We have stayed at quite a few Four Seasons and this probably ranks as the highest! Everything was top notch as soon as we got there until the time we left. The service, staff, food, beach service couldn't have been better. A lot of the staff were very personable and helpful which of course makes for a much better experience. Highly recommend Four Seasons Anquilla!

We traveled with my wife in late Feb 2019. We had a terrible experience as far as service went. 4 months later I’m still fuming over the experience. I rarely leave reviews, but my experience here was bad enough that I am making the exception. We stayed 3 nights at Four Seasons and then 4 nights at Belmond Cap Juluca. The service at Belmond was far more superior than the experience we had at the Four Seasons.

Let’s address my gripes:

We arrived at the hotel around 4pm. We were told our room was not yet ready because there was some miscommunication regarding our room preferences. Ultimately it was ready around 5pm despite the fact that check-in was 3pm.

In the meantime, they asked if we wanted dinner reservations and we said yes, let’s book one of the restaurants on the property for 8pm (Coba). Meanwhile, we went and had lunch by the pool and they said they would buy our drinks to make up for the delay in getting our room. When the bill came, they didn’t cover our drinks. I suppose there was miscommunication between the person at check-in and the restaurant. We did not even bother mentioning this initially. But then, later that evening, we showed up at dinner, and the hostess asked for our name, and told us she didn’t see a reservation for us. We asked if they could seat us, and they said we would have to wait 30 minutes (even though the restaurant looked quite empty). We immediately asked them to call the front desk, explained that they told us they would make a reservation for us, and clearly they did not. They apologized, but we still had to wait about 20 minutes to get a table. Quite frustrating especially because we even asked the guy who showed us into our room to make sure that they made a reservation for us for dinner that night. Miscommunication seems to be a common theme already.

They asked us to stop by the front desk after dinner, and we did and mentioned everything that happened, including them not covering our drinks at lunch even though they said they would. The woman at the front desk apologized and then asked us how much the drinks were because the computer system was down and she couldn’t find the receipt. We said we didn’t know...she said she wanted to go get cash out of the register to pay us back. Quite awkward as we didn’t pay cash in the first place...we said don’t worry about it and just credit something back to our room bill, we didn’t want cash. Very strange and unprofessional to even offer that.

Okay so first day was an array of miscommunication and overall flops. Let’s move on and enjoy vacation.

Day two begins with us going to the breakfast. Overall, a fine breakfast but nothing special. Can’t say Belmond was much better on this front though. We went back to the main pool to relax, went to jump in, but it was quite cold (not at all heated). Perhaps that’s a personal preference. But you got to have at least one properly heated pool on a property that large. Anyways, lunch time rolls around and we decide to go Bamboo Bar and Grill. Turns out that on whichever day it was we decided to go there they didn’t offer an a la carte menu, only a mixed grill option which was basically 45 bucks worth of chicken, beef, ribs, etc and sides. Maybe that’s what some people want to eat, but when I’m on a beach vacation, I prefer a lighter lunch. Didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t opt for that at Bamboo, so we said okay, let’s go to Half Shell Beach Bar instead. Asked the hostess to call us a golf cart so that we didn’t have to walk 15 minutes across the property to get there. They told us it would be there in 5 mins. 10 mins pass, still no cart. We ask what’s going on with the cart, and they call back and say there was some confusion but it’s on it’s way now. Another 5-8 mins pass and now it’s been nearly 20 mins that we have been waiting for the cart, and I’m losing it. I say okay forget it, we are skipping lunch and going to the beach and relaxing. I go lay down on a lounge chair in front of Bamboo, and a band comes on there and starts playing music quite loudly. Fine, I get some people want live music with their lunch, and so I try to just chill and read my book. But it just so happens that right next door, there’s a restaurant that’s hosting a reggae party that evening and they start doing sound checks. Speakers blasting at full bass, literally feels like the beach is bouncing. Band still playing, and these sound checks don’t last a minute. They come on and off for at least another 20 minutes. And then back again over the next couple hours. So I’ve got bass blasting and all sorts of cacophony from the sound check, mixed with this band at Bamboo blasting at the same time. I couldn’t imagine a less peaceful and un-zen experience. I am fuming and about to lose it after this mix of horrific communication, general lack of competence, and appalling mix of sounds as I try to relax on my lounge chair. I live on the corner of a busy block in Manhattan and I can tell you I found my apartment far more peaceful than this experience. And I paid 1600 bucks a night for this? I like to spend on staying at nice places, but I expect a good experience. This was about as bad as I could imagine.

Anyways, our third day was much less eventful (good thing). We eventually made our way to the Belmond Cap Juluca, spent 4 nights there, and everything was exceptional in terms of service, the room, and the beach. Food situation in neither was great, but I take that as a generally common theme across the Caribbean (in contrast to Mexico). Two exceptions on the island that are worth eating at: Jacala and Blanchard’s Beach Shack.

If you’re debating at staying in the Four Seasons or the Belmond, go for the Belmond. In fact, if you’re thinking of going all the way to Anguilla to stay at the Four Seasons, you might as well go to a hotel in Miami. Service will likely be equally bad, but at least you’ll have better food.

We had a lovely stay at this resort. We had booked a studio but got upgraded to a 1 bedroom at check-in. We stayed for 6 nights and ate at all of their spots & never had a bad meal. Bamboo Grill was our least favorite. The room was spotless & had everything you needed - even an umbrella. There are no black-out curtains in the bedroom & no hot tubs at the pools. We had a plunge pool on our balcony but it didn’t get hot. Food isn’t cheap - think $30 for a burger for lunch at the pool - but it was all very good. The sunsets were amazing.