My husband and I just returned from a glorious 8 night vacation at Frangipani Beach Resort on Meads Bay in Anguilla. Before arriving we had been a bit concerned, because we hadn't been back to Anguilla in 12 years, and had always stayed on the other side of the island. Frangipani is a small resort, with a pink Spanish-styled building with many units overlooking both the infinity-edged pool and the pristine beach with indescribable water (aquamarine colored). Our unit, a one bedroom suite had a full kitchen, living room(with a large flat-panel TV) and dining room. The bedroom had a large King bed, another flat-panel TV,a dresser and chair, with a bathroom(shower only) off it. There was another full bath off the kitchen with a full washer and drier, though we didn't use it. There were 3 terraces, 2 off the living room and one off the bedroom-the views were AMAZING!! My pictures look fake, they are so incredibly beautiful. The beach was a 15 pace walk from our suite, and there were never more than 6-8 people on the beach at any given time. There are palapas and beach chairs readily available, and the beach towels, floats,snorkelling equipment and funoodles are right next to the pool. Frangi is a quiet place, for couples and honeymooners who want to spend relaxing days enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. Besides eating,drinking, walking, swimming and sunning, there is nothing much more to do....I took a nap every afternoon on the float in the pool..it was heaven!!

Having read the previous review on Trip Advisor before we booked the trip, I can't help but feel that the previous poster and I must have been at different resorts. There will always be small issues at any resort in the Carribbean, after all, it is not the U.S. We had a burned out light bulb and a small problem with the bed, but the important thing is that both problems were resolved IMMEDIATELY, once I informed the front office. Our water was hot and the shower was awesome, with different jets vertically aligned on the shower panel. Our bed was a fabulous-king sized bed, soft but not too soft, and the linens were luxurious, with high count sheets and a lightweight down comforter. It was one of the most comfortable beds I have ever slept in!

The kitchen in the suite was complete, though we didn't use it much, because the food on the island is spectacular!! We ate the continental breakfast(included) every morning outside, overlooking the magnificient sea. They had fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, waffles, croissants, and pastries every morning, with juices coffee and tea. I like drinking iced coffee when it's hot, and after requesting it once, Jane made sure it was ready and cold every day when we came down!(Thanks Jane, Junita, Jahadia, Melissa, Iona!!)

I will agree with the previous poster, the breakfast gets boring, with no variety at all. I think the owner should add a simple platter of cheeses,ham,salami , bacon,sausgae daily and a different kind of egg each day(hard-boiled, scrambled, omelette,etc.) Since it my ONLY criticism of the resort, I hope that the owner takes my advice!

The chef, Marlon, is an outstanding cook, and we ended up eating at the hotel 3 nights. Thanks for the grilled lobster Marlon!All the food was great-be sure to sign up for the Wednesday night BBQ- they had jumbo crayfish, shrimp, ribs, chicken, veggies at baked potatos and the most delicious chocolate cake I have ever eaten for dessert(I had to take it to our room because after 20 crayfish I couldnt eat another morsel!) We went to the market to buy food for lunch, and the markets have everything you might need. It is expensive, but we like having picky food to eat for lunch. We went out to eat the other nights, as Anguilla is known for it's outstanding restaurants. We went to Roys, Picante, Barrel Stay, Luna Rosa and Tasty's- They were all delicious!!!! If you have time, go to Mango's, Blanchard's and Bananas as well. The Pump House has some evening entertainment and dancing, but we are early-to- bedders.

We were lucky enough to watch a beautiful beach wedding by a resort guest, and to be invited to a very special event at the hotel-there was a pageant for the 6 possible candidates for "Queen of Anguilla" and we watched them debut and present clothes in a fashion show. It was nice to partake in an authentic Anguillan cultural event!!

We tend to get VERY warm, and were thrilled to have fans and a/c in both the living room and bedroom. The housekeepers(Hi Yvette!) were wonderful, and came twice a day. They cleaned any dishes we had, and were totally unobtrusive. Once we slept in and didn't leave the room until 1p.m. When I apologiized to Yvette she said, "Let Peter(my husband) sleep as long as he wants-he's on vacation!" That brings me to the most important part of my review, and the reason why Anguilla is such a special island. The Anguillan people are the most friendly, warm, caring, and genuine people I have ever met. I have been to every Carribbean island except St. Vincent, and can honestly say that Anguillans are very warn and giving people. By the end of our stay I felt like everyone who worked at Frangi was family. Susan and Taura couldn't have been nicer, and I spent alot of time talking to them. They were helpful, caring and totally welcoming. They made me, and I'm sure the other guests as welI, feel as if we were royalty. One day I had a chance to play with Taura's children (on her day off) and it was great for me, because I missed my daughter- Shanti fell asleep in my arms and I was ready sneak her into my suitcase !! Other staff were nice too- Shashauna, Kimberly and Candice-and I'm sure I've forgotten a few! None of the other islands I have been to have people who are so sweet!

