The 11 Best Hotels in Anguilla, From Iconic Luxury to Hidden Beachfront Gems
Anguilla doesn’t do big. It doesn’t do crowds. What this tiny Caribbean jewel does do—better than almost anywhere—is world-class beach luxury. Think long, empty stretches of sugar-white sand. Private plunge pools. Rum punch on arrival. Service that feels more like being welcomed home than checking in.
This is an island that whispers instead of shouts. There are no mega-resorts, no cruise ports, no shopping malls. Just 35 square miles of quiet elegance, where the luxury is understated and the beaches are uncrowded—even at high season. You’ll find beachfront suites with nothing between you and the sea but a palm tree. Open-air spas where you can hear the wind move through the thatch. Sunset dinners where the wine list is handwritten and the chef comes to your table.
From Meads Bay to Maundays Bay, Shoal Bay to Rendezvous, this is one of the Caribbean’s most refined hotel scenes—each property with its own pace, its own vibe, its own view of the ocean, and each with its own marvelous, magnificent, world-class beach. These are the best places to stay right now in Anguilla. These are the best hotels in Anguilla.
#1 Aurora Anguilla Resort & Golf Club
You don’t just stay here—you arrive. Aurora is a reimagining of scale and serenity, stretching across hundreds of acres on Rendezvous Bay, with a stunning Greg Norman golf course as your backyard and a hydroponic farm growing your dinner. It’s where you spend the morning in the spa’s healing waters and the evening at a chef-driven tasting room with ocean views. This is a resort that just keeps getting better, enough to put it at the number one slot in our guide to the best hotels in Anguilla.
Favorite amenity: The golf course (and golf center) is one of the most beautiful, well, anywhere. And the waterpark is pretty hard to beat if you’re traveling with families.
Four Seasons Resort and Residences Anguilla
Modern, polished, but still unmistakably Caribbean. Set above the cliffs of Barnes and Meads Bay, Four Seasons is a place of clean lines, white stone, and deep turquoise water. You bounce between three infinity pools, sip cocktails at the blufftop bar, and end the day with grilled lobster under the stars. Even better? It’s now owned by Cayman-based Dart, whose portfolio includes two of our all-time favorite hotels in the region (under the Kimpton and Ritz-Carlton brands).
Favorite amenity: The sunset pool perched on the bluff feels like swimming on the edge of the world, it’s one of the great pool/bar combos in the region.
Cap Juluca, A Belmond Hotel, Anguilla
Cap Juluca is pure romance. Every room is right on the sand, right on Maundays Bay—right near the top for the choice of the best beach in Anguilla. Moorish-style villas curve along the bay, each with private terraces, candlelit tubs, and that endless sound of waves. Breakfast arrives on your patio. The only decision is whether to swim in the pool, the sea, or your tub first.
Favorite amenity: The open-air Peruvian restaurant, Uchu, set in a garden by the water, is a dreamy place to dine barefoot.
This is barefoot luxury with a capital L. Tranquility Beach is all clean design and direct Meads Bay access. These aren’t just suites—they’re turnkey residences with gourmet kitchens, massive terraces, and beach butlers who know your name by the second day. We just love this place.
Favorite amenity: The penthouse’s private balcony whirlpool tubs — basically your own beach-view plunge pool.
Zemi Beach House, LXR Hotels & Resorts
At Zemi, wellness is the soul of the experience. You’ll find the Caribbean’s only Thai-style house spa here, a 300-year-old structure that feels like it was airlifted from Chiang Mai and dropped into Shoal Bay. Then there’s the rum bar, the beachfront infinity pool, and the suites with soaking tubs that open to the ocean.
Favorite amenity: The Zemi Thai House Spa’s vitality pool, surrounded by bamboo and steam, is unlike anything else in the region.
This is where Anguilla tourism was born. Malliouhana’s bright yellows and aquamarines still channel the classic elegance of its 1980s roots—but now with a modern, Auberge polish. The bluffside infinity pool is a stunner, the beach below is crystal-clear, and the rooms are like beach houses dressed for a cocktail party. This was the island’s first major hotel, and it remains a standard-bearer for the destination.
Favorite amenity: Kerth Gumbs’ fantastic culinary program.
It feels like your own private slice of Meads Bay—because at Frangipani, that’s exactly what it is. With just 19 rooms and suites, this boutique gem delivers a kind of intimacy that’s rare, even for Anguilla. The vibe is barefoot-elegant, the service is personal, and the beach—well, it’s Meads Bay, one of the best in the Caribbean. You wake up to the sound of the surf, wander barefoot to breakfast, and lose track of time in a poolside hammock. Even better? The on-site eatery, Straw Hat, is among Anguilla’s best, a strong statement for an island with such a strong culinary pedigree.
Favorite Amenity: The resort’s private boat, FrangiCat, available for exclusive charters—sunset sails, island-hopping, and spontaneous swim stops included.
Carimar feels like the Anguilla of old—unfussy, intimate, and directly on Meads Bay. These are condo-style villas with full kitchens, open-air balconies, and enough space to live. You’re not just staying here; you’re moving in for a week. Families love it. So do couples who want peace and a beach that looks like a postcard. It’s always been one of the best values in the Caribbean.
Favorite amenity: The beachfront BBQ area lets you grill up fresh fish just steps from the surf.
Shoal Bay East is the star, and The Manoah is one of its crown jewels. Bold whites, clean glass balconies, and rooms that put you right above the beach. You spend your mornings walking the bay, your afternoons poolside with a drink in hand, and your evenings at the beachfront restaurant watching the sky light up in pink and gold.
Favorite amenity: The pool deck with ocean views delivers resort indulgence in boutique scale.
Quintessence Hotel, Relais & Châteaux
This is Anguilla’s only Relais & Châteaux property, and it shows. Art-lined walls, hardwood floors, bespoke furnishings—Quintessence is like stepping into a private Caribbean estate, with one of the island’s top restaurants just steps from your suite. It’s quiet, cultivated, and unapologetically high-end (with some striking art on the walls, too).
Favorite amenity: The wine cellar—with over 2,000 labels and private tastings available—is a connoisseur’s Caribbean dream.
Anguilla Great House Beach Resort
Tucked on Rendezvous Bay, Anguilla Great House is old-school charm, Caribbean-style. The gingerbread-trimmed cottages are steps from the sand. There’s no pretense—just beach days, rum punch, and gentle breezes through the shutters. It’s not fancy. That’s the point. This is what the island felt like before the word “luxury” took over. It’s a family-owned, beloved place to stay, one where you really live the island.
Favorite amenity: Rendezvous Bay itself. Beaches just don’t get better than this.
Anguilla has a way of working on you. The longer you stay, the harder it gets to leave. And whether you’re sipping champagne on a bluff or grilling fish on Meads Bay, you’ll start to understand what makes this island different. It’s about feeling something. And once you do, you’ll come back—not because you have to, but because you can’t stay away. And because the beaches really are that much better.
Guy Britton is the managing editor of Caribbean Journal. With more than four decades of experience traveling the Caribbean, he is one of the world's foremost experts covering the region.
