Champagne brunches on the Platinum Coast, food truck hopping in Bridgetown, rum shop journeys across the island. Barbados has as rich and vibrant a tourism offering as you’ll find in the Caribbean, with a robust dining scene, a teeming calendar of events and some magnificent scenery, too. 

Barbados is also home to a uniquely diverse hotel product. You can find just about everything here: all-inclusive resorts, historic inns, grand luxury resorts and tiny wellness retreats. 

Our latest edition of the Best Barbados Hotels helps you navigate the Barbados hospitality scene and help you find the right hotel for the right kind of vacation. As with all of our hotel lists, the key is giving you different options for every kind of hotel – and budget. 

Here are the best Barbados resorts for 2024. 

Sandy Lane The grande dame of Barbados resorts remains the portal to old-school Bajan luxury, with its opulent design and indulgent dining. And while the resort is perfect for a luxurious, gourmand’s beach vacation, it’s also a haven for active travelers, with a strong tennis (and padel) offering, expansive watersports options and a trio of golf courses that are some of the best in the Caribbean, anchored by the world-class Green Monkey.

The Club, Barbados This adults-only all-inclusive retreat has 160 rooms in an exclusive setting (just north of Sandy Lane) in the heart of the Platinum Coast. You’ll find a mix of ocean-view, oceanfront and garden-view rooms, all lovely, with a terrific dining program, from the colorful, Bajen-style Enid’s restaurant to an always entertaining piano bar. There’s an on-site rum shop to begin your Barbados sugarcane adventure, and a host of programming to try, from mixology courses to cooking lessons to dance classes. 

O2 Beach Club Barbados’ South Coast has quietly become the island’s new “cool capital,” with terrific restaurants, beach clubs, cultural experiences and a growing number of top-flight resorts. That brings us to our current fave in the south: the O2 Beach Club, the newest entry from the islands Ocean Hotels group, a two-tower, 130-room all-inclusive perched on a lovely stretch of beach in the heart of the island’s always-bustling St Lawrence Gap. It’s an innovative, creative all-inclusive: that means everything from rooftop tapas bar with a pool to a roving sangria cart. 

Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lord’s Castle The newest resort in Barbados is a stunner: Sam Lord’s Castle, a Wyndham Grand-branded property that is the largest hotel on the island. The resort expertly blends its historic structure, once the home of a 19th-century privateer, and modern luxury. You’ll find 422 rooms and suites, seven dining concepts (including a rum bar) and a fresh, contemporary take on the all-inclusive experience. 

Sea Breeze Beach House It all starts with the perfect stretch of South Coast beach, but here that’s just the beginning at Sea Breeze, where Ocean Hotels has expertly blended beachfront all-inclusive concept with an authentic Bajan experience, one that extends to every facet of the property, from the impressive culinary program to an innovative list of “how to” classes that educate guests on Bajan rum, local pudding recipes and Barbados culture. We’re also rather fond of the nightly champagne and canapés on the deck. 

Apes Hill Equal parts resort and private villa community, this transformed property is now home to one of the best golf courses in Barbados – and a sleek collection of oversized luxury villas, all with their own private pools and some sparkling views from 1,000 feet above sea level. There’s also a Par 3 course on offer. 

Bougainvillea We just love this 100-room retreat on the south coast, with bright, comfortable rooms (and terrific ocean views) and an even better collection of large, multiple-bedroom suites that are perfect for families. The food is particularly outstanding, both at the Calabash Beach Bistro (make sure you stay for Thai night) and at Deia Beach, a high-end beach club that’s become one of the buzziest spots on the island. 

Island Inn This has always been one of the best-kept secrets in Barbados, a charming boutique hotel with just 24 rooms that just so happens to be an all-inclusive. You’ll fall in love with the stone walls and the courtyard, and an easygoing, relaxed vibe. It’s all just steps from the beautiful Pebbles Beach and a short ride to historic Bridgetown. 

Atlantis Historic Inn The East Coast of Barbados is something different entirely: raw, rugged, resplendent. Just outside the east coast’s de facto capital, Bathsheba, is one of our favorite historic hotels in the Caribbean: the centuries-old Atlantis Historic Inn, perfected above frothing blue, a place that transports you to another era. There are just nine rooms here, along with an excellent onsite eatery (the West Indian buffet lunch is a must), but the reason to come here is for a special kind of serenity, for the scenery, for the intoxicating sound of the waves. 

Sweetfield Manor Set high above Bridgetown, this boutique hotel in a century-old building offers a different way to experience the capital. The ambience is breezy elegance, with a fabulous outdoor dining spot in the courtyard and a wonderful grotto-style pool. As you’ll quickly realize after a day or two, wellness is a big priority, whether you want to indulge in a treatment at the Aqua Spa or take in a session on the most spectacular yoga deck on the whole island.