Island in the sun

So it was with a slight sense of absurdity that the first thing we saw as we walked through the airport at Bridgetown was a very large illuminated Christmas tree!

One reason that a sunshine holiday at the beginning of November is so appealing is that it enables you to was to escape the commercialism of our Christmas, which seems to start earlier and earlier each year.

So to find Barbados climbing on the festive bandwagon was quite disappointing!

But, hey, that was but a minor blip. Barbados is a dream destination - we had arrived at the tail-end of the rainy season, and apparently the weather throughout October had stayed true to form, with plenty of precipitation.

We flew in on November 3 in 80-odd degrees of heat, and that's how it stayed for the duration of our holiday. The odd cloud, one or two sprinklings of rain - apart from that, sunshine all the way!

But Barbados is also an isle of surprises. Yes, there's the impossibly blue seas and endless white beaches of the adverts, but it offers so much more . . . historical interest, a surprisingly varied landscape and shoreline, good shopping, great food (try the national favourite, flying fish), friendly folk and, of course, cricket and rum - though not necessarily in that order!

Cricket is, indeed, a religion in Barbados. There's the spanking new stadium in Bridgetown, built for last year's Cricket World Cup, but there are numerous village cricket grounds - not scrubby affairs, but well-kept greens, with the players in their whites.

The colour comes from the locals, lounging shoeless on benches swigging their beer - all very laidback and good-humoured. And there's always a rum shop closeby for post-match congratulations and commiserations. In fact, there are 1,600 rum shops on Barbados, where the menfolk while away many an hour drinking and playing dominoes. We learned very swiftly that the island runs on Barbados time' - in their own sweet time. What's to rush for anyway?!

We were staying at the newly revamped Treasure Beach Hotel on Paynes Bay, one of the island's best beaches lined with exclusive hotels, and just a short stroll along the sand from the celebs' favourite hangout - Sandy Lane. We did walk up there one day to the heavily security-guarded enclave of the rich and famous, but from the beach there was little to see - I certainly didn't spy the Beckhams, anyway!

Treasure Beach is described glowingly in its publicity material, as a little gem, a well-kept secret'. Well, I can't vouch for it being a well-kept secret, but I can confirm it is most definitely a little gem.

Our breath was fair taken away by our first-floor suite with private terrace and plunge pool, just feet from the shimmering blue waves breaking gently on the white sandy beach. It was perfect to sit on the terrace and watch the sunset each evening, pure magic.

There are just 35 rooms in the hotel, all ranged over two floors in a horseshoe shape around the small but perfect pool. The ambience is cosy and intimate, all helped along by the genial and ever-present host Hamish Watson - the most hands-on general manager you are ever likely to meet. He is something of a legend among Caribbean hoteliers, and highly respected. Hamish was there (or seemed to be) morning, noon and night, socialising with his guests at every opportunity, including his weekly cocktail party.

While not banned (the hotel will take over-12s), Treasure Beach is hardly a child's haven. The low-key feel - apart from dining al fresco in the newly revamped restaurant and taking a drink in the bar there is little to do of an evening - would bore most children to distraction. This was a positive bonus for us, having been there and done it' on the family holiday front. An entire week lounging peacefully in the shade of the huge mahogany tree alongside the beach, snorkelling the reef just metres from the shore, dining on delicious freshly-caught seafood or just reading quietly on our terrace, was my idea of perfection.

There are many large and luxurious hotels and resorts on the glamorous west (Caribbean) coast of Barbados. The charm of Treasure Beach lies in its intimacy and sophisticated simplicity. Money has been sunk into improving the hotel in the past year, with the addition of three new deluxe suites - we stayed in one of them, the Hummingbird suite. As well as a swish lounge with kitchenette and the all-essential (for the British) kettle, there was a massive bathroom with huge walk-in shower and equally huge bath (with lovely toiletries from the British brand Temple Spa), and a beamed bedroom. With ceiling fans and cool, contemporary decor and furnishings, it was a cool retreat from the heat.

I'm pleased to say, however, that with wall-to-wall sunshine, we spent very little time in our suite. The very obliging Barbados Tourist Board (BTA) organised a fairly hectic schedule (well it was for us, who generally spend overseas holidays doing nothing much more strenuous than rubbing in suntan lotion and lifting a cocktail) to give us a taste of the real Barbados.

