Korinne and I are off to Anguilla bright and early tomorrow (Thanksgiving) morning. Can't wait to get down there and relax and have fun. I've been busy at work, but nothing like she was through election day. I imagine she's got a lot more steam to blow off than I do. Either way, we'll be on the ground in St. Maarten in 16 hours, in Anguilla 30 minutes later, and on the beach by 3pm Atlantic Standard Time. You may notice the posts in this blog appear to be posted an hour later than they actually were, but before we switched back to standard time, they were correct. I have the blog set to Atlantic Standard Time - Anguilla time. I've already been on that time for a while.
Have a great Thanksgiving, keep reading the blog, and look for more posts in the near future. Hopefully I'll have a FINAL reservation form to send to you soon, and please feel free to start making your plans. If we don't see you before, we'll see you in Anguilla in late April...
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Photos!
It's the day before Thanksgiving, and about 12 hours before Korinne and I head to the airport to fly to Anguilla for 10 days (via St. Maarten, of course). I finally got around to downloading the photos from our wedding location scouting trip to Anguilla in April. Actually, Korinne finished with the campaign and finally got around to bringing the camera/computer connector cord home from her office.
Anyway, here are some photos that may be of interest to you and your hotel selections.
Cap Juluca at sunset:
View from the restaurant at Cap Juluca:
Anyway, here are some photos that may be of interest to you and your hotel selections.
Cap Juluca at sunset:
View from the restaurant at Cap Juluca:
View from the balcony of an oceanview suite at Carimar:
View from a poolview suite at Paradise Cove:
Hotels - Paradise Cove
Paradise Cove is a nice little apartment-style hotel, with garden-style buildings surrounding a large pool and bar area. See below for website link. It is a few hundred yards down the road from Cove Bay beach, and also a short walk from Maundays Bay, site of Cap Juluca. The rates here are great, and as I mentioned in my previous post on Viceroy, I think they should actually be lower than what is on the form.
There are studio, one- and two-bedroom, and penthouse suites at Paradise Cove, all with a kitchen, patio, etc. The pool is nice, and there's a cool little bar at one end of the pool. There's a fitness center, a cafe, and two jacuzzis (niEEce!), and you can actually have them do grocery shopping for you before you get there. We haven't stayed here, but toured the rooms and grounds in April. This can be a great option if a bunch of people want to stay in the same place with lots of room, don't mind being off the beach, and most importantly, are looking for an economical option.
The hotel can also arrange a bunch of the activities and amenities that aren't provided directly by the hotel. And, as I've mentioned, all beaches in Anguilla are public. So you can stroll (or get a ride) down to Cap Juluca and hang out at the beach there if you want.
There are studio, one- and two-bedroom, and penthouse suites at Paradise Cove, all with a kitchen, patio, etc. The pool is nice, and there's a cool little bar at one end of the pool. There's a fitness center, a cafe, and two jacuzzis (niEEce!), and you can actually have them do grocery shopping for you before you get there. We haven't stayed here, but toured the rooms and grounds in April. This can be a great option if a bunch of people want to stay in the same place with lots of room, don't mind being off the beach, and most importantly, are looking for an economical option.
The hotel can also arrange a bunch of the activities and amenities that aren't provided directly by the hotel. And, as I've mentioned, all beaches in Anguilla are public. So you can stroll (or get a ride) down to Cap Juluca and hang out at the beach there if you want.
Hotels - Viceroy Anguilla
The Viceroy is a brand new luxury hotel located on a coral cliff between Barnes Bay and Meads Bay (where a couple of the other hotels are). See below post for website. It just opened this month, and Korinne and I will be taking a look within the next few days when we're in Anguilla. This is one of a handful of major developments that were taking place in Anguilla at the peak of the lodging market, and is the only one that is or will open anytime soon.
Viceroy was developed by a company called Kor Hotels, which just changed its name to Viceroy Hotel Group, and also has Viceroy hotels in Miami, Palm Springs, Santa Monica, and Snowmass. It's the only "branded" hotel on Anguilla, and based on the others, expectations are high. Fortunately for all of us, since they just opened and the hotel market is in the dumps, the rates they are offering are pretty good - and even better for our group.
