In the annual “World’s Best Awards” awards for 2024, Travel + Leisure readers named Secret Bay the #1 resort in the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas for its prime location and natural beauty.
Travel + Leisure names Secret Bay as one of the top new Caribbean hotels, effortlessly merging beachfront enclaves with sustainability creating completely immersive experiences.
Secret Bay has once again been recognized as a Top 25 Small & Boutique Hotel in the Caribbean in Tripadvisor’s 2024 Travelers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best, placing us among the top 1% of hotels worldwide. This accolade celebrates Secret Bay’s dedication to offering unparalleled six-star amenities and experiences.
The World Travel Awards, often described as the “Oscars” of the travel industry, has once again recognized Secret Bay as “Dominica’s Leading Hotel 2023”. This accolade marks the fifth consecutive year that Secret Bay has stood out as a beacon of luxury and unparalleled hospitality in Dominica.
Secret Bay has been named Travel and Leisure’s #1 Resort Hotel in the Caribbean, Bermuda and the Bahamas for 2023. This is the third time in four years the six-star all-villa resort topped the ‘World’s Best Awards’ readers’ survey for the region.
TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel website, ranks Secret Bay as the #9 Luxury Hotel in the Caribbean in their acclaimed Travelers’ Choice “Best of the Best” Awards for 2023. The recognition lands Secret Bay amongst the top 1 percent of hotels worldwide via reviews and ratings from travelers across the globe.
The Caribbean Journal names Secret Bay as one of the top Caribbean hotels in its 2023 Cool List, which highlights hotels that have that “it” factor guests are looking for when staying at unique properties around the world.
Secret Bay has been named a winner of the Caribbean Journal’s Traveler’s Choice Awards for 2022, highlighting Secret Bay as the top boutique hotel in the Caribbean.
Secret Bay has been named Conde Nast Traveler’s #13 Resort Hotel in the Caribbean, in the 2022 Reader’s Choice Awards. This is the seventh time the six-star all-villa resort topped the ‘World’s Best Awards’ readers’ survey for the region.
Secret Bay has been named Travel and Leisure’s #1 Resort Hotel in the Caribbean, Bermuda and the Bahamas for 2022. This is the second time in three years the six-star all-villa resort topped the ‘World’s Best Awards’ readers’ survey for the region.
The Caribbean Journal ranks Secret Bay as Hotel of the Year in their 2022 Caribbean Hotel Sustainability Awards which highlights properties at the forefront of the sustainability movement in Caribbean hospitality.
Renowned travel guide Fodor’s included Secret Bay in their annual list of the “101 Most Incredible Hotels in the World” as one of the best Caribbean hotels for 2022. The article highlights Secret Bay’s unique clifftop design elements and luxe amenities that make each sustainability-built treehouse one of a kind.
Secret Bay was recognized as a top 40 Caribbean Resort and highest ranked Eastern Caribbean resort in the renowned Condé Nast Traveler “2021 Readers’ Choice Awards” for the sixth year in a row. The prestigious award, which highlights top-rated establishments worldwide, placed Secret Bay in the 6th spot in the Caribbean category.
Travel + Leisure ranks Secret Bay as #10 in the Top 25 Resort Hotels in the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas for 2021, prioritizing Secret Bay’s private, boutique qualities and spacious stand alone villas.
Renowned publication Travel + Leisure included Secret Bay in their iconic ‘T+L 500,’ ‘an illustrious list that recognizes the 500 best properties in the world,’ as chosen in a survey from their readership.
Our team is thrilled to share that Secret Bay has won the preeminent “Wow Pick of the Year” in the Kiwi Collection’s 2021 Hotel Awards. Each year, the renowned brand hand picks a curated collection of the world’s best hotels and resorts — each of which treats travel as a well-considered compilation of inspired experiences — and all of us at Secret Bay are ecstatic to see our six-star resort earn such limelight on their 2021 list.
Secret Bay has been ranked #11 “Top Resort in the Caribbean” by the renowned Condé Nast Traveler
2020 Readers’ Choice Awards. The Readers’ Choice Awards are the longest-running and most prestigious recognition of excellence in the travel industry and are commonly known as “the best of the best of travel.”
TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel website, ranks Secret Bay as the #5 Luxury Hotel and #9 Small Hotel in the Caribbean in their acclaimed Travelers’ Choice “Best of the Best” Awards for 2020 — the highest form of recognition awarded to the top 1 percent of hotels worldwide via reviews and ratings from travelers across the globe.
