Smell the flowers and listen to the raindrops

Enjoy the intimate Caribbean experience. Antigua's small resorts let you 'feel where you are, smell where you are, hear where you are'.

The small wooden cottage atop a steep hill has no air conditioning, but a soft breeze through louvered windows flutters the sheer white curtains at my balcony door. The trade winds that once carried tall ships from around the world to Antigua today carry to my room the smell of tropical flowers.

Andrew Michelin, whose family came from Europe to the Caribbean several generations ago, says he planned every detail of his small resort so visitors would have a true Caribbean experience. The roof of each cottage, for example, is made of galvanised metal, so if there happens to be a shower during your stay, you'll hear the sound of raindrops popping off a tin roof.

"When you first wake up, I don't want you to think even for a second, 'Where am I?'" Michelin says. "I want you to awaken and feel where you are, smell where you are, hear where you are.''

That sense of place, of foreignness, of being far from home, goes a long way toward explaining the appeal of a small resort. Then, too, there is the intimacy that comes with being one of a handful of guests, rather than one of an anonymous crowd of hundreds moving through a high-rise mega-resort.

Caribbean dream

The Cocos resort, where I spend my first two nights in Antigua, has just 19 cottages. There are no lines of people waiting to register when I arrive around lunchtime. In fact, I'm the only guest in sight and the receptionist offers me something to drink before asking my name.

This is my Caribbean dream. When I open the door of my room, I want to see not a long hallway and a blank elevator door, but blue water and green hills. I like my flowers alive and growing, not arranged in a giant vase in the lobby. I come to escape lines, not to join them. Sure, I understand the appeal of on-site fitness centres, kids' clubs, water sports, organised games, poolside fashion shows and the huge "native'' buffets common in mega-resorts, but I'll exchange all that for the feeling of escape from the modern world.

Apparently, I am not the only person drawn to intimate properties, even though - or perhaps because - they are more unpredictable than large brand-name resorts. In fact, the rising popularity of small hotels is the biggest trend in the Caribbean, says Richard Kahn, a consultant to the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, a trade group that represents the islands.

It's really a return to the Caribbean of old.

"Until the late 1980s, 80 per cent of the hotel infrastructure throughout the Caribbean was small, intimate, family-owned properties. In the 1990s, there was a huge influx of sprawling high-rise properties with brand names,'' Kahn says. "What's taking place in the last year or so: The boutique hotels are making a comeback. There is a major resurgence of independent operators building and refurbishing properties that are no more than 80 rooms.''

Small hotels

Small Caribbean hotels and resorts run from budget to luxury - from $100 (Dh367) to more than $3,000 (Dh11,020) a night. Every island in the Caribbean has small hotels and resorts, but Antigua is famous for them. Luxurious high-end resorts with big advertising budgets have played a major role in developing Antigua's reputation. One example: Carlisle Bay, where an all-inclusive night for two runs from $786 (Dh2,890) off-peak to as much as $3,472 (Dh12,750) over Christmas. At the all-inclusive Curtain Bluff, often included on lists of the most romantic places in the world, a night for two ranges from $732 to 1,439 (Dh2,690 to 5,285).

You know without seeing these properties that they must be pretty nice. I head to Antigua to find out if the average traveller can enjoy the island at intimate but midrange or budget properties.

Short answer: Yes. My travels throughout Antigua turned up more than a dozen attractive choices, including a historic plantation house that also serves as an art gallery, two hotels that were once part of a colonial British base, a small resort that focuses on wellness, and more traditional low-rise hotels. Some have air conditioning, others depend on sea breezes and mosquito netting. Some are on the beach, others run water taxis to take you there. Some have a proper British feel, others more laid-back Caribbean.

Despite their differences, some things at each small property remain the same: They offer a strong sense of place, they are memorable, and no one is ever asked to wear a coloured ID bracelet.

In fact, soon after arriving at each of the three I sampled, I found that every employee knew, if not my name, at least my room number.

A sense of place and individuality are also hallmarks of overnight stays at two other properties in Antigua. If someone ever has a contest on unique historic settings for Caribbean hotels, the Admiral's Inn will certainly take a prize.

British inn

The very British inn sits along English Harbour in Nelson's Dockyard, now a national park but once the British naval fleet's strategic port, repair centre and safe harbour from hurricanes.

The inn is built from bricks made in England and used as ballast for ships that sailed to Antigua and then returned home full of rum casks. Walk into the first floor of what was once a storehouse for pitch and tar and you're transported to an English pub.

At the bar, I find a British couple who has come specifically to see the dockyard. They point out that the graffiti carved into the bar's countertop - HMS Bullfrog and other ship names - were done by 17th- and 18th-century sailors.

