Few tourists venture to the east end of Tobago, but that's where you'll find this secluded 46-acre beachfront resort (on a bay that's always calm and safe to swim in). There's a single sleepy bar, a restaurant too far from anywhere to host anyone but guests, and no TV or phones in the 38 rooms—though a common room has cable TV and Internet access (for a fee). All this is invaluable to the divers, bird-watchers, and nature lovers who prefer things quiet. Blue Waters has a full-service P.A.D.I. dive shop with its own dock—the island's best—and easy access (a ten-minute boat ride) to the adjacent bird sanctuary that is Little Tobago. There's also great snorkeling, kayaking, glass-bottom-boat tours, and tennis. The generic-Carib rooms have no pretense toward style but they all sit right on the oceanfront (there are no second floors) and have whitewashed walls and either twin or king beds. The West Indian-Creole food at the Fish Pot restaurant is good, which is just as well since the nearest fishing village is a 15-minute drive away and hasn't much in the way of cafés.

Tucked away from the busy main drag—but close enough to walk to Queen's Park Savannah—this boutique gem delivers the personality and charm its neighboring hotels lack. Each of its 16 rooms is decorated to a theme—such as cricket or seashore—and includes a kitchenette stocked with dinnerware and coffee, a complimentary mini-bar, DVD/VCR and CD players. The public areas such as the lobby, the library, and the lounge are comfy and homely, and there's free Wi-Fi throughout. The inn's indoor-outdoor restaurant, Battimamzelle, has a good rep for its gourmet Caribbean cuisine, but on the downside assures sleep-disturbing noise if you want an early night (luckily it closes at 11 pm).

Coco Reef's 135 rooms, villas, and suites occupy a prime stretch of beach between Store Bay and picturesque Pigeon Point. A winding road dotted with white Grecian statues leads to the porte-cochère, where the hotel's two classic Rolls-Royces (one for tours and airport transfers, the other for decoration) are parked. Entwined in bougainvillea and alamanda blossoms, the low-rise gingerbread-trimmed resort exudes privileged style, although the spacious, saltillo-tiled rooms—most with sea-view porches or balconies—can feel slightly worn. Rates include breakfast buffet and use of the pool, beach, tennis courts, and (nonmotorized) watersports equipment. Guests gather in the evening to rehash their diving and birding adventures over cocktails in the mezzanine lounge, or over dinner at the Tamara restaurant.

This mid-rise hotel on Queen's Park Savannah is a great location for Carnival-goers. The rest of the time it caters mostly to business travelers, so expect on-the-ball service. There's high-speed Internet access throughout, and the 94 rooms come in a variety of categories from standard to suites with balconies and/or kitchenettes. The rooms have carnival-colored spreads and drapes which you'll find charmingly old fashioned or slightly dated, depending on your tastes. A stylish bistro and bar spill onto a pleasant terrace and tropically landscaped swimming pool deck. The top-floor restaurant, Tiki Village, has a Polynesian theme and sweeping view of the city lights.

Allan and Cynthia Clovis's eco-holistic mini resort is a place of contradictions: First, for somewhere that's all about health and clean living (it has a huge organic kitchen garden, and its water is purified by an on-site ozone plant), it is mighty near the most toxic place on the island—the airport. Second, it's a total hippy-dippy au naturel hotel but it's butted up against the touristy Store Bay/Pigeon Point area. Yet somehow it all works out—people adore this place. The 24-cabana rooms scattered—none too widely—around the pool and gardens are simple, with bamboo-wicker decor. The only in-room amenities are AC, phones, and safes, but nobody spends too much time in those anyway. Instead, guests congregate in the Holistic Health Centre, the thatched-roofed Ajoupa where tai chi, yoga, and meditation take place, around the ozonated pool and garden Jacuzzi, and in the semi-open, excellent Carib-Creole restaurant that's crammed with local artists' work.

Tobago offers a number of gated villa communities; this one heads the field and includes a top-notch restaurant on the property. Like its villas, the Pavilion Restaurant clubhouse—overlooking an infinity pool—is designed in French plantation manor style by the late architect Arne Hasselqvist. There are 14 three-bedroom villas, each with a private infinity pool and balcony overlooking green hillside dipping into the Caribbean. All accommodations have a breezy flow-through layout with terra cotta tiled floors, heavy wood furnishings, four-poster beds, and modern kitchens. Color schemes come in blue, coral or beige. Guests who like to sleep late should be aware that the housekeeper arrives at 9 am to prepare breakfast.