St. Vincent is one of the least visited islands in the Caribbean, but one of my favorite because of that. It’s never overrun with tourists any time of the year. This means that most things in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are very cheap compared to other more luxurious Caribbean destinations. In this article we are going to talk about where to stay in St. Vincent & the Grenadines for low, mid and high price ranges.
I live in the Caribbean and have spent years exploring these islands. I have done many hours of research to find the best places to stay in St. Vincent & the Grenadines. This guide comes from my own visits and local knowledge.
St. Vincent is the largest and main island where most of the people of this country live. The Grenadines are a chain of smaller islands to the south with some of the best beaches in the Caribbean. You can choose based on your budget or which islands you want to be on.
Deciding where to stay in St. Vincent usually starts with the main island. The Villa area close to the city of Kingstown is where a lot of people stay at. There are good beaches and many bars and night life on the strip.
If you want a more quiet time with the typical thought of Caribbean turquoise water and white sand beaches then islands like Bequia or Canouan is good.
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Map of Accommodations in St. Vincent
Sunset Shores Beach Hotel
I really think sunset shores is overall, just a really good hotel that has an amazing location on the beach and it’s right on a nice boardwalk of other restaurants and places to hangout. If you’re on an average budget, I recommend staying here over any other place on this list. It has everything you’ll need and the staff is great.
I stayed here in St. Vincent for two nights and paid $180 USD total for one room for two people. The hotel sits directly on Villa Beach, one of the nicer beaches on the island. Unlike many beaches in St. Vincent, Villa Beach has light-colored sand instead of black volcanic rock. The property has an upstairs lounge with a restaurant and bar, plus a swimming pool and another bar on the lower level.
I consider this one of the best hotels in St. Vincent because of its location. It’s within walking distance of several beachfront bars and restaurants. If you walk a short distance along the sand, you’ll reach a boardwalk area that runs along the water and has around six restaurants and bars, especially lively at night.
The lunch and dinner at Sunset Shores Beach Hotel were both good and reasonably priced. Breakfast, however, was expensive and not worth it. We skipped it, went out to explore, and ate elsewhere instead. I suggest doing the same.
Sandals All-inclusive Resort
I visited Sandals for just a day and although I didn’t sleep here overnight, it’s just an elite level hotel. I personally would never think about staying here, because it’s way out of my budget and I prefer to stay in a small Airbnb or hotel and go on road trip adventures. But, if you’re looking for the absolute best accommodation without thinking about anything else, then the Sandals is that place.
I spent a short amount of time at Sandals during my trip, and the first thing that stood out to me was the setting. The location made it even more impressive. It was inside a valley with deep green mountains on either side. It has it’s own beach and my favorite part were the overwater bungalows right alongside the forested mountains.
This all inclusive resort is located in the beach town of Buccament. It’s a really nice and quiet place with beach bars and restaurants right up on the sand. I spent a short time at Sandals here and it had one of the best beaches in St. Vincent. Not as nice as the ones in the Grenadines but it was nicer than the typical black volcanic rock beaches typically seen in St Vincent. Sandals is one of the best places to stay in St. Vincent & the Grenadines.
There are private bungalows along the mountainside that goes far out into the deep ocean. I think here is a perfect place for kayaking, sailing and swimming. It doesn’t look like a very large resort from the front, but it’s quite big. It’s neatly tucked away along a very cozy mountainside and it gives this place a really Caribbean nature feel. There are 12 unique restaurants, each offering international dishes crafted from the island’s freshest ingredients.
Bequia Plantation Hotel
I’d much rather just stay at a hotel in Bequia than anywhere in St. Vincent honestly. Bequia just has the best beaches and everywhere seems really walkable.
Bequia Plantation Hotel sits at the southern end of Admiralty Bay along the Belmont Walkway. It is beachfront, but one of the biggest reasons I like its location is that you aren’t completely isolated from the rest of Bequia. The hotel is near Port Elizabeth and the waterfront, and I walked from there to many restaurants, Princess Margaret beach and and Lower Bay beach.
The location makes much more sense to me than choosing a resort where you need transportation every time you want to leave.
The hotel has different types of rooms, suites and villas spread around the property, including beachfront and ocean-view options. It also has a pool, restaurant and non-motorized water sports.
I actually spent most of my time here at Princess Margaret Beach and Lower Bay. I’ll also want to spend time around these beaches if staying on Bequia, and the Belmont coastal walkway helps connect this side of the island with the beaches and Port Elizabeth area.
