“Somewhere in the Caribbean, but something a bit different.” I get asked for that a lot, and my answer is nearly always Grenada.

I spent five days there on a familiarisation trip, looking at six hotels and rather more nutmeg, chocolate and Caribbean punch! This is what I took away from it: what the island is like, which four hotels I’d actually book people into and who each one suits, and a change to the flights that’s worth knowing about before you start planning a trip.

A flight change you may not have seen

Until now, British Airways flew Gatwick to St Lucia direct, with the aircraft carrying on to Grenada. It made for a brilliant two-centre and a very easy single flight out.

From 25 October 2026, that changes. The Gatwick–St Lucia service becomes a daily nonstop and no longer extends to Grenada, Georgetown or Tobago. Instead, Grenada picks up an onward connection from a brand new daily Gatwick–Barbados flight, which starts the same day, alongside Guyana and Tobago.

In practice: you’ll fly to Barbados first instead of St Lucia and hop on to Grenada. Not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing before you start pricing things up.

Why Grenada, and not one of the obvious ones

Grenada is the southernmost of the Windward Islands, and it has resisted the thing that has happened to most of the Caribbean. There is no strip of enormous all-inclusives. St George’s is still a working harbour town of red roofs stacked up a hillside, and it really does ooze Caribbean charm.

The island is called the Spice Island and for once the nickname earns its keep — Grenada is one of the world’s biggest nutmeg producers, and you smell it. The volcanic soil grows an enormous range of produce, and the interior is rainforest, waterfalls and beaches that stay quiet.

It’s also a serious food destination. Grenada was named the World Food Travel Association’s first Culinary Capital, and the eating I did there was better than on islands with four times the marketing budget.

Who Grenada suits

Broadly: anyone who wants the Caribbean at its own pace, closer to how it felt twenty years ago, but without giving up quality hotels or food.

Nature and wildlife lovers. The variety on a 21-mile island is remarkable. Rainforest and crater lake at Grand Etang, waterfalls you can swim under, and Mona monkeys who have entirely worked out what a tourist is. Leatherback turtles nest on the north-east coast between March and June, and there’s birdlife you won’t see elsewhere, including the Grenada dove.

Divers and snorkellers. The underwater sculpture park is the headline, and rightly, but the island also has wrecks, reefs and drop-offs, plus a serious yachting community based around the south coast. You can be a complete beginner and still get something out of it.

Food lovers. Cocoa, nutmeg and spice estates you can walk around, and proper local cooking alongside the hotel restaurants. Try oil down, the national dish, at least once.

Couples and anyone after peace. Small hotels, quiet bays, and no crowds to speak of. It’s an island that suits reading a book on a terrace.

Independent explorers. Easy to get around, and the vendors and guides are famously relaxed — no hard sell, no hassle. You can wander and be left alone.

Who it doesn’t

Anyone who wants a big night out. There’s live music and Sunday beach parties, but Grenada goes to bed early. If nightlife matters, St Lucia or Barbados will suit better.

Anyone who wants plenty of choice. It’s a small island with a small number of hotels, most of them independent and low-rise. That’s the charm, but if you like comparing twenty resorts before you book, there isn’t twenty to compare.

Bargain hunters. Accommodation leans boutique and premium rather than budget, and now the direct flight is going, getting there takes a connection.

What to actually do

Snorkel the underwater sculpture park

The world’s first underwater sculpture park sits off the west coast, and it has recently been expanded with 31 new statues — a “Coral Carnival” of figures drawn from traditional carnival and folklore characters, set on the seabed to seed new reef growth.

It is a strange and lovely thing to swim over. Art and reef restoration doing the same job at once. Go by boat, take a mask, and don’t expect to be crowded — be aware the visibility could be worse after rainfall.

Belmont Estate, for the chocolate

A working cocoa plantation in the north of the island where you follow the process from pod to bar, then eat lunch on the estate. The tasting is the bit people remember. Grenadian chocolate is dark, fruity and nothing like what comes off a supermarket shelf.

It’s a proper day out — allow half a day including the drive, which is scenic and slow.

Grand Etang and Annandale Waterfall

Grand Etang National Park is a crater lake ringed by rainforest, with hiking trails and Mona monkeys who have entirely worked out what a tourist is. Annandale Waterfall is nearby, small, and perfect for swimming under — take swimming gear, because you will want to get in and regret it if you can’t.

St George’s and the craft market

Go for the harbour, stay for the market. Bring cash — both US and East Caribbean dollars are accepted — and be prepared to talk to people, which is half the point.

Where to stay in Grenada

I saw six hotels on this trip. These are the four I’d put my own clients in, and each suits a different person.

Six Senses La Sagesse — for wellness, food and eco credentials

The Caribbean’s first Six Senses, opened in 2024 on the island’s south-eastern coast. It’s small — 56 pool suites and 15 villas — laid out like a village along a lagoon between two beaches. Every room has a private pool and a sea view.

