It’s dominated by sunny, tropical weather and has plenty of direct flights from North America and Europe. In the eyes of many travelers, there’s no place more stunning than the Caribbean. Among gays and lesbians, however, the region hasn’t quite emerged as a major vacation option, and it may never become one - at least to the degree Puerto Vallarta, Fort Lauderdale, and Ibiza are. But the number of GLBT-friendly resorts is rising steadily, and on most islands, you’ll now find at least one or two noteworthy resorts or vacation compounds eagerly welcoming gay guests.
Although broadly similar in climate, the different islands of the Caribbean offer marked contrasts with one another in topography, culture, and personality. Some are better suited to scuba-diving and lazing on the beach, while others offer an abundance of hikes through lush rain forests and over rugged mountains. Puerto Rico’s largest city, San Juan, is the only spot in the region that offers much in the way of gay nightlife, and attitudes toward gay travelers are fairly welcoming throughout Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, St. Barthelemy, and Curacao, with other islands slowly but steadily warming to the GLBT market.
Here are six inviting Caribbean retreats, from posh, all-inclusive spa resorts overlooking the sea to cozy eco-lodges nestled on hibiscus-choked hillsides.
Calibishie Lodges - Dominica
The pristine, largely undeveloped, and extremely mountainous island of Dominica differs from many others in the Caribbean - it’s without huge, all-inclusive resorts, and it’s geared more toward budget-minded adventure travelers than it is well-heeled luxury seekers. Don’t come here expecting swank boutiques and high-end restaurants, but if you love hiking to secret waterfalls and geothermal-volcanic lakes, this is the island for you - it’s also a great destination for diving. The gay-friendly Calibishie Lodges is a tranquil, affordable compound of six simply but handsomely furnished units on a verdant bluff surrounded by gardens. Views take in the sea and, in the distance, the island of Guadeloupe.
The rooms have shaded balconies, clean white-tile bathrooms, and a tasteful, unfussy decorating scheme. You can dine on some of the island’s freshest and tastiest food (Creole-style fish, garlic chicken, omelets, burgers) at the property’s open-air Bamboo Restaurant, which overlooks the pool. Within a short walk is one of the better beaches on the island, and the staff can help you to arrange adventure tours, from sea kayaking to diving to mountain biking.
Caribe Mountain Villas - Carolina, Puerto Rico
This gorgeous, gay-owned compound of vacation villas offers the perfect balance of rural seclusion and proximity to urban sophistication. The property is set in a hilly rain forest - it has a large pool, a tennis court, and great views of lush foliage. But it’s also a mere 11 miles from San Juan, with its pulsing gay bars, charming old town, trendy restaurants, and fine beaches.
The four guest villas come in a few configurations - some have two bedrooms, with the largest unit sleeping up to six guests. Each has its own deck or terrace, full kitchen, and plenty of room to spread out and relax. If it’s a dramatic view you’re after, book the Mountain Top Coqui villa - its broad terrace looks for miles out over the region’s greenery. Hosts Jeff Harpell and Martin Nemeth provide highly personalized attention and assistance, but they’re also happy to leave guests to their own devices. This is an ideal option for extended stays.
Inn on the Blue Horizon - Vieques, Puerto Rico
The larger of two islands off the east coast of Puerto Rico, Vieques has steadily developed considerable cachet among eco-tourists, gays and lesbians, and - more recently - jet-setters. A chic W Hotel will open on the island in April 2009. Offering a far more intimate but still highly luxurious experience, the Inn on the Blue Horizon has been popular with GLBT travelers - not to mention plenty of celebrities and business moguls - for many years. It’s on the island’s peaceful southern coast, near the village of Esperanza.
There are just nine guest rooms, most of them set inside cottages with large private porches. All have well-chosen colonial antiques, tile floors, and original paintings and drawings. You can take a dip in the pool, or mingle with other guests in the open-air tropical cocktail bar. This is a truly romantic retreat, as discreet as it is low-keyed. An added bonus to staying here is the chance to dine at the inn’s Carambola Island Restaurant, which serves outstanding contemporary Caribbean and American fare.
Le Sport - St. Lucia
With a stunning beachfront location at the rugged northern tip of St. Lucia, the upscale, all-inclusive Le Sport resort has long had a following with gays and lesbians - it’s an adults-only, spa-oriented property that’s perfect for a stress-relieving vacation. The resort is well-suited to couples or singles, and it encourages guests to develop their own personalized spa-retreat programs, complete with sporting activities (golf, diving, tennis, windsurfing, fitness and yoga classes, and so on), body and beauty treatments, and exceptional meals at the trendy Pan-Asian restaurant TAO.
Personal guides help guests decide how best to spend their time - and yes, one option is simply whiling away the day reading a book on gorgeous Cariblue Beach. Although Le Sport is a mainstream property with a predominantly straight clientele, the clothing-optional sundeck, elegant piano bar, and sophisticated vibe ratchet up the GLBT appeal. Accommodations are attractive and tasteful. High-end units have water views, mahogany four-poster beds, iPod docks, and Kohler-brand BodySpa multiple-nozzle jet showers.
Lions Dive Hotel - Curacao
Perhaps no island in the Caribbean has made a more concerted effort recently to attract gay and lesbian visitors than Curacao, a dry and gently hilly island off the coast of Venezuela that’s part of the Netherlands Antilles. The Dutch influence affects everything on Curacao from architecture to food to social attitudes, and it’s this progressive mindset that helps make the island so popular with GLBT folks. There’s not a huge nightlife scene, but restaurants and bars around the island are quite friendly, and there is one gay bar, Lyrics. Several hotels enthusiastically welcome “family,” including the reasonably priced Lions Dive Hotel, which might very well be the best choice for gay fans of scuba diving in all of the Caribbean.
Just a five-minute drive from the capital city of Willemstad, this eco-friendly hotel fronts a private, palm-shaded beach with direct access to National Curacao Underwater Park. There’s a PADI dive center on premises, as well as a spa and fitness room. Lions Dive Hotel offers expert diving instruction, geared toward everyone from novices to experts, and guests have plenty of chances to explore the many spectacular dive sites around the island, including its famed reefs. Rooms are functional and pleasant, with tile floors and balconies - many have direct ocean views. There are also six full apartments with kitchens. Other amenities include a beach bar cafe, a full-service restaurant, and two pools.
Sand Castle on the Beach - St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Drawing a mostly gay clientele, the lesbian-owned Sand Castle on the Beach is located on St. Croix, the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands. With a charmed location right on a long crescent of pristine beach, this friendly, 21-room hotel offers a splendid setting for sun-worshipers. Other amenities include a large pool, and an excellent restaurant with seats facing the sea and live music on Saturday evenings. You can snorkel and swim right at the hotel beach, and the staff can also arrange tours of the island’s historic forts and plantations, horseback rides through the rain forest, and sailing and kayaking trips. The hotel also has a special arrangement with the island’s leading dive outfitter, S.C.U.B.A.
Sand Castle on the Beach offers commitment-ceremony and wedding packages - this is a pretty incredible setting to exchange vows. For the ultimate romantic getaway, you might book one of the top suites - these have private patios facing the beach, terra-cotta-tile floors, full kitchens, and unbeatable views. But if you’re already stretching your budget a bit, and you don’t plan on spending a ton of time in your room, you can save a bundle by staying in one of the perfectly lovely studios, which are brightly furnished and have small kitchenettes but no view to speak of. Whichever room you book here, you’re always steps from the inn’s pool and the turquoise seas of the Caribbean.
Andrew Collins is the author of Fodor’s Gay Guide to the USA and eight additional travel guides.
