Monday 27 April 2026 12:51 pm
Why awe-inspiring Anguilla is the Caribbean’s best-kept secret
By Adam Bloodworth
Like the very best paradise islands, Anguilla feels reassuringly far away. Fly to the Caribbean island of St Maarten via Paris, then it’s a transfer by road and another by boat. The travel is such that most Brits and even Americans, neighbours by relative terms, don’t often go. Why would you when there are dozens of easily reachable Caribbean islands offering that moth-to-light trifecta of sun, sea and sand? Well, there are plenty of reasons…
One city is in on the secret: Miami. The only international direct flights to Anguilla take off from Florida’s Magic City. While the package holidaymakers who go to St Maarten have to share the beaches with the hoardes from cruise ships, those who make it – by hook or by crook – to Anguilla contend with barely anybody at all.
Anguillan locals joke about how sleeping is their favourite hobby. They rarely leave the island, except for the twenty-somethings lured by the pull of St Maarten’s rowdier bars and casinos. That quickly becomes old hat; while some pilgrimage to the Americas, most are drawn back by the sense of calm, and the allure of miles of desolate sheet-white sand. As well as the seafood – bold, colourful, big on flavour – turned in the pans of the restaurants.
Tranquility Beach Anguilla
Anguilla is a small enough rock in the sea that everyone is forced together when they dine, which is great for visitors who want to experience the authentic local culture. The locals I meet say they love dining alongside guests like me, but they would say that, wouldn’t they?
Tranquility Beach Anguilla is one of a handful of lovely hotels. It also features residences, with wealthy Miami and New York-based lawyers banging their digital gavels from beachfront terraces, working remotely from the hot tub. Miami’s high-net-worth spend half the week in the city’s trendy neighbourhood of Brickell and their weekends snorkelling Anguilla’s well-stocked reefs, safe in the knowledge that that no one is going to interrupt their sunbathing to offer them a bracelet that was made in China.
This serenity will soon be interrupted by a newly extended airport, forthcoming private jet terminal and two new yacht marinas. A lucky coincidence has recently brought Anguilla a tonne of money. The island’s domain name is ‘AI’, and so international tech bros have been clambering to purchase websites. Over the past few years, the government has pulled in tens of millions per year through the sales, and has spent large amounts renovating infrastructure like roads and street lights, as well as bringing in new hotels and the plane terminals. While most of your time will be spent near water, make a trip to The Valley, Anguilla’s only town, to experience the flashy newness (my taxi driver reminds me these roads once did his back in before the new tarmac).
Anguilla and the A-List
The A-List go unbothered, although they’ll surely be keeping one eye on the aggressive push for tourism. Paul McCartney has developed a reputation for loudly whistling when he’s walking around the resorts and beachfronts, and Adele and Beyonce have retreated to this 16-mile-long patch of British Overseas Territory in the Eastern Caribbean for private holidays.
If Macca fancied a hoedown, he might go to Bankie Banx’s Dune Preserve, where the titular legend Bankie who runs the place (once a friend of Bob Marley’s) plays thrice weekly live shows. Madonna once held a private party here and Bankie, with blunt in-hand, is a charismatic storyteller. His music, inspired by the island’s ship-building heritage, has a folklorean sensibility. Indulge in a rum punch, or something greener, and listen to harmonica under the stars.
Other hotspots include Elvis Beach Bar at Sandy Ground for a relaxed cocktail, and Blanchards Restaurant and Beach Shack for the best example of the island’s audacious cooking; try the street tacos with fish or beef, or the curried chicken salad.
I spent four days along Meads May, with two nights at the Four Seasons Resort, with dining over the illuminated ocean where turtles swim at night, and two nights at Tranquility Beach Anguilla where the only way to spend time is to drift between your room and the beach thirty metres away.
One day I hired a Moke open-top car and drove the island. I visited Sandy Ground for the panoramic views, had lunch at the Scilly Cay restaurant on a private island (superlative seafood) and pit stopped at the Anguilla Arch rock formation near West End village (the island is loosely divided into West End and East End).
Where Beyonce and Adele laid their heads
I also spent two days in a beachfront room at Zemi Beach House, a bohemian-styled hotel in with another incredible beach, but also an infinity pool that has gone viral for its beauty.
The vibes aren’t always this equitable. The Anguilla Beach House, next door to Tranquility Beach, is where Adele and Beyonce laid their heads. Kelston ‘Sweets’ Connor gives me a taste of how Anguilla feels for the 0.1 per cent who pay north of £9,000 per night to rent this eight bed villa.
With triple-height ceilings and priceless art around us, we ate impeccably. There was crayfish, snapper and mahi-mahi served in refined, fine dining styles. It struck me that there are sightlines into this MTV Cribs-coded property from the beach: high security fences aren’t fashionable in Anguilla. I couldn’t help but wonder what famously unpretentious Adele made of all this fancy food.
Later that night we wandered ten minutes down to Leon’s at Meads Bay. This bar is truly a local’s gathering spot, with live music scheduled on on Sunday and Thursday evenings. A short walk from the Malliouhana resort, a spectacular Colonian-style building where breakfast is served to the tune of clifftop views, it is also an inevitable blow-in spot for tourists like me. I ordered a Red Stripe and listened to the local band, hanging out with new friends on a picnic table.
Here, I could be two things at once. I was the tourist wanting the best fine dining, and the would-be local, swigging beer with the band. For now at least, these two things harmonise beautifully on this tiny Caribbean island. Keep it under your hat.
How to visit Anguilla yourself
Go to www.ivisitanguilla.com. Zemi Beach House from £615; Tranquility Beach Anguilla from £425 and Four Seasons from £430. Anguilla Beach House from £9,345.