This is a place that will command premium rates once it stabilizes and the lodging market comes back, so this is a great opportunity to stay at a hotel like this for a reasonable price. They will be offering us both garden rooms and oceanview rooms. Viceroy has all the amenities you could ask for - spa, multiple restaurants, great pool, and great service.
You should have received the updated reservation form from me in an email, though I may have to send an amended one (again) because of some confusion on the rates for the Paradise Cove (I think the rates should be lower than what is on the form). Please start to send these in to Jackie to reserve your rooms. As you now know, there is at least one other wedding down there, but we do have rooms blocked off at all the hotels we've discussed to date (except, obviously, Frangipani).
Viceroy was developed by a company called Kor Hotels, which just changed its name to Viceroy Hotel Group, and also has Viceroy hotels in Miami, Palm Springs, Santa Monica, and Snowmass. It's the only "branded" hotel on Anguilla, and based on the others, expectations are high. Fortunately for all of us, since they just opened and the hotel market is in the dumps, the rates they are offering are pretty good - and even better for our group.
This is a place that will command premium rates once it stabilizes and the lodging market comes back, so this is a great opportunity to stay at a hotel like this for a reasonable price. They will be offering us both garden rooms and oceanview rooms. Viceroy has all the amenities you could ask for - spa, multiple restaurants, great pool, and great service.
You should have received the updated reservation form from me in an email, though I may have to send an amended one (again) because of some confusion on the rates for the Paradise Cove (I think the rates should be lower than what is on the form). Please start to send these in to Jackie to reserve your rooms. As you now know, there is at least one other wedding down there, but we do have rooms blocked off at all the hotels we've discussed to date (except, obviously, Frangipani).
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Hotel (Bad) News
I just found out that the geniuses at Frangipani rented the hotel to another wedding party, despite our already confirming that we were going to do the same. Ugh. We are working on different hotel options, and have a couple things almost lined up already. Those include the Viceroy (http://www.viceroyanguilla.com/), which is a brand new luxury hotel right down the beach from Meads Bay (Frangipani, Carimar, etc.), and Paradise Cove (http://www.paradise.ai/), which is a more economical option but is still a nice place to stay.
Viceroy is offering us really great pricing, though it appears that it will be slightly higher than Frangipani. But like I said, it's brand new (opened this month) and is supposed to be spectacular. The Paradise Cove is not right on the beach, but is only about 300 yards away from it - actually from Cove Bay, which is right where Smokey's (wedding location) is situated. It is more of an apartment hotel, with 1- and 2-br suites and kitchens available, surrounding a large pool and bar.
I will be sending out yet another hotel registration selection form from Jackie as soon as everything is nailed down. Apologies for the confusion and delay. I imagine these hiccups happen during any wedding planning, but this one is especially frustrating and disappointing. Also, it looks like Carimar has had some cancellations, so there will be some rooms available there. I think they are 2-br suites that can convert to 1-brs, and Carimar is right on the beach and economical.
Viceroy is offering us really great pricing, though it appears that it will be slightly higher than Frangipani. But like I said, it's brand new (opened this month) and is supposed to be spectacular. The Paradise Cove is not right on the beach, but is only about 300 yards away from it - actually from Cove Bay, which is right where Smokey's (wedding location) is situated. It is more of an apartment hotel, with 1- and 2-br suites and kitchens available, surrounding a large pool and bar.
I will be sending out yet another hotel registration selection form from Jackie as soon as everything is nailed down. Apologies for the confusion and delay. I imagine these hiccups happen during any wedding planning, but this one is especially frustrating and disappointing. Also, it looks like Carimar has had some cancellations, so there will be some rooms available there. I think they are 2-br suites that can convert to 1-brs, and Carimar is right on the beach and economical.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Anguilla Map
The best map is probably here at http://www.caribbean-on-line.com/ag/agmap.shtml for all the island detail. Some of you have asked where all these hotels are and if they are close together. Well, for once, you are in luck. See the west side of the island - Maundays Bay is where Cap Juluca is located (#5) and Meads Bay is where Frangipani, Carimar, etc. are located (#s 6 & 11). Smokey's, location of the wedding, is at Cove Bay, immediately to the east of Maundays Bay.
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