In part II of my Four Seasons Anguilla trip posts, I’m sharing all of our Anguilla food and drinks: what we ate, sipped, and our favorites. Plus tips for travelers!
Read part I of our trip here: Four Seasons Anguilla
Anguilla Food and Drinks
The food on Anguilla is very expensive but it was very, very good!
The food was also so fresh and tropical! We didn’t have a bad meal. Here are our meal highlights!
Breakfast at SALT
Here is a big tip for those visiting: make sure breakfast is included in your stay!
Ours was via the Chase portal and we were so glad because the buffet, while amazing, was $52 a person. Our bill was $135 each morning and included with our room. That would add up so fast otherwise.
The breakfast was incredible though!!
We loved the tropical juices, smoked salmon on a Johnny cake, chia pudding, and spread of tropical fruit. I also got some eggs most mornings, and Thomas loved the mini croissants.
Tropical Juices
I’m not usually a juice girl, but the mango-guava-papaya blends were SO good!!
They had an omelet station, waffles and pancakes, breakfast meats, traditional Anguillan food (I got plantains one morning, and they had lamb and Johnny cakes), and even a kids area with sprinkles and M&Ms for pancake toppers.
The views at SALT were just incredible!!
Lunch at Half Shell Bar
Our favorite spot for lunch was off the beaten path a little – Half Shell Bar on Barnes Bay Beach. You have to walk through the villas to find it, but it’s worth the walk. The bar is right on the beach and you just can’t beat the view!
The food was also amazing, and we had fish tacos twice and shrimp skewers.
Mahi Mahi Tacos
Shrimp Skewers
Ceviche to Share and a Split Tropical Salad
Thomas living his best birthday life
Towards the end of our trip, we ended up just skipping lunch! We ate a later breakfast as we adjusted to vacation life and weren’t really hungry in the middle of the day. That was nice because it saved us $100+.
The staff also brought around little snacks here and there – a smoothie shot, a little taste of guacamole and 3 chips.
And one day my friend Brent shared his quesadilla – that was a nice snack!
I loved the white wine sangria made with peach schnapps at Half Shell!
There was a second spot for lunch: Bamboo Bar & Grill. But we ended up not going because we spent most of our time at the Sunset Pool or the Barnes Bay Beach.
Dinner at SALT
We dined at SALT a couple of times and it was quite the experience!
When you walk in you’re greeted with a welcome drink – tropical juice with a rum shooter and a lemongrass salted rim. Exquisite!
We had a table overlooking the ocean all three nights and the spotlights shown on sea turtles and huge tarpon fish! We sent some videos home to the boys.
Wines
Head’s up that the wines were $18-29 a glasses, but the one time I splurged on the expensive cabernet it was worth it.
Tableside Ceviche
We had ceviche and the conch tostada, both were delicious.
Johnny Cakes “Bread Basket”
Our favorite part about SALT were the Johnny cakes! They prepared the salt table side crushed with basil and mint, and the cakes made with flour and cornmeal reminded me of a mix between a pancake and a biscuit.
Pork Chop with plantain and a rum sauce
Salt cakes and yucca fries
Molten Chocolate Cake
We had this almost every night and devoured it!!
Dessert Drink
To end the most amazing dinner, with your check they bring another drink on the house – a mango smoothie spiked with something good! And little tiny mango gummy bears too.
Dinner at Sunset Lounge
For a more casual dinner, we dined at Sunset Lounge which serves Asian inspired dishes and sushi. You don’t need a reservation here.
The bar is open air and GORGEOUS and they had live music two of the weekend nights.
The Passionate – Pyrat rum, cinnamon, lemon, egg white, orange bitters, passionfruit-amaretto foam. Anguilla’s 50th anniversary cocktail!
We had lobster and tempura shrimp sushi that were some of the best we’ve ever had!
Dinner at Blanchards
We had dinner one night at Blanchards, which we took a taxi to from the resort (for about $25 with tip). Blanchards seems like a beloved local spot, and they had a long list of its history and charitable contributions to the community on the back of the menu.
