We flew into Anguilla on a Saturday afternoon, so Sunday was our first full day on the island. We hit the beach early, and were just starting to think about lunch when we heard the music start up at the Sunshine Shack, just down the beach from our resort, Aurora Anguilla. We walked down the beach, and grabbed a rum punch. The bar was humming, and Garvey was working the grill, mixing the scent of grilled chicken with the ocean breeze. Omari Banks was doing an acoustic show that afternoon, and while we waited for the show to start, who would walk up to the bar but his father, Bankie…
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When we first visited Anguilla in 2007, Bankie Banx’s Dune Preserve was much different than we see today. Back in November 2007, the bar was expanding, and construction was in full force. My daughter was 10 years old, and spotted Bankie on the beach, prompting one of our favorite photos. Over the years, we have returned again and again, seeing many changes, but the atmosphere remained the same, making it one of the best beach bar in the Caribbean. Take a look at the changes to the Dune over the years. 2007 2009 2010 2014 2020 2023 Watch for “Bankie Banx King of the Dune,” the story of Bankie Banx…
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In the six years since we were last in Nevis, there have been a few changes. The biggest is the development of the beach bars just to the south of the Four Seasons Nevis. Back in 2011, there were basically three bars, Sunshine’s, Double Deuce, and Chevy’s. The area where those bars were located has really developed into a hot spot of beach bars with a wide variety of options. A newcomer offering great food and cocktails is Turtle Time Beach Bar & Grill. Owned by the same family that owns Indian Summer, a fantastic Indian restaurant we also visited, Turtle Time offers a wide variety of dishes and cocktails. We…
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Our first stop on our 2011 trip to Nevis was Sunshine’s, a Nevis institution and home to the famous “Killer Bee.” This trip would be no different, except this time I would avoid the sting that follows consuming three of those delicious rum concoctions. After a long day of traveling, beginning at 2:00 a.m. Nevis time, there was no question as to what we would be doing that evening. Things have changed a bit in the six years since our last visit, but Sunshine’s hospitality and the great food and drink have not. For first timers, I would recommend that you definitely try the jerk chicken and the ribs. If…
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It seems too simple to call it “food and drink” at Rosewood’s Jumby Bay, Antigua. It was like fine dining at every meal, and a wide variety of cocktails at each of the resort bars. Let’s start with breakfast. Served daily at the Estate House restaurant, you have a variety of choices at the buffet, a menu of breakfast favorites, along with a menu of daily specials. My son’s breakfast was the same every day – – a plate of freshly baked croissants, usually five of them. The rest of us varied our choices, although it was hard not to order eggs benedict every day. I loved the crab cakes…
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One constant has remained for every trip to Anguilla – – Saturdays are for Smokey’s. I remember our first trip to the island in 2007. I heard there was live music at Smokey’s for lunch on Saturday, so I was determined to make it there on our first full day on the island. We walked there from the CuisinArt (you could do that back then – the beach was wider). I remember being seated at the table just inside the easternmost door, looking out over the water. I had the jerk chicken (which I’ve had every time since), and heard The Musical Brothers performing, doing Christmas songs. I had found…
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A trip to Anguilla is not complete without a stop at Bankie Banx’s Dune Preserve. We first visited in 2007, and although our kids were young, ages 8 and 10, we forced them to stay up late so we could hear Bankie play. The place has such a relaxed feel to it, that it’s hard to pass up. It’s kind of like being at your own beach place. It’s just so easy to hang out there, and the views of St. Martin never get old. The sign on the road has been updated since 2007. And it’s a bit more built up since then. This year, we popped in when…
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A little extra bit of sunshine can be found on Anguilla’s Rendezvous Bay since our last visit in 2010. New to the beach just east of the CuisinArt Resort is a wonderful beach bar with great food and drink and the friendliest service, Garvey’s Sunshine Shack. Our travel day to the island is always a bit of a marathon. Drive to Chicago the night before, get up at 2:30 a.m., take the shuttle to O’Hare for a 5:00 a.m. flight to Charlotte, RUN to catch your connecting flight to Ste. Maarten (and I mean RUN, as it was ready to take off), take the van to the dock, take Funtime…
