By Alexander Britell

It isn’t often that your room itself is a work of art.

Sure, there are well designed suites and well appointed rooms, units with striking paintings and dazzling lines.

But these are different.

The onetime owner of Antigua’s Galley Bay was an art lover, and in an homage to her favorite painter built a special wing at this classic all-inclusive beach resort: the Gauguin Suites.

They are truly striking, with classic Caribbean shingles and marvelous curves and rugged patterns of wood on the exterior, each with its own patch and style.

The insides are even more so: bright walls, impressive furnishings and playful lines and curves.

And then there are the exterior areas: private plunge pools and endlessly tranquil settings on the water’s edge.

They’re very romantic, perfect for a Caribbean honeymoon or an adults only retreat.

There are 13 of these cottages, perched on the edge of the lagoon, a resort within a resort.

You can travel around the Caribbean and back again and not find anything quite like them.

In his long career, Paul Gauguin spent a short, important time in the Caribbean, the people and and the hues speaking to him, a string of island muses.  (If you squint, you can see in these suites the island huts that inspired several of his paintings.)

Hut Under the Coconut Palms, 1894 by Paul Gauguin.

Because this is the primary reason people keep coming back to the Caribbean – it’s beauty, its tranquility, its transformative power of relaxation.

The lagoon at Galley Bay.

Its romance.

Its art.

And when you find yourself somewhere like this, staying inside of a sculpture, looking out at a painting, you understand.

For more, visit Galley Bay.