In this post I wanted to review the 76-room Zemi Beach House, a Hilton LXR property located in Anguilla. We spent four nights here last week on a family trip, as it was a nice way to spend time with my mom and her partner.
Zemi Beach House opened back in 2016, and joined LXR (Hilton’s independent luxury hotel brand) in 2019. This property has been on my list for quite some time, especially since there are nonstop flights between Miami and Anguilla. The stars aligned for this trip, as there was both points availability for flights and hotels at the last minute.
I’m happy to report that Zemi Beach House exceeded my expectations. This property has quite a bit of charm, nice shared facilities, a beautiful beach and pools, and warm and welcoming staff. In fairness, this isn’t some ultra-luxury property, and the rooms could use a little love, in my opinion. But still, I think this hotel is a great use of Hilton Honors points, and I’d return in a heartbeat, as it’s probably now my favorite points hotel I’ve stayed at in the Caribbean.
In this post:
Booking Zemi Beach House Anguilla
For our dates in late April, Zemi Beach House was charging just over $1,000 per room per night, not including the 27% taxes and service charges, which would’ve brought the total to ~$1,300 per night. Fortunately you can redeem Hilton Honors points for this property, and currently the rate for a standard room is 110,000 Hilton Honors points per night.
If redeeming points, ideally I’d recommend booking five nights here, as Hilton Honors elite members receive a fifth night free on award redemptions, which would bring down the average nightly cost to 82,000 Honors points per night. However, in our case there was only award availability for four nights, and that’s also what worked with our schedule. We booked two rooms, and booked three nights with points, and then one night using a free night certificate.
Keep in mind that you can often buy Hilton Honors points for 0.5 cents each. So if you were to redeem points for a five night stay using purchased points, you’d be paying the equivalent of $410 per night, which I’d consider to be a great deal for this property (especially since that’s the cost after taxes and fees).
Let me just note that award availability at Zemi Beach House can be tough to come by, unless you book far in advance. However, based on my observations, it almost always opens up in the days prior to arrival. I assume that’s because the hotel upgrades people out of the base rooms in advance, opening up more base rooms. We had no issues booking two rooms on points just days out, and there was even more inventory.
Speaking of redeeming points here, it’s interesting how the hotel charges the same in cash for garden and ocean view rooms, when the latter is clearly superior. This is presumably intended to limit the number of rooms that have to be made available to Hilton Honors members using points.
Zemi Beach House Anguilla location & transport
Zemi Beach House Anguilla is located on Shoal Bay, around a 15-minute drive from Anguilla-Clayton J. Lloyd Airport (AXA), which is currently served nonstop from Miami. The hotel is right on a beautiful beach, though I don’t have strong opinions about the property’s location on the island otherwise, in comparison to other properties.
When visiting Anguilla, you can either rent a car or rely on taxis. We rented a car, though I’m conflicted about whether I’d recommend others do so:
- Taxis can be booked to and from the airport, though taxi pricing is pretty steep if you plan on moving around the island a lot, and I’ve heard there’s not that many taxis, so often you have to wait
- While rental cars aren’t very expensive, the rental car setup at the airport is kind of annoying (the locations are off property, and I found it to be poorly organized), you need to buy a $25 permit to drive in Anguilla, the roads also aren’t great, and there’s not necessarily that much to do unless you want to go beach hopping
Ultimately if you plan on visiting lots of beaches or dining a lot off property, it’s probably worth renting a car. Meanwhile if you mostly plan to stay on property, you might just want to take taxis.
Regardless of how you choose to get around, a Zemi Beach House representative will meet you at the airport, and help you coordinate your taxi or rental car.
Zemi Beach House Anguilla lobby & check-in
From the moment we arrived at Zemi Beach House, we could tell that service would be great, as we were warmly greeted by the front office staff. There’s a reception area at the top of the resort, which you really only visit during check-in and check-out (as there’s a guest services desk closer to the center of the hotel, for any needs during your stay).
The associate checking us in was super friendly. She proactively explained that the hotel always tries to upgrade Hilton Honors Diamond members to ocean view rooms even ahead of their stays, but apologized profusely that the hotel didn’t have any available during our stay.
