From Barbados to The Bahamas, These Are Some of Our Favorite Tiny Hotels in the Caribbean

It might be the innkeeper remembering your name before you’ve even checked in. Or the way breakfast is set out just for you, with coffee that tastes like it was roasted that morning. It’s stepping out of your room and realizing there are no crowds, no lines, no background noise — just the sound of the sea and a few other guests who seem to have discovered the same secret you have.

These are the places where size doesn’t matter, but intimacy does. Where the staff-to-guest ratio tips in your favor, and where every corner feels personal. They’re part of the landscape, woven into the islands they call home. And in a region filled with mega-resorts, they’re rare treasures.

The Caribbean is full of small hotels — but then there are the truly tiny ones. The ones with just a handful of rooms, the ones that feel more like a private home than a property. And it’s here, in these little hideaways, where you’ll find the purest expression of the Caribbean vacation.

Mermaid Hotel, Carriacou On the tiny island of Carriacou, the Mermaid is a 10-room waterfront inn with a laid-back, old-school Caribbean spirit. You wake to the sound of fishing boats pulling into the harbor, spend the day exploring secluded beaches in one of the most beautiful corners of the Caribbean.

Laluna, Grenada Grenada’s most romantic hotel is also one of its smallest. Laluna has just 16 cottages, each with its own plunge pool, tucked into a hillside above a quiet beach. It’s barefoot luxury at its most seductive, the kind of place that feels like a secret shared only with the person you’re traveling with.

Shannas Cove, Cat Island, The Bahamas There are just five bungalows at Shannas, which is set at the very northern tip of Cat Island in The Bahamas; and while you can spend your trip lazing on the hotel’s pink sand beach, there’s a plethora of options for active travelers, from great hiking nearby to snorkeling spots a short paddling away. 

Atlantis Hotel, Barbados Maybe you’ve been to the Platinum Coast or the St Lawrence Gap. But Barbados’ eastern coast is its own dimension — a raw, spectacularly beautiful place with energetic surf and an almost mystical personality. It’s also home to the wonderful Atlantis hotel, a 200-year-old property right at the ocean’s edge.

Golden Rock Inn, Nevis This 11-room gem is set right on the island’s natural wonder, Nevis Peak. It’s colorful, it’s charming and it’s the essence of what makes Nevis such a special little island. (And The Rocks restaurant is worth the trip on its own). 

VIDA,  Grand Cayman VIDA sits on the quieter side of Grand Cayman, a boutique eco-lodge with fewer than a dozen suites. Here it’s about balance: mornings of yoga on an open deck, afternoons exploring the reef, evenings returning to clean, contemporary rooms designed with sustainability in mind. It feels both modern and rooted, a different way to experience Cayman beyond the bustle of Seven Mile Beach.

Dragon Cay Resort, Middle Caicos, Turks and Caicos Turks and Caicos may be famous for Grace Bay and Long Bay, but Middle Caicos is something else entirely: wild, dramatic and largely untouched. Dragon Cay puts you right in the middle of it, with just a handful of cottages tucked into a surreal landscape of cliffs, caves and impossibly turquoise sea.

Ocean Z, Aruba Aruba has some wonderful places to stay, but the island’s emphasis has long been on large hotels. One of the island’s newest, however, is decidedly smaller: the 13-room Ocean Z, set just across from Malmok Beach. It’s hip, it’s sleek and it’s a breath of fresh air on this Dutch Caribbean island. 

The Bonairian, Bonaire, It’s about a three-minute drive from Bonaire’s airport to this eight-room retreat perched above Bonaire’s shimmering, turquoise southwestern coast. It’s simple: there’s a small pool, a restaurant, a sliver of beach, along with some sleek guest rooms and warm service. It’s the kind of minuscule hotel we always fall in love with. 

Firefly Sunset, Abaco, The Bahamas This five-unit hotel on Elbow Cay in Abaco is the brainchild of Jim and Ann Irvin, who own the famous Firefly distillery in Charleston and, after years of traveling on the island, turned their vacation home into a mini resort. There’s a small marina, two pools, a boutique, a mix of two villas and three cottages and a marvelous food and beverage operation that’s one of the most popular stops in the Abacos.