St. Barts
Two delightful hotels are among those that share Anse des Flamands, the most spectacular beach on the island, with delicious distances to wander. The 33-room Hôtel St-Barth Isle de France is a panorama of bright whites and vivid blues. Nine rooms and three suites face the beach; 13 bungalows and two suites occupy a lush garden in the back—very private, and popular with repeat guests. At the new spa, treatments range from the $22 'Rainforest Awakening' to the half-day, $433 'Escape' (590-590-27-61-81; www.isle-de-france.com doubles, $477-$718).

A West Indian mood holds at the Hôtel Baie des Anges, a quiet, garden-laced property with ten rooms in a couple of two-story gray-and-white buildings. Each faces the sea or the courtyard pool (which you'll use because the Atlantic waves make for dicey swimming). Interiors are simple, with cool colors—white to beige, and blue to lavender. The French owners brought the chef from their Gustavia restaurant to create La Langouste, 15 tables around the pool and a French menu with Creole refinements. Local folk vie with guests for reservations, but not to worry: You have a kitchen, and a balcony with sink-into chaises. This is the place to set up house (590-590-27-63-61; www.hotelbaiedesanges.com doubles, $200-$285).

Elegant easy grew out of fabulous funk at the Eden Rock Hotel when this house hanging from a rock cliff was reborn in 1995. The new owners brought antiques, paintings, and furniture from their English house—and international guests followed. All 17 rooms are big, with drop-dead views of the Baie de St-Jean's ecru sands on either side. On the smaller cove, a Bordeaux-born chef oversees the fab Sand Bar, as well as the hotel's two other restaurants, one serving formal French and the other wildly creative tapas. The longer stretch of beach wanders past the former Filao Beach property, recently absorbed by the Eden Rock. New rooms and suites are soon to come; here to stay are the de-stressing sands, rivaled only by the spoiled-rotten treatments at the spa (590-590-29-79-99; www.edenrockhotel.com doubles, $340-$521).

St. Martin
One of the few genuine 'finds' left on this island, the informal, ten-year-old Hotel L'Esplanade Caraibes has just 24 rooms, lofts, and suites. All of them are oversized, with balconies facing Grand Case Bay—quite a magnificent indentation in the northwest coast. The interiors are full of colorful ceramic tiles, mosaic murals, and hardwood and rattan furniture. There's no restaurant, but so what. Most rooms have kitchens, and the northern end of the beach has casual shacks serving the catch of the day and local dishes, as well as a variety of restaurants including French and Creole—www.lesplanade.com has a list (590-590-87-06-55; doubles, $170-$270).