Four Seasons Anguilla Review

Jessica and I stayed at the Four Seasons Anguilla in June for four nights then went on to Cap Juluca for four additional nights. This is our third trip back and we have found that the split between the two properties is ideal for us.

We booked the deluxe ocean view studio room, but we upgraded to the deluxe ocean view one bedroom suite with Four Seasons Preferred Partner. We have stayed in a few different types of rooms in past visits, but we really love the suites here.

The Property

The property is an old Viceroy property that is situated on a cliff between two bays. On one side you have Barnes Bay and the other Is Meads Bay.

The hallways are open concept with rooms spread across the property, some with amazing views and others with a view of the pool area.

There are lots of spots that are just breathtaking views and made for photo moments. The sunsets are beautiful every time we visit, happening right off the aptly named sunset pool, which is the adults-only infinity pool between Salt and Sunset Lounge.

In addition to the room and suite options, there are also amazing villas, residences and townhome options. While I have not stayed in those options, I have had clients do so that rave about their experience. They’re a little more private and usually have a full pool instead of a plunge pool.

There are three pool areas. The Sunset Pool, which is adults-only and has an infinity edge overlooking Barnes Bay. If you are without kids on the trip, this is a prime place to spend your days. While it can get busy depending on the time of the day, we have always been able to get lounge chairs. There is a floating bar that starts around 4 PM each day. If you are with kids, there are two other very nice pools. The Aleta pool has really cool architecture with palm tree islands in the middle. The Bamboo pool is near Aleta and also family-friendly.

In the evenings, the resort lights fire pits and often has live music at the Sunset Lounge so it is the perfect place to sit and have a drink or just take in the scenery.

The gym is a decent size, very nice new equipment, lots of cardio machines, and weight options as well. Also has great classes such as spin and yoga.

The resort has a sports pavilion with basketball courts, tennis, and rock climbing.

There is also a parking lot available, in addition to valet parking, in the event you rent a car. We also rent a car so we have flexibility in terms of getting to restaurants. If you are only staying a few days, it may be less necessary. The parking lot is easy to get to and from and we’ve never had an issue finding a spot for our rental car.

Room

Our deluxe ocean view one bedroom suite has a large living room area with a huge couch and tv. There is also a pretty large table with chairs and bar area. The bedroom is also large with the standard always comfortable Four Seasons mattress.

The bathroom is large with a separate shower and large bathtub. There is a separate wash closet as well. Inside the bathroom, there is a room containing a smallish walk-in closet. It is definitely big enough for us and we don’t pack light, usually at least three large suitcases.

The balcony is one of the highlights, with lounge chairs and seating with unbelievable views of the turquoise water. There is a heated small plunge pool as well. We are not huge plunge pool people, but a lot of people love it. It’s great when you get a room that has a more private balcony. We’ll usually use it once or twice during our stay.

Beaches

Meads Bay is the primary beach where most lounge chairs are located. It is a little bit of a walk given how the resort is on a cliff, but very manageable, but you can also take a golf cart ride from the valet desk as well if preferred.

The sand is soft and powdery, and the beach is large. It does mean you have a decent walk to the lounge chairs as the sand area is pretty wide, so something to be mindful of if anyone has mobility issues. There have always been sufficient lounge chairs whenever we visit as they can spread out pretty far along the beach.

The water is very pretty colors and super clear. The water is not as calm as Cap Juluca (or Rosewood Little Dix Bay in British Virgin Islands), but it is still really nice and better than you’ll encounter at many other Caribbean islands. You will see some people spend their days at the pool and others at the beach. We tend to lean more toward the Sunset Pool here, but that’s just our personal preference.

All the standard non-motorized equipment (Hobie Cats, kayaks, paddle boards, boogie boards and windsurfers) are available. There is also a really great kids club according to many guests and clients.

Barnes Bay is closer to the villas, but is much rockier and less calm. It is worth taking a walk down there, but you see few people spend the day there. We’ve seen some waves at Barnes Bay when there was weather coming through and they’ll put out red flags. It was really cool to watch from the infinity edge of Sunset pool.

Service

When we came the first time shortly after Four Seasons took over, they had some growing pains in terms of service, but our last two trips more than made up for any initial hiccups. There is also a new GM since those issues and I think that has really helped.

The pool service is always amazing, with water refreshed regularly, cold towels available, sunglasses cleaning, and of course drinks and food service. They will also bring by free treats throughout the day. In the late afternoon, they will have a floating drink service in the infinity pool which is a fun treat. The drink options from the floating bar are limited, but you can still order all the normal drinks from the nearby Sunset Lounge bar.

The service at breakfast is always solid for the Caribbean with dinners being even better.

Management has always gone out of their way to check in and the front desk staff are extremely helpful. Jessica forgot an important piece of clothing at home on our last trip and the front desk helped us find a local clothing store that had options for her. It ended up being a small store in a local neighborhood, but I felt very safe going there. Anguilla has always felt safe to us even though some of the buildings are not fully completed around the island. We were told by a local on a prior trip, that the unfinished look is intentional for tax purposes because they are not taxed if the house is not completely built.

Overall, for a Caribbean island resort, we’ve been very happy with the service here. I’d rank it better than Cap Juluca in terms of service.

Food

Overall, the breakfast is good and the views make the entire meal incredible. They make small changes to it each time we come, but they are all generally the standard buffet options. They also have a mimosa bar available if that is for you.

We also like to have our breakfast in our room at least one day, which is complimentary through Four Seasons Preferred through a TA. It is so nice to eat our breakfast out on our amazing balcony and take in the beautiful scenery.

The pool/beach options for food and drinks are good for lunch and there are two restaurant options as well. We generally just grab a small lunch at the pool, but one of the pool attendants sold us on the Bamboo burger from Bamboo Bar & Grill one of our earlier lunches. He even ran over there himself to get it for us after we ordered. It is a very good burger and I’d highly recommend it for anyone that likes burgers. I ended up getting it again on the last day because it was so good.

There are two dinner options, Salt and Sunset Lounge. Salt is in the where they also serve breakfast, but the food was very good for dinner. Jessica wanted to order off menu this time and the sous chef came out and spoke to her about making anything she wanted. They were incredibly accommodating. He ended up making her a really nice pasta dish that was sort of a take of carbonara but really good. I got the steak and enjoyed it. They give you a little keepsake salt tube that says Salt on it when you get your check, which we thought was a nice touch.

The Sunset Lounge is mostly sushi, but they are also willing to order from the in room dining menu and bring it to you there. The Sunset Lounge is named for its views of the sunset and overlooks Barnes Bay. They also have live music several days a week from here.

Again, it would be difficult to eat exclusively at the resort for longer stays because of having so few options of restaurants, but the restaurants they have are good.

Conclusion

Overall, the Four Seasons is always an unforgettable start to our stay on Anguilla. If you have not been to Anguilla yet, and enjoy beach vacations, this really should be added to your list! Jessica commented that each time we return, she takes a new photo from the same spot (virtually identical photo to those from the last trip) and uses it as her phone background. Somehow it just keeps getting more beautiful, or maybe we’re better at taking photos?