Mustique
Lodgings on tiny Mustique are limited. If Mick Jagger's famous Atlantic Ocean villa is rented, the Coutinot House is perched just over the hill on the Caribbean side. One of the cottages on the grounds of the Cotton House, it has four massive guest rooms and one suite, all with views of Endeavour Bay, private verandas, four-posters with mosquito netting—the island is named for the insect, after all—and huge bathtubs awash in sunlight. The 20-room Cotton House itself has a new spa and a can-do-anything staff—including chauffeur Gideon 'Bopsin' Gabriel, who will cheerily shuttle you from beach to beach (Macaroni and Lagoon are the most inviting) while dishing the residents. The new chef, Emmanuel Guemon, dishes up even better stuff, making great use of local ingredients in the pumpkin and crab soup, the yellowfin sashimi with cracked pepper and sweet Bajan chili sauce, and the pan-seared fillet of wahoo (784-456-4777; www.cottonhouseresort.com doubles, $730-$780).

Nevis
Nisbet Plantation Beach Club's claim to fame is that it is 'the Caribbean's only historic plantation inn directly on a beach.' And it's true. A half mile of pulverized-coral beachfront lined with palms is the lure at this north shore resort, where some 30 acres of grounds have been groomed since the 18th century, when this was a working sugar plantation. Today, dozens of palm trees march toward the Atlantic from the white Great House (1778), past English gardens that have gone native in a way the English themselves never could. The rooms need a bit of freshening up, but they have lithographs by Kate Spencer and Rosie Cameron, two St. Kitts-based artists. Twelve terrific junior suites face the water and have a step-down living space. Many activities are traditional: afternoon tea, croquet, tennis, and, of course, a sunset drink at Coconuts, the poolside bistro. Nisbet remains a place with a personal touch, too—and it only starts with the massage therapist. The maitre d' has a collection of 800 ties, each left by a guest and held for him to wear on his next visit. It's part of the esprit that keeps the plantation active in the community too: It has 'adopted' a local school and bought computers for it and keeps books flowing onto the shelves at the local library. Rates are all-inclusive (869-469-9325; www.nisbetplantation.com doubles, $290).

Puerto Rico
You couldn't ask for a better location on Ocean Park's longest stretch of beach. Neighboring the Condado section of San Juan, Numero Uno Guest House is a 12-room, two-apartment residence that's a favorite of the Ricky Martin set, and we don't mean pop-music lovers. The rooms are not large, but neither is the price—which is unbelievably reasonable for an immaculate boutique hotel on a fabulous beach. Guests are given beach chairs with umbrellas and towels spread among the palm trees or next to the toe-tickling waves. Well-tended, massive potted plants grow out of every nook and cranny. There's a swimming pool, too, just off Pamela's, its really good restaurant, which has some half-dozen tables right on the sand and 20 more in the courtyard (787-726-5010; www.numero1guesthouse.com doubles, $80-$165; w).