Long Bay Villas: Anguilla's Private Beach Trifecta
Three staffed cliffside villas sharing one impossibly quiet stretch of West End sand.
Why Go
Imagine having a five-star Caribbean resort's beach, pools, and butler service ΓÇö minus the resort, the lobby, and every other guest. That's the trick Long Bay Villas pulls off on Anguilla's blissfully underdeveloped west end, where Sand, Sea, and Sky sit shoulder-to-shoulder above a powder-white cove that most of the island still hasn't discovered.
The Experience
Rolling up to Long Bay feels less like checking in and more like arriving at a friend's absurdly generous beach house ΓÇö except the friend has a full staff, three heated infinity pools, and a private stretch of turquoise all to themselves. Each of the three 5-bedroom villas (Sand, Sea, and Sky) is its own self-contained world with 6,500+ square feet of indoor-outdoor living, an oceanfront terrace, hot tub, alfresco dining pavilion, and a BBQ pavilion built for long, barefoot dinners. But the real magic is the shared footprint: serviced beach chairs waiting each morning, a cabana stocked with watersports gear, tennis courts, a gym, and the same soft-spoken butler-and-maid team (eight hours a day) who somehow know you take your rum punch light on the syrup before you've even asked. Book one villa for a family; book all three for a wedding, reunion, or the kind of milestone birthday that ends up on Netflix ΓÇö which, incidentally, is exactly where this place turned up on 'The World's Most Amazing Vacation Rentals.'
What to Try
Start the day with breakfast delivered to your terrace as the sun climbs over the pool, then let the butler arrange a private catamaran charter to Prickly Pear or Sandy Island (both are quick hops from the West End). Come back for a paddleboard session off your own beach, a tennis match on the shared court, and a chef-prepared dinner served under the stars in the dining pavilion ΓÇö ask them to build the menu around whatever came off the boats in Island Harbour that morning. Wind down in the hot tub with the villa's sound system dialed to whatever your version of sunset music is.
Insider Tip
The three villas share amenities but not walls ΓÇö book Sea (the middle one) if you want the easiest flow to the beach and cabana, Sky if you want the most elevated sunset views, and Sand if you want the most direct beach-to-pool shuffle. If you're a group of 10ΓÇô15, splitting across two villas is almost always cheaper than one comparable full-service resort suite booking and buys you dramatically more space. And don't sleep on the butler: they'll pre-provision the kitchen before arrival if you send a wish list, saving you the grocery run on day one.
The Practical Stuff
Location: Long Bay, West End, Anguilla ΓÇö roughly 25 minutes from Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport (AXA) and about 45 minutes from the Blowing Point ferry terminal (arrivals from St. Martin/SXM). Rental cars are useful but not essential; the villa team can coordinate transfers with local drivers like Allister's Luxury Taxi. Each villa sleeps up to 10 across 5 en-suite bedrooms. Butler and maid service is included 8 hours daily; private chef and spa treatments are bookable add-ons. High season runs mid-December through mid-April ΓÇö book six to nine months out for holidays, and note that Anguilla has no big-box shopping, so lean on Albert Lake Marketplace for last-minute provisions.
Pair It With
- Meads Bay — A 10-minute drive east for a beach-bar lunch scene (Blanchards Beach Shack, Straw Hat) when you want a break from villa life.
- Sandy Island — A tiny sandbar-and-shack lunch spot reachable by a short boat ride ΓÇö your butler can arrange the charter and reservation.
- Island Harbour fishing village — Where the day's catch actually lands; ask your chef to source dinner here, or ferry across to Scilly Cay for grilled lobster.
- Shoal Bay East — Consistently rated among the Caribbean's best beaches ΓÇö worth a half-day trip for the sheer scale of the sand.