Malliouhana

Understated luxury. A haven of calm and tranquillity. Staff and guests in harmony. Service being delivered effortlessly and being received respectfully and gratefully. Sounds obvious and simple but very rare to find the harmonious flow between service team and guests.

We're just back from our second visit to this lovely resort in what we hope will be an annual tradition. Although the weather this visit was a bit unusual -- more rain, wind and clouds than typical -- it was still a delight to be away from the bitter cold of the northeast U.S. in such a beautiful, comfortable and relaxing place. We love Anguilla, and Malliouhana is a perfect place to stay. It's small enough (just 60+ rooms and suites) that it never feels busy or crowded, and it has just about everything you would want on a vacation: a great beachfront with excellent service, food/drink and water "toys" on Mead's Bay; two gorgeous infinity pools; a well-equipped gym; a spa with excellent treatments (and a third small pool); and a perfect setting looking directly west from its site on a high cliff over the ocean, providing photogenic sunsets almost every night. We stayed in one of the large ocean-front rooms in the main building: comfortable king bed, big outdoor terrace and bathroom with double sinks, walk-in shower and soaking tub. But what really sets the hotel apart is the staff; everyone we met was terrific -- friendly, warm, and helpful. There are too many names to cite, but a general shout-out of thanks goes to everyone on the Malliouhana team. As others have noted, the location is particularly good for walks up the beach and visits to some great local restaurants. A stroll along Mead's Bay from Malli to the Four Seasons at the other end of the beach is just shy of a mile with several restaurants, the Frangipani hotel and some low-rise condos dotting the way. Although there was more beach erosion this year than last year, we still enjoyed almost daily walks, sometimes stopping for breakfast or lunch along the way. For those with cars (or intrepid bikers), there are also two excellent breakfast places within 2-3 miles: The Village Bakehouse and Mill House Cafe. The only (small and surprising) disappointment at Malli was the quality of the breakfast pastries and breads. The local cafes outdid them in this area with baguettes and croissants worthy of Paris. But other than this minor issue, I can't say enough good things about this wonderful hotel.

The boutique hotel is set on an amazing beach with a thoughtful resort layout that never made it seem busy. Rooms are large and well planned with amazing ocean views. Staff was always attentive. Food was a mix of Caribbean flavors along with classic dishes.

We chose Anguilla for its chill vibes—no gambling/casinos, no cruise ships and no high rise hotels. We chose the Malliouhana (2 years in a row now!) for its location on beautiful Meads Bay Beach, pristine sandy beach on the Caribbean, the cliff side setting and proximity to several well known culinary destinations. We also factored in the on-site restaurants (which were fabulous) the pools and poolside service, fitness and yoga classes and the spa. The Malliouhana has a very genuinely friendly and accommodating staff that attend to every request.

We only spent a night this year after spending an amazing week at another great hotel. The reception was wonderful with a delicious rum punch. Our room wasn't ready till almost exactly 3 PM. We left our luggage and went to Blanchard's beach shack for lunch. Highly recommend for frozen drinks and beach fast food. Our room was very clean and good space. We had a delicious breakfast with an outstanding omelet with lobster. It had so much lobster in it, highly recommend. The staff at Celeste was outstanding. My only complaint is that only one bell staff member is assigned for the entire property. The bell staff are great guys, but they're stretched thin. We waited over 30 minutes to get back to our room from the beach, and we were late getting ready for dinner. When we left, they were over 20 minutes late picking up our luggage, so we dragged it down to reception ourselves. We were worried about missing our boat ride back to SXM. We stayed at this property last year and knew what to expect. The staff arranged our cab ride back with a professional car service. We had it added to our bill, a nice convenience. The grounds are pretty with great views. I went down to the pool this year, and it is a really nice area with great staff. A bit disappointed with the Hilton Diamond member welcome treat: a bottle of water and a small snack box. The room was extremely clean, and all the staff greeted us warmly. An amazing feature of this hotel is the golf cart that takes you to a few restaurants right next to the property: Blanchards, the Blanchards beach shack, Jacala, and Leons. I saw bikes, but we didn't have time to explore them. This hotel is in a truly beautiful location with wonderful staff. Having an extra bell staff available during check-in and check-out times would be a huge plus.