The veranda of a beach suite
Courtesy of the hotel
It’s the new beach bar built around the trunk of an enormous tree that does it. The small, no-fuss intervention is one of the first things arriving guests see when they pass the revamped reception at Antigua’s Hermitage Bay resort, which is reopening this weekend after a multimillion-dollar renovation.
It neatly sums up the changes that have taken place in the iconic hotel in the past year. It’s still not flashy or expensive-looking. It’s not all shiny and new. Its spirit is the same as ever, but it looks a bit better: lighter, more expansive, more lush.
To be sure, Hermitage Bay isn’t one of those Caribbean resorts with decades and decades of history. It opened less than 20 years ago with just a couple dozen rooms but quickly found a devoted following. They liked the local character and intimate scale—both of which they find lacking at some of the island’s bigger, better-known luxury resorts—and the deep Caribbean authenticity.
The new tree bar at Hermitage Bay
Ann Abel
Among that devoted following was Daniel Shamoon, the co-owner and director of Luxury Hotel Partners, a family business that owns and operates storied hotels like the Marbella Club and Puente Romano Beach Resort in Spain’s Costa del Sol, several Nobu hotels in places like Ibiza and Marrakech, and the Small Luxury Hotels of the World brand. For him, the love affair blossomed quickly.
“Over the years, I have enjoyed many holidays in the Caribbean with my family,” he says. “I fell in love with Antigua and its people after visiting the island and Hermitage Bay.”
A spokesperson for Shamoon goes further. “I’ve never seen Daniel as relaxed as is here in Antigua,” she says candidly. And while there’s no question that it’s a business, it’s also clear that he enjoys being hands-on in the evolution of the hotel.
Longtime general manager Rachel Browne, who joined the team shortly after British-born Andy Thesen founded the hotel in the early 2000s, says that Shamoon was not the first person who loved the place enough to try to own it. “There were other offers before Mr. Shamoon,” she says. “But Andy felt that he was the right person. He has a strong connection with the humanness of the business, and he cares about the staff.”
The new color palette in the rooms
Courtesy of the hotel
Perhaps that’s why some of the biggest changes at Hermitage Bay are intangible evolutions. Browne and other managers frequently travel to the Spanish hotels, and their European counterparts come to Antigua to exchange ideas and hone their vision of hospitality. There’s a new polish on top of the unscripted kindness and “compassionate energy”—to use Browne’s words for her hiring criteria—of the staff.
Of course, there are physical differences as well—though Browne is quick to explain them as “upgrades” rather than “changes.” There’s that beach bar, which fills up at sundowner hour and serves fresh sushi along with its fruity cocktails. And there’s a new Spanish-style chiringuito where guests can lunch on grilled Caribbean lobster with their feet in the sand or dance to live local music or DJ sets after dark.
The 30 suites also got a glow-up, with new, lighter-toned furniture, contemporary lines and soothing color schemes. The beachfront suites got new swinging daybeds for lounging and sunbathing, as well as steps straight from their terraces into the sand, and the garden suites got new private pools within the grown-in foliage. The hillside suites—long a guest favorite for their ocean views—still have their private pools as well.
The view from a beach suite
Courtesy of the hotel
Likewise, the food continues to evolve, with an ever-growing variety of fresh ingredients coming from the hotel’s organic kitchen garden and creative input from its new international partners. But the meals—all of which are included in the rates—still celebrate the local culture: There’s salted fish and a traditional Antiguan “chop-up” (a vegetable mash with pumpkin, eggplant and the local leafy spinach called callaloo) on the breakfast menu, and dishes in the four-course, daily changing dinners might include spicy crab cakes, curried goat or tarragon-marinated mahi-mahi.
Tours of that organic garden are on the activities roster, along with daily yoga or pilates classes at the hillside spa, tours of the island’s historic sites, fishing and boat trips, and excursions to the country’s other island, Barbuda, where Shamoon is also a partner in a Nobu restaurant and upcoming hotel. But ultimately, Hermitage Bay is a place to simply be—maybe at the new tree bar, or maybe somewhere else on the property—and to be taken care of.
“You can find pretty beaches and nice furniture elsewhere on the island,” says Browne. “But the community and soul here are special.”
She shares a story about a couple of loyal repeat guests who used to share a sunset walk each evening. When the husband died, Browne encouraged the wife to come alone, and then she or someone from her team joined her for a different version of the daily walk. “She said it helped her heal,” says Browne. “And we have so many stories. We show up for guests in ways that don’t happen in other establishments.”
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Publish date : 2024-10-30 00:34:00
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