Renowned travel publication Travel + Leisure ranks Secret Bay as the #1 Resort Hotel in the Caribbean, Bermuda and the Bahamas in the 2020 World’s Best Awards — the highest distinction of its kind.
Travel + Leisure ranks Secret Bay as the #6 Hotel in the World on the “Top 100” list for 2020, detailing discerning readers’ top picks around the globe that span six continents.
Secret Bay has been named “Dominica’s Leading Hotel 2020” by the prestigious World Travel Awards, marking the ultra-luxury, all-villa resort’s second recognition in a row.
Caribbean Journal, the go-to publication for all things Caribbean and travel, spotlighted Secret Bay as the “Boutique Luxury Hotel of the Year” in their second annual edition of the Caribbean Boutique Hotel Awards. Celebrating “the jewels of the Caribbean hotel industry,” The Caribbean Boutique Hotel Awards select the best boutique hotels across 12 different categories.
Secret Bay has been included as a top 50 resort in the Caribbean by Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards. The Readers’ Choice Awards are the longest-running and most prestigious recognition of excellence in the travel industry.
TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel website, awarded Secret Bay with a 2019 Travelers’ Choice Award for the sixth consecutive year, which is the highest honor TripAdvisor can bestow. Ranked #15 amongst the “Top 25 Small Hotels in the Caribbean,” Secret Bay has been recognized amongst the top 1 percent of hotels worldwide, all by virtue of positive reviews from over 500 travellers.
Secret Bay has earned a top 10 spot in Travel + Leisure’s ‘World’s Best Awards 2019,’ moving up three spots on the highly coveted list from #11 in 2016 to #8 among 25 breathtaking locales throughout the Caribbean.
Fodor’s, an acclaimed travel guide that provides expert content on global destinations, has spotlighted Secret Bay amongst its annual list of the “100 Most Incredible Hotels in the World” as one of the best Caribbean hotels for 2019. The article highlights owner Gregor Nassief’s childhood dream that has been brought to complete fruition with Secret Bay, where six sustainably-built villas set a new, refined paradigm for Caribbean eco-retreats.
Secret Bay has been ranked #4 “Top Resort in the Caribbean” by Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards. The Readers’ Choice Awards are the longest-running and most prestigious recognition of excellence in the travel industry and are commonly known as “the best of the best of travel.”
TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel website, awarded Secret Bay with a 2018 Travelers’ Choice Award for the fifth consecutive year, which is the highest honor TripAdvisor can bestow. Ranked #5 amongst the “Top 25 Small Hotels in the Caribbean,” Secret Bay has been recognized amongst the top 1 percent of hotels worldwide, all by virtue of positive reviews from over 500 travellers.
The Americas Property Awards—a subset of the International Property Awards—celebrates the highest levels of achievement amongst companies operating in all sectors of the property and real estate industry worldwide. And, in 2017, The Residences at Secret Bay earned the title as the best Mixed-Use Development in Dominica for its sustainable and innovative design.
By virtue of Secret Bay’s recognition in the Americas category, the boutique hotel was entered into the International Property Awards. The Residences at Secret Bay received this world-renowned mark of excellence as the best Mixed-Use Development in all of the Caribbean.
Secret Bay has been named amongst the “Top Resorts in the Caribbean” by Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards. The Readers’ Choice Awards are the longest-running and most prestigious recognition of excellence in the travel industry and are commonly known as “the best of the best of travel.”
Secret Bay has been recognized amongst North America’s “Most Romantic Hotels” in the 2018 Tablet Hotel Awards, where romance is afforded by both structure and nature: “The indoor-outdoor design, heavy on treehouse chic, puts you directly in touch with the grand vegetation and ocean vistas.”
Secret Bay has been ranked #1 in the 2017 World Luxury Hotel Awards, a renowned global organization that provides luxury hotels with recognition for their world class facilities and service excellence, with the Annual Gala Awards Ceremony held in Switzerland in December 2017.
Flight Network is comprised of a highly-regarded team of travel experts and judges who search far and wide to discover the world’s most prodigious hotels and resorts to accommodate the diverse preferences of every traveler. Secret Bay made Flight Network’s esteemed list of “The World’s 100 Greatest Hotels” as #2 in the “Boutique Hotel” category, one of the most coveted in the industry.
