Above: Las EsQuinas in Anguilla (All photos by CJ)
By Alexander Britell
LITTLE HARBOUR — This is why I’m here.
I had just gotten to Anguilla by ferry from Marigot, then by a taxi here to Little Harbour.
JR took my bag, showed me in to the Moroccan-styled room that needed no key, and then I headed right for the view.
This, the pool at Las EsQuinas, looking out toward the green peaks of Saint Martin, is one of those ethereal Caribbean spots.
A place like Anguilla doesn’t lack for sweeping vistas or exquisite pools; but this is more than a view. It is a prolonged, wonderful moment; tranquil, clear and almost impossibly relaxing. Mystical, even.
There are a few other guests sunning nearby, but I wouldn’t know, enveloped in the winds and the sound of the waves. For now, this is my private pool.
That’s the art form here at Las Esquinas, a four-room bed and breakfast that is the brainchild of travel industry veteran Robin Ogilvie, a native of Canada by way of Barcelona whose love for travel extends to every detail at this place.
Sure, bed and breakfasts exist in the Caribbean, though they are rare; they’re usually set in some of the more remote outposts of the Caribbean, and are usually more guest houses than B&Bs. And they’re usually not luxurious.
Above: the Moroccan suite
This, then, is something different entirely, something that feels almost revolutionary.
Above: the breakfast room
It feels more like staying in the ultra-luxe villa of a wealthy friend, one who is there for every question you have, to make you breakfast in the morning (don’t miss the kale and egg “soup”) and to offer on-the-ground, insider knowledge of a destination.
Above: the beach at Las EsQuinas
And it’s a very different way of experiencing Anguilla — far from the large resorts, deeply connected to the real and the local.
Because Robin doesn’t just run this place, she knows Anguilla — the one you want to see, with the fresh-grilled barbecue tents and the secret beach bars. (Anguilla is full of classic Caribbean watering holes, but I was pointed, properly, to Garvey’s Sunshine Shack, a beach bar you think only exists in visions).
Above: Garvey’s Sunshine Shack at Rendezvous Bay
Las EsQuinas is everything a bed and breakfast should be.
And it’s the best bed and breakfast in the Caribbean.
