This Anguilla Beach Resort Just Debuted A New Luxury Villa
Frangipani Beach Resort’s posh new 5,000-square-foot villa is everything you want in an unforgettable getaway.
The fan favorite Frangipani Beach Resort in Anguilla has received many laurels over the years, including being rated the No. 1 destination hotel in the Caribbean by Travel + Leisure , as well as being ranked No. 3 by T+L in the world. Now the addition of a luxe new exclusive-use villa on the property has made it even more attractive to the jetset, both regulars and those experiencing the attractive island for the first time.
Not everyone wants an exotic retreat with all the honeymoon-style, superficial trappings. The laidback, eco-friendly Frangipani has a long list of repeat guests particularly for the fact that it feels like a home away from home—albeit in paradise.
After a day on the white-sand beach, or coming about on a Hobi Cat in the sea of tranquil Meads Bay, guests can take a break from sunning and swimming with a spectacular dinner at award-winning, on-site Straw Hat restaurant. Or they can shoot hoops or play tennis, jump on a treadmill at the fitness center, or simply indulge in the hotel’s signature spa treatments.
Despite a tourism boom, and a vibrant music scene, Anguilla, a British overseas territory about seven miles from St. Maarten, is still a retreat from its larger, noisier neighbors. There are only six traffic lights on the island of 35 square miles. There’s no room for multistory, high-rise hotels. Hence the perfection of the family-owned Fragipani. It is chill personified in all its Caribbean-inspired 23 rooms and suites; Frangipani, also known as pumeria, is a fragrant Tahitian tree that blooms five-petal flowers, planted throughout the properties oceanside acreage.
And now the pink-hued, west-end-island side resort, with its palm-fronded, clay-tile roofs and private beach, recently revealed a 4-bedroom, 5,000-square-foot beachside private villa for those that want to take an extended holiday from the rigors of life. With family, or not, there’s room enough for everyone or space to just stretch out while still enjoying all the benefits of being on the resort property.
“The Villa at Frangipani is unlike anything else available in the Caribbean,” says Frangipani’s General Manager John Vasarka. “It provides seclusion and access to the resort’s opulent amenities, complete with uncompromising service and barefoot elegance that Frangipani Resort has become known for,” he said. Like the rest of the resort’s guest rooms and suites, it is pure sanctuary, but expanded in all the best ways.
The villa features a private beachside pool and hot tub. waterfront bedrooms both upstairs and below, and five baths, as well as indoor-outdoor showers, along with terraces and patios (like nearly all of the resort’s guest rooms). Among its fun amenities, there is an eight-foot-long pool table and a full-sized shuffleboard roll. Not to mention the sprawling balcony off the master suite that takes in stunning sunsets.
You can rent a Moke, the retro-cool golf cart-style conveyance popular in the islands, to see Anguilla in style. Or just take one of the complimentary bicycles—which are available to the entire resort—into town to buy groceries, or book a private chef to come to your villa and prepare local specialties. The concierge can also be recruited to buy a week’s worth of provisions for you if you prefer.
The resort’s suites all have updated full kitchens and modern baths. Some returning guests suggest taking a room above Straw Hat in the newer building, where the views are even more stunning. Straw Hat also provides beach service during the day. And the resort also has an on-site boutique, Petals, that curates singular beachwear and take-home items to remember the experience, as well as a library so there’s no shortage of reading material.
The award-winning restaurant Straw Hat offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner with menu items featuring fresh catch-of-day seafood and other locally-inspired cuisines. That includes a stellar seafood frittata at breakfast or brunch, as well as a create-your-own omelet with locally-sourced goodies. Dinner is all about the signature preparations of the sea, including mahi-mahi and grilled snapper. The Asian salad is a favorite starter, as is the tuna flatbread. The resort is also known for its rum punch, among its other tropical craft cocktails.
The heralded Plumeria Balinese Spa provides custom-tailored body treatments, in the facility or in-suite, on-beach too. Spa guru Sri Wahyuni and her team put forward the healing traditions of Anguilla, while utilizing plant-based products from local purveyors and island suppliers. Massages, facials, and body scrubs are among the services on offer.
One of the best experiences for Frangipani guests is that they can hop aboard the resort’s private catamaran, in which they can explore some of Anguilla’s more remote beaches—and beach bars. Anguilla has 33 distinct beaches, though Meads Bay, right on the resort’s doorstep, is its most popular and pristine. The hotel’s boat ride can take guests to Sandy Island for snorkeling or a beachy lunch on the postcard-perfect island. Guests can also charter their own boat to explore the offshore cays. And the hotel offers a water-skiing as well, rolling behind its 17-foot motorboat.
Sneak out at night for the music scene to small-town Anguilla’s strip called Sandy Ground. You can find great pubs featuring live music, and the area also has an annual reggae festival. For live jazz, hit Johnno’s Beach Stop, on Sundays. And a standout to remember: the world-famous Elvis’s Beach Bar, where a docked boat is its venue and serves swell Mexican fare.
In a sea of cruise ship-trodden islands and resorts in the Caribbean, Anguilla is a welcome respite with no lack of luxe features, while Frangipani is the place to go for those in the know. But if you want to get a spot in their new villa, you’d better book fast….
