Expert: Kathy Lindroth - 3/12/2002

Question
Kathy-- My boyfrend and I are coming to the Caribbean for the first time and I have chosen Anguilla. For all the expense I want to gather as much information as possible to best choose our lodging.

I have only begun to sift through possibilties for lodging and am open to any suggestions.
So far I am looking at Covecastles ( Shoal Bay West), Cap Juluca ( Maundays Bay), Cuisinart (Rendevous Bay) and Malliouhana ( Meads Bay). Can you give me opinions of these resorts and of the beach they are located on? I like a quiet, white sand, clear water beach, and don't mind rough surf.

We would actually like to pay a lot less than these expensive resorts, but want our surroundings to be alluring, and beachfront.I don't really need all these people waiting on me, but do want something top notch for accomodations.

I am curious about the different neighborhoods in Anguilla. We would be thrilled to be located somewhere where we didn't need a car and could bicycle around. Is this possible? Where are the grocery stores and the real town of Anguilla? We might like to cook to save money and I am wondering if we will find basic food needs in the grocery and will the food be overpriced? How about wine and beer? Fresh seafood?

Basically, is Anguilla the kind of place where we need a car? Is it all spread out or is there a main villiage where everything you need is close?

I guess I am just trying to decide if we want to be all "taken care of" at the resort...or if we can find another nice place that isn't so expensive and do for ourselves. I really want to lose myself in serenity at the beach, but also enjoy the people, and town....not be isolated far away at some resort.

If you have any money saving tips...please tell! We are not the rich or the famous!!!
Thanks, Jennifer ( expert for Arkansas)

Answer
Jennifer,

When you arrive at Anguilla you aren't going to be knocked out by the beautiful tropical spendor.  Anguilla is an arid, flat island but the strong points are the beaches and the cordial and helpful Anguillans.  It is a wonderful island to visit and has some of the top resorts and restaurants in the entire Caribbean.  It will spoil you for other islands.

First of all you must visit http://www.news.ai  This web site has TONS of information on Anguilla.  The resorts you mentioned are all tops, and of those I would choose Cap Jaluca.  The beach has everything you are looking for.  Cuisinart beach has a lot of coral in it, Malli beach isn't as big as Cap, but Covecastles beach is excellent also.  

Check out Frangipani for a really nice smaller hotel on a great beach.  Another condo type building that is VERY popular due to the great beach and reasonable price is Blue Waters, but it is not what you would call deluxe.  I would save Cap for a honeymoon or anniversary and look into the more moderately priced accommodations.  

You also mentioned that you wanted to cook, but Cap, Malli, Cuisinart do not have kitchen facilities.  Cove Castles does have them and Frangi has some accommodations with kitchens.  Blue Waters has kitchens.  Another one that is really popular is Carimar, also has kitchens.  

Then to confuse the issue, there are private villas, but hardly any right on the water.  Check out Lime Tree House on that web site though as it has an excellent reputation.

You will need to rent a car on Anguilla.  Even though it is a small island, the roads are rough to be riding bikes and it is kind of spread out.  The 'town' isn't anything to get excited about, but there are a few grocery stores around.  Food is expensive, compared to the U.S. but if you have cooking facilities you can at least do breakfast and cocktail hour at 'home'.  Wine and beer are not very expensive and there are places you can go to buy lobster and fish from the fishermen.  Sometimes the produce is pretty shabby and most of the meat is frozen.  

Go out to Scilly Cay one day for their barbeque lunch--lobster, crayfish or chicken.  Pricey but a great experience.  

There are some smaller, more local restaurants that aren't as expensive--Tasty's, Smokey's, Roti Hut, Raffi's and many others.

Please let me know if you need some more help.

Kathy