The Platinum Coast
The West Coast of Barbados
Ten miles of Caribbean shoreline where the addresses have always spoken for themselves
The Coastline
A Stretch of Shore With a Reputation
The Platinum Coast is not a marketing invention. The name emerged decades ago, when the families who had made their fortunes elsewhere began acquiring property along the sheltered western shore of Barbados—drawn by the calm water, the consistent climate, and the understanding that this was not an island given to vulgarity.
The coastline runs roughly ten miles, from Speightstown in the north to Holetown in the south. Along it you will find Sandy Lane, which opened in 1961 and has never needed to advertise; Royal Westmoreland, where the golf course was designed by Tom Fazio and the membership is by invitation; and a handful of restaurants—The Cliff, Lone Star, The Tides—where tables are booked months in advance by people who have been coming for years.
The Neighbourhood
The Addresses Nearby
Sandy Lane sits twenty minutes south of Saint Peter's Bay—the grande dame of Caribbean resorts, with two golf courses, a spa that requires no introduction, and the sort of guest list that has kept photographers interested for half a century. The Cliff is carved into the rock face overlooking the water; dinner there is an occasion. Lone Star serves lunch on the beach and transforms into something rather more glamorous after dark.
Royal Westmoreland occupies the hills above the coast, its fairways winding through mahogany groves with the sea visible on the horizon. Holetown—the island's second town—offers the necessities: groceries, boutiques, banks, and a selection of restaurants for evenings when leaving the coast seems worthwhile. Speightstown is closer still, a working Bajan town with fishermen at the jetty and local restaurants that the guidebooks have not yet discovered.
The Location
Saint Peter's Bay Within Reach
Saint Peter's Bay occupies the quieter northern section of the Platinum Coast, in the parish of Saint Peter, a few minutes' drive from Speightstown. The position is deliberate: removed from the busier stretches further south, yet within easy reach of everything the coast has to offer.
Speightstown has what you need day-to-day—a fishmonger, a pharmacy, cafés where Bajans rather than tourists eat lunch. Holetown is fifteen minutes in the other direction. The airport is forty-five minutes, the route straightforward. These are the practicalities that matter when you are staying somewhere rather than merely visiting.
The Water
The Caribbean Side
Barbados has two coasts, and they could not be more different. The east faces the Atlantic—dramatic, windswept, the domain of surfers and those who prefer their ocean with some theatre. The west faces the Caribbean, and here the water does what you want it to do: it stays calm, stays clear, stays warm.
The sea at Saint Peter's Bay runs turquoise to jade depending on the light, calm enough that kayaking requires no instruction and swimming requires no vigilance. The beach is marked with buoys to keep boats at a distance. Children paddle in the shallows while their parents read in the shade. For those who have spent time on rougher shores, there is something deeply civilised about water that simply behaves.
Make This Your Address
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