• 1. Where to Stay
• 2. Where to Eat
• 3. What to Do
• 4. Insider’s Tip
• 5. An Oddball Day

Outside the Pax Guest House.    (Photo: Courtesy of Pax Guest House.)

Until the Hyatt Regency Trinidad (from $299) opened in January 2008, Port-of-Spain's hotels had largely lost their shine. The high-end waterfront hotel has an infinity pool, world-class spa, and open-air dining. Request a gulfside room and say hello to Venezuela, visible just seven miles away.

Get a Tarzan B&B vibe from Pax Guest House (from $50), the island’s oldest inn. Part of a 600 acre Benedictine monastery complex surrounded by rainforest on the Northern Range, Pax is just 25 minutes from downtown and the airport. The dinner buffet is a convivial serenity-breaker.

Chaconia Hotel (from $125) in upscale Maraval is a central base for both Port-of-Spain and the Northern Ridge's rain forests and beaches. The Mediterranean architecture is tricked out with Trinidadian décor, and the secluded pool terrace is an excellent reminder that you’re on vacation in the Caribbean.

Published on May 28, 2009 as a web exclusive.