However, day one revealed that Barbadians (also known as Bajans) are maybe too laidback for British sentiments, when our guide from the BTA forgot all about the island tour she had scheduled for us. Duly ready and waiting at 9am, we waited around for nearly an hour before the hotel resorted to hiring a local taxi to drive us round.

The driver chatted amiably, filling us in with snippets of information and gossip throughout the day. We began by driving through the central part of the island, through acres of sugar cane plantations and past the curious ramshackle chattel houses'. Apparently, in the dim dark days of the slave trade, slaves lived in these collapsible shacks. Loosen a few bolts and boards and they become flatpack homes - ready to move onto the next plantation and job.

We reached the east (Atlantic) coast of the island, where, at Bathsheba, strange mushroom-like rock formations jut out of the sea and huge rollers crash onto the shore. We saw many surfers riding the waves in the Soup Bowl - and it was in complete contrast to the flat blue perfection of the Caribbean.

Driving along, our driver stopped to buy us a bag of black sea grapes, plucked from bushes along the shore. They seemed to have very large stones and little flesh, but are popular with the locals.

The taxi then climbed steeply up Cherry Tree Hill, stopping at the top for us to take in the breathtaking view of the Scotland district. Barbadians say it resembles Scotland, but I couldn't see it myself. It was probably something to do with the blazing sunshine! We met park warden Charles Sobers, a cousin of cricket legend Sir Garfield, and it made us realise that, with a population of just 250,000, everyone in Barbados knows or is related to just about everybody else!

Nearby was St Nicholas Abbey, one of only three genuine Jacobean mansions in the Western Hemisphere. The Barbados National Trust actively supports and preserves the island's historic buildings, including beautiful plantation houses and churches.

We also popped into Orchid World, and strolled around the gardens where the vividly beautiful flowers thrive. Interestingly, orchids are air plants, and are grown on frames with their roots exposed.

In the evening we enjoyed dinner alongside the ocean at the fabulous Tides restaurant. It was an impossibly romantic setting, and the food and service were equally stunning - definitely a not-to-be-missed experience.

You are positively spoiled for restaurants in Barbados, and many of them are but a stone's throw from Treasure Beach - a word of budgetary caution, however, eating out can be expensive! An average for two people for starter, main course and bottle of wine was around £25-£30 per head.

We also ate at Daphne's, an upmarket Italian a couple of hundred yards up the beach at Paynes Bay, and at the breathtaking The Cliff - Barbados's number one restaurant. Reflecting its name it does, indeed, cling to the cliffside overlooking its own perfect floodlit cove. Lit by huge torches, it has a sexy, mysterious feel. However, it does cost an arm and a leg, and we weren't totally bowled over by either food or service - it was worth every penny, though, for the location.

We did spend three days of our precious seven lounging around sunbathing, reading and swimming, but the BTA were keen for us to get a real flavour of the island and had booked us in for the island safari tour which, though I viewed it with trepidation, turned out to be tremendous fun.

Hanging on for dear life in the back of a Landrover with eight others, we bumped and lurched our way across mud and rocks, getting to see the places that only a four wheel-drive vehicle can access. We saw waves crashing onto magnificent rock formations, the highest cliff on the island where Jim Hackleton, devastated by unrequited love, killed himself and his horse by riding off the edge, we drove through jungle and sugar cane. We ended up splashed with mud, and worn out, but we all had such a good time - helped along by frequent stops for rum punch!

Our last day was spent on a luxury catamaran, sailing the west coast and being plied with limitless cocktails, and delicious local food. We swam with turtles, snorkelled and had a fabulous time.

Of course, we didn't want to leave Barbados (incidentally, the way the locals say it sounds like Barbay-dose), but leave we had to. We flew back in comfort with ever-reliable Virgin Atlantic, vowing to return just as soon as we can afford it!

Treasure Beach Hotel, Paynes Bay, Barbados (00 1 246 432 1346; www.treasurebeachhotel.com) Elegant Resorts (01244 897 516; www.elegantresorts.co.uk) offer packages to Treasure Beach Hotel in Barbados, from £1,020 per person including seven nights accommodation in a garden view suite based on two sharing. Price includes return flights from London Gatwick with British Airways and private car transfers to and from the hotel.

Barbados Tourism Authority (020 7636 9448; www.visitbarbados.org) For information on Barbados: www.definitivecaribbean.com Virgin Atlantic fly direct from London to Barbados daily. Fares start from £589, inclusive of taxes, and can be booked at www.virginatlantic.com or by calling reservations on 08705 747 747