Day Trip to Anguilla, Part 1
Mead's Bay Beach was one of the whirlwind stops during our day trip to Anguilla, Feb. 11, 2009.
by Wendy Perrin
When I boarded the ferry for Anguilla yesterday, my goal was to check out some of the fab restaurants, beaches, and activities recommended by those of you who've been shooting me Anguilla tips via Twitter, email, Perrin Post comments, even Facebook.
I was derailed: Somehow or other, the Anguilla hotel association found out I was coming (apparently they read this blog), and most of my time on the island got sucked away touring hotels. I know, I know, there are worse things than spending a day checking out over-the-top rooms in Conde Nast Traveler Gold List beach resorts. Still, "the real Anguilla" that I had wanted to explore . . .
... was only a blur as we whizzed past, racing from five-star property to five-star property.
Let me be the first to assure you that dragging 5- and 6-year-old boys from fancy hotel to fancy hotel is no easy thing, especially at a place like the Malliouhana Hotel & Spa:
How did we cope? Find out after the jump.
I am forever grateful to the kind-hearted Malliouhana staffer who volunteered to watch the boys ...
...in the awesome children's play area, complete with 26-foot pirate ship ...
...while my husband/photographer and I toured the property and got to take in views like this:
What you see from Malliouhana's spa.
Can't wait to tell you about the rest of our Anguilla hotel-hopping adventure, but right now I've got to go relieve my exhausted husband, who's been making sure the kids don't drown in the ocean outside our door here on Sint Maarten. (Funny, even though Anguilla's hotels found out I was coming, the place where we're staying in Sint Maarten hasn't a clue I'm here...probably because I booked under a different name.) More later.
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Wendy, the beach you have photos of, Mead's Bay, is spectacular for swimming--glass-clear water on calm days, and, when there's a wind, great breakers. It's the best beach on the island for body surfing. And at sunset, you can watch pelicans diving for their supper. There are many of them on this stretch of coast.
Posted by: kglowcze | February 12, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Dear Wendy and the Perrin family,
It was a pleasure meeting you and your family. Hopefully, on your next visit, you will be able to stay a few more days and nights to fully experience our beautiful beaches, restaurants and its wonderful people, as well as the waterslide at our waterpark!
Kind regards from sunny Anguilla,
Bart
[on a personal note: great blog and look forward to see your trip report on the NE Caribbean]
Bart van Deventer
Resort Manager
Malliouhana Hotel and Spa
Malliouhana Hotel & Spa
do nothing, do everyhthing, do it in style
www.malliouhana.com
P.O. Box 173
Meads Bay, Anguilla, British West Indies,
Postal Code AI2640
T: 264-497-6111
F: 264-497-6011
bart.vandeventer@malliouhana.com
An Ocean Oasis...
www.malliouhana.com
member of the Leading Small Hotels of the World
Posted by: bvdmeadsb | February 13, 2009 at 04:10 PM
Wendy - I can't really tell how upset you were to be whisked away to all these luxury hotels when you intended to see the more "common" side. There is one bit of advice I might offer and would be a polite "No thank you" and be on your own way.
Posted by: ephrumsirc | February 14, 2009 at 12:06 AM
Wendy, My wife and I found renting a Villa was the Island expieriance we wanted.Private pool,Great views and privacy. We rented a car, went to some restaurants, got to go to the grocery store (that was fun and met locals).We picked up hitchhikers, an Island tradtion. One man was on the way to a Funeral and another was a very old woman on her way home from the grocery. We are planning our return this summer.
Posted by: moritz | February 14, 2009 at 02:11 PM
My husband & I visited Anguilla last June 08. We stayed at Carimar. We had a wonderful time and it was one of our best vacations ever! We rented a car and traveled all over the island visiting carefully researched restaurants and, best of all, the beaches. This June we are off to experience Tortola and the other BVI. By the way, one of the reasons we are not returning to Anguilla is because of the cancellation of the daytime American Eagle flights to/from San Juan, PR. We did not want to come via St. Martin and waste our precious travel time. Maybe someone has some "pull" and can pursuade them to reinstate that flight. It has to be affecting tourism on Anguilla.
Posted by: donebyme | February 17, 2009 at 12:02 PM
Thanks for your comments, everyone. I couldn't agree more that Anguilla is a delightful island, with exquisite beaches.
Funny you should mention villas. In addition to touring the three hotels mentioned, I also checked out two villas:
Mead's Bay Beach Villas
http://www.meadsbaybeachvillas.com/
(in fact, the first photo of this blog post was taken from the terrace of Villa #1)
and -- attention tennis fans -- BeachCourt Villa
http://www.beachcourtvilla.com/
All part of my job!
Posted by: WendyPerrin | February 18, 2009 at 02:06 PM
Nice picture, seems like a beautiful place, the most awesome thing about this is that the view has a very classic look to it. I would love to go there.Shangrila Murree
Posted by: adilrehman | August 19, 2009 at 03:01 AM