This first-rate Grace Bay resort has set the standard for excellence since it opened in 2005. The lively beach side has a serpentine infinity pool and the newly renovated Plunge Bar, a fizzy gathering spot both night and day. The resort's eastern flank, just off the elegant open-air lobby, is the mirror opposite: Palm Place, a courtyard of small shops laced in an arbor of bougainvillea vines, is anchored by the Mansion, a literal homage to the Caribbean villas designed by British stage designer Oliver Messel in the 1950s. The Mansion is home to the resort's signature restaurant, Parallel23, where a half-moon stone terrace overlooks the courtyard's flamboyant trees, which blossom in the summer in a spray of burnt-orange. The complimentary breakfast is now served in the shaded garden courtyard behind the mansion, a full-board repast of housemade breads and pastries, fresh fruits and juices, meats, and custom-made omelets. Rooms at the Palms are among the most sylish in Provo, with marble floors, Viking fridges, deep terraces, floor-to-ceiling windows, and commodious bathrooms with Jacuzzi tubs and open showers (many suites have full kitchens). The Palms also has one of the top spas in the Caribbean in the Spa; treatment rooms are in tented cabanas lining an outdoor reflecting pool.