The king of the Bajan resorts is Sandy Lane, arranged around its famous hotel, which is adored by bon viveur Michael Winner. Many of the villas are available for holiday rental, but some are for sale, including the ranch-style Casa Felicidad, with its big pool, five bedrooms, separate two-bedroom guest apartment and a beach cabana five minutes away, for £1.2m. Sundial House is a Palladian-style villa with a grand hall (30ft by 30ft) and butler and maid’s rooms for £1.4m, through Hamptons. Such grandiose schemes may have had their day. “I don’t think the government would allow another development as big as Royal Westmoreland or Sugar Hill,” says Richard Farmer, a local businessman. There is an awareness that over-development could destroy the things that make Barbados so popular. “They do not want it to become like Hawaii or Florida. So no high-rises, but careful building controls.”

Another smaller, coastal development is at Mullins Bay, where the first phase of three-bedroom, three-bathroom town houses has been finished and mostly sold. A second phase of colonial-style detached houses with a double-storey main room, three bedrooms and bathrooms and a swimming pool, is being built. Two are on the market at £960,000 through Hamptons. David Lloyd and his associates are buying the Mullins Bay development to give Sugar Hill residents the attraction of a beach club. It will be renamed Sugar Beach.

Although there are many estate agents vying for business, the market is buoyant. “We had a horrible three weeks after September 11 last year,” says Melanie King, director of Alleyne Aguilar & Altman. “For three weeks the phone didn’t ring and we wondered if we could stay in business. Now we are busier than ever.”

Permitted building styles on the island are fairly conservative, often reflecting local vernacular, a fusion of Georgian and Victorian English with Caribbean, without the extravagant French and Spanish flourishes found in other parts of the West Indies. Old buildings are often built from the durable coral from which the island is formed. Square-towered parish churches built in smooth-face coral stone dot the landscape, which resembles an English shire. Sugar-plantation workers often lived in charming little wooden cabins raised on blocks, with delicate fretwork and verandas. They were known as chattel houses because they were easy to dismantle and rebuild elsewhere. A small, recent development evoking chattel-house architecture is Porters Court, with eight two-bedroom villas grouped around a pool. Residents have full access to waterfront facilities at the nearby Royal Pavilion hotel. One unit is left, at £273,000, through Hamptons.

Sandcastle 2 is for sale for £1.19m furnished or £1.12m unfurnished, through Knight Frank, 020 7629 8171, or Alleyne Aguilar & Altman, 001 246 432 0840, also agent for Sugar Hill; properties at Royal Westmoreland, Sandy Lane, Mullins Bay and Porters Court are for sale through Hamptons International, 001 246 422 5550 or

Why Barbados?

With a balmy climate and a prosperous economy, Barbados has attracted everybody from politicians such as Anthony Eden (who retired here) to pop stars such as Mick Jagger

Barbados’s reputation as a bolthole for the rich and famous has ensured strong returns on property investment

They drive on the left and love cricket — no wonder British celebs feel at home here. And Concorde flies direct

Beach retreats

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