Best Caribbean Beach Resorts

For your next Caribbean vacation, mix a luxurious resort with Instagram-worthy ocean views, and a destination that offers not only tropical bliss—palm trees, hammocks, and rum punch at the swim-up bar—but a lively cultural scene, too.

That’s the winning recipe suggested by the results of the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards reader survey. St. Lucia and Jamaica particularly captured readers’ imaginations, with hotels and resorts on those island nations claiming 13 of the top 20 spots across the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and Bermuda.

The top-scoring hotels reveal an appreciation for the now classically St. Lucian penchant for open-air suites with unimpeded views over the iconic Pitons, as at favorite haunts Jade Mountain—voted No. 1 Caribbean resort—and Ladera. But T+L readers also gave some love to a similarly dramatic property at the far northern tip of the island whose architecture is all about framing the beauty of the ocean.

In Jamaica, the siren song of the Sandals and Couples resort groups proved irresistible, suggesting that the all-inclusive model is far from a fad: it’s here to stay. And why not, when your stay includes perks like excursions around the island, candlelit dinners on the sand, and Pilates classes.

A few more-low-key island resorts ranked highly, including one only a 2.5-hour flight from New York and another on the tiny West Indies isle of Nevis.