I appreciated how proactive she was, and was surprised to find that our room that was marketed as having garden views still had a lovely view of the pool and ocean in the distance.
At check-in, we were offered our choice of either rum punch or fruit punch, and of course went with the latter.
Once check-in formalities were complete, we were given a golf cart tour of the property, and then shown to our rooms.
Zemi Beach House Anguilla guest room
Zemi Beach House spans a total of six acres, with accommodations spread across multiple buildings. The property is built into a hill, so be prepared for some inclined walking, depending on where your room is situated (though you can also call to have a golf cart pick you up). The vegetation around the property is gorgeous, and I loved just being able to stroll around.
We gave my mom and her partner the room closer to the beach (since it involved less steep walking), and we took room 304, a garden view room located in building number three.
The room was located on the ground floor, and could be accessed via an exterior hallway. Base rooms here are marketed as being 700 square feet, though I have to imagine that includes indoor and outdoor space, as they don’t feel that big. Also note that due to the layouts of the various buildings, there’s huge variance in terms of the design, so don’t expect that all garden view rooms will look the same.
Our room featured a long entryway, with the main part of the room straight ahead.
The room had a comfortable king size bed, with conveniently located outlets on each side.
In the corner of the room was a desk with a chair, plus a wall-mounted TV. There was a welcome amenity on the desk, consisting of a bottle of still and sparkling water, plus a fruit plate.
Then there was a chair and lamp in the opposite corner of the room.
There was an additional desk behind the bed, in the area where the bedroom and bathroom connect.
The minibar setup was back toward the entrance, and included a complimentary selection of espresso and tea, plus a variety of drinks and snacks for purchase.
The bathroom was huge, especially in comparison to the main part of the room. At the entrance to the bathroom were double sinks, and across from that was a vanity.
Then there was a walk-in shower, a soaking tub, and a toilet, all next to one another. The shower had great water pressure, and had two shower heads. I didn’t love this setup — I wish there were a full door between the shower and the rest of the bathroom (to keep in heat and water), and I wish there were some separation between the toilet and the rest of the bathroom.
Toiletries were in individual containers from MALIN+GOETZ.
Last but not least, there was the balcony, which had two chairs for lounging and an ottoman, as well as a dining table with two chairs.
I loved this outdoor space, and the views exceeded my expectations, as this isn’t what I was expecting with a garden view room.
Housekeeping at Zemi Beach House was provided twice daily. And if you have a sweet tooth, you’ll no doubt love the freshly baked cookies that are left at the bed each night with turndown service. They alternate between being chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin, and are delicious.
As I said at the beginning of the post, the design definitely wasn’t my favorite part of the lobby. I understand it’s standard for nicer hotels in the Caribbean to have fairly basic rooms, and I think that’s fine. However, the only real “pizzaz” in the room was the below artwork, which quite frankly I’d expect to find in a hostel. Could you pick more soulless, generic artwork? I think the room would have looked better without this “art.”
I think if the hotel just invested a small amount of money in trying to make the rooms feel a bit more luxurious, it would make a big difference in terms of the overall luxury level of the property.
Zemi Beach House Anguilla pools
Zemi Beach House Anguilla has two sets of pools, with one being open to families, and the other only being for adults.
The main pool (for families) is located at the center of the resort, right by the beach, and next to all of the restaurants. It’s an infinity edge pool, and is picturesque. 
There’s plenty of seating around the pool, and finding seating was never a challenge.
The second pool area is for adults, and is located a bit further up in the resort (right underneath the building we were staying in). There are actually two pools here. The pool on the upper level has more of a traditional design, with plenty of seating around it.
Then there’s a pool on a lower level, which is the tranquility pool. This pool has loungers in the water where you can relax, and underneath that is a 60-foot lap pool.
Note that regardless of where you sit, there are always staff on hand to help, as well as stations where you can grab towels, and even complimentary sunscreen (the hotel offers 30 SPF).
