Anguilla’s glow-up is in full force: new non-stop flights from the East Coast, the Caribbean’s first Guerlain spa, a continued evolution of the already ultra-luxe hotel scene, and a new marina that can accommodate up to 250-foot yachts is slated to open later this year.
With perennially pristine beaches, sublime food, and rugged hiking trails, Anguilla, a 35-square-mile island and British territory, feels like the place to be—now more than ever. The way to experience all the glory of this West Indies paradise is to follow the path of what’s new, while leaving ample time to head for under-the-radar places that have been whispered about for years by locals and regular visitors. Here, an insider’s guide to the ideal mix of hidden gems and proven pearls in Anguilla.
Where to Stay in Anguilla
This is Anguilla’s ultimate IYKYK hotel. Located on the secluded Maundys Bay, a postcard-perfect white-sand beach with turquoise water, the scenery doesn’t get much better than at Cap Juluca. The majority of the 70 white stuccoed villas, some of which can combine to make four- or five-bedroom living spaces, face the ocean and come with personalized butler service. In 2024, Cap Juluca also launched the Caribbean's first Guerlain-branded spa. The sprawling seven-treatment-room spa draws inspiration from both Moroccan artisans and healing modalities of Anguilla’s Arawk, the first inhabitants of the island. Treatments like “Infinite Renewal” and “Ocean Vibes” are apt descriptions for how the space feels (and makes you feel). Cap Juluca’s restaurant scene is also robust and varied–from Cip’s (by Cipriani) to Uchu, a Peruvian restaurant that turns out dishes such as octopus carpaccio and yuca and watermelon fritters. Cap Shack, the property’s toes in the sand dining establishment, proves that you don’t have to compromise on cuisine just because people eat there barefoot.
Formerly Cuisinart, which was taken over by the founder of Best Buy, Aurora is now a five-star family-friendly complex, located on the movie-star gorgeous Rendezvous Bay. Aurora is proving that their entertainment and water parks—theirs is centered around a 600,000-gallon lagoon and 1,400-foot lazy river—go hand in hand with villas that offer private butler service. There is also the Aurora Amphitheatre, a 500-seat outdoor venue, as well as tennis, basketball, bocce courts, and a champion 18-hole golf course. Aurora is home to what is widely regarded as the Caribbean’s leading hydroponic farm that supplies nearly 90% of the produce at the property. In November, Aurora opened Sole di Mare, a fusion of French, Greek, Spanish, and Moroccan cuisine.
Since debuting in 2016, the Four Seasons, which sits on a prime piece of real estate between Meads Bay and Barnes Bay, has become one of the most popular hotels in the West Indies. Their kids’ club, which has a gigantic outdoor trampoline and rock-climbings wall, is one of the best in Anguilla. It’s no mystery why the hotel is such a crowd-pleaser with families. A new dining concept, Lima Limon, brings elevated Mexican cuisine to the beachfront restaurant on Barnes Bay. Think: Red shrimp aguachile and plant-based arroz con leche. The modernist hotel has 181 guest rooms, suites, and villas. There’s a two-story waterfront spa and a fitness center with a newly added dedicated reformer studio.
This hotel, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024 and is considered the grande dame resort of the island, is under new management. Known for its lush gardens and breathtaking views over Meads Bay, Malliouhana is a trailblazer in all things celestial. To start, they have one of—if not the best—vantage points for sunsets on Anguilla. The property has a partnership with the NASA-affiliated SETI Institute and Unisteller Odyssey Pro telescope for next-level star gazing. Meanwhile, their award-winning restaurant, Celeste by Kerth Gumbs, is an ode to Caribbean flavors: black grouper with tamarind glaze and green curry, and sides of plantains and rice and peas.