Secret Bay received two Tripadvisor 2017 Travelers’ Choice Awards. These awards are the highest honor Tripadvisor gives and Secret Bay has been named to this list for four consecutive years. Based upon reviews and opinions from nearly 500 travelers since opening our doors just five years ago, we have been voted into the top 1 percent of hotels worldwide with the following distinctions:
- Top 25 Small Hotels – Caribbean
- Top 25 Hotels for Romance – Caribbean
Secret Bay has been awarded the distinction of World’s Best Boutique Hotel 2016 by the Boutique Hotel Awards. The Boutique Hotel Awards is the only organisation exclusively dedicated to recognising unique excellence among boutique hotels. Nominations come from across the globe for categories like World’s Best City Hotel and World’s Best Culinary Hotel. Secret Bay received the highest distinction of World’s Best Boutique Hotel 2016.
Secret Bay has been awarded the distinction of Best Honeymoon Hideaway in the Americas for the year 2016 by the Boutique Hotel Awards. Nominations come from all over the Americas for this distinction and, as a hotel that offers designated honeymoon villas, honeymoon packages and unique couples experiences, we are honored and excited to be recognized as the premier honeymoon destination.
Secret Bay was voted #3 in Caribbean Journal’s Best Boutique Hotel in the Caribbean: Readers’ Choice Awards 2016. Thousands of readers cast their vote out of Caribbean Journal’s 50 favorite small hotels.
Secret Bay has been named amongst the best Caribbean Island hotels by Conde Nast Traveler‘s Readers’ Choice Awards. The Readers’ Choice Awards are the longest-running and most prestigious recognition of excellence in the travel industry and are commonly known as “the best of the best of travel.”
We are excited to announce that Secret Bay has shortlisted for the Hotel Suite Award in The International Hotel and Property Awards 2016. Secret Bay’s luxury tree-houses “integrate the natural landscape to the extent that trees were allowed to grow through balconies and decks.”
We are pleased to announce that Secret Bay has been nominated and first runner up for the Hotel Suite – Americas and Caribbean in The International Hotel and Property Awards 2016.
Our eco-luxury resort provides an escape from the everyday hustle and bustle. Here you will find yourself immersed in nature while staying in luxury treetop villas with the highest personlised service and breath taking views. Creating a “home-away-from-home experience.”
“Spread out over four acres of undulating land on rugged cliffs with spectacular views of the Caribbean Sea, the brief given to renowned Venezuelan architect Fruto Vivas was to create four individual villas set into an enhanced natural landscape, offering individual privacy to each one.”
Secret Bay was rated number 11 on Travel + Leisure’s Best Resorts to travel to in the Caribbean, Bermuda, and Bahamas. “Whether you’re an adventurer looking to scuba dive and snorkel, a sybarite looking to just lie on the beach with a rum punch, or a parent looking for a family-friendly escape, there’s somewhere on this list for everyone who wants to experience the Caribbean.”
For the second year running we’ve been selected in the top 25 romantic hotels in the Caribbean.We particularly liked the succinct review that TripAdvisor chose to promote our listing, quoting a former guest who simply wrote of their stay here in our Caribbean villas: “Perfection…look no further!“
We’ve been voted the #3 Small Hotel in the Caribbean by users of TripAdvisor for 2016. The website highlighted users’ comments that we were “Welcoming, Relaxing, & Breathtaking” and “Naturally Dazzling, Incredible Service, Lovely Honeymoon.”
We were number #1 on Caribbean Journal’s Cool list of hotels across the whole of the Caribbean for 2016. The Journal was looking for “places that ooze character, personality and, well, cool” and it chose to feature us first, using an image from Secret Bay to illustrate the entire list.
Caribbean Journal kicked off 2016 with a feature on “our favorite destinations in the Caribbean for 2016.” The article looked at a selection of “well-known destinations and up-and-coming getaways, hip hideaways and must-visit hotels.” And it described Secret Bay as “one of the Caribbean’s pre-eminent hotels”, adding that we were “not really like any other in the Caribbean.”
Caribbean Journal has declared Secret Bay the Best Small Hotel in the Caribbean. “With an emphasis on some of the region’s most modern hotel design, mixed with authentic, kind service, Secret Bay has become one of the region’s sought-after hideaways, a place equally adventurous and relaxing.”
