The Colony Club, Barbados

One of Barbados' most lavish resorts, The Colony Club gets full marks for service, food and pontoon standards on a fabulous, five-star holiday

Growing up, I spent holidays camping next to the Dordogne in France where days were spent eating ice cream and attempting to drown my little brother and sister. There, the pontoon in the middle of the river was fashioned from plastic barrels and planks of wood - evenings were spent plucking the splinters from your behind.

It pretty much says everything you need to know about The Colony Club in Barbados that its two pontoons, both moored a leisurely swim from the powder-white beach, are covered in pale blue carpet and come complete with colour-coordinating ladders. Budget holidaying this is not.

As the name suggests, the hotel is colonial in design, with plenty of traditional features, and luxuriously generous-sized rooms. Even the standard options come complete with private balconies and whirlpool spa baths. 

Situated just a short jaunt from the friendly and bustling village of Holetown, the hotel - one of three hotels owned by Elegant Resorts on the island - has a fabulous beach-front location, multiple fresh-water pools and plenty to occupy the easily bored holidaymaker. Watersports are on offer, you can catch a water-taxi to other Elegant Resorts along the coast, take a quick walk to Groots - a friendly bar popular with visiting cricketers - attempt to peer into the butler-flanked private residence next door or just lie back and wait for someone to bring you some frozen grapes. They're so much chicer than ice cream, don't you know.

Details: Seven nights at The Colony Club in Barbados with Virgin Holidays, including scheduled flights with Virgin Atlantic from London Gatwick direct to Barbados, accommodation with breakfast and transfers included, starts from £1,259. Prices are per person based on two adults travelling and sharing a standard room. Prices are based on departures between 24 - 26 June, 2010. To book, log onto www.virginholidays.co.uk or call 0844 557 3859.