This Tiny New Caribbean Retreat Has Cabins on the Sand, Outdoor Showers and a Boat-Shaped Plunge Pool 

Cabins right on the sand. Outdoor showers. Beach beds. A plunge pool shaped like a boat. It’s the newest place to stay on the Caribbean island of Antigua and it’s a throwback, castaway-style beach retreat. 

It’s called the Conch Beach Cabins, and it has just eight cabins, all right on the sand, the sort of classic Caribbean hideaway that isn’t so easy to find anymore. 

There is an on-site eatery called Julia’s on the Beach, where the grill fires up all day and it’s only open to guests staying in one of the cabins. It’s a seafood-forward, elevated menu: think duck breast, calamari and even lobster Thermidor (finished off with the local pastry of the day). 

The cabins themselves are made of wood and wattle, with bright, clean design. The feel? Rustic. There are outdoor showers, no TVs and housekeeping every two days. They all have king beds, AC and free breakfast. 

This is a laid-back, castaway-style retreat, no frills, pure beach. It’s not a place where you take your shoes off and relax. It’s one where you don’t put on your shoes to begin with.

Conch Beach (located in the Crabb Hill/Valley Church area of southern Antigua) is the essence of what we always love about Antigua — the vibe, the direct connection with the beach (all 365 of them), the instant immersion with the lifestyle. The idea for the hotel’s eatery is the “simple sophistication of a Caribbean beach restaurant with a great Rosé wine list,” owner Andrew Michelin tells me. Sounds like a pretty good combination.

Michelin has a portfolio of beach hotels on this island, ranging from the boutique Keyonna Beach (where most of the rooms have plunge pools) and, more recently, the transformed Hawksbill resort (more on that in our story here).

If you know me, you know I love tiny beach hotels, and this definitely ticks the boxes. 

So what about prices? In the summer, you can rent one of the cabins for $220 per night. In the high season in December to the end of March, rates are $350 (it’s not adults-only, although kids have to be 12 to stay). 

For more, visit Conch Beach Cabins.