The Caribbean's "Little England"   In centuries past, some Caribbean islands were theaters for European rivalries, colonized by different governments and exposed to new rulers, languages and customs depending on the country in power. Unlike these islands, Barbados remained under uninterrupted British ...

  In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, France and England fought so bitterly over St. Lucia that the the prized Caribbean island switched hands no fewer than fourteen times, becoming known as la belle Hélène, after Helen of Troy, whose beauty was also famous for starting wars. France eventually lost the ...

l’Acajou Sandy Lane, St. James (246) 444-2000 www.sandylane.com Scoring a former Sandy Lane chef is a feat for many restaurants on Barbados, mainly because of the cachet attached to the venerable hotel, but most of the chefs are actually a big deal before they come here. Having worked at the Bellagio, Wynn Las ...

  For some time, St. Lucia has been touted as the Caribbean’s next “It” destination, and the high-end development under way and the infusion of foreign investment indicates a major turning point for the islalnd. Raffles and the Ritz-Carlton are building properties on the south and northwest coasts, which will ...

Golf A new triptych of top-notch course designers have, in the past decade, transformed Barbados into one of the Caribbean’s premier golfing destinations. Robert Trent Jones Jr. completed the Royal Westmoreland’s super-challenging eighteen-hole course in 1995; in 2001, Tom Fazio designed two of Sandy Lane’s three ...

Apsara Anse Chastanet resort Soufrière 758-459-7000; fax: 758-459-7700 www.ansechastanet.com A bit of history: after slavery was outlawed on St. Lucia in 1838, thousands of indentured workers were brought over from India, and many eventually settled here. Apsara, the candlelit beachside restaurant at the Anse ...