Relax it’s Anguilla
Paradise conjures up images of crisp white sand beaches, bathed by clear warm tropical waters and Anguilla has far more than their fair share of these exotic accoutrements.
Set on probably the best beach of them all, Rendezvous Bay, is Cuisinart Golf Resort and Spa which not only has ‘beach beauty’, but ‘view beauty’ with vistas of neighbouring St Martin. By day just far enough away for you not to be able see anything clearly, but close enough to imagine all kinds of goings on. By night the twinkling lights vie for your attention with a myriad of bright stars in the darkened sky.
So often travels to luxurious locations result in unintended confinement. At Cuisinart just step onto the beach and your nearest local beach bar is just steps to the right and to the left the walk is more a challenging 300 metres or so. The built in success of a beach bar is that ‘invitation to sip something cool’ whilst the sun beats down from clear blue skies, powder soft sand melts underfoot and the rhythmic sound of sea as it ebbs and flows. Before your make that first order you have no idea whether your companions will be locals on a well earned day off, a retired police inspector from Carnarvon, Western Australia or a contestant from one of those ‘reality tv shows’ that you refuse to watch but then discover they’re both very articulate and full of amusing and inciteful stories; just as likely it’ll be someone from home and hopefully not the person you cross the road to avoid……
For the social golfer, Fridays at Cuisinart’s Greg Norman designed 18 hole championship course is home to the Friday Golf League. Until the morning no one knows the format, sometimes loosely based on a four ball, all depends on what Scott, the club pro has managed to come up with. What is guaranteed is an informal round of golf in great company and then on for food and drink with non-playing partners welcome to join up. For those that also want competition there’s the Anguilla Open and the Caribbean Couples Championship, not to mention 2 centre golf with neighbouring islands.
With just 91 suites and 7 villas, a spa with 16 treatment rooms seems a little ambitious, but when you learn of the speciality treatment rooms it all makes sense; after all, how many spas do you know with a ‘Gentleman’s Club’? Here you can escape – perhaps a massage, watch some sport on tv, catch up on a film, read or even just have a snooze. And lunch well that’s your choice: as healthy or not it’s down to you including a beer or a calorie deficient dry white. How about a body scrub and whilst you’re at it why not concoct your own combination of herbs? And for the very balanced how about Paddleboard Yoga?
Dining out is one of the pleasures of a holiday and Anguilla is not alone the Caribbean for offering diners the stars from simple grilled lobster accompanied by a dry French white, all the while your feet are cooled as you’re dining on a submerged sandbank just feet from the shore. Or maybe your tastes are Caribbean seafood and fish fashioned into the finest sushi and sashimi at Cuisinart’s Tokyo Bay.
Choosing your hotel is as much about the suite as the facilities. You want something that’s comfortable, adapted to local conditions (carpets or underfloor heating inside the arctic circle, but preferably not in the Caribbean), a great bed and a bathroom big enough for you both to be able to get into at the same time. Ideally you want a seaview, but at Cuisinart where all suites have a seaview, it’s a Beachfront (ground floor) Junior Suite for me every time. The sea is there right in front of you, just like upstairs, there’s also the gardens that surround and then your terrace which provides that perfect spot to escape the excesses of the sun whilst you catch up with the latest and last from John le Carré or Netflix.
Paradise sometimes requires an extra step and so to when travelling to Anguilla. For London centric folk the best route in is with BA or Virgin with an onward connection with Trans Anguilla. From just about everywhere else in the UK look at Air France or KLM via Paris or Amsterdam to St Maarten and then Anguilla is a ‘Cocktail ride’ away from the airport’s own ferry terminal.
Stop Press: Guests booking before 15 March 2020 and staying 7 nights or more before 25 August 2020 can claim a $500 flight credit per booking which covers the cost of 1 return flight between Antigua and Anguilla