Hyatt Regency Trinidad

Trinidad runs on energy, commerce and Carnival rather than beach tourism, and the Hyatt Regency is built for exactly that mix. Rising on the Port of Spain waterfront beside the international financial centre, it is the country's default address for business travellers, conferences and visiting performers, with the largest hotel meeting facilities in the southern Caribbean and a lobby that hums with deal-making during the week.

Rooms are crisp and contemporary, many looking across the Gulf of Paria towards Venezuela's distant mountains—sunsets over the gulf are a genuine spectacle—and the rooftop infinity pool and deck give the hotel its signature image, water appearing to spill towards the sea. The spa and gym are the city's best in class, and the waterfront promenade below suits morning runs.

The restaurant's Trinidadian and international menus are reliable, though the city's real eating—doubles at breakfast, roti shops, the Ariapita Avenue lime—waits beyond the doors, and staff point guests well. During Carnival season the hotel becomes a headquarters for the festival's machinery and books out far ahead. Tobago's beaches are a twenty-minute flight, the Caroni Swamp's scarlet ibis and the Northern Range's birding an easy drive. As a polished base for the Caribbean's most vibrant city, it stands alone.