The island of St Barts has been named the most expensive destination in the Caribbean for accommodation, according to a new survey by TravelMag.com.
The French-speaking island, whose full name is St Barthélemy, took the number one spot for its lodging costs during February – a month that is considered high season across the Caribbean.
A total of 30 Caribbean islands were included in the survey, which analysed the average cost of the cheapest available double room in hotels and resorts with at least a 3-star rating.
To stay overnight in St Barts’ least expensive double room, a guest can expect to spend an average of $324 this February. Second in the survey was Anguilla, with an average overnight rate of $285.
Another former French colony, Saint Martin, takes the third slot in the survey with an average cost of $261 per night, while Providenciales (Turks and Caicos Islands) comes in fourth with a price of $247 per night.
At the other end of the scale, the cheapest Caribbean destination for accommodation this February is Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, which averages just $43 for a nightly stay.
Joining it in the affordability stakes are Punta Cana, St Vincent and Curacao, with all three destinations averaging substantially under $100 per night this February.
The table below compares 30 destinations in the Caribbean based on the average rate for the cheapest available double room (minimum 3-star hotel) during the time period 1 – 29 February 2016.
1. St Barts $324
2. Anguilla $285
3. Saint Martin $261
4. Providenciales (Turks and Caicos Islands) $247
5. Grand Cayman (Cayman Islands) $212
6. Nevis (St Kitts and Nevis) $203
7. Le Gosier (Guadeloupe) $192
8. Nassau (Bahamas) $185
9. Antigua (Antigua and Barbuda) $184
9. Georgetown (Bahamas) $184
11. St Thomas (US Virgin Islands) $176
11. Vadadero (Cuba) $176
13. St Maarten $174
14. Tortola (British Virgin Islands) $153
15. Port of Spain, Trinidad (Trinidad and Tobago) $146
16. Dominica $142
17. Aruba $138
18. Ocho Rios (Jamaica) $137
19. San Juan (Puerto Rico) $131
20. Havana (Cuba) $128
21. Fort-de-France (Martinique) $127
22. Grenada $127
23. St Lucia (Gros Islet) $126
24. Tobago (Trinidad and Tobago) $117
25. Montego Bay (Jamaica) $107
26. Bonaire $98
27. Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) $87
28. St Vincent (St Vincent and the Grenadines) $84
29. Willemstad (Curacao) $72
30. Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) $43
The above rates are based on research conducted across various leading hotel booking websites across the period 13 – 15 January 2016,