Zemi Beach House Anguilla beach
Probably my favorite thing about Zemi Beach House is the beach — the resort offers direct access to the beach on Shoal Bay, and we found this to be stunning. The hotel of course has chairs set up on the beach for guests, so it was a nice place to relax.
The hotel also offers complimentary non-motorized water sports, which the staff can help you with.
However, my favorite thing was just being able to walk up and down the beach in the mornings and evenings, as you can walk quite a distance unobstructed. The sand is soft, and this has to be one of my favorite Caribbean beaches, perhaps outside of Grace Bay in Turks & Caicos.
Zemi Beach House Anguilla gym
Zemi Beach House Anguilla has a gym that guests can access 24/7. For a beach resort, the gym is quite large, with a selection of both cardio and weight equipment.
The hotel also has a grass tennis court, which guests can reserve at no extra cost.
Zemi Beach House Anguilla Thai House Spa
Zemi Beach House Anguilla’s spa is named Thai House Spa. The spa seems to be pretty well regarded, with one of the coolest features being that it has a 300-year-old Thai house at the center of it.
The spa features five treatment rooms, and has unique features, like the island’s only hammam. You can find the spa’s treatment menu here. The prices are steep, and we didn’t get any treatments during our stay here. But if you’re into spas and are staying here, you’ll definitely want to visit.
Dining at Zemi Beach House Anguilla
Zemi Beach House Anguilla has several dining concepts, all of which are located in the same area of the resort, around the family pool.
Let me briefly summarize the different dining concepts at Zemi Beach House:
- 20 Knots is the resort’s all-day dining restaurant, featuring Caribbean and international dishes
- Bohio Bar & Sushi Lounge is the resort’s bar that’s open in the afternoons and evenings, featuring a variety of cocktails and sushi
- Stone is the resort’s fine dining restaurant that’s open in the evenings, serving Caribbean and Asian fusion cuisine
- Rhum Room is the resort’s Caribbean room tasting room open in the evening
I’ll include links to all the menus below in each section. As you’ll see, prices here are steep, not surprisingly. Also keep in mind that you have to add at least 30% to the cost of everything, between the 17% service charge and 13% tax. Let’s take a closer at each of these outlets.
Zemi Beach House Anguilla 20 Knots Restaurant
20 Knots Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as drinks all day. This restaurant is closest to the beach, so has the best setting in the resort for taking in the view. There’s both a sizable indoor seating area, as well as a large outdoor terrace and bar area, with some of the seating being in the sand.
Breakfast is served daily at 20 Knots from 7AM until 10:30AM, and consists primarily of a buffet, as well as a rotating selection of two a la carte options. The buffet was pretty impressive, at least by Caribbean standards. The buffet had one table with all kinds of fresh pastries, as well as cereal and jam.
Cold options at the main buffet area included bread and bagels, cold cuts, cheese, veggies, fresh fruit, and yogurt.
Then hot options included a rotating selection, comprised of things like veggies, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, potatoes, french toast, and more.
There was also an egg station, where you could have custom eggs prepared to your liking.
Every weekday there’s also a rotating selection of two options you can order from a menu. Just to give an example, one morning the options were a blueberry smoothie and shakshuka.
Coffee and juice was also offered, and I found the drip coffee to be excellent.
20 Knots then serves lunch and dinner on an ongoing basis from 12PM until 9:30PM, and you can find the lunch menu here, and find the dinner menu here.
I particularly liked the lunch options, ranging from the greek salad with chicken, to the niçoise salad, to the mahi mahi options.
Dinner was more of a mixed bag, frankly. The tofu and vegetable red curry was outstanding, though a massive portion (I’d recommend sharing it between two people).
Meanwhile the seafood pizza and calamari were a bit less exciting (and I’m not sure I understand the pizza presentation).
Zemi Beach House Anguilla Bohio Bar & Sushi Lounge
Bohio Bar & Sushi Lounge is open daily from 12PM until 9PM. This is an entirely outdoor space, and is perhaps the social hub of the resort. We’d spend hours sitting here playing cards in the afternoons and evenings, and there’s also live music, which I’m a huge fan of.