The food is the thing. I’ve eaten in a lot of hotels and this was exceptional, which is not a word I hand out often. Everything is sourced locally and seasonally, much of it from the resort’s own gardens, and the whole approach is built around food that is genuinely good for you without ever feeling like a compromise. Superfoods, island spices, proper flavour. You leave the table feeling better rather than heavier — and you’d struggle to find a resort kitchen doing it better anywhere in the Caribbean.

The sustainability is the other half, and I say that as someone who has heard a lot of hotels talk about it and seen far fewer do it. The Earth Lab is a space where guests can see what the resort is actually doing, and it runs workshops — paper made from recycled paper, beeswax wraps from old fabrics, zero-waste candles. There’s a chef’s garden growing herbs and traditional Caribbean ingredients, a sustainability fund supporting local environmental and social projects, and a serious coastal replanting effort using native trees.

My favourite detail, and the one that tells you how deep it runs: the walking paths are made from nutmeg shells and cocoa skins. Waste from the island’s two signature crops, underfoot.

It holds a MICHELIN Key, and has been named Eco-Friendly Resort of the Year by Robb Report as well as making Condé Nast Traveller’s Best New Hotels list.

Who it suits: couples and wellness travellers, food-led travellers, families who want a kids’ club, and anyone who wants their money going somewhere that means it. It is the most expensive of the four and it knows it.

Calabash Luxury Boutique Hotel — for service, food and diving

Family-owned, a member of Relais & Châteaux, and holder of two MICHELIN Keys — the highest award given to any hotel in the Caribbean. Thirty suites and a few villas set in eight acres of gardens on L’Ance Aux Epines beach, overlooking Prickly Bay. It has also been named the Caribbean’s number one hotel by Tripadvisor, and the thing everyone mentions is breakfast, cooked fresh and served on your own veranda.

The food deserves its reputation. We had a long lunch of small plates, which let us work through a proper range of the kitchen’s cooking rather than committing to one dish, and it was one of the best meals of the trip. There are three restaurants, and Rhodes, the fine-dining room, has a smart dress code in the evening.

For anyone who dives, this is the one. There’s a dive centre on site with full-time instructors, PADI courses from complete beginner upwards, and the hotel’s own jetty for the dive boat — which means the wrecks, reefs and the sculpture park are all easy days out without organising transport.

The setting does a lot of quiet work too. The grounds are flat and easy to walk, the beach is stunning white sand, and the water is calm — which sounds like a small thing until you’ve stayed somewhere it isn’t.

Who it suits: honeymooners, anniversary trips, divers, and couples who want five-star service without a resort-scale crowd. Grown-up, quiet, and the sort of place people return to.

Spice Island Beach Resort — for all-inclusive on the best beach

All-inclusive, family-owned, holder of a MICHELIN Key, and sitting directly on Grand Anse. We had a long lunch there and it was easy to see why it holds onto its guests — the repeat rate is extraordinary, with people coming back year after year to the same rooms. Including a long list of celebrities and Royals.

The beach is every bit as beautiful as Calabash’s, the service is polished without being stiff, and the all-inclusive is done properly rather than as a cost-cutting exercise.

Who it suits: anyone who wants everything handled and no bill at the end of dinner, couples and families both, and returning Caribbean travellers who value being known by name.

Mount Cinnamon — for families, space and value

Thirty-seven hillside villas and suites above Grand Anse Beach, one to three bedrooms, each with a sitting room opening onto a big terrace. The villas have full kitchens and breakfast is included, which is the practical bit — a family that can make its own breakfast and the odd lunch spends a lot less than one eating out three times a day.

It’s colourful and characterful rather than sleek, and it sits at the end of the best beach on the island, fifteen minutes from the airport.

Who it suits: families, groups, and anyone who wants space and a kitchen without giving up a beachfront location. The best value of the four by a distance.

Practical bits

When to go: December to April is dry season and peak. Grenada sits at the southern edge of the hurricane belt, which historically has meant fewer direct hits than islands further north — though that’s a tendency, not a guarantee.

Getting around: taxis, and they’re the way to do it. Rates are generally fixed by route rather than metered, so agree the fare before you set off. Drivers double as guides and are usually the best thing about the day.

Money: East Caribbean dollar, with US dollars widely accepted. Carry small notes for markets.

Language: English.

What to pack: leave anything camouflage at home, including for children — it’s against the law in Grenada and applies to bags and accessories as well as clothing. Swimwear is for the beach and the pool rather than the shops, so pack cover-ups. Most hotels have an evening dress code, usually resort casual, and the smarter restaurants expect a collared shirt for men.

How long: five days is enough to see it. Seven to ten lets you actually stop.

Would I send you there?

Yes — and I have. Grenada is the island I recommend when someone tells me they want the Caribbean but they’re bored of the Caribbean. It’s greener and quieter than many of its Caribbean neighbours, and small enough that you can dive in the morning, be in the rainforest by lunch and back on the beach for sunset. The food alone justifies the flight.

If you’d like me to look at dates, work out the new Barbados routing properly, or price up any of the four hotels above or any others, I book this for a living — get in touch.