St. Martin & Anguilla- Island Destinations (May 2016)

 

 

FAM TRIP TO ST. MARTIN AND ANGUILLA

HOSTED BY ISLAND DESTINATIONS

MAY 16-22

 

I first have to say that our hosts Gabriel and Elina from Island Destinations were outstanding and we had a great group of agents on the trip. We were a small group consisting of agents from Boston, the New York area, Sao Paolo, Oklahoma City, LA, Charlotte and myself, so it was quite a mix.

This trip consisted of inspections of resorts at La Samanna in St. Martin, Cuisinart Golf and Spa Resort,  Malliouhana, Cap Juluca, Kishti Villas, Element Villas, and Viceroy that are all in Anquilla. All of our transportation was provided by Fun Time Charter with our (Asian) driver Rodney.

LA SAMANNA

Our first stop and overnight was at The Belmond La Samanna. This resort of consists of 83 rooms and suites, 8 three and four bedroom villas. I stayed in a one bedroom terrace suite which had a large sitting area, bedroom, small kitchen, oversized bathroom with a rain shower and Jacuzzi bathtub with L’occitaine amenities, private balcony leading to a rooftop terrace. My suite was overlooking the beach and the pool/beach bar. All of the rooms are ocean view and we were able to see the deluxe rooms, two bedroom suite, terrace suite, 2 bedroom cottage. This resort has a wonderful dining venue such as the Trellis Restaurant serving French cuisine, the Interlude which offers a buffet breakfast each morning, and the Beach Bar offering salads, grilled fish and light fare during the day. The resort has 2 pools – one main pool and one infinity pool near the beach bar and beach cabanas are also available to rent on a daily or weekly basis. We visited the Spa which had 6 massage rooms and 2 facials and an outdoor shower. They have three professional tennis courts and a stunning fitness center with a full range of exercise equipment.

After the site inspection was over we were sent to one of the private villas located on the cliff for dinner which was prepared for us by the executive chef and hosted by Tracey Fentem, Director of Sales and Marketing. He prepared a wonderful dinner consisting of appetizers, cucumber soup, tuna tartar, and Sea Bass.

CUISINART GOLF REOSRT AND SPA

The next morning we were met at the resort and taken to the ferry for our twenty minute ride to Anguilla. We had a private transfer to our next stay for 2 nights at Cuisinart Golf Resort and Spa. We were met by our hosts Angelique Peterson, Director of Sales and Marketing, and Christy Connolly, Senior Sales Manager. I have to say that they were my favorite resort hosts on the trip and I would like to thank them for making my stay at Cuisinart a memorable one.

This resort offers everything – pure and simple – and it has the most amazing beach. They have 98 suites, and private villas with pools. They are located on Rendezvous Bay with the most amazing beach. They also can guarantee connecting rooms if you have a family with small children. If you book with ID they almost always upgrade your clients to the beachfront suite, which was where I was fortunate to stay for the next few nights. My room was very spacious with large bedroom with a private sitting area, a huge walk-in closet, large balcony, and the bathroom has a private shower, oversized bath tub and L’occitaine amenties. The resort offers a wonderful spa facility, 18 hole golf course, tennis courts, cooking classes and wine tastings. If you are a beach person they offer sunfish sailboats, Hobie cats, windsurfers, snorkels, masks and fins. I did a little bit of snorkeling while the beach staff set up my chair. They provided me with towels and water and at 3 PM they gave me a sorbet which was a wonderful treat. They also had a nice pool located in the center of the resort. Although my stay was short we were given a tour of the Hydroponic Farm and a cooking class by Executive Chef Jasper.  We also had lunch at the Café Mediteraneo and dinner at Tokyo which was delicious.  The resort also has a Chef’s Table , Italian and French Restaurant located on the property. The only thing that I would recommend them would be to update the balcony furniture.