Frangipani is an upscale resort and we had the best vacation that we've had in years! We will be back as soon as we can!

Thanks to all of you who made our stay so comfortable!

You can't go wrong with Frangipani!!!!!

Not sure where the last reviewer stayed, but our experience at Frangipani couldn't have been more different. In fact, if that reviewer, or any traveler for that matter, was having such an awful time of it, why not check out and move on?! That diatribe included not only Frangipani, but restaurants and excursions as well. Was there one positive listed? That's too bad, because Anguilla is a lovely island and her charms are many! Frangipani is one of them.

Frangipani Beach Resort was everything we wanted and needed on Meads Bay - and then some! We had a 2 bedroom suite with kitchen, 3 full bathrooms, and beautiful ocean front terrace. The beach was virtually empty every day (we were there for a week in late June) and the sea is so clear! Beds were very comfortable, maid service twice a day with turn down service provided by cheerful staff. Location was very close to several restaurants (Bananas By The Sea, Blanchard's, Malliouhana, among others), but truth be told, when you rent a car (about $55 USD per day), all of Anguilla's fabulous restaurants are a short drive away. We sampled as many as time allowed!

Is Frangipani perfect? Of course not. If you look for imperfections you will find them here as well as any other hotel (save the George V in Paris - the one hotel that lacked any imperfections as far as I could see!) . As other reviewers have noted the entry to Frangipani could be better landscaped. The continental breakfast, though included in the rate, wasn't well executed. We ended up going out in the morning to Geraud's Patisserie (short drive) for lovely baked goods which we brought back and enjoyed on our terrace. Had a couple of lunches at Frangipani which were good . Went out for dinner each night, so can't speak for the kitchen in the evening.

Frangipani is a small hotel. That's an overwhelming positive for us. We stayed at Cap Juluca last time we were in Anguilla and liked not having to take a gold cart to the lobby this time around. We appreciated the scale of Frangipani, and it's quiet, gorgeous beach location on Meads Bay.

This hotel was a disappointment. The staff seemed unhappy and service was poor. No matter how friendly I tried to be, they were standoffish, and seem to dodge my questions…the few reviews before mine made reference to an owner that was there on their visit, obviously he wasn’t there on mine and the service suffered, seems he might need to consider being there full time.
They could not make any suggestions as far as restaurants or things to do and see on the island.
The hotel itself is in need of several repairs and it didnt seem the staff had much interest in attending to the needs of the hotel. Several times I witnessed staff just standing around chatting, or inviting some their friends to the hotel to “hang” out with while they “worked”.
The shower was missing tiles, there were holes in the wall were pictures were once hanging. Where is the attention to detail here? Is their attitude...let’s hope they don’t notice?? These are all easy fixes but yet remain undone.
There is major construction underway on both sides of the resort, minimal noise; I could hear an electric saw being used most morning, but more of an eye sore than anything else.
Some have reported DVDs, stereos, VCRs, in the room; I had none of this in my room, so this must be for the most expensive ocean front suites. We had just a regular room not a suite and it was pretty bare bones.