They also have a casual taco restaurant on the property.
Local Grouper + Jerk Chicken
Cracked Coconut
The highlight though was the Cracked Coconut – a Blanchard’s famous dessert! It was like chocolate bark in the shape of a coconut filled with ice cream. Loved it! We walked home under the full moon on the beach.
Four Seasons Food Costs
Salads and apps were $15-25, lunch entrees were $30-40, and dinner entrees $40-70. There’s a 15% service charge and a 15% tax/environmental fee added to every check, so that means the cost is even higher when the bill comes. Plus you can add extra gratuity for excellent service, too.
Cocktails and wine glasses were also about $20 each, so plan your spending money accordingly.
Since we had the gift card, we were able to not worry about our food or drink costs. We spent $300-400 a day on drinks and dining, excluding breakfast, which was included in our room package (see below!)
If you are a big eater or like to have cocktails all day long, I would double that daily cost.
A note on water: Bottled water was offered at every meal for $10. We didn’t realize this at first and paid for a few bottles of still water. Then we switched to sparkling water if we were going to have to pay for it anyways. Finally we realized we could just ask for tap water and that was fine to drink.
Other Local Restaurants
Aside from walking on the beach, I wouldn’t say that the resort was particularly walkable. You had to take a taxi to leave, although that was easy to get from the front lobby. You could also charge taxis to the room.
Next door to the Four Seasons there was a new club called Savi. We almost went there a few times, but we are just not late night party people so we never did. Also just down the beach was a casual spot called The Straw Hat.
Our friends went to Sharky’s and said it was good, and we had a reservation at Mango’s that we ended up changing since walking down the beach to go there was almost impossible with the tide up and we didn’t want to do a taxi.
Things To Do At The Four Seasons Anguilla
Beach Walking
Aside from basking in sunshine and sipping cocktails, we did do some exploring on foot. We walked to the edge of Meads Bay Beach. I pretended I was on Survivor!
Boat Tours
There are a couple of boat tours you can take to the smaller nearby islands. Our friends did one and said it was just OK. The water was too rough for them to actually get off the boat that day.
Sports
Thomas and I played tennis one day! This was our first time playing together. We were glad the courts and tennis racquets were complimentary, and we just had to pay $10 for some new balls.
Fitness Center
A few of the mornings we went to the fitness center before breakfast. It was very nice with plenty of equipment. I mostly walked on the treadmill at a steep incline and Thomas sweated it out on the stair master.
Watching The World Cup
We got to watch in the open air!
The Four Seasons Spa!
We got massages during our trip and they were great! The spa was beautiful and had its own infinity pool and steam room to use while waiting.
Tips For Visiting The Four Seasons Anguilla
The Free Wifi Was Great
The Wifi on the property was great!! Wifi can be hit or miss and some resorts make you sign in every time through a browser, but this wifi was like being at home after an initial sign in. The signal reached way down the beaches too.
We didn’t opt for an international cell phone plan, and I’m glad we didn’t because it wasn’t necessary. SXM airport also had free wifi.
Beach Bags
You can get a free Four Seasons tote at the front desk, so don’t pack a beach bag!
Sunscreen at the pools
There is no need to bring sunscreen or a water bottle – both are plentiful. They had SPF 30 and 50 as well as aloe at the pools and beaches.
Tips
Bring tons of cash in low bills for tips. More than you think you’ll need!
The Pools Were Freezing
If you are a pool person, you might not mind, but the pools were FREEZING! We had to psych ourselves up for a plunge in the sunset pool, but once we were in it was worth it.
The ocean was pretty cool too – not like the Carolina beaches in the summer.
Attn: Beer Lovers
If you are a big IPA drinker, you’ll be disappointed that the only beers they had were lagers. Presidente, Caribe, Red Stripe, Heineken. Thomas switched to Pina coladas and rum punch!
For the coffee snobs (like us)
We had both a Nespresso maker and a Keurig machine in our room, which were fine, but we like really good big cups of coffee!
