scenery, and the vast Caribbean Sea complement a stay at this new boutique hotel whose Malaysian name means “taste of the world.” Asian themed decor prevails in public spaces filled with fountains and gardens, while the two guest rooms have Malaysian and Dutch themes. Opened in 2011, this small hotel has kept the same room rates since its inception: $120 per night for singles, $135 for double occupancy.
Saba’s landscape is dotted with delightful red-roofed, white-sided cottages and homes, including those at this 10-room hotel in Windwardshire. Peaked, open-beamed rooflines and four-poster beds give rooms an air of relaxed refinement, and the spacious cottages all have living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, and private balconies with Caribbean Sea views. Walkways lead between palm trees to guest rooms, the Grand House with its honor bar and lending library, and a swimming pool overlooking the sea.
This boutique conist of seven wooden cottages on a hillside overlooking the island. It’s a down-to-earth, breezy place to stay set amid lush tropical gradens, a short walk from Windwardside. This is a place for silence and reflection, about getting in touch with nature. Or as the hotel puts it, it’s a bit “Robinson Crusoe-like.”
Scout’s Place (Reopening)
A longtime favorite of Saba visitors, Scout’s Place was shuttered in 2020; now, new owners have broken ground on a major renovation and reconstruction project with designed on reopening the hotel in 2025 or 2026 with 30 rooms and a restaurant and bar.