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I am staying in Jolly Harbour, on the west coast. Behind a superb beach, there are two "fingers" of twobedroom apartments and some standalone villas, about 500 in all, overlooking the marina and lagoon.

Apartments in Jolly Harbour

They were built in the boom years before the credit crunch. Some are privately owned, others timeshare properties, like the one I am in, which is one of a number managed by Typically Tropical Villas. They offer good value about $900/550 a week in season for two bedrooms.

"One of our guests costed it for last summer and it was less than Ibiza," says Amy Hone of Typically Tropical Villas.

There is certainly a range of prices available, as I discover when I set off on a circular tour of the island, clockwise from Jolly Harbour.

A couple of miles, and several whitesand bays, to the north is one of Antigua's smart new villa developments, Galley Bay Heights.

Around 10 of the 25 homes in this private estate are available for rent.

These are huge, beautiful houses, each with a grey shingle roof, an acreage of veranda usually fronted by an infinity pool, and a lovely view of the bay. Inside they are all stylish and extremely comfortable.

On the other side of Antigua, Jumby Bay Villas are on a private island, and they are something apart even for the Caribbean. The 14 estate houses, each in its enclave of gardens facing the sea, are very smart: Ty Molineaux, which has eight bedrooms, looks like a grand country house transported to the tropics. Houses come with housekeepers and staff who stay as late as you need them. Some houses even have their own stretch of sand, which, for all the dreamy archetype, is not the norm in the Caribbean, where beaches tend to be reserved for hotels.

Falmouth harbour, the heartland of Antiguan villa tourism

Read more:
Antigua: how the Caribbean is meant to be