CAP JULUCA

We had some time during our stay at Cuisinart to do a site inspection at Cap Juluca which had recently gone through a 22 million dollar renovation. This resort is located on Maunday Bay which is around the corner from Cuisinart. The resort consists of 15-20 Moorish style buildings. The accommodations are spread out and all facing the mile long beach. All rooms have French doors that open up to your private balcony or patio, all rooms are ocean view. I was able to see the newly renovated Jonquil Suite which a 3200 sq ft villa featuring  2 master bedrooms, a sitting room, full service kitchen, oceanfront dining terrace and a Jacuzzi with a freshwater infinity pool. I was also able to inspect a superior room, luxury room and a Jr. Suite with one being slightly larger than each other. All rooms had TV and Cable, Bose wave music system, wireless internet, air conditioning, ceiling fan, telephone, refrigerator, marble bathroom with separate shower area and bidet, with the Jr. Suites having a soaking tub.  The resort has three restaurants, Pimm’s: European Cuisine, Spice: Pan Asian cuisine, and Blue: Caribbean Cuisine. After our site inspection we had dinner at Pimm’s hosted by Kevin Carty who is Manager of Operations. Although I didn’t see the pool I know that one exists. The hotel offers a variety of water sports and also a has a spa and tennis courts.

MALLIOUHANA

Our next overnight stay was at Malliouhana. This resort had been closed for 4 years and has recently re-opened. We arrived at 10:30 and they immediately checked us into our rooms. This resort consists of an impressive lobby, 44 rooms with garden view, ocean view, Jr. suites and 2 bedroom suites. The only connecting room option in this resort is a king/king which I found quite odd. The resort has 2 restaurants – The Restaurant at Malliouhana and the Sunset Bar. The bathrooms have dual vanities, separate soaking tub and shower. The rooms themselves are very bright featuring either 2 queen bed or a king, private sitting area and the TV is in located in the mirror, and all rooms are connected to wireless internet. The balconies are very large with bright orange rocking lounge chairs with a table and 2 chairs. The pool area consists of 2 infinity pools, one adult only and one family pool and they are located right next to each other. They have 2 beach areas, one on Mead’s bay and one on the other side of the resort which is very private.  There are a lot of steps to get down to the beach but they will give you a ride if necessary. They also have a fitness center, spa and bikes on property.

KISHTI VILLAS

We were able to see Kishti East and West. These villas are located right on Meads Bay and right on the ocean. Kishti East is a 6 bedroom villa located closer to the ocean, and the West is a 5 bedroom villa which is set further back. In high season a chef is included and in the off season a chef will be at the site 3 times only serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have a prep kitchen, TV room, and fitness area which is located in the basement, wireless internet and a rooftop sunbathing deck. All of the windows are floor to ceiling which offers fabulous views of the ocean. Each villa has its own private pool with  lounge chairs.

ELEMENTS VILLAS

There are 3 villas in the Elements Villa collection – they are Sand, Sea, and Sky. We were able to see the Sea and Sky villa. The Sea villa is a 5 bedroom and the Sky villa is a 4 bedroom. All villas are beachfront with a private staircase to the beach. Each villa comes with continental breakfast daily, butler service for 8 hours daily, housekeeping daily, outside dining area, infinity pool, ceiling fans throughout, heated Jacuzzi by the pool, large outdoor showers, and high speed internet.  Some of the bathrooms have outdoor showers. They also offer a full fitness center and tennis courts. If you want a private escape this would be the place to go.

VICEROY ANGUILLA

This resort is the largest on the island with 188 rooms, suites and villas. We stayed in a 4 bedroom ocean view villa with private infinity pool for 2 nights. It had a master suite with a large bathroom, separate shower, bath tub, and toilet, with a private outdoor shower with access right out to the pool the Jr. suite had the same amenities with a smaller bedroom area., the third bedroom had 2 double beds with a private bathroom. The fourth bedroom was located outside from the main villa. Most people use this room for the nanny. All of the villas have a large kitchen, laundry facilities, living area with cable/tv and wireless internet through the resort. The resort boasts an 8,000 sq. ft. oceanfront spa, 3 championship tennis courts, saltwater adults only infinity pool, family pool, fitness center, five dining and lounge locations. We had dinner at Coba at the sunset lounge. They offer continental breakfast each morning at Aleta, but it was more than continental breakfast. They offered a huge selection of breads and rolls, fruits, cook to order omelets, and yogurts. This resort has 2 beaches one on Mead’s bay where you can find a host of water sports and another one which is on the villa side and is more private. The is also a wonderful place for lunch on the villa side called the Half Shell.  If you want to see and be seen this is the place to be.

 

 

Anguilla happens to be my favorite island now!

Thank you ID for the invite, I can’t wait until the next time!

Kris Levy

East Greenwich