If you wouldn't bat an eyelash at spending $1,000 a day for sun and surf on a Caribbean island, then just close your eyes and dream along.

From St. Barts to the Bahamas, astonishing levels of luxury can be attained as easily as the nirvana of a deep-tissue massage in a hut on the beach. But in a playground as diverse as the Caribbean, no single standard of luxury suits them all.

Elina Fuhrman/Special (ENLARGE)
Yachts line the Gustavia Harbor on St. Barts.
Julie Collins/Special (ENLARGE)
The 5,500-square-foot infinity edge pool appears to go right into the ocean at Parrot Cay in the Turks & Caicos. The prevailing goal of the resort is to rid guests of stress in a beautiful environment.
MOST POPULAR STORIES New arrests likely in Fla. adoptive couple slaying Toddler found wandering street alone Reed aims to rejuvenate Christian conservatives Motorist dies in drive over edge of Grand Canyon Three arrested for attempted robbery near Tech
EMAIL THIS PRINT THIS MOST POPULAR

Beautiful beaches, luxurious spas, Egyptian cotton linens, creative, healthy food, flawless service and impeccably-kept surroundings may be taken for granted — it's really a matter of how you go about being idle, what rejuvenates you, what you want to do, how you want to feel and where you want to be.

Five places that might suit your style:

St. Barts

Popularized by America's rich and famous in the 1980s, St. Barthelemy, or St. Barts, is considered the most exclusive spot in the Caribbean to see and be seen. A tiny tranche of France minutes from St. Maarten's international airport, St. Barts feels more like coastal St-Tropez than a Caribbean island, with five-star cuisine, paparazzi, haute couture shopping, topless beaches, sophisticated crowds and parties, parties, parties.

High season (around Christmas and New Year's) brings an influx of millionaires and entertainment notables. But don't come thinking you'll see any of them in glamorous attire sauntering through stores in Gustavia harbor or sipping $600-a-bottle Cristal champagne over a $35 plate of sushi on St. Jean Beach; the life is casual here, no status or pretense.

The best way to enjoy this 8-square-mile island is by renting a villa with a view (from $3,000 a week for a one-bedroom in high season), either directly on its many beaches or high above it all, where views are as breathtaking as the winding narrow roads that lead up to them.

For stays less than a week, St. Barts' tiny but chic hotels painstakingly replicate the feel of villas, offering fresh croissants in bed, private pools and excellent chefs to prepare Franco-Caribbean feasts.

At Le Guanahani, the largest property on St. Barts, with 69 rooms and cottages, guests can enjoy two private secluded beaches and the only full-service spa on the island. Rates start at 760 euro per night, (about $920).

St. Barts natives, descendants of Swedish and French settlers, and workers in the tourism industry live well, unlike those in some Caribbean nations. They eat out, shop and relax at the same places enjoyed by tourists. A hardworking French college student from Normandy will tidy your room or cook breakfast for you, then hit the beaches, bistros and bars lining St. Jean, St. Barts' party beach.

A typical day has easy-to-fulfill requirements: pick a beach each morning, book a seaside gourmet lunch table, hit the supermarket for snacks, rest up for a dinner around 8, then people-watch as you stroll designer shops in Gustavia before the clubs open and the party starts — again.

It was not surprising that when Le Guanahani finally opened the island's first full-service "destination spa," locals and frequent visitors booked treatments weeks in advance. Having an Ivory Coast-style spa run by Clarins of Paris to remove any barnacles you may bring with you will make for a fast start at St. Barts or a fitting end to any stay.

• Hotel Guanahani Resort and Spa, http://www.leguanahani.com.

• Villa rentals through Wimco, http://www.wimco.com; St. Barth Properties, http://www.stbarth.com; Marla Villas, http://www.marlavillas.com.

Anguilla

If it's clean lines and clean living that bring clarity to your outlook, nothing hits the mark like the CuisinArt Resort and Spa (from $350-$795 depending on date) on the eel-shaped island of Anguilla.

Like its neighbor St. Barts, Anguilla gets its share of celebrities. Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt broke up at a villa here last New Year's, raising Anguilla's profile.

Just six miles across from the French side of St. Maarten, this mostly flat, 35-square-mile slice of paradise has been a refuge for those who seek privacy and quiet and pure white-sand beaches. There is no nightlife on Anguilla, no casinos, no duty-free shopping, no hotel chains and no cruise ships. All you do is enjoy luxury accommodations, warm waters and haute cuisine.

CuisinArt's 93 rooms are in sleek, white Grecian-style buildings. The resort's mission is to promote culinary excellence and well-being in a setting of meandering formal gardens, a disappearing waterline pool, fountains and boccie greens.

The resort's three-story Venus Spa is set in a garden between the oceanfront rooms and the main building. Its offerings emphasize tropical scrubs, natural ingredients and cooling pleasures like fresh cucumbers grown in CuisinArt's 80,000-square-foot hydroponic greenhouse.

