Ideally located between Bridgetown’s bustling shops and Holetown’s famed nightlife sits this laid-back, seven-room villa surrounded by a tropical garden sprouting mango, apple and lime trees. The Villa Marie Guesthouse's residential environs mean quiet evenings punctured only by inexhaustible crickets and neighbourhood roosters, but scuba diving, restaurants and a grocery store are just minutes away.

Access to a spacious kitchen and tiled bistro area lets guests concoct their own home-cooked fare while gleaning travel tips from other guests and manager Pete Hauslschmid.

For a genuine and affordable Barbadian lunch, Hauslschmid will send you on a five-minute stroll to Al’s Bar and Restaurant in the L-shaped Jordan’s Supermarket complex. Its menu changes daily, but a filling meal—including your choice of cou cou (Caribbean polenta), peas and rice or pudding and souse (pork and sweet potato pudding) with tossed salad and grilled fish—goes for about US$5.

The Villa Marie has simple, yet elegantly decorated rooms, and the striking loft-style apartments complete with spiralling greenheart wood staircase, private kitchenette, dining and living room area accommodate up to four people. Hauslschmid keeps the hotel spotless and up-to-date (he is German, after all), despite the prying humidity.

A large double-room at the Villa Marie Guesthouse is $88 during peak season. A large double room is $97, while a four-person apartment is $145 per night during peak season.