Barbados

Barbados was the only island in the Caribbean to remain under the flag of one nation throughout the 300 year island-hopping, allegiance-swapping colonial era, and as a result there is still a strong sense of Englishness here. Palm-fringed, supercharged, Blingland admittedly, but England none the less.

The island packs a lot into a pretty small area, with the two contrasting coasts - the wild and wooly east and the sheltered and glitzy west - separated by a charming and mountainous interior dotted with former colonial estates turned into elegant hotels or retreating back into the jungle .

Is it possible to avoid the glitz and glamour? Of course. We at Original Travel know all the best places to stay, ranging from the bling-fest billionaires' hangout of Sandy Lane at the epicentre of the west coast scene to way more understated hideaways on the beautiful - and virtually empty in parts - east coast.

Add our suggestions for the best places to eat, drink, see and be seen, and we can make your Barbados holiday totally 'bashment' (for the uninitiated, 'cool' in Bajan patois).