What is a holiday? An escape, when its good a break from the entire hum drum troubles of daily life, a respite from the hectic to and fro of business commitments. A holiday at its best is an opportunity to unwind, to relax to lie on a sun lounger, dipping ones toes into the azure blue of the Caribbean. Thats right. The Caribbean, the legendary location of all the best that is, the most relaxing holidays the planet has to offer. Spending ones time away in Caribbean hotels, particularly Barbados hotels, is the key to a truly unwinding time.

The thing about the Caribbean is this: its spectacularly beautiful, but, unlike some of the worlds equally stunning locations, its also completely safe. Thats because the Caribbean holiday has refined itself, over the decades, into a particularly clever little trick. A holiday in the Caribbean means spending relaxing weeks in the safe confines of a resort complex or private beach without ever feeling that one is cut off from the real life of the islands.

Its a trick particularly well performed on Barbados, and perhaps performed best of all by Treasure Beach, one of the leading Barbados hotels. Among all Caribbean hotels, Treasure beach has made the most successful stab at being in tune with its island environment, whilst retaining an exclusivity and degree of shelter seldom found in such an exotic location. Its acres of tropical gardens cleverly blend in with the surrounding vegetation; its private beach feels open and free and its swimming pool is practically indeterminate from the ocean.

The price is right, too. Barbados hotels are in a permanent price war, based on the understanding that people holidaying in the Caribbean will pick their eventual destination according to the amount of luxury they can get for the best price. Effectively, everyone coming to stay in Caribbean hotels has money to spend on luxury, which means that each and every one of their potential selections is constantly vying with all the others to produce the best packages for the most reasonable price. Thats hot news for all tourists with Barbados hotels literally vying for their patronage, tourists can spend time picking and choosing between the best offers and surroundings.

Here, again, Treasure Beach has something of an advantage. There are many great hotels in Barbados, but few as adept at combining modern appointment with traditional (for traditional, read island-style) appearance and service. This is one of a few Caribbean hotels that have successfully imported Western design ethics into their apartments, mixing tropical technology (the ability to fend off that all-pervasive heat) with an almost Scandinavian approach to decor: clean, bright and open. Add to that the exemplary spa and treatment facilities (and, of course, the tropic gardens) and one begins to realise why, of all the Barbados hotels, this is fast becoming one of the most popular.

With leisure time one of the first things to take a big hit at the tail end of the recession, holiday destinations the world over are making a huge effort to entice their customers back. Caribbean hotels are no exception. Now, more than ever, those luxury wars are in full swing which makes this year the perfect time to mount that long-planned but never realised island excursion.