October 4, 2007

Caribbean | Antigua

The Antigua A-List

By Nicole Cotroneo

What happens when a Mediterranean village is planted on a Caribbean isle?

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Antigua’s limestone and coral coastline harbors 365 beaches — one for every day of the year, as locals say. You’d think the largest of the English-speaking Leeward Islands needs no other draw — though we’ve found a few more. On October 19, Elite Resorts introduces Antigua’s latest luxury compound, spread across 30 waterfront acres near Devil’s Bridge. The Verandah Resort & Spa borders a national park with walking trails and powder beaches. Sandals, meanwhile, is reaching for the stars at their Grande Antigua Resort & Spa. Open today, Mediterranean Village is a resort-within-a-resort featuring the largest freshwater pool in the eastern Caribbean. And to help christen the hilltop enclave, they’ve invited a gaggle of celebrities (if that’s what you call Melissa Rivers and her red-carpet replacement Lisa Rinna). Antigua’s real A-listers, however, are no strangers to Rosewood’s Jumby Bay (pictured). Two miles off the coast, the 300-acre private island is only accessible by boat and blissfully free of cars. Now the resort has added a new must-do to the R&R schedule: midnight massages for couples. If only they’d offered them sooner, maybe Hilary Swank and her ex would have stood a better chance.