“This is the way Caribbean hotels used to be,” I think to myself.

And when you’ve been to as many Caribbean hotels as I have, it’s not something you often think.

There are just 12 units here, seven stone-walled cottages and five villas, all of them just a step off the beach, all of them with outdoor “garden” showers and ocean views.

There are three meals every day, all included with the stay, served buffet style, with the evening soundtrack a local crooner and a Cat Island breeze.

There are no bartenders; just an honor bar, stocked with spirits (and rum punches) and open 24-7.

The aforementioned features make it, for all intents and purposes, an all-inclusive resort. But not like any you’ve ever been to.

It all means that, despite being in a place as exotic as you’ll find in the region, you’ll never feel wanting.

The cottage called Shane’s Shack.

It all means that this is one of the Caribbean’s great places to escape.

This is the classic little beach resort — toes in the sand, rum punch, the joy of seclusion — all the Caribbean cliches, except here they’re actually true.

As I take a drink from the honor bar, walk the three steps to the sand and look out at the water, I think back to another time.

This is the way Caribbean hotels used to be. And the way one still is.

— Alexander Britell

To book a stay at Fernandez Bay Village, click here.