CuisinArt's kitchens are high on technique and purity of ingredients. Cooking classes take place in the Santorini stadium kitchen and are taught by internationally renowned chefs Daniel Orr and Christopher Heath.

Having a greenhouse at their disposal ensures that Orr and Heath use only the freshest produce. They also work with one extraordinary ingredient: the sweeter-than-lobster, bigger-than-prawns Anguillan crawfish. This unique shellfish is prepared lovingly by many restaurants on the island, including the CuisinArt's poolside grill, Medeterraneo.

Other luxury resorts, Cap Juluca, Malliouhuana and Covecastles, are architectural wonders as well, each providing guests with elegant and chic accommodations, comfort and privacy.

A typical day might find you snorkeling in Anguilla's crystal blue waters in coves protected by reefs full of tropical fish, or relaxing with a book.

The only work you will do on the island is deciding where to eat, though you won't find bargains. Dining costs are the same almost any place you eat. Dinner for two is at least $100 without wine. Restaurants at these price points compete politely but persistently for visitors' business, which is why those who take a villa here often opt for a private chef.

• CuisinArt Resort and Spa, http://www.cuisinartresort.com.

• Cap Juluca, http://www.capjuluca.com (contact the hotel directly for rates in high season).

• Malliouhuana, http://www.malliouhana.com (from $640 for a garden room in high season).

• Covecastles, http://www.covecastles.com (from $1,595 for a one-bedroom villa in high season).

Parrot Cay

You will feel like Robinson Crusoe once you set foot on Parrot Cay, a private hideaway. A direct flight from Atlanta and a short boat ride from Providenciales Airport, Parrot Cay (from $590 in high season) is on the west end of the British Turks & Caicos, and is the quintessential less-is-more paradise.

Parrot Cay's terrain is mostly flat, with a wetland marsh in its center. Guests stay in minimalist rooms and villas set feet from the turquoise waters the island is known for.

From the airport, you're taken by speedboat to a warm welcome on the pier at Parrot Cay, and from there, directly to your room. The resort's 60 rooms and suites are airy — many with open teakwood baths and gleaming porcelain tubs — with teakwood four-poster beds, white linens and Indonesian antiques.

The service is impeccable, overseen by a relaxed international staff that treats hotel guests as friends. The goal is simple: returning guests to their core being by removing all sources of external stress.

For those needing a helping hand, Como Shambhala is an advanced-level Zen spa at the heart of the Parrot Cay concept. Set apart from the guest rooms and cottages, this 6,600-square-foot sanctuary sits among tall, blowing grasses. There is a lush outdoor Jacuzzi garden for women only, as well as private yoga and Pilates studios. Treatments are holistic and administered by specialized "healers" in everything from reflexology to herbal wraps to acupuncture.

At the lengths Parrot Cay has gone to embrace a comprehensive healing concept, it's surprising treatments are not mandatory.

In addition to its entirely private, unpopulated beach, the resort arranges excursions to tiny Iguana Island, where uninhabited, unspoiled terrain and beach give visitors a near-Galapagos experience.

As you'd expect, the cuisine is light and healthful. Australian chef Tippy Heng's Thai and Chinese-infused recipes use fresh local fish, organically raised fowl and grilled vegetables.

For those who've caught on completely, specially prepared Como Shambhala cuisine is offered at every meal, with an emphasis on vitamin and enzyme-rich raw foods.

Evidence of a trend is an increasing demand for Parrot Cay's larger private villas and residences (starting at $2,630 per day), where privacy-minded celebrities like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, who recently wed at Bruce Willis' Parrot Cay villa, enjoy the services of a personal butler and chef. Designer Donna Karan, soccer star David Beckham, musician Paul McCartney and actress Penelope Cruz also have been Parrot Cay guests.

• Parrot Cay, http://www.parrotcay.como.bz.

Bahamas

If you want to be touched, loosened, lifted and restored, yet still have the maniacal pleasures of über-resort Atlantis at your disposal, Paradise Island's One and Only Ocean Club (from $725 in high season) could be the enclave for you.

Unlike Parrot Cay and Anguilla, Paradise Island — a brisk walk over the bridge from downtown Nassau — is bustling with duty-free shopping, casinos and nightly entertainment.

The luxurious Atlantis (from $499 in high season) has 2,317 rooms; One and Only has 106 rooms and private villas. Tucked far away from the crowds drenching themselves at Atlantis' water parks, Aztec pyramids, bars and beaches, the One and Only Ocean Club is an oasis.

No steel drums here. Whispering attendants serve cool drinks and frozen grapes by the main pool, set before lush terraced formal gardens inspired by France's Versailles. The gardens are surreal, populated by marble statues and capped by an Augustinian cloister, originally imported from France by William Randolph Hearst.

