Natural Attraction in the Caribbean Sea

The fantasy: Playing "me Tarzan, you Jane" in St. Lucia's famous open-air villas, with infinity pools clinging to cliffs above the sea. Tropical birds serenade your dinner under a twisting rain-forest canopy backlit with stars.

The reality: St. Lucia has such dramatic postcard views that you can understand why hotels often leave their rooms open to the sultry elements. But pineapple and papaya breakfasts robbed by greedy birds and bubble baths being dive-bombed by creepy crawlers are enough to make you think twice about allowing nature to get too close.

Perfect match: Hotels on Belize's Ambergris Caye have the same back-to-nature vibe, with thatched-roof casitas fronted by plunge pools and hammocks shaded by dense palms. But here, thanks to windows and shutters, nature stays where it belongs, in the great outdoors. Lay low in a seaside cabana at Matachica (pictured), a secluded beach resort north of San Pedro where the wild jungle meets the underwater playground of the Belize Barrier Reef.

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