I called the front desk to inquire what the charge was for local calls, and I received a reply of, “25 cents a minute I think”…
I think? If the front desk doesn’t know the charge for local calls who on earth does?
They could not cash travelers checks of more then 100.00 a day, which was a big inconvenience if you know this island, 100.00 dollars last about 5 minutes.
I went on one snorkeling trip they did happen to suggest (after much prodding) and I was assured by the hotel front desk that the snorkeling excursion company took credit cards, I did not want to carry that much cash with me,,, turns the snorkeling company did not take credit cards and left me in a very bad position and a very unhappy boat captain.
There is no excuse for this, this hotel does business with this company on a regular basis and to put one of their guests in such awkward position is unforgivable.
There are no in rooms safes so we had to come up with ways to hide our travels checks and the few valuables we took with us, such as passports.
A few times the maids walked right in without knocking which, if I wasnt already dressed for the morning could have been a bad situation...
The maids are also very loud in the morning, I happen to enjoy sleeping until 9 or 10 am while I am on vacation since I have to wake up so early in the real world for work .
The maids clean the rooms next to mine, each maid taking a different room across the hall from each other,,, and shout back and forth at the top of their lungs , so loud it could wake the dead,,,at one point I heard one maid say, wake up wake up…obviously addressing me as I was still in bed at 10 AM and they didn’t want to come back.
Turned down service was like the rest of the hotel, sometimes you get it sometimes you dont, and that includes, shampoo/conditioner/lotion/soap….dont use all these up, you might not get more.
They did have snorkeling equipment, a few pools toys, pool floats, and a cooler of bottled water near the pool that was free.
There was a couple hobie cat sail boats you could use, but I never saw them being used.
I was there for 10 days and not one day did they have hot/warm water….I took cold showers for 10 days straight.
The beds were absolutely brutal on my back,,,after the 3rd night I decided to take a look at the materess,,,I was amazed at the age of it….it looked like it was from the 1970s ,,no support whatsoever…..Its clear it has not bed replaced in a very long time.

The hotel has two pools, the infinity pool is very nice and pleasant but the one in the back near the front desk they seem to neglect and was Turing a shade of green….lots of debris floating in it….I understand not many people use this pool but it should be kept clean at the very least…Its by the front desk so im sure they know it needs help, just, another sign the staff does not care.

The free continental breakfast was same everyday…cereal/fruit/ yogurt/bread to make toast, cold waffles, orange juice (aka...Tang),,, was decent enough but after the 5th day I got burned out on it and tried a omelet…big mistake,, it was horrible,, was burned,, I blew 45.00 a two over cooked omelets,,, it made Denny’s look like a 5 star restaurant


The shower in the bathroom has several missing tiles and would come off and fall to the floor when taking a shower, I lined then up for the maid to pick up since I thought they might want them to glue back later, but seeing how many were missing, doesant seem like they do this… The shower also does not have a curtain or door, so you must be careful not to flood the bathroom floor when you take a shower. But this has little chance of happening do to the weak water pressure.


The AC unto was so noisily there were nights I couldn’t sleep…seemed like a truck was parked in my room…I finally turned the AC off and put the ceiling fan on high just to get to sleep.

The staff asked me every day while I was on the beach chairs if I was staying with them,., no doubt to hit me up for cash for using the chairs if I wasn’t…strange thing was,,, the same people in the staff asked the question over and over….almost daily to me.….after the 5th day or so you think you they would remember you.
If you think along the lines of a Best Western here in the states, then you wont be disappointed.

To touch on the island just a bit. its very expensive, little to do. If you notice on the Anguilla forums all they talk about is going out to eat…thats because its about all there is to do after you done with the beach.
If you have had thoughts of Tahiti, Hawaii, or other tropical places you have dreamed about, but always thought too expensisive,,,do not go to, Anguilla ,,,To put it in persective,,,two hamburgers fries and a two cokes,,,the bill was 65.00 yes you read that right…I still have the receipt for proof!!
All bills include a 15 % tip plus service charge and tax, so be careful when you receive the bill since the line is still there for you to leave a tip…which you already have done.

Can cokes 5.00 a pop…I made the mistake or having a ice tea at one resturaunt,,thinking refill were free I had 5 ice teas with dinner…the ice teas were 5.00 each NO refills….I spent 25.00 just on ice tea…
There are just a few places to eat that are reasonable…and when I say reasonable, I’m talking about 50.00 for two… One was called English Rose, I had fish and chips most nights, tried a burger and it was a premade patty like you had in school…not too good.
Went out to a few nice resturaunts,,,Tastys was one place we tried and it was horrible and once I got the check I felt even worse…The most tasteless dinner I can say I ever had.
And to think I spent 200.00 on it makes me still feel sick to this day.

Everyone seems to rave about raved about Tastys, so we decided to take a chance. It was the worse 200.00 dinner I may ever have in my lifetime…they need to change the name to Tasteless, which it was.
The coconut crusted mahi mahi was dry and very close to being long johns silvers quality.
I was discouraged after the Tastys experience but we deiced to try one more time and sure glad we did. An Italian restaurant called Caprice…outstanding service and food…The owner is a real class act and makes you feel like you’re the only one in the restaurant…
He has two chefs flown direct from Italy in his kitchen and the pasta is made in house fresh everyday….wine list is wonderful. Very romantic ambiance as it overlooks St Martin, while dining in candle light.