I take my brew to the stone patio overlooking English Harbour, which is sheltered by mountains and cliffs on top of which sit British fortresses that once protected the narrow inlet from pirates and from other European powers. A stroll on the grounds is a march into history. All the buildings that once made up this centre of power for the British navy have been preserved. Clarence House was a residence built for the future King William IV while he served under Horatio Nelson as captain of the HMS Pegasus. The gatekeeper's house still has a sign warning, "No foreigners, strangers or women to be admitted.'' The admiral's house is now a museum.

Hotel workers will drive you to a beach or provide a water taxi to the closest one just across the harbour. I let them know I'd like the water taxi and am told that the driver will be back in 10 minutes - he had to take his wife somewhere.

Ten minutes later, I'm treated to a lovely little ride through English Harbour. OK, so the beach where the driver drops me, with a promise to return in one hour, isn't very good. Next time I'll drive to a better beach. I figure that's a compromise worth making for the price. (Rates for a double room are $145 to $180. In summer, it's $95 to $120, and the fifth night is free.)

During late-afternoon tea, a waiter says I must not miss the regular Sunday night concert nearby on Shirley Heights. It turns out to be great advice. The view alone is worth a great deal more than the $10 admission fee.

A winding, well-paved road climbs the mountain, ending at the crest with a 360-degree view of the land and sea below, and a setting sun above. The smell of barbecued jerk chicken fills the air. A steel band is warming up a crowd composed equally of locals and tourists. By the time a reggae band takes the stage, everyone is ready to dance. The mosquitoes, too, have come out in force and we have forgotten repellent. The bugs don't seem much interested in me but feast on my daughter.

The following day we traverse the island for our night at the Siboney Beach Club, where rooms range from $190 to $325 in winter, $150 to $205 in summer. Lunch at the hotel's open-air restaurant overlooking the beach comes first and we find ourselves seated next to the British woman we'd chatted with at Cocos.

The hotel isn't as distinctive as the other two properties, but each room is a suite, the bedroom is air-conditioned and a freshwater pool is shaded by a lush garden. Best of all, the beach - shared with a nearby Sandals property - is excellent.

Thinking I'll eat out for dinner, I ask the bartender where the locals dine.

"Kentucky Fried Chicken,'' he answers, then laughs and suggests two family-owned options. After lunch, when we check in, the owner, doing desk duty, remarks on the bites on my daughter's arms. He pokes around the office but can't find an ointment. A few minutes later, as we unpack, we hear a knock. An employee has been dispatched to deliver an anti-itch cream.

One of the small services of the sort you come to expect at a small resort.

ANTIGUA
Where to stay

I visited more than a dozen hotels with rates from $100 to 350 (Dh370 to 1,285) a night, stayed at three and chose seven favourites:

- If your budget allows you to spend at least $280 (Dh1,030) per night for two in summer or $340 (Dh1, 250) in high season, go with Cocobay Resort (Valley Church Road, + 800-816-7587, www.cocobayresort.com). Forty plantation-style cottages painted in pastels and decorated with gingerbread trim overlook a great beach. 'Wellness centre' with massage treatments and yoga. No air conditioning.

- Water view and beaches, Admiral's Inn (Nelson's Dockyard, + 268-460-1027, www.admiralsantigua.com). 13 double rooms, ranging from $95 to 120 (Dh350 to 440) per night in summer and $145 to 180 (Dh530 to 660) in winter. A loft apartment holds up to four people and ranges from $170 to 400 (Dh625 to 1,470), depending on number of people and season.

- Copper and Lumber Store Hotel (+ 268-460-1058, www.copperlumberantigua.com/english/home), a charming brick-and-stone warehouse from the 1780s converted into suites. They range from $135 to 275 (Dh495 to 1,010) per night in summer, $195 to 325 (Dh715 to 1,190) in winter.

- Inn at English Harbour (St John's, + 800-970-2123, www.theinn.ag). British feel. Variety of styles of accommodations, including older cottages on a hillside and newer cottages on the beach, plus suites. Rates are complicated, with four sets of dates. But generally, rates begin at $178 (Dh655) in the lowest season and $334 (Dh1,225) in the highest season (Christmas).

- Cocos (Valley Church, +268-460-2626, www.cocoshotel.com). No air conditioning. A cottage for two, all-inclusive, starts at $125 (Dh460) per person in the summer, $165 (Dh605) in winter.

- Harmony Hall (Brown's Bay, + 268-460-4120, www.harmonyhall.com) is an arts centre with a gallery of local work. Six private rooms. No beach, but a complimentary boat will take you to an uninhabited island. Double rooms (no air conditioning) are $185 (Dh680) per night including breakfast, tax and gratuities. Closed mid-May to early November.

- Siboney Beach Club (St John's, + 800-533-0234, www.siboneybeachclub.com) looks a bit more luxurious on its website than in person, but it's still nice. Price for a suite and a great beach is $150 to 205 (Dh550 to 750) per night in summer and $190 to 325 (Dh670 to 1,190) in winter.

