Mandarin Oriental, Canouan

Set on a small isle within an illustrious archipelago, Mandarin Oriental Canouan offers a stylish escape from the world. A clutch of just 39 suites and villas speckle the hillsides and fringe the shores of Godahl Beach to create a peaceful hideaway where you’ll want for nothing. With a name that translates as ‘turtle island’, take a cue from the laidback locals as you make your way along the sands, dipping in and out of the ocean before ending up at the namesake Turtles Bar where the Hamptons and Caribbean collide. From here, four more restaurants lie at your disposal with cuisines that traverse the world to be served beneath the stars. Whilst elsewhere, a spa sits teetering over the ocean and a beachside infinity pool stretches into the distance.

Location

A short flight across the ocean from Barbados or St Lucia, your first impression of Canouan comes courtesy of the air. Verdant green at its core and ringed by the Caribbean’s largest living reef, what an impression it makes. Though should you prefer, there’s also the option to arrive by yacht and with these waters offering some of the best sailing in the Caribbean, it’s an offer that’s hard to resist. Kayak away across the infinite blue and snorkel through the Tobago Cays as you explore the infinite blue before heading inland to hike up Mount Royal or tee off at the island’s oceanview Jim Fazio golf course.

Your Room

Overlooking the ocean, each of the suites and villas here are incredibly spacious. United by space, the suites and villas differ by design with the suites honouring island history with an elegant, colonial look splashed with pink, whilst the villas take the shape of Italianate spaces that flow seamlessly from the outdoors in. Both are achingly luxurious with expansive walk-in dressing rooms, deep soaking bathtubs and expansive terraces and balconies. The villas are ideal for families with two, three or four bedroom options, private infinity pools looking out over the ocean and your own private golf buggy to get around the 1,200 acre estate.

Why we like it

Combining beautiful spaces with faultless service, the Mandarin Oriental Canouan never disappoints. But it was the spa that stole our heart. Reached via a winding walkway through the jungle, open-aired palapas sit either clinging to the hillside or suspended over the water. Treatments are extensive, meaning it is easy to come back time and again. Designed to target digital fatigue, golfers’ niggles, ageing limbs (and sunburned ones), there’s a treatment to suit every need, with specialised therapies on offer for younger guests too.