The Caribbean Island Of Barbuda Is Getting Ready for Its Big Moment, With a New Airport and Robert De Niro’s Beachfront Nobu On the Way  

It was a Caribbean island favored by Princess Diana (one of its beaches still bears her name), famous for its endless stretches of white and pink sand, one of those remote places whose very name conjured up the thrill of the exotic. 

For years, Barbuda was something of a fantasy, a beautiful hidden-away island a hop-skip-and-jump across the water from Antigua. Then came the “unwanted visitor” in 2017 and it was time to start all over again. 

But the little island has quietly been building towards a serious tourism comeback, one that actually began with the debut of the Nobu Barbuda beach club (where people helicopter in just for lunch some days), continued with Discovery Land Company’s Barbuda Ocean Club and ramped last year with the opening of a true international airport.

Now there’s even regularly-scheduled service between Antigua and Barbuda on local airline LIAT 20. 

Next year, though, things will really get interesting: Hollywood legend and hospitality veteran Robert De Niro (his Nobu Hotels are in almost 20 destinations worldwide) will soon be opening his dream hotel on the island: Nobu Beach Inn, which is planning an early 2026 debut. The property will include 36 bedrooms in all, set across 17 bungalows joined by dining concepts and plans for another 25 villas as well (yes, a Nobu sushi spot is a part of it). The project is the brainchild of De Niro, Daniel Shamoon and James Packer, and it’s nearly a decade in development — and it’s actually on the site of the former hotel where Princess Di vacationed, the K Club. 

Amenities will from a toes-in-the-sand spa to a plein-air fitness center to marine biology classes. 

Interestingly, the Nobu Beach Inn is the only Nobu-branded hotel where De Niro himself is also the owner (joined by Shamoon and Packer), and a property spokesperson told Caribbean Journal the star is “extremely hands-on in the development process and directly involved in all design and concept decisions.” 

It’s also a major boost for the twin-island destination of Antigua and Barbuda, which in the last decade has seen its tourism brand rise more than just about any other country in the region. 

It all adds up to an exciting moment for the island, which has retained its pristine natural environment and deliciously uncrowded feel. After all, a boutique, ultra-luxe 17-cottage hotel is the model for low-density, high-impact luxury tourism on a small island.