Basil's Bar is less a bar than a floating legend. Presided over by the eponymous, larger-than-life Basil, this thatched shack perched on stilts was long the only game in town, and consequently you might have found yourself sharing the small, impromptu dance floor with Mick Jagger as well as local fishermen. Though not quite the scene it once was, it's still the place everybody ends up at during their stay, particularly for the Wednesday night "Jump Up" (or barbecue buffet) and during the island's two-week blues festival (late January through early February). Food is casual—think burgers and grilled lobster—but expensive.

There are two restaurants at the Cotton House, the informal Beach Café and the elegant Veranda. The café sits right on the beach—and serves pizzas, grilled meats, seafood, and refreshing cocktails all day long. The Veranda offers a more expansive menu with both local and Continental influences—from callaloo risotto and West Indian curry to grilled barracuda and tagliatelle with St. Vincent crab. The Great Room is the scene of afternoon tea and a weekly cocktail reception open to all island owners and visitors.

Like the hotel in which it's housed, the Firefly restaurant is an oasis of relaxed elegance in this most froufrou of settings, which has endeared it to such diners as Liz Hurley, Iman, and David Bowie. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the restaurant mixes French and Caribbean influences. Order the pineapple-shrimp curry served with rice, the spiced crab cakes, or maybe the fresh fish and chips. And arrive early for a sunset drink at the bar. The Firefly specialty drink, the "Barfly"—rum, nutmeg, papaya, and coconut cream—is addictive.