You can find the lounge menu here, and find the sushi menu here. The cocktails were excellent, and I was especially impressed by the dirty martini the bartender prepared, which was as good as any that I’ve had.
The sushi and poke options were pretty decent, but nothing extraordinary. But hey, for a small resort in the Caribbean, I thought it was pretty good.
Zemi Beach House Anguilla Stone Restaurant
Stone Restaurant is the property’s fine dining restaurant, open select nights starting at 6PM. It’s an elegant restaurant, with both indoor and outdoor seating.
We decided to have dinner here one night, and you can find the dinner menu here. The meal began with freshly baked sun-dried tomato bread, and an amuse bouche of truffle gnocchi.
Some of the dishes we enjoyed included the goat cheese salad, dim sum, armagnac flambe prawns (prepared table side), grilled red snapper, and gnocchi.
Zemi Beach House Anguilla Rhum Room
The Caribbean is of course known for rum, so Zemi Beach House has the Rhum Room, which opens at 6PM. This feels a bit like a cigar bar, and offers 140 different rums you can choose from, and you can find the menu here.
I’m not a huge rum drinker, but my mom’s partner likes rum, so we went there so he could do a tasting. He did a “pirates of the Caribbean” tasting, and I think that might have just been the highlight of the trip for him, hah.
Zemi Beach House Anguilla service
Service at Zemi Beach House greatly exceeded my expectations, and the staff were overwhelmingly friendly beyond words. Staff just seemed very invested in ensuring that everyone had a great stay, from the front office staff, to those working in the restaurants, to those at the pool and beach.
The managers here were also great. A special shout out to Sven, one of the awesome restaurant managers, who was very engaging with guests, and who we enjoyed getting to know.
Service in the Caribbean can be hit or miss, but that’s an area where Zemi Beach House (and Anguilla overall) shine.
Bottom line
Zemi Beach House is an awesome Caribbean getaway that can be booked with Hilton Honors points. There’s a lot to love about this charming property, from the friendly staff, to the beautiful pools and beach, to the very friendly service, to the solid dining. We’re already talking about how we’d like to return there, as we really did love the beach.
I wouldn’t consider this to be an ultra-luxury property, or anything, but it’s a worthwhile use of Hilton Honors points, especially if you just want to get away and relax. Personally I think this property has a lot more personality than some other points properties in the Caribbean, like the Ritz-Carlton Turks & Caicos and the Park Hyatt St. Kitts.
What’s your take on Zemi Beach House?
Regarding the beverages, are you sure you didn't choose the former?
A teaching moment...and this will really teach you something new
What the forum host is referring to is the following:
[1] Garden View King Room Private...
A teaching moment...and this will really teach you something new
What the forum host is referring to is the following:
[1] Garden View King Room Private Balcony -- Cash rate: $1,022 ; award rate: 110,000
[2] Ocean View King Room Private Balcony -- Cash rate: $1,022 ; award rate: 377,000
[3] Ocean View 2 Queen Beds Private Balcony -- Cash rate: $1,115 ; award rate: 412,000
Note that while the cash rates for rooms [1] and [2] are exactly the same ($1,022), the award cost in points for room [2] (377,000) is more than 3x that for room [1] (110,000). Why is that?
That is an clear illustration of the difference between Hilton Honors standard awards and "premium" awards.
Because Room [1] is offered as a standard award, (a) it is affordable, but (b) it is capacity controlled, meaning that the property sets aside a limited number of such rooms for booking with points. When that limited number of set-aside rooms is gone, rooms of type [1] would no longer be available for booking with points, even if you can see them available for cash sale.
Room [2] on the other hand, is a "premium" award, which means that if a room of that type is available for cash sale, you can always book it with points, but it will cost you a bundle. The reason is that for "premium" rooms, Hilton has established a direct proportionality between cash and points, so that the two currencies are interchangeable. The proportionality factor that makes cash and points interchangeable for "premium" rooms is simply
(cash rate for premium room)/(cost in point for same premium), in this case, $1,022/377,000 = $0.0027108/point
Therefore, for any "premium" rooms in the property, if you know the cash rate, you can calculate the number of points needed or required to book it, and vice versa.
