pring took us to Barbados, an island that manages to always impress with its firm yet friendly embrace of tourism, even as we continue to get lost in our rental car heading hither and yon. Fortunately, Bajans always seem to appear in our hour of need: When we start to curse the lack of road signage and the island map is being scoured futilely, someone shows up to put us back on our way. Such was the case when we got lost en route to Naniki, a small new restaurant in the scenic bluffs above Bathsheba. The menu celebrates island cuisine – grilled flying fish, of course – with wonderful coastal views, while after lunch you can stroll through the owner's anthurium farm. A nice stop when headed to the east coast (it's easier to locate coming from Bathsheba), and there are plans for a small eco-lodge and spa. Reservations (particularly advised for Sundays): 246-433-1300.

Not far away, but well away from any beach is the grand new Villa Nova. Actually, Villa Nova has been around since 1834 – the stone country house was also the home of former British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden, and it drew vacationers like Sir Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth. Today it has reopened as a luxurious country inn, and it's a fabulous hideout for those who don't need instant beach access during their Bajan holiday. There are 28 suites, all of which have a private terrace overlooking the lush 15-acre garden. The English country décor is by Nina Campbell, but there are plenty of whimsical nuances – particularly in the artwork – that keep Villa Nova from feeling too stuffy. Plus, there's a glam pool, tiled deep green, small gym, two tennis courts, music room and acclaimed restaurant. Ideally, combine a few nights at Villa Nova with a few at one of the west coast properties like Coral Reef and we think you've got the ideal ingredients for the perfect Bajan holiday. Doubles start at $360 including breakfast ($600 in winter, which also includes lunch or dinner daily); reservations: 246-433-1524.

Of course, we know what you really want to hear about is Sandy Lane, the hoity toity check-in of Barbados, which was acquired in 1998 by a team of Scottish investors. They initially planned to do a quick nip and tuck, and then focus on selling private villa lots surrounding the hotel's golf course. Well, the plans got bigger and more grand and resulted in the hotel being torn down to the ground. The cost of the re-do – variously estimated as between $153 million and $450 million – makes it, with just 112 rooms, easily the most expensive resort ever built in the region (on a per-unit basis). Sandy Lane finally, and very quietly, reopened in spring 2001. After a year of working out “soft opening” kinks, we thought it was about time to sniff around.

At first, the hotel looks much the same as it did: the same portico, which leads to the same circular terrace-cum-dance floor. Then you start to notice subtle differences – the ground floor is a couple feet taller, and the wings with the rooms off to the side of the main building are bigger, more imposing. In fact, the rooms are pretty spectacular, even if they have little to do with the West Indies (though it is posh, do we really need a flat screen TV our room?). Still, the luxurious trimmings are the real thing – they don't vaunt that prissy wannabe polish of regional Ritz-Carlton hotels – the smallest rooms encompass a vast 779 square feet, and every unit has one of those sprawling balconies we loved so at the old Sandy. The personalized butler service is probably a first for the Caribbean. Better still is the 47,000-square-foot spa, which ranks as the most impressive such facility we've ever encountered in the islands – there are no less than 14 treatment rooms, several with their own private plunge pool and waterfall, plus meditation room, a gym (three more flat screen TVs), and an oasis-like, somewhat Disneyish pool. The main golf course has been remade, while a new 18-hole course is being completed this fall – it is spectacular, with deep gulleys and long shots.

Our big complaint is that this whole operation is a little too slick, particularly with all the high-tech gizmos installed to improve efficiency. It lacks soul. Service, which is friendly and upbeat, was also unpolished and somewhat disorganized during our six-hour visit. Hopefully this is just a temporary glitch and by this winter the resort will be the smooth-running jewel it is priced to be. Until then, you can capture excellent deals. When it was under construction, the hotel planned a high season rate card that started at $1,400 a night! The owners have since entered earth's atmosphere with a winter rack rate that starts at $800 a night, and this summer, solid discounts off the summer rates (normally from $600 this year) are also available. Reservations: 866-444-4080, or check their site: www.sandylane.com.

Much more low-key, and a welcome discovery for us, was Peach and Quiet (eye roll), a small hotel located in Inch Marlow (love that name), a residential area a half-mile south of the Barbados airport. Fortunately, the spot is a world away from hustle and noise of the island's busier districts – you won't hear planes landing. The seaside inn's secret is a minimalist approach to infrastructure – some of which needs cosmetic work, planned for this fall – but the reception is unstinting. So, although there's no bartender, the installation of an honor bar means drinks cost under $2; and though Inch Marlow is not near dining, taxi vans sponsored by several fine restaurants shuttle guests two nights a week, minimizing the need for a rental car. Rooms are basic, but have quality bedding; do note that there is no air conditioning, TV or phones. The owners serve tasty meals, there's a deep pool, and the beach is a five-minute walk; the location is ideal if you're overnighting on Barbados en route to the Grenadines. Here's what clinches the deal: doubles from $69 ($89 in winter!); reservations: 246-428-5682.