Complimentary foot massages are given on the beach. Afternoon tea is served in the library. One and Only is "Ritz-Carlton formal," not bohemian chic.

Its rooms are more softly furnished and painstakingly finished than at other exclusive resorts, where a devotion to "understatement" has unfortunately resulted in a degree of sameness. At One and Only, it's mahogany instead of teak in the rooms, granite instead of tile in the baths.

Service is swift and friendly, but formal. Steam showers, Jacuzzis and laptop computers are found in the suites, and personal butler service is everywhere.

Pampering is taken seriously. At One and Only's spa, your treatment "room" is one of eight private Balinese mini villas, each with its own changing area and bath, walled outdoor garden with canopied daybed, whirlpool and temple fountain.

The Mandara-trained staff begins by washing each guest's feet in a bath of flowers and aromatherapy oils. After any of the Bahamian or Asian-inspired treatments — including aroma stone therapy, Thai or four-handed massages, hot spice body wraps, a Caribbean coffee body scrub and facials using Elemis products — you can enjoy an Asian herbal tea service and an oil-infused whirlpool bath until, heaven forbid, you remember your "old" life.

One and Only welcomes families. It's separate family pool area is no match for Atlantis' expanse of pools and water slides, but it's no slouch, either. With waterfalls, fountains and a faux beach, children can be persuaded to stay right here, lunching on shrimp cocktails and fried conch.

The KidsOnly program, housed near the family pool, keeps them busy and entertained until midnight, so mom and dad can enjoy dinner at the resort's beachfront signature restaurant, Dune, or its more Colonial-style Courtyard Terrace. Both put a Bahamian twist on innovative cuisine, with Dune borrowing heavily from Asia and the Terrace from France and Europe.

Golfers will find One and Only's 18-hole, Tom Weiskopf-designed course as refreshing and challenging as any by the sea. With the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational being played here in January, the One and Only Ocean Club is an excellent choice for luxury-leaning duffers.

• One and Only Ocean Club, Paradise Island, http://www.vanderbiltinn.comwww.oneandonlyoceanclub.com.

• Atlantis Resort, http://www.vanderbiltinn.comwww.atlantis.com.

Jamaica

In Jamaica, Negril is known as the capital of casual, the kingdom of laid-back. Living up to, then above and beyond, this reputation takes daring and a command of detail few hoteliers can combine.

Island Outpost has done it with the Caves (from $695 in high season, for two, all-inclusive), set on two acres above rocky cliffs and nearest to the lighthouse south of Negril's famous seven-mile beach.

You enter the Caves' tiny village through an undistinguished wooden gate opened with an assuring wave from Elvis, the Caves' smiling, burly security man.

Once inside this resort of 10 unique cottages, your only care in the world will be making the most of hanging out. Seafront cottage rooms and suites are light and airy and most don't have air conditioners; gentle breezes and waves crashing beneath the terraces and caves below keep guests cool.

Conceived and designed by Greer-Ann and Bertram Saulter, the Caves is in harmony with its rugged natural sea wall. Staff members want to fulfill your needs, as a short questionnaire at registration over a tropical welcome drink attests.

You will be asked to sign a waiver of liability from injury, which might be considered unusual for a luxury hotel, until you see your fellow guests diving off 20- and 30-foot ledges into the azure sea.

Each open-air cottage is loosely assigned a nearby terrace and adobe outdoor dining table, and there's as much privacy as you'd ever want. The cottages have so much personality and genuine warmth, it's tempting to stay in all day for romance.

With just 10 couples staying at any given moment, honeymooners and long-married couples can trade wedding tales and travel tips over an open bar, stocked with premium brands and tended by fun-loving mixmasters who know your name and, eventually, your favorite concoction.

Breakfast and lunch are served anyplace you'd like, but an open pavilion offers shade from the tropical sun, cool tunes, homemade bread, fresh salads and jerk chicken.

In the evenings, the Caves' primary lodge hosts an open-air dinner and relaxation with sunset views, and as night falls, stars and planets in the cobalt sky. Dinner comes with French champagne or Chilean wines and a choice of appetizers: spicy crab, herb salads or smoked fish. Main courses vary each night, from Jamaican-spiced tenderloin to grilled lobster. Impressive care is given to the yummy sides that accompany every dish, like Johnny cakes, seasoned rice, fresh mango chutney and fried plantains.

A highlight is savoring a private dinner in one of the Caves' candlelit caves, below the resort, inches from the rushing tidewaters. The waiter sets the scene by tossing fresh flower petals across the table, opening the champagne, turning on the CD player, serving dinner, and then quietly disappearing.

In addition to making an appointment for your cave dinner, you'll also need to think about when you and your honey want to enjoy the private Jacuzzi suite that is built into the sea wall, or reserve spa treatments in the Caves' micro-size hut facing the sea. What this teeny spa lacks in space, it makes up for in spirit and touch.

• The Caves, http://www.islandoutpost.com/the_caves.