The cash rate for the next "premium" room up or room [3] is $1,115. How many points will be required for that room?
$1,115/$0.0027108/point = 411,439 points, which was rounded up to 412,000
The math holds for every "premium" room in the property up to the presidential suite if there is one. It also shows how Hilton Honors' dynamic award pricing works. Unlike in other implementation, Hilton Honors dynamically prices only its "premium" awards, while the costs of standard awards are capped at every property. That is why, despite dire predictions by self-anointed "travel gurus" about crippling "devaluations", it is still possible to get outsized redemption values with HH points 7 years after the program migrated to "dynamic pricing".
Even without including taxes and other fees, the redemption value of the standard award at this property is
$1,022/110,000 = 0.9cpp (vs. 0.27cpp for "premium" awards)
Book a 5-night award and include taxes and fees, and the redemption value goes through the roof.
___________________
Sidebar:
HH "premium" awards work exactly like Accor ALL awards, except that for the latter program the direct proportionality between points and cash is fixed and the same for all properties, at
2,000 ALL points = 40 euros
Any room that is available for paying with euros (cash) is always available for booking with an equivalent number of points.
That there is true "no capacity control", as opposed to the bogus claim that you hear all the time about Hyatt awards being bookable whenever a standard room is available for sale. Yeah, right.
Just learned about Anguilla: The government's main revenue source isn't tourism-related taxation anymore. Their top-level domain in .ai ... which is pretty lucrative just now.
This hotel is pretty great. It's definitely not on the level of (say) the Waldorf Astoria Maldives, but its a cut above the other "high-end" points hotels I've stayed at in the Caribbean, and I'd say its arguably the best use of a Hilton free night certificate in North America.
We had 2 "negatives" when we visited. First, getting there is slightly inconvenient (either take a boat from St Maarten, or can fly directly in...
This hotel is pretty great. It's definitely not on the level of (say) the Waldorf Astoria Maldives, but its a cut above the other "high-end" points hotels I've stayed at in the Caribbean, and I'd say its arguably the best use of a Hilton free night certificate in North America.
We had 2 "negatives" when we visited. First, getting there is slightly inconvenient (either take a boat from St Maarten, or can fly directly in but only from Miami or Puerto Rico). Second, we had a negative customer service experience that was so bizarre and such an exception to the rest of the customer service on our visit that I think it was probably an outlier due to incomplete training on a niche situation.
But the list of "positives" was massive: amazing location, "tiny remote resort" feel with "big resort" quality and amenities, great food on-site, walking distance to other food options up the beach. The beach plus the architecture of the resort and restaurant is kind of next level. Everything is laid out in such an open-concept way, such that you are somehow always "on the beach" when you are eating, swimming, etc. Customer service was crazy enthusiastic (outside of a one-off incident). We had our 1-year old daughter with us, and by day 3 seemingly 10+ different staff members knew her name and were saying hi to her at breakfast, the pool, and in the room. Not to mention, housekeeping and room service worked completely around her nap schedule, all with a great attitude and apologizing as though they were inconveniencing us (when in reality it's us, with a toddler, who wants to nap at unpredictable times, who is inconveniencing them and making it difficult for them to do their job!).
If it was easier to get there (which is probably less of a factor for someone without a toddler), I'd be inclined to make it an annual trip to burn our recurring hilton free night Certs.
One thousand three hundred dollars per night.
Great review, thanks!!!
We stayed at the Zemi Beach House in November 2022 and had a wonderful stay. The rooms are sparsely furnished, however I felt the ambience is quite pleasant and may not feel the same on the pictures. There seems to be a change in the TV, it used to rise from the bottom of the bed. You can still the cutout on the pictures Ben posted.
One differentiating feature is the wonderful and engaging staff....
We stayed at the Zemi Beach House in November 2022 and had a wonderful stay. The rooms are sparsely furnished, however I felt the ambience is quite pleasant and may not feel the same on the pictures. There seems to be a change in the TV, it used to rise from the bottom of the bed. You can still the cutout on the pictures Ben posted.
