Anguilla lays on the luxury

THE Caribbean island of Anguilla, which was badly damaged by Hurricane Irma last September, is looking forward to welcoming a clutch of new hotels this year.

“Our comeback is well on track and by the end of 2018 we will have at least six five-star hotels,” said the tourism board’s UK Manager, Carolyn Brown.

Quintessence, described as a tropical grand mansion, was the first new property to open when it started welcoming guests on January 1. Overlooking the white-sand beach of Long Bay, it features nine lavish suites and villas and a five-star restaurant, Julian’s.

Four Seasons was due to reopen late last month after a major restoration and The Reef by CuisinArt, which sustained minimum damage by Irma, will reopen on April 1. Sister property, Cuisineart Golf Resort and Spa, expects to be up and running in November after a complete overhaul and design rethink.

In addition, Zemi Beach House Resort and Spa, which originally only opened in May 2016 but was badly hit by Irma, is already back receiving guests.

Two other properties, Belmond Cap Juluca (a November opening) and Malliouhana (date for opening unconfirmed) will complete Anguilla’s line up of premier hotels. A spokesperson for CuisinArt Golf Resort and Spa said: “We refer to it as Saint Irma rather than Hurricane Irma, because it provided a restart button for both the hotel and the island.”

In July 2017, pre-Irma, UK figures were up over 100% and even though Anguilla ‘lost’ the busy winter season in the run up to Christmas, UK numbers ended the year 11% in the black, said Brown. visitanguilla.com