We had pizza at Un Amore Café; a nice sized pizza can be had for 20.00...a very good deal. And the pizza is really good... cash only, no credit cards
There is a small gift shop and smoothie stand that sells can cokes for a dollar, and wonderful smoothes for 5.00, its called Bartlett’s gift shop…stop in if you can. Great owners.


Tried what I thought was an affordable Mexican restaurant called Picantes
When you think Mexican food here at Picantes think your local taco cabana, or your typical family Mexican restaurant in your town but selling. 25.00 burritos, my bill for two basic burritos and two cokes, with the “service charge” added in… (What all restaurant do in Anguilla), came to 65.00...this is no joke but yet in some perverse way it’s laughable.

This island must have a genius as a PR person….yes the beaches are nice, but I have traveled all over the Caribbean and they are just as nice on other islands…
The island itself lacks beauty, lots of debris strewn about in front yards,,,abandon junked out cars…half done homes with dry wall exposed,,,very little vegetation
The island would improve ten fold if it would just clean up the trash laying around…the beaches in front of the hotels are clean, but we visited some beaches not on a resort and they were full of trash, a mixture of washed up trash from the ocean and other trash,, like bottles and coke cans and other things left by visitors to the beach….
The island should employee people to clean these beaches.
I understand there is a problem with the youths on the island being somewhat out of control and not wanting to work, and targeting tourist for theft…many times we were told by locals not to leave valuables on the beach because the youths will take it and try to sell it…
And this was confirmed by locals in St Martin who told us the same thing, saying “they cant control their youths over there”

Snorkeling here is a definite no go…I tried many places and saw very little.
Little bay was the best, but you have to hire a local to take you by boat 12.00 each round trip...5 minute boat ride,,,I it’s a pretty place but not much sea life,,,most of the coral was dead and bleached white…
We did a snorkeling trip with the boat Chocolat …the owner Roland who is also the boat captain, is a very disgruntled person and not happy at all with his job...through out the trip he went on and one about how, tourist have ripped him off in the past and how “pissed off” he gets when people make reservations and changed their mind,,, now this went on for 4 solid hours,,,
He is overly protective of his boat and small dingy which takes you to the beach…I had just a small amount of sand on my swim suit and as we headed back to the boat, in his dingy ,his eagle eyes saw the sand, on my shorts ,,stop the dingy. And insisted I get the sand off…this guy is a joke, it a rubber dingy raft for Gods sake, get real. He said its illegal to take sand from Angullia beaches, his poor attempt at humor…
He used some profanity on the trip as well and I was glad there were not any children on the boat.
The snorkeling trip is advertised as open bar, well…only if you ask for a drink, none were offered. And if you asked form more then two you get a bit of the stink eye…
The tour takes you to two places to snorkel. Which was nice, only problem, no fish.
I saw nothing for 2 solid hours. Then the take you to a small island for lunch, where lunch is included but you have to buy your drinks, beer and soda is 5.00 a pop.
This “snorkeling tour” cost me 180.00 for two, and I wish I didn’t do it…I had another boat booked but canceled after this tour not wanting to be disappointed again.
On a bright note, Anguillas locals , are very nice…they are quick to offer directions, which you will need since there are very little street signs and you will need help to find almost anyplace you go …I found very little tension here between locals and tourist..Im sure the lack of swarms of tourist from cruise ships might help relations plus the fact that this island survival is totally dependant on the tourist.
Back in St Martin. A few locals asked him how my trip to Anguilla was, they told me the island is way over priced and St Martin is 60% cheaper, in every way…food, gifts. Wine…lodging
Usually on my vacations, when the days are coming close to an end, I feel a sadness, wishing I could stay, if just for a few more days, This vacation I was packed and ready to go 3 days before it was time….I doubt I will ever return to this island, while the beaches and the people are very nice,,,there are several other islands a with the exact same thing at half the cost…with a few more things to do and a bit more kept up and more physical beauty not so scrubby and run down.

My husband and I spent a lovely week at Frangipani in early June. We've been going to Anguilla for over a decade, stayed in many different places and Frangipani is just a great value. Very nice rooms, great new pool, with management that cares and responds. Every year we debate about where to stay because there are so many options, but this year decided to go with Frang rather than splurge for Covecastles or Cuisinart and really glad we did. We stayed in the ocean view room and then moved to the one bedroom suite and both rooms had flat panel TVs, DVDs and CDs. Going back with the children next year. The one improvement I'd encourage is the included breakfast is poor.