One differentiating feature is the wonderful and engaging staff. During our stay, Charles was the F&B manger and he was fantastic. I am happy to read that the new manager Sven is equally engaging. This indicates that the staff is all carefully selected. This is one of the properties we would be happy to return to.
This is a great review. I went to Anguilla with a friend in November and we stayed at the Four Seasons. Beautiful property with a great beach and fun dining scenes.
We did make it over to the beach where Zemi is - worthwhile and great beach.
Overall Anguilla is a beautiful low key island. Some of the best beaches I've found in the caribbean. Lots of good restaurants around that arent necessarily...
This is a great review. I went to Anguilla with a friend in November and we stayed at the Four Seasons. Beautiful property with a great beach and fun dining scenes.
We did make it over to the beach where Zemi is - worthwhile and great beach.
Overall Anguilla is a beautiful low key island. Some of the best beaches I've found in the caribbean. Lots of good restaurants around that arent necessarily part of hotels. Taxis are available but are expensive. We did use them when we went out to dinner as we were drinking.
Overall, I liked Anguilla a lot and would return.
Can't wait for you to check out Bermuda if you liked Anguilla. Great family destination.
I've always been torn about Zemi's location. Yes, it sits directly on one of the best beaches. But one of the best things about Anguilla is the restaurants. There are some top-notch places around the island: Veya, Jacala, Straw Hat, Blanchard's, and on and on. If you stay on Meads Bay, which is flanked by Four Seasons and Malliouhana (the Auberge property), you can walk on the beach to at least 5 outstanding restaurants. But...
I've always been torn about Zemi's location. Yes, it sits directly on one of the best beaches. But one of the best things about Anguilla is the restaurants. There are some top-notch places around the island: Veya, Jacala, Straw Hat, Blanchard's, and on and on. If you stay on Meads Bay, which is flanked by Four Seasons and Malliouhana (the Auberge property), you can walk on the beach to at least 5 outstanding restaurants. But it's like Turks 20 years ago -- no crowds, ever. In comparison, Zemi is also on a quiet beach and has good food on property, but not as much within walking distance.
Anguilla is not an island full of activities, but it is an absolutely gorgeous island worth exploring in (via rental car) and around (via chartered boat, ideally through Traditions Sailing).
Are avocados banned in Anguilla? I don't see a pic of avocado toast for breakfast. :(
Stayed in in January using points for wifes birthday. Diamond upgrade to ocean view suite, with a small cake in it. Breakfast was free and no games played there! At dinner one night they also gave us another small cake. We loved the beach and even saw goats on the beach one day. There are some restaurants a few steps down the beach which are fun. However they are not that much cheaper than Zemi...
Stayed in in January using points for wifes birthday. Diamond upgrade to ocean view suite, with a small cake in it. Breakfast was free and no games played there! At dinner one night they also gave us another small cake. We loved the beach and even saw goats on the beach one day. There are some restaurants a few steps down the beach which are fun. However they are not that much cheaper than Zemi for food or drinks. Its expensive everywhere. We did have our taxi driver stop at a wine store to grab a few bottles before arriving though. We liked Zemi more than PH St. Kitts for the beach and relaxation and would come back for adults only type getaways, but prefer the PH St. Kitts with kids.
We stayed there summer of ‘22 with our two young girls and had an excellent stay, all on points. We got free breakfast and used two player mode Aspire credits which helped with F&B costs. Food was good overall and we walked down the beach a few times for some lunches. I can’t remember if we got an upgrade to a higher room category due to Diamond but the (non-suite) room was massive with a...
We stayed there summer of ‘22 with our two young girls and had an excellent stay, all on points. We got free breakfast and used two player mode Aspire credits which helped with F&B costs. Food was good overall and we walked down the beach a few times for some lunches. I can’t remember if we got an upgrade to a higher room category due to Diamond but the (non-suite) room was massive with a nice balcony. The higher floors offer a better view of the turquoise water vs what Ben shows in his pics. Some times were a little breezy some the ocean water was very calm - we have been to Bora Bora and Maldives, this beach quality is one small notch below those places but amazing overall. All in all, our experience was much in line with many of the other reviews (ie Tim from FMiler) and we had truly fantastic trip.
