By: Marcia Abramson
Fearing long check-in lines at JFK airport, I arrived for my 6:15 a.m. American Airlines flight two hours early in accord with international airline requirements or suggestions. My taxi arrived, on the button, at 4 a.m. and I left in utter darkness for the little known island of Anguilla, not to be confused with the bigger island of Antigua in the British West Indies, on a Monday morning. I found a fully staffed ticket counter, a good compliment of porters, but an otherwise deserted airport. Restaurants and gate security people did not arrive until after 5 a.m. An important bit of information I gleaned was that Mondays and Thursdays are the least crowded days at the otherwise very busy airport and one hour before departure would be more than adequate on those days. American Airlines got off exactly on time and arrived in Puerto Rico according to schedule in about three hours of flying time. After a short layover, I was off on American Eagle for a 55-minute flight to Anguilla.
A short drive from Wallblake Airport and I found myself transported to the fabled world of the "Arabian Nights." The Moorish architecture with the oval arches at the entrance of the Sonesta Beach Resort and Villas carried out the magical theme of the fabled tales of the mysterious Casbah of North Africa. As I looked straight ahead through the arches, I saw a large pool, the beachfront of cool white sand, colorful lavish gardens and the turquoise colored sea. Sonesta is an upscale resort with a total of 100 rooms, suites and villas. I was fortunate to have a one-bedroom suite which was glorious with an awesome view of the beautiful Caribbean Sea.
While perusing the gift shop, I had my first encounter with royalty. There was this tall olive complexioned woman in an all-white outfit from head to toe telling the clerk that she could not get a reservation for the five-bedroom Hibiscus Villa where she usually stayed and was at another hotel. She took full responsibility for not making a timely reservation, which she said she would make certain to do in the future. I learned that this lady was the Saudi Arabian Princess, related to Prince Walid bin Talal, one of the world's richest investors with a $50 million interest in Hyundai Motors and a $100 million investment in Daewon Motors, to name a few.
It seems that Hibiscus Villa is where Queen Elizabeth and her retinue had bedded down, after leaving the royal yacht for a few nights. Prince Andrew also found his way to that villa on three different occasions. I explored the Hibiscus and found it to have a lovely furnished living room, a spacious dining room, a huge kitchen, servants' quarters and a beautiful master bedroom suite and marble bath with a bidet, separate shower room, and raised jacousie which could accommodate more than one person easily. Of course no royal home is complete without a walled-in terrace pool and outdoor spa. Royalty can also have their choice of views, the beautiful Caribbean Sea or the mountains of nearby St. Martin. (St. Martin is only a 20-minute ferry ride away and a great place for duty-free shopping). There are also deluxe two and four-bedroom private villas on the 52 acres of lush gardens and pure white sand beachfront. General Manager Matthias Kammerer told me that he has found a great increase in intergenerational travelers utilizing the villas with children and grandchildren. They sometimes come with their own nannies for the youngsters. This is a perfect island for relaxing, snorkeling, sailing, playing tennis on lighted courts and indulging in a thoroughly enjoyable massage in your own room.
If you did not bring your own chef, Executive Chef Daniel Wood serves up some wonderful food in the spellbinding scenic open-air Casablanca Restaurant. The cuisine is a blending of West Indies, European and South American and delicious. I particularly enjoyed the local fresh seafood as well as the excellent choices of cuts of beef. In the British tradition, high tea is served in the afternoon with finger tip sandwiches and pastries.
I also got to sample the food at some of the other Anguillan restaurants and it was really good. A crayfish bisque at the Strawhat restaurant was memorable as was the swordfish I ate there. Of course, the bread basket is a straw hat. The chandeliers are also straw hats and the owner comes from New York's Westchester County. Another excellent restaurant is Blanchard's. All the appetizers looked great, but I opted for the goat cheese Salad with thinly sliced red onions, assorted greens, cherry tomatoes and Dijon vinaigrette. For my main course, I chose the grilled rack of lamb, cut into double-thick chops, basted lightly with Chinese barbecue sauce, mashed potatoes, asparagus and roasted cherry tomatoes with shallots. The meal was absolutely superb. My compliments to the executive chef, Melinda Blanchard. My next column will deal with some of the attractions on Anquilla as well as its history dating back to Christopher Columbus' second journey to the New World.
For additional information you can E-mail Sonesta Beach Resorts at sonesta@anquillanet.com. Copyright by Marcia Abramson--email:mascribe@aol.com