Secret Bay been declared Best Green Hotel 2016 in the Caribbean & Pacific by Condé Nast Johansens, who said we are “a honeymoon favourite, adventure playground and luxury getaway with a difference. Secret Bay is sustainable through-and-through, designed to minimise any impact on the unspoilt surrounding environment.”
Vacation Idea selected us as one of its 25 secluded, romantic getaways around the world. They loved our clifftop rooms, which they said “give you a birds eye view of this incredible destination.”
Secret Bay is the first hotel ever in Dominica to have been named on the prestigious Travel + Leisure It List. Out of the 3,000 new hotels worldwide that opened in 2011 the reputed list recognises just 50 of the most inspiring new properties “that stand out because of their destination changing power” and Secret Bay is one of only three that were chosen from the Caribbean. In the very opening paragraph of the Travel + Leisure It List 2012 report online Secret Bay is described as “a stylish newcomer on the Caribbean island of Dominica” with particular reference to the “above-and-beyond service”. #12 on the list, the feature goes on to say that Secret Bay “gives Dominica an infusion of luxury and style” and describing the accommodations it says “Cantilevered like tree houses, the four villas are smartly designed, and spacious kitchens are stocked with everything from house-made yogurt to watermelon sorbet.”
Secret Bay was one of three finalists from around the world in Jetsetter’s annual Best of the Best awards. Along with Anantara Al Yamm Villas in the United Arab Emirates and Soneva Kiri in Thailand we were chosen as the Best Far Flung Escapes. To create it’s 2015 Best of the Best List, Jetsetter engaged over 200 travel correspondents globally, then compiled their suggestions along with the Jetsetter team’s.
Secret Bay has been selected as one of the Hottest Honeymoon Destinations in the World in wedding planning magazine’s The Knot’s annual list. Featuring the Dominica luxury ecolodge in its selection of the 50 best places for a honeymoon, the magazine praised Secret Bay, with its six clifftop private villas, saying it is ‘as dreamy as it sounds’.
Secret Bay and Dominica were chosen as one of the top 10 places to go for an Adventurous Honeymoon. The Knot recommended hiking the Waitakbuli Trail, exploring the rainforest that covers a third of the island, and then relaxing in one of the many natural hot pools found all over Dominica.
We won Tripadvisor 2015 Traveler’s Choice Awards in four categories – Luxury, Small Hotels, Best Service and Romance, coming in the top 10 in the Caribbean for each category. We were ranked #2 in the Top 25 Luxury Hotels in the Caribbean; #4 in the Top 25 Small Hotels in the Caribbean; #7 in the Top 25 Hotels for Service in the Caribbean; and #9 in the Top 25 Hotels for Romance in the Caribbean. As these awards are only won by the hotels with the most positive reviews from travellers, we take them very seriously.
Secret Bay was one of just two hotels in the Caribbean to be given a Grand Award for 2015 by elite travel reviewer Andrew Harper. The awards said Secret Bay is ‘the first truly upscale property’ in Dominica, that the ‘architecture is breathtaking’, and that our ‘food was delicious, among the best we have had in the Caribbean’. Awarding us a total of 92 points out of 100, Harper said they particularly liked ‘the sense of being in a world of your own’.
We were the only hotel in the Caribbean to be selected as among the 10 best hotels in the world award, in the 2014 Smith Awards from boutique hotel guide Mr & Mrs Smith. More than 20,000 members of the hotel-loving public voted for their favourite stays throughout September, after which shortlists were put to a panel of three specialist judges in each category. They called us ‘an unspoilt island secret that’s almost too good to share”.
In their 2014 pick of the top 10 sexiest hotels in the Caribbean, Caribbean Journal featured us second. They described us as “One of the sleekest places in the region”, describing the experience we offer as ‘all about privacy and finding oneness with the natural environment’.
We were featured first in Carib Journal’s latest pick of the top 25 honeymoon hotels in the Caribbean. They said we were “Luxurious, romantic and enchanting, it’s simply the perfect place for a honeymoon escape”.
TripAdvisor’s users have voted us 5th best hotel in the Caribbean for Exceptional Service in TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Awards. With 203 of our 214 reviews giving us top marks we are confident we are doing something right, but to have the people who know us best vote this award for us is a very special feeling.
Caribbean Journal selected Secret Bay as on of the Top 25 Boutique Hotels in the Caribbean. “When it debuted in 2011, this property on a stunning cliffside near Portsmouth redefined what a small Caribbean hotel could be. Sustainable, modern and breathtakingly well designed, Secret Bay is a boutique hotel, a set of villas and a resort all in one.” – Caribbean Journal, March 26, 2014.
