I went to a couple’s resort as a single person – it was the perfect start to Brat summer

There was a moment on the 11-hour flight to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines where I imagined the shame of a Friends-style “Mrs Geller, why you cry?” comment – like the one Rachel experienced, somehow alone on Ross’ Greek honeymoon – from resort staff concerned for my single status.

But with white sand, wafting palms and cocktails in the colours of the flag (things I knew from the loved-up pictures that pollute my Instagram feed), I hoped it would be hard to feel bitter on a Caribbean beach.

They do say if you want to find love to stop looking for it, so I checked in for seven nights at a Sandals resort filled with what I presumed would only be couples, me and the butlers that sang me in through the lobby.

I pictured myself deep in the book I’d been telling myself I’ll pick up for the last six months. Slightly burnt from a lack of sun cream companion. A master of weather-based small talk for the next week.

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It’s true that adults-only hotels are not usually designed with singles in mind, but a resort that caters to couples could surely cater to singles for half the hassle – if not double the fun.

The 50-acre Saint Vincent resort is the first of its kind for Sandals, as the brand shifts from couples only to adults only. A two-bedroom beachfront villa for groups of friends travelling together and communal dining restaurant Buccan are among the new concepts designed to enable interactions between guests.

That’s not to say that the suggestive aesthetics typical of Sandals don’t prevail. An in-your-face heart-shaped pool and spa treatment rooms for two promise lovebirds a dream setting for proposals and post-nuptial passion.

The lesser-known Eastern Caribbean archipelago, backdrop of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, is known as the “land of the blessed”, and even the famed franchise’s still-standing set has withstood the commercialisation that could further bring in tourists.

Long walks on the sand and lazing by the pool – that was the itinerary for most newlyweds here on their honeymoon. For me, daily sailing out of Buccament Bay, a snorkelling trip halted by jellyfish and bracelet-making for my best friend instead of a boy proved much more fun.

Sandals Saint Vincent shed the standard gates of Caribbean…