Kimono-wrapped Barbadians serving sushi, sashimi and Thai food in traditional Japanese tatami rooms with sliding rice-paper doors may be a strange cultural medley, but for Zen it’s a recipe for success. The elegant Japanese and Thai restaurant, one of four onsite at The Crane Resort, was rated the best place to eat in the country in the 2009 Zagat Guide. Enviously perched atop gnarly coral limestone cliffs overlooking 20-foot palm trees swaying on a pink, icing sugar-sand beach—one of the Top 10 beaches on the planet, according to Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous—the resort coaxes tourists and locals alike to its secluded southeast coast location with fine dining options and unparalleled vistas.

Take, for example, the award-winning L’Azure restaurant. The Sunday brunch buffet grooves to live Caribbean gospel music and takes reservations weeks in advance. Those with less lead time come throughout the week to savour the seafood and local Caribbean fare (think grilled flying fish or Bajan fish cakes) as they contemplate the crashing surf below.

Open since 1887, The Crane is the longest continually operating resort in the Caribbean, and has recently unveiled new rooms and an onsite village with traditional chattel house-style shops, a rum and tapas bar and fitness centre.

Rates start at US$340.