Our hotel of choice in Anguilla is the Viceroy – a beautiful resort perched between Meads and Barnes Bays, at the western tip of the island.
I like the Viceroy’s luxury and newness; when I’m on vacation, I want a room that really feels like a getaway. At the Viceroy, the bed is comfortable, the bathroom is enormous, and most important of all, the air conditioner is absolutely silent. As for location, I don’t mind a short walk to the beach – and instead of lounge chairs and umbrellas and people outside the window, we overlook crashing waves and a panoramic ocean view from atop a rocky promontory. Without exception, the people who work at the Viceroy are wonderfully nice and welcoming, remembering us from year to year.
And – always important to me – there’s good food.
When we first arrived, hungry (both of us) and grumpy (me), we headed to the Sunset Lounge for a snack. How could I resist the Viceroy’s take on an In-n-Out double-double? The thin hamburger patties were flavorful, the gooey melting cheese seemed appropriately American-esque, and the pink “jerk thousand island” sauce was a great addition. With sweet potato fries on the side and my favorite drink, the Painkiller (rum, orange & pineapple juice, coconut, and nutmeg), this was a satisfying meal, made all the better by the gorgeous view. Afterwards – retreat to room, decide dinner is unnecessary, and fall asleep early.
Most mornings found me walking along the narrow road that led past the villas and down to Barnes Bay, where I’d settle under an umbrella in front of the Half Shell beach bar and spend a few hours reading in the shade with a mojito (especially refreshing with the addition of sparkling water). The beach is exactly the right length for an occasional stroll, and it was never too crowded (sometimes I was the only one there).
For a particular treat, I had lunch one day at my lounge chair, with the waves crashing in front of me and a little ghost crab scuttling about beneath. I chose the mezze platter: hummus, olives, babaganoush, stuffed grape leaves, and a little basket of warm pita. Could there be anything better?
One rainy night, we decided not to venture out and instead had dinner at Coba, the hotel restaurant. It’s a dramatic open air setting, on a point jutting into the sea – especially during a storm, when you’re just feet from the pelting rain. The lights from the restaurant and the wind, combined, made it look more like a blizzard than a rainstorm. The Italian food is well done; I especially liked my Penne alla Napolitana, which featured a fantastic, slightly spicy tomato sauce with lots of cherry tomatoes and olives.
Breakfasts are served in the Aleta restaurant, where nearly every day found me enjoying the same egg white scramble with vegetables, some pineapple, and an apple turnover. When I mentioned my fond memories of the johnny cakes and saltfish they served last year, the chef made sure to include them on the buffet one day. Yum.
Vacation always includes lots of miscellaneous snacks and cocktails, and the best place for those is the aforementioned Sunset Lounge. There are all sorts of different sushi rolls named after Viceroy properties (hold onto your hats, because yes, that includes Miami and Santa Monica rolls) that are surprisingly good, considering my slight suspicion about eating sushi in the Caribbean. I especially liked the Snowmass (crab, hamachi, avocado, and jalapeno) and the Abu Dhabi (local lobster, Napa cabbage, avocado, tobiko).
As the name suggests, the best time to be at the Sunset Lounge is at sundown, when you have a front-row seat to a gorgeous display every evening. I never got tired of seeing the endless variations of color and clouds.
Cheers to a great stay at the Viceroy and on Anguilla, the best island in the Caribbean!
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Nice blog! Anguilla beach resorts are the best vacation destination that I've seen. It has a lots of fun that you may surely enjoy on that place. Thanks for sharing.
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