Where to eat
Papa Zouk (Hilda Davis Drive opposite Princess Margaret School, + 268-464-6044).
Cove Restaurant (Boone's Point, Soldiers Bay, + 268-562-2683).
Chez Pascal (Five Islands, + 268-462-3232), (www.chezpascalantigua.com).
The Sticky Wicket (20 Pavilion Drive, + 268-481-7000).
Russell's (Fort James, + 268-462-5479).
Francine's Bakery (Old Parham Road, + 268-462-2253).
Chippy (Dickenson Bay, near the Siboney Beach Club, + 268-560-2334).
Shirley Heights Lookout (ask your hotel for directions).

Information
Antigua and Barbuda Department of Tourism, + 888-268-4227, www.antigua-barbuda.org.

HISTORY
Life's a beach on this island

My four-day search for small but affordable properties takes me to every corner of this 108-square-mile island in the Eastern Caribbean, south of the Virgin Islands. There are a lot of corners. Antigua has no tourist-central district - a sharp contrast to such places as Grand Cayman, where large resorts line Seven Mile Beach, and shops and restaurants have been built around them. Or Cancun, where most major hotels have lined up along one road that parallels the best stretch of the coast.

Antigua does have a capital 'city', St John's, that has a cluster of restaurants and shops, but most restaurants and all hotels, resorts and tourist attractions are thinly spread throughout the island, tucked down tiny roads and among the many coves that have made this island popular with the sailing crowd. Depending on your point of view, the distances between things is the island's greatest appeal or its downfall. It means on the one hand that you'll never be running into hordes of tourists at any one place and that isolation is available, but on the other hand, negotiating the island independently is challenging.

The challenge is heightened by the nearly total lack of road signs. When trying to find my way back to a starting point, I often find myself wondering, "Are those the same goats I passed coming here, or is that a different herd?'' Luckily, the locals seem to have accepted graciously, as a national service, the role of being human signposts for tourists.
The island boasts it has 365 beaches, one for every day of the year. They range from long golden strands to little pockets of beach with construction-grade sand. The water, however, is almost uniformly spectacular. You know those photographs of the Caribbean that you always see, but then you get there, and it's not quite as good as the pictures? The water here is like the pictures.

Most of the land on this 14-mile-long, 11-mile-wide island is owned by the government, which bought it from sugar barons after the sugar cane industry collapsed. There are scrubby areas but also fantastic vistas from mountains and cliffs that overlook the coast, a rain forest and lush fruit-growing areas. Along Fig Tree Drive near the town of Liberta, for example, the road is lined with trees heavy with guavas, mangoes, oranges, coconuts and bananas. The hilly road descends to Old Road, which leads to a pineapple farm.

Christopher Columbus, when sailing by in 1493, named Antigua for a Spanish saint, but otherwise the only colonial influence is clearly British. You notice it the moment you step outside the airport and see the Cricket Hall of Fame and the posh Stanford Cricket Ground. Except for an eight-month period in 1666 when the French occupied the island, the British were preeminent here from 1632 to 1981, when they finally gave Antigua and its sister island, Barbuda, full independence.

While defending their turf, the British built 40 forts on Antigua's cliffs and in the inlets leading to protected harbours. They left a legacy of 17th- and 18th-century architecture, including 100 stone windmills, houses and the only surviving Georgian naval base in the world. That base is now popular with yachters, including those who come for the annual Stanford Antigua Sailing Week, one of the five top regattas in the world and the largest in the Caribbean. (It takes place next year from April 29 to May 5.)

IMPRESSIONS
Exotic appeal

On arrival, I drive the dirt road to Cocos feeling some trepidation - a natural byproduct of going outside brand-name territory. I'd done some homework, studying the property's Web site and looking online for guest reviews. On TripAdvisor.com, a hotel review site, several guests reported that they loved Cocos, including one couple who said they "acutely felt the lack of air conditioning in July" yet considered it the best resort they'd ever visited. Another guest said she hated it so much that she and her husband left immediately.

But the minute I step from the car and travel up the stone walkway, my spirits soar.

The beach is spectacular - the water a dazzling light blue so clear it appears transparent in places. The cottages with wooden floors are simple, even humble, but beautiful in their own way. Each has a balcony overlooking the water and an outdoor shower. The mosquito netting around the bed hints at a potential problem, yet I find it exotic and part of an authentic experience.

Cocos is all-inclusive, with rates beginning at $125 per person in the summer and $165 in winter. A lunch of fresh fish in a divine white sauce is the first of a series of excellent meals during my stay.

The waiter who delivers lunch shows up again to take my dinner order, and by then, we're on a first-name basis. At lunch that first day, I exchange pleasantries with a British woman at the next table who is travelling with her college-age daughter. When my daughter and I end up seated near them at dinner, we chat about our days. That kind of passing intimacy will be repeated at the other two hotels I stay in, Siboney Beach Club and the Admiral's Inn.