I would look at Bequia Plantation Hotel if you want a slower trip centered around beaches, walking around the waterfront, restaurants and exploring Bequia.
However, if most of the things on your itinerary are on mainland St. Vincent, I wouldn’t stay here for the entire trip. In that case, I would either visit Bequia as a day trip or split my accommodation between St. Vincent and Bequia like I did the second time I visited St. Vincent.
Best Areas to stay in St. Vincent
Because St. Vincent is so small and you can drive to any part of the country in probably 2 hours, The exact area you stay in may not matter that much in terms of needing things to do nearby.
I have stayed around both Arnos Vale and Kingstown and have spent a lot of time around Villa. All three are on the southern part of St. Vincent, but I would choose each one for a different reason.
Arnos Vale – Best for Exploring St. Vincent
Arnos Vale is probably the area I would choose if exploring the island was my main activity and the reason I was here.
I stay around Arnos Vale quite often when I’m in St. Vincent. It isn’t really a resort town, and that’s part of why I like it. You have supermarkets, places to eat and other everyday conveniences nearby, while Villa, Indian Bay and Kingstown aren’t far away. You’re basically staying in a normal part of St. Vincent rather than inside a tourism bubble.
I always rent a car in St. Vincent because it’s just better for exploring and discovering hidden gems. I usually spend a lot of my trips driving around the island, so I don’t necessarily need to pay extra just to have a resort outside my door. I would rather have somewhere comfortable to come back to at night and put more of the budget toward exploring.
For accommodation, Buttercup Cottage Apartments fits this type of trip well.
The apartments are in Arnos Vale and have full kitchens, so this makes more sense to me for someone staying several days or trying to keep costs down. In my original guide, one of the things that stood out to me was that you get an actual apartment rather than just a hotel room, with a kitchen, fridge and space to settle in.
The property confirms that it is within walking distance of restaurants, supermarkets and other services, with the closest beach around a ten-minute walk away.
Villa – Best for First-Time Visitors and Nightlife
If this is your first trip and you aren’t sure where to stay in St. Vincent, Villa is probably the easiest area to recommend.
Villa feels more like a tourist area than Arnos Vale. You have Villa Beach, other beaches nearby, hotels, restaurants and bars concentrated into a relatively small area. What I like most is that you can actually walk somewhere in the evening.
When I stayed at Sunset Shores, we could come back after spending the day exploring or swimming, leave the car and walk along the beach to get something to eat or drink. There is a stretch along the waterfront with several bars and restaurants that becomes much livelier at night. There is a nice restaurant here called French Verandah that serve the best lobster and escargot. That is something you don’t get everywhere in St. Vincent.
Villa also works if you want some beach time without giving up easy access to the rest of the island. You’re still close enough to Arnos Vale and Kingstown, and you can easily use this area as a base for day trips farther north.
My accommodation choice in Villa would again be Sunset Shores Beach Hotel.
For most first-time travelers, I think the combination of beach access, restaurants, nightlife and a convenient location for exploring makes Villa one of the easiest places to stay on mainland St. Vincent.
Kingstown – Best for Ferries and a More Local Stay
I’d say that Kingstown is completely different experience from Villa. There are not many nice hotels here. If I’m staying here I would just rent an Airbnb and I’d only stay here for convenince.
This is the capital, so you’re closer to shops, local restaurants, markets and transportation. More importantly for travelers, staying around Kingstown puts you close to the ferry connections used to travel from St. Vincent into the Grenadines.
That can make a big difference if you’re planning on going to Bequia or continuing farther down the island chain.
It also feels much more local than staying in Villa. Kingstown is busy during the day, and this is one of the places where you’re experiencing everyday life in St. Vincent rather than being surrounded mainly by hotels.
For somewhere to stay, I would look at Royal Bliss Apartment Suites.
Royal Bliss isn’t directly in the middle of downtown. It’s up around Lodge Village and Green Hill, which I actually think is better if you want to be near Kingstown without sleeping right in the busiest part of the city. The apartments overlook Kingstown and the surrounding coastline, so you get some really nice views from higher up.
The property is less than a mile from the capital and says the cruise and ferry terminal is around a ten-minute drive away, with attractions such as the Botanical Gardens and Fort Charlotte also nearby.
It also gives you a full kitchen and much more living space than a normal hotel room, which makes it useful for longer stays.
I would choose Kingstown if ferry access, sightseeing around the capital or being closer to everyday life in St. Vincent matters more to you than having a beach outside your hotel.
