We went to Anguilla in the second week of December. We had a great time staying at the Aurora Resort https://www.auroraanguilla.com/. They had a great deal at then end of the low season. In season the price to stay at this property is quite high. They have 2 hotels( one of Merrywing Beach and the other on Rendezvous Beach), villas and a golf course. Also have a number restaurants and they just opened a large water park. The property is on 2 beaches with Rendezvous Bay being the nicer beach. We had a package that gave us $250 per day to use at the hotel so we basically ate the hotel restaurants. The Merrywing Beach hotel is newer and more modern but we like the Rendzvous Beach Hotel. It has a nicer beach.
Anguilla is a long island with beaches and fancy resorts. The beaches are incredible. the hotels are beautiful but crazy expensive. There is a Four Seasons, Cap Juluca, Aurora, Malihouhani and a few others. Look for off season deals.
Restaurants at Aurora include the Chef's Table, Tokyo Bay, D Richards - a steakhouse on the golf course, Oliva- Italian and each hotel has a lunch spot on the beach. There is a shuttle to take you around the property which is pretty big.
Food can be expensive in Anguilla. The restaurants at the hotel were actually reasonably priced and the wine list was reasonable as well. They have an amazing cellar of old Burgundys and Bordeaux. If there is a wine you want , negotiate.
Prices on the island can be in local currency -Eastern Caribbean dollars. They are valued higher than the US dollar so beware of prices. The hotel is priced in US Dollars which made things easy.
They upgraded our room and gave us a beautiful oceanfront room that was very large with a balcony overlooking the ocean. The service at the hotel was great. We had a personal concierge who was very nice and helped with reservations and such.
Getting to Anguilla was quite easy. We took a nonstop flight from Newark to St Maarten. I made reservation with a ferry company to take their ferry from Juliana Airport in St Maarten to Blowing Point terminal in Anguilla which the main port to arrive in Anguilla. There are a few ferry companies that have gotten together and support a small ferry terminal 3 minutes from the airport. When you clear customs in St Maarten they meet you and escort you to a van for the very short drive to the ferry terminal. We used Calypso Charters Anguilla and the cost was $75 pre person each way.
I like to have a car on Anguilla and we rented from Bryans Car Rentals https://bryanscarrentals.com/. We did everything on line and they were exceptionally efficient. They left the car for us at the ferry terminal and we returned it to the same parking lot. It was a small car that ran well and it was reasonbly priced. They supplied the Anguilla drivers license. They drive on the other side of the road(like England) but our car was an American drive car. I know Anguilla pretty well so it was easy to navigate the island. The hotel will arrange transfers if that is your preference.
The weather was sunny but we had strong winds for 3 days. The hotel did not allow umbrellas to be open on the beach during the high wind time which was a major inconvenience. Lounges and umbrellas are free for guests and service at the beach is good.
They opened a large water park at the Merrywing hotel on the day we left so we did not get to try it out. There is a river pool, water slides, tennis courts and other facilities.
The golf driving range is free to guests including a full set of clubs. I did not play a round of golf this time but I have in the past. It is a very scenic course. I can't comment on it difficulty or interest for a good golfer. They also have a 9 hole par 3 course.
