Hermitage Bay
Location: St Mary, Antigua
Romantic all-inclusive Caribbean resort
Location: Antigua
Website: hermitagebay.com
With 30 swoon-worthy suites (some with infinity-edged pools) cascading down a hillside to a sweep of sandy beach, Hermitage Bay offers guests an intimate Antigua escape. Rooms are spread among 140 acres of lush, tropical gardens, and interiors – dark woods accentuated by oaty palettes – lean into a luxury Caribbean aesthetic.
Facilities are standout: think wonderful treatments tailored to every client’s chakras at the Garden Spa, complimentary yoga and Pilates, and an array of water sports. The food also sets this resort apart; it’s exceptional and offers organic seasonal dining with much of the fruit and veg grown in the kitchen garden. The new beach bar built around an old tree is the perfect spot to watch the sun set.
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Local area
Hermitage Bay occupies a small hillside overlooking a sweep of sandy beach on the west coast of Antigua. It might not seem like there’s much in the area – it has that “private island feel” and indeed some guests will choose to stay in their luxurious pool villas with room service on speed dial – but there is a surprising amount to do nearby. Nelson’s Dockyard is around 45 minutes, where one can learn about Antigua’s naval history and enjoy the marina, and there are some good trails around there to historic forts, beaches, and up to Shirley Heights Lookout.
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Then there’s fine dining and beach views at French restaurant Catherine’s on Pigeon Point Beach – where everyone goes on a Sunday – as well as Shirley Heights for Caribbean music, barbecues, rum punches, with Sunday socials from 4pm-10pm (again, very popular). For an immersive foodie experience, guests can head off for a guided tour of a small holding farm that supplies the hotel with fruit and veg, where they can try exotic picks like ackee, custard apple, and West Indian cherry.
Eco-tours to remote places like mangroves and reefs can be arranged with a local guide, and for the active, two golf courses at The Jolly Harbour Golf Club, 10 minutes away by car, plus tennis and squash courts offer the opportunity to practise swings and serves. Deep-sea fishing and sailing excursions around the islands give guests a different perspective of Antigua, while private speedboats or helicopters that can whisk you away to neighbouring Barbuda for lunch at Nobu up the luxury wow-factor. Think dishes of Black Cod Miso and wild conch followed by a snooze in a private cabana on Princess Diana Beach.
Discover more about Hermitage Bay here: hermitagebay.com