Complete with a premier spa and a fine dining sea-to-table restaurant called Stone, the 65-room hotel sits on the world-famous Shoal Bay East, known for its wide white beaches, crystal-clear water, and protected coral reefs. It’s the only five-star hotel on the island to run 100% on solar energy during the day. Insider tip: Try one of their spa treatments that pays homage to Taino, the island’s indigenous people, with rituals that focus on layering the body with herbs, fruits, muds, and salts.
The Q Hotel, as it’s called on the island, is the Quintessence. Blink and you’ll miss it, since the turnoff is only marked on a discreet rock emblazoned with the letter “Q.” No expense was spared on the rooms that pay homage to the owner’s Haitian and African art. Their fine-dining restaurant, Julians, is a tropical French bistro that leans heavily toward seafood dishes–among them, coconut-crusted mahi mahi and lobster pasta.
Where to Eat
Hibernia Restaurant Art Gallery has been open on the island for 30 years. But its co-owner, Mary Pat O’Hanlon, says many of the people who come to dine on the French-Asian fusion cuisine aren’t first-timers to the island. That might be because the restaurant, which is situated in O’Hanlon’s home with her husband Raoul Rodriguez and also boasts an Asian art gallery and eclectic sculpture garden, is tucked away in a mostly residential area. The cuisine is inspired by the three months a year the couple spends in Southeast Asia, and it includes dishes like smoked duck with endive salad and their famous Tom Yam Pla, fresh Caribbean fish in a hot and sour broth.
It’s practically criminal to come to Anguilla and not eat directly on the beach at open-air cafes and bars that are the social pulse of the island. Located on the less busy east end of the island, Madeariman is technically a beach shack, but that undersells its excellent food that goes way beyond bland beach cuisine. Madeariman serves a dish that is worth the trip to Anguilla alone: yellow curry with fresh grouper. Come to eat, but stay for the music—live reggae bands play on the weekends.
Jacala is a dinner reservation worth fighting for. (Hint: you have to phone at a certain time of day on Friday.) Owned by chef Alain Laurent and the affable Jacques Borderon, who personally takes everyone’s order, the feeling at the restaurant is that the diners have come home to old friends—but also to excellent food. As the names of the owners suggest, this is French cooking, so anything à la meunière is excellent, as are their desserts.
What to Do
No one knows the island’s terrain better than the Anguilla National Trust, the local non-profit environmental organization which, for $50 a person, will take you on a walking tour almost anywhere you want to go—a service that should not be taken for granted in a place where 90% of the land is private, there are endless back roads, and very little is marked. With a local, you’ll find the best limestone beaches, rock formations, and rugged parts of the island like remote Windward Point, where it feels like no soul has ever set foot.
As wonderful as the hikes are, you need to get out on the water to see the island, since many of the mega-properties are hidden, and the most scenic beaches and cliffs are inaccessible by land. Those in the jet-set crowd call Garfield, of Gotcha Garfield’s Sea Tours, to charter his luxurious boats and hire his knowledgeable crew. The company will customize tours, but a two-and-a-half-hour tour around the island with stops at tucked-away swimming and snorkeling spots like Little Bay might just be the perfect way to spend an afternoon.
Anguilla doesn’t immediately scream dude ranch, but there is a horse culture on the island nurtured by Sea Side Stables. The company will set you up with a horse for a beach, moonlight, or ocean ride. If you haven’t already found your personal bliss in Anguilla, there’s nothing like a leisurely ride, with azure water lapping at your feet and sea breeze in your hair, to achieve an island state of mind.
How to Get to Anguilla
Once a hard-to-reach destination that required a plane and a boat or two flights, Anguilla is now one of the more accessible islands in the Caribbean. The Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport recently underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation, expanding the runway to allow for larger jets. BermudAir recently started offering non-stop seasonal service to Anguilla from Newark, Boston, and Baltimore. American Airlines increased its airlift from Miami, adding a third flight on Saturdays, and Tradewind Aviation offers scheduled flights from San Juan to Anguilla on their modern Pilatus PC-12 aircrafts.