Speaking of dining, we had a fair meal at Lone Star, a place with terrific beachside ambiance, but lofty prices for what we find to be average food. Just up the beach is Cobbler's Cove, where we had a delicious dinner with manager Hamish Watson – the restaurant has an excellent new chef. The foodie buzz of the island right now is Daphne's, a beachside, Italian-flavored establishment located next to Tamarind Cove Hotel, and managed by the same Daphne's of London crew. Lunch – a rocket salad and duck pasta – was terrific.

n this same trip, we swung over to one of our favorite islands — Bequia — where we spent a couple relaxing days, much of it on foot; this is still an island best explored by walking. We are happy to report that little has changed since our last visit two years ago, but there are a few things to note. Most favorably, there are improvements at Friendship Bay, where the owners are sprucing up rooms with rich color schemes and local art. The crowd is still fairly Euro, but this is the closest thing to a beach resort on the island, and a reasonably priced one at that. The Old Mill has new managers, a young English couple who arrived in December. They took over after the previous manager, a Frenchman, left Bequia in the middle of the night, allegedly owing money to half the island. Also on the gossip front, an extradition request from the U.S. for money laundering was made for the owner of Plantation House – rumor has it that he somehow got wind of the plans and skipped out of his island home in a hurry (should we note that he was a contributor to the election campaign of Prime Minister Gonsalves?). His hotel is being run by his brother of late, but had only one room occupied during our visit – it's not in bad shape, but it needs some TLC, upkeep and a remodel to justify the too-steep rate card. Finally, we enjoyed the Thursday night West Indian buffet at the Frangipani – it's still the scene to beat on that night, although we asked for our steak medium rare and receive one that was well-done and riddled with gristle (salads and other items were tasty, as was the music, from the same Vincentian band that's been playing here for years).

n other news, Butch Stewart and his Sandals resort empire has been very busy of late. We don't care for his all-inclusive hotels enough to feature them in R&R, and we wouldn't normally take note of his doings, except that in recent months he's been carving out an increasingly larger turf. Plus, he's made two non-Sandals listings in our brand new guidebook out-of-date. Argh! (Hell hath no fury like a guidebook writer who's wasted pages!) First up are Butch's acquisitions of the Hyatt Regency St. Lucia and Jamaica's Dragon Bay. The St. Lucia property is being Sandalized for an early summer reopening, while Dragon Bay is getting a big facelift for a late 2002 curtain call. The old Boscobel Beach resort in Jamaica has also been taken over by Sandals and will reopen as a “Beaches” (the company's family-oriented all-inclusive brand) this summer. Also in Jamaica, Beaches Whitehouse may finally open on the island's less developed south coast (Bluefields) in 2003. A Sandals hotel in the Dominican Republic is in the works, and did you know that the chain now has a resort open in Cuba? It's not advertised in U.S. media – you know why – so don't expect to hear about a second Sandals resort under discussion for Cuba.

peaking of guidebook updates, two other resorts threw us a curve ball just after publication, starting with Jumby Bay, the private-island resort off Antigua. Up-to-date readers will remember that the hotel – which has gone through almost annual ownership changes for the last half-decade – was acquired by Heinz Simonitsch (of Jamaica's Half Moon) in 2000. Well, Simonitsch is out and the ownership has been sold back to the island's 14 homeowners (who have proven to be the bee in the bonnet of more than one hotelier). They announced that Dallas-based Rosewood Resorts will now manage Jumby Bay and the company is investing $2.5 million in refurbishments for the 39-room resort. This may be a nice turnaround for Rosewood since only a few weeks earlier, they lost the management contract at Carenage Bay in the Grenadines. This massive, 172-room property on the island of Canouan had been affiliated with Rosewood for barely a year when the contract was cancelled. A new hotel chain affiliation has yet to be announced, so the resort is closing its doors for the summer and fall, during which the 18-hole Jim Fazio-designed golf course may finally be completed. Will this tony property escape its white elephant status and become a full-fledged competitor?

hat do we have to say about President Carter's much-covered visit to Cuba? Not much – we think opinions about this historic site inspection have received ample exposure. But we will ask one question. The law that prohibits Americans from spending money in Cuba effectively prevents U.S. citizens from legally touring the island, thereby (in theory) putting the squeeze on Castro's regime. But U.S. citizens are allowed to spend money as tourists in Iran, North Korea and four other countries identified in March as providing safe haven to terrorist outfits by the Bush administration. Why this hypocrisy? We think that Florida's 25 electoral votes and the Cuban-American swing vote have a great deal to do with it!

few comments from our readers. One of them reports that as management has changed at Tensing Pen in Negril, Jamaica has started to acquire a “more corporate feel… still very lovely and a great favorite of my three teenaged kids, but my wife and I regret the evolution of a place we'd come to love over 10 years or so.” Another reader wrote to tell us that Patricia Thorndike, formerly of Cabarete in the Dominican Republic, has sold her Iguana Mama bike touring operation and moved back to the states. We wish her well, and hope the operation's new owners, Charles and Jennifer Montgomery, maintain the same high standards we enjoyed during our visit.

We'll be back in September – until then, save a few bucks (and perhaps dodge the occasional hurricane) by traveling in the off season!

Alright!