Luxury Travel Experts Announce 14 Must-See Destinations for 2014. The Robb Report Luxury Newswire is a curated feed of news releases about the latest luxury products and services. Element Lifestyle, a luxury concierge firm based in Hollywood, California, identified Dominica and Secret Bay as one of 2014’s essential travel destinations spanning the globe.
CNN & Departures Magazine selected Secret Bay and Dominica as one of the world’s 7 Secret Island Getaways where one can “lose the crowds” and “leave only footprints in the sand”. The articles describes Dominica as a “jungle-covered island much of which is a protected nature preserve and which attracts mostly in-the-know ecotravelers”. Secret Bay is “Set on a clifftop on the island’s northwestern coast between two equally dazzling swimming beaches. (One has a hidden cave.) Guests stay in one of six villas, all built of Guyanese wood with floor-to-ceiling windows and outdoor showers. Activities include guided nature hikes, kayak expeditions and yoga in an open-air pavilion.”
Secret Bay is the #3 Small Hotel in the Caribbean According to Trip Advisor’s Traveler’s Choice 2014 Awards. As one guest put it, “Secret Bay offers a great combination of the warmth of a country inn, the facilities of a hotel and the freedom of a private villa–in a great seaside and forest location, to boot!
Secret Bay is the #2 Hotel for Romance in the Caribbean According to Trip Advisor’s Traveler’s Choice 2014 awards. As one review says, “My husband and I just celebrated our 10 year anniversary at Secret Bay, and it was absolute perfection in every conceivable way. If you are looking for a TRULY relaxing vacation, a flawlessly operated, maintained, and designed hideaway that caters to your every wish, the freshest, most mouth-watering food, and unparalleled, unspoiled beauty, with just the perfect amount of invigorating, rejuvenating adventure mixed in, then Secret Bay is waiting for you!”
Boutique hotel collection Mr & Mrs Smith celebrated their 10th anniversary with a party in London’s hip Shoreditch area, where they announced the winners of their inaugural awards in which 900 hotels competed for some 47,000 votes. Secret Bay’s Zabuco Honeymoon Villa was voted the third sexiest bedroom in the world, with first and second place going to luxurious urban hotel suites in London and Venice. Secret Bay was very honoured to be in such company, especially as it also means Mr & Mrs Smith rated Zabuco not only the sexiest bedroom by the beach in the world, but also sexier than any other bedroom in all the Americas. “Less is more in this case: the private setting, stripped down furnishings, in-suite culinary services and serene energy makes Secret Bay the perfect romantic getaway…”
Secret Bay is the #1 Luxury Resort in the Caribbean according to the Editors of Islands November 2013 issue. The article states “Options abound here at Secret Bay — from fish steamed in coconut milk with root vegetables and a summer salad for dinner to made-just-for-me dessert to homemade gelato in the freezer. Hard to believe I’m in a treehouse. Before leaving to concoct my feast, my attendant Maggie goes over tomorrow’s itinerary: a private beach yoga session, a massage, then a boat tour of the Pirates of the Caribbean shooting locale.”
Secret Bay Top’s Caribbean Journal’s Cool List – the Caribbean’s 10 Coolest Hotels for 2013. “Many boutique properties offer the promise of removal, of a break from reality. Secret Bay delivers.”
Secret Bay is selected as one of the 10 best in the world in the Resorts category in Harper’s Bazaar Travel Hot 100 List 2013. “With its six private villas and discreet service 24/7… Secret Bay is built into the top of a cliff with spectacular views. A hideaway stocked with Kindles, sound systems and personal chefs…”
Secret Bay is the #1 Small Hotel in the Caribbean According to TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice 2013 awards. Secret Bay was also ranked #3 in Service for all Hotels in The Caribbean. As one guest put it, Secret Bay is “The perfect spot to relax, unwind and spend a special vacation with someone you love! Every attention has been given to aesthetics, comfort and modern conveniences. They make you feel special and pampered.”
Secret Bay selected by The Knot as one of the Top 50 Honeymoon Destinations in the world and one of the Top 10 Adventure Honeymoon Destinations in the world in 2012. “The 180-degree views over mountain peaks and the sea from the Zabuco Honeymoon Villa at eco-luxe resort Secret Bay will make you feel like you’re floating.”
