Carimar Beach Club: Meads Bay's Family-Run Villa Hideaway
An unpretentious, all-suite classic on Anguilla's prettiest beach ΓÇö with a kitchen, a balcony, and 1,100 square feet to call your own.
Why Go
Carimar has been quietly holding down a prime stretch of Meads Bay since 1985, and the fact that it feels more like a family compound than a resort is entirely the point. There are no swim-up bars, no butlers, no infinity pools ΓÇö just 24 villa-style suites arranged around a garden courtyard, a tennis court out back, and one of the Caribbean's most photogenic beaches steps from your patio. Guests come once and end up coming back for a decade.
The Experience
You check in at a small open-air lobby and are handed keys to what is essentially a one- or two-bedroom apartment: full granite kitchen, dining table for six, living room with cable and Wi-Fi, marble bath, and either a beachfront balcony or a garden-side patio dressed in rattan and tropical prints. Days settle into a rhythm ΓÇö coffee on the balcony, a walk down Meads Bay's talcum sand, snorkeling with gear pulled from the free equipment shed, an afternoon on the tennis courts, a bike ride into the village. There's no on-site restaurant, which sounds like a drawback until you realize that Blanchards, Straw Hat, Jacala, and Leon's are all within a barefoot stroll. It's a self-catering-meets-boutique hybrid that reliably lands near the top of TripAdvisor's Caribbean small-hotel rankings and is regularly named Anguilla's most family-friendly stay.
What to Try
Book a beachfront one-bedroom on the upper floor for the best sunset angle over Meads Bay, cook one lazy dinner in the villa using produce from Albert Lake's marketplace up the road, and use the complimentary snorkel gear to explore the rocky end of the bay toward Malliouhana ΓÇö the fish life is better than most people expect. Take out the free bikes for the flat run into West End Village.
Insider Tip
Ask for a suite on the western end of the property (rooms in the 20s), farther from the Fun Zone beach concession next door ΓÇö that side of Meads Bay gets loud with day-trippers and jet-ski noise in high season, and the western units keep you closer to the quieter Malliouhana end of the sand. Also: the kitchens are fully stocked, so hit the Albert Lake or IGA grocery on the way in from the airport and save yourself a taxi later.
The Practical Stuff
Location: Meads Bay, West End Village, Anguilla. 24 all-suite villas (one- and two-bedroom, ~1,100 sq ft each). On-site amenities include two tennis courts, a fitness center, complimentary bikes, snorkeling gear, and a guest laundry; 24-hour front desk and concierge, no on-site restaurant or pool. About 20ΓÇô25 minutes by taxi from Clayton J. Lloyd Airport and roughly 15 minutes from Blowing Point ferry terminal. Rates typically start around US$358/night in shoulder season and climb sharply over the holidays; a 7-night minimum applies during peak weeks. Family-owned and operated since 1985.
Pair It With
- Blanchards Beach Shack — Casual lunch spot from the Blanchards family, a five-minute walk down Meads Bay ΓÇö lobster rolls, rum punch, and toes in the sand.
- Straw Hat Restaurant — Elevated Caribbean dinner right on the beach at Frangipani, walkable from Carimar and a favorite for a special-occasion night out.
- Jacala Beach Restaurant — Refined French-Caribbean cooking at the far end of Meads Bay ΓÇö ideal for a long lunch after a morning on Carimar's sand.
- Shoal Bay East — Anguilla's other iconic beach, worth a half-day trip with a rental car for the reef snorkeling and Uncle Ernie's-style beach bars.