For the coffee snobs (like us!) we recommend going to get to-go coffee at the fitness center. It was delicious and much better than the Keurig.
Was it kid friendly?
There were kids and some babies at the resort, but I can’t say I would want to bring mine. There wasn’t a ton of kid activities like water slides and the beach wasn’t very calm for kids, so I don’t think mine would have loved it. (Although I got several texts from the seafood-loving Mazen that he really wished he could be eating mahi with us!)
There were these kid-sized lounge chairs that were so cute! And there is a kids club for some adults-only time.
Is The Four Seasons Anguilla Worth It?
1,000% yes! This was the nicest resort we have ever stayed, and one that we would definitely consider returning to.
While it normally would probably be too expensive for us, learning how to use credit cards for travel has opened a whole new world of options.
With a whole world to see, it’s hard to imagine going back to the same spot, but boy would it be fun to do so!
Jeff Lippard says
Always enjoy seeing your travels. Like seeing the food, the places and activites. I hope some day I can go to those places.
Laura says
The water thing happened to us when we went to Europe this spring. We kept getting charged for just plain water. I finally asked and was told we had to say “tap water” specifically. Annoying they don’t clarify or ask.
Kath Younger says
Exactly what we had to ask for too. As long as it’s safe to drink, tap is great! 🙂
Tara Zauhar says
I LOVE your sunglasses, where are they from?
Kath Younger says
They are Goodr! The AMELIA EARHART GHOSTED ME style ; )
Tara Zauhar says
Thank you! They look so cute, I definitely just bought a matching pair!
JosephineTomato says
I can’t stop thinking this would be a great location to film White Lotus, season 3 ;). Such a beautiful place. Thanks for the very detailed write up.
Kath Younger says
Someone else said the same thing!! I haven’t seen White Lotus, but I think I need to : )
JosephineTomato says
Season 1 was filmed at 4S in Maui, Season 2 was filmed at 4S in Sicily. One of the main characters in Season 2 mentioned a trip to Maldives, there is a 4S there too.
Kath Younger says
Oh man well they need to come here!
Zoe says
Seems like people who pay to go to a Four seasons will be expecting and able to afford prices like that! But I guess you’re explaining this for people who use points like you. That’s helpful! Looks like a beautiful place.
Kath Younger says
I’m sure there are people who go who don’t even look at the prices! But yes, wanted to give an honest review for people heading there who might be curious.
Miki says
Appreciate the review of food – one of the most important parts of vacation! Looks like a fabulous resort and trip. Thanks for sharing.
Mark Brummett says
We stayed at Carimar last November before they instituted the VAT; loved every minute there. Wound up going to Sandy Island one day and their food was awesome. Wound up renting a car and glad I did as the 40 dollars a day was worth it. Went to Sunshine Shack twice and last night on the island was Dolce Vita. We plan on going back next year.
sandy says
which restaurants are close walking distance from Four Seasons? How was the ocean water at meads bay? Did you go into the ocean? Get you walk into the ocean without coral etc? I am debating between Zemi beach house or Four Seasons. Did you visit other resorts? How far is a walk to get in half shell shack? Thank you
Kath Younger says
We walked to Blanchards, and apparently you can walk to Mangoes too, but the beach looked pretty short to cross. There were 1-2 more that I forget the name of within walking distance, and one of them was a cool beach club that had just opened. The water was COLD in December. My husband swam, but I didn’t. It was a bit rough too. We could walk into the ocean – the sand was very fluffy and soft. Almost like walking in deep snow! We didn’t go to any other resorts. We loved Four Seasons!
sandy mayen says
Hi – we will be at four Seasons soon. Based on all the restaurants that you ate, which restaurants would you recommend for us to eat. We are after good seafood and chicken. Thank you.
Kath Younger says
SALT for sure!! And the Sunset bar one night for small plates. Blanchard’s was worth a visit too, and I heard Mango’s was good, but we didn’t make it there.