Who did you use for rental car, even if they are off-site, most will meet you at the airport with the car, so not really a problem. And the main reason for getting a car is to explore some of the off-site dining, so it seems you did not really get value from the car.
Agree about how good the staff are - way more Asian level than anywhere else I've been in the region
This is a lot of words without mentioning whether you got elite benefits such as free breakfast. The fans in the cheap seats wanna know!
At the Zemi Beach House the breakfast is included for all guests.
It looks like a nice property which I have booked for next spring break for 2 adults and 2 children. Are suites available for Diamond members, perhaps with a cash supplement? With kids the extra space is always nice!
Steep price at 110k points per a night or $1,000 per a night plus tax. But at this level, money or points ain't an issue I suppose. It's not like someone is trying to "scrape together" 450k Hilton points lmao.
Nice review!
Tell us,
How was the mosquito / fly / insect situation?
Any trouble at dusk,
Any impact at sitting outside ?
@ Roberto -- Yeah, there were a lot of insects around sunset, and we left with a lot of bug bites. Then again, I find that to be common in most tropical places, so it wasn't out of the ordinary. There's definitely value to using insect repellent if you can.
Since you had a car, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on Anguilla. You always seem to be able to book flights cheaply on points to ANU.
@ Jerry -- We drove from one end to the other. In all honesty, it's a pretty small island, and aside from beaches, there aren't really many sights to see. It's not like St. Barts in terms of the beauty of the interior of the island, or the dining options. Maybe there's something I'm really missing, but Anguilla seems to me like a sleepy place you go to relax, and not a place where you're necessarily doing all that much outside of the resort or beaches.
I’ve been to Anguilla twice and agree. The beaches are gorgeous but there aren’t really any activities (motor water sports are banned) and the island itself is not a lush tropical beauty spot. Personally, I love this and the very laid back atmosphere of being on an island with less than 10,000 people. The great dining is the icing on the cake. I stayed at the Belmond and Malliouhana, both full 5-Star luxury properties that I recommend.
That Belmond Cap Juluca looks beautiful. Hoping it comes on board with Hyatt/MMS so can split a week long stay between it and the Zemi Beach house.
The "by Carribean standards" dig seems unnecessary? Or you come to expect poor quality in the Carribean?
Seems very overpriced, at least the service was good.
My wife and I stayed here for our honeymoon in 2020. We were fortunate as the property was less well known and prices were much lower than today (also used a Citi 4th night free). Overall I'd echo all of Lucky's comments. We experienced fantastic, friendly service and loved the rum tasting. The property is so calming and relaxing, and the beach is the most beautiful we've seen (outside of the Maldives).
Getting to...
My wife and I stayed here for our honeymoon in 2020. We were fortunate as the property was less well known and prices were much lower than today (also used a Citi 4th night free). Overall I'd echo all of Lucky's comments. We experienced fantastic, friendly service and loved the rum tasting. The property is so calming and relaxing, and the beach is the most beautiful we've seen (outside of the Maldives).
Getting to Anguilla we flew into St. Maarten and took the ferry over. Car rental was pretty easy there compared with airport. But we only had to drive off property one night and it would've been cheaper for us to take taxis. There are some fun areas of Anguilla to explore, which would be the only reason to rent a car.
Nice review, and glad you found the Thai house interesting - we shipped it there in the 80s, piece by piece!
@ AA -- Small world, wow!
Should you return, I’d recommend Artisan for dinner - it’s a short drive from Shoal Bay East. Lunch at Malliouhana would be nice also.
My husband and I just checked into room 304 this past Friday, right after your stay. We just missed you!
We couldn’t agree more with the review- the beach was gorgeous but we have been spoiled to have visited places like Bora Bora and the Maldives and agree that it didn’t have that same ultra luxurious feel.
@ Greg A -- Hah, too funny, we checked out Thursday! Happy to hear you had similar impressions.