Anguilla
After St. Barths, Anguilla felt like the exhale part of our honeymoon.
St. Barths was glamorous, fun, and a little chaotic for us in the way travel sometimes is. Anguilla was slower, softer, and much more relaxed. It is the kind of place you go for clear water, beautiful hotels, long lunches, slow mornings, and full permission to do very little.
How we got there
From St. Barths, we flew back to St. Maarten, which was only about a 15 minute flight. It was easy, but definitely turbulent, which seems to be part of the tiny Caribbean plane experience.
Once we landed in St. Maarten, someone met us at the airport and took us to the dock for our semi-private boat transfer to Anguilla. Compared to our St. Barths arrival, this felt incredibly easy. The boat had about 10 people on it, it was really nice, and they handed out rum punches, which felt like the correct way to arrive anywhere on a honeymoon.
The boat ride was about 30 minutes, and once we landed in Anguilla, Malliouhana picked us up and brought us to the hotel.
Where we stayed
We stayed at Malliouhana, and this was the hotel that made the trip feel like a honeymoon.
The welcome alone was memorable. When we walked in, they gave us cold hand towels with essential oils and rum punches, which immediately set the tone. We had booked through Chase points and ended up getting upgraded to an incredible room with a huge private terrace and ocean view. The hotel had also left champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries, and a sweet note in the room.
The biggest selling point of Malliouhana, in my opinion, is the view. The hotel sits on a point, so you feel surrounded by water from almost every angle. It almost feels like being on a boat, but on land. I have never seen water as far as the eye can see like that.
The hotel itself felt very polished, but still relaxed. The pool was beautiful, breakfast was easy every morning, the spa was great, and there were so many thoughtful details throughout the stay. After our first full day in the sun, they left homemade local aloe in our room with a note about using it for sunburns, which was such a small thing but felt so thoughtful.
I would stay at Malliouhana again, especially for a honeymoon or a trip where the point is to slow down and enjoy the hotel.
What Anguilla is best for
Anguilla is not the place I would go for a packed itinerary, tons of shopping, or a big nightlife scene. It is the place I would go for a beautiful hotel, calm beaches, clear water, easy resort dinners, rum punches, live music if you know where to find it, and a slower pace.
How to spend your days
Our first day at Malliouhana was the day we did almost nothing and it was perfect. We had breakfast, found chairs by the pool, ordered lunch to our loungers, walked down to a tiny semi-private beach area, and had a couples massage in the afternoon.
That is really the point of Anguilla. You do not need a full schedule every day. Malliouhana also had some fun little events while we were there. One night, they had Taco Tuesday on the Sunset Terrace, games in the lobby, and a s’mores setup, which gave the hotel a little more energy without feeling like we had to leave.
Renting a Moke
Anguilla is small and easy to explore, and driving the Moke made the day feel like more of an adventure. You do drive on the left side of the road because Anguilla is a British territory, so that is something to know, but it was manageable and honestly kind of fun.
For us, one Moke day was perfect. We used it to visit Cap Juluca, have lunch at Cap Shack, stop by Bankie Banx and Sunshine Shack, and see more of the island beyond Malliouhana.
Where we ate and drank
Celeste
Celeste is Malliouhana’s more elevated on-property restaurant, and it was the perfect first-night dinner.
After St. Barths, where even casual meals felt wildly expensive, Celeste actually felt pretty reasonable for how nice it was. The setting was beautiful, there was jazz music playing, and it felt like a very honeymoon first dinner.
They brought out a bread sampler with different house breads and butter, which made me immediately fall in love. We also had the tableside ahi tuna ceviche, a butternut squash pesto gnocchi, and some fresh grilled fish.
Cap Shack at Cap Juluca
Cap Shack was probably our favorite food in Anguilla.
It is at Cap Juluca, which is a Belmond hotel, so even their casual beach shack is still very nice. But compared to some of the more formal resort restaurants, it had the exact energy we were craving by that point in the trip. Good music, casual beach setting, rum punches, and really good food.
We had ribs, coconut rice, and rum punches, then took an ocean dip after lunch. I would run that exact order back immediately.
Cap Juluca itself is beautiful and worth seeing, even if you are not staying there. The beach is calm and stunning, and the whole property has a very polished, classic resort feel.
Four Seasons sunset lounge
Before dinner one night, we went to Four Seasons Anguilla for sunset drinks because a few people we met told us the view was worth seeing.
They were right. I’m so glad we went - one of the best views in Anguilla and walkable from Malliouhana. It was also fun to walk through another property and see a different part of the Anguilla resort scene.
Straw Hat
Straw Hat is on Meads Bay and felt like a classic Anguilla dinner spot, and it’s another great place to watch the sunset as it’s right on the beach.
We went on a live music night, which I would recommend if you can time it that way. The food was good, the setting was easy, and it had a nice casual energy. We ended up going with other honeymooners we had met earlier that night, which made it even more fun.
Bankie Banx and Dune Preserve
Bankie Banx’s Dune Preserve was one of the most memorable stops of the trip.
It is a funky, casual, local beach bar owned by Bankie Banx, a well-known Anguillan musician. After a few days of polished resort mode, it felt like seeing a completely different side of the island.
The whole place has exposed wood, beachy details, and an almost pirate-ship feeling. Everyone signs the bar, so we signed one of the surfboards, had a drink, and later came back for live music.
Sunshine Shack is also an easy walk down the beach from Dune Preserve, so it makes sense to pair the two. We stopped for a drink, and it was exactly the kind of casual beach bar moment that makes a slower island trip feel more fun.
Leon’s
Leon’s is right on Meads Bay and walking distance from Malliouhana, so it is an easy beach bar option if you are staying there.
We had heard that Sunday Funday is really fun, and I think Thursday can also be a better day, but when we stopped by it was very mellow. I would still keep it on the list, but I would try to go when there is actually something happening.
Restaurants we missed but would try next time
There were a few places we had on our list that we did not end up making it to because Anguilla really does make you slow down.
Scilly Cay came highly recommended for lunch. You take a little boat over to a small island for rum punches, lobster, and ribs, and I would absolutely try that next time.
Blanchard’s was also recommended for dinner, and apparently the carrot cake is what they are known for. Jacala came recommended too, and CIPS at Cap Juluca looked beautiful if you want a more polished dinner on the water.
Our actual Anguilla snapshot
Monday
We flew from St. Barths to St. Maarten, took the semi-private boat transfer to Anguilla, checked into Malliouhana, got upgraded to the dreamiest room, and had dinner at Celeste.
Tuesday
Breakfast at the hotel, pool day, secret beach walk, lunch by the pool, couples massage, Taco Tuesday at the hotel, backgammon, s’mores, and homemade aloe waiting in the room.
Wednesday
Rented a Moke, explored Cap Juluca, had lunch at Cap Shack, stopped at Bankie Banx and Sunshine Shack, had sunset drinks at Four Seasons, dinner at Straw Hat, then went back to Bankie Banx for live music.
Thursday
Final breakfast at Malliouhana, boat transfer back to St. Maarten, then a long travel day home.
Final thoughts
Anguilla was exactly what we needed after St. Barths.
It was slower, softer, and more relaxing, but still had enough little pockets of energy to keep it fun. Malliouhana felt like such a honeymoon treat, and the views were some of the best I have ever seen.
