Barbados
Rum, polo and Platinum Coast sunsets, with the Atlantic for drama.
Barbados does the Caribbean with unusual polish. The west coast, the so-called Platinum Coast through Holetown, St James and Speightstown, is calm water, grand hotels and restaurants where the dress code is quietly enforced. The south coast is livelier and more local, while the east, around Bathsheba, swaps the glassy sea for Atlantic rollers and wild, rocky beaches.
For planners, the island is wonderfully practical. Direct flights from London and North America, English spoken everywhere and short drive times make it easy to land a group and get them to dinner. Build days around catamaran sails and turtle swims, plantation houses and rum distilleries, then save one evening for a clifftop dinner. Hotels skew boutique, so larger incentives often split across two properties.
- Incentive trips
- Leadership retreats
- Client hosting
- Milestone celebrations
- Golf programmes
December to April is the dry, high season and books up early, with the polo season running from January to May. June to November is hurricane season, when some hotels and restaurants close for annual refurbishment, typically in late summer.
Where to stay
Forbes Best Overall Hotel in Bar…Cobblers Cove
Forty suites, one Great House, and absolutely no reason to leave.
Colony Club, a Luxury Collection Resort
A 1930s seaside house, newly polished, with a rum vault downstairs.
Coral Reef Club
Family-run since the 1950s, and every guest is treated like a cousin.
Forbes Travel Guide RecommendedFairmont Royal Pavilion
Every room on the sand, so nobody argues about the sea view.
Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star ho…Sandy Lane
The Caribbean's grande dame, still setting the dress code since 1961.
The Crane
Clifftop since 1887, with the island's most photographed beach below.
The House, Barbados
Like staying at a generous friend's house, with the bar always open.
Where to eat
Champers
South-coast seafood with the surf below and a gallery upstairs.
Sea Shed
Toes in the sand, rosé in hand, and lunch that quietly becomes sunset.
The Atlantis Historic Inn
Sunday buffet, Atlantic breakers, and a view that silences the table.
The Cliff
Clifftop tables above the sea. Bring an appetite and the corporate card.
The Fish Pot
Fresh catch in an old fort, where the tide sets the pace.
The Lone Star
A former petrol station that now runs on rosé and grilled lobster.
The Tides
Dinner at the water's edge, with an art gallery for the interval.
What to do
Harrison's Cave Eco-Adventure Park
Ride a tram through coral limestone caverns, then zip-line over the gully.
Mount Gay Rum Distillery and Visitor Centre
Rum since 1703. Consider it research.
Seaduced Barbados
Turtles, bubbles and a crew who know every bay. Consider yourself Seaduced.
Silver Moon Luxury Catamaran Cruises
Twelve guests, open bar, sea turtles. The maths works.
St Nicholas Abbey
A 1658 Jacobean mansion, a steam train and single-cask rum. Naturally.