A little slice of heaven, that's what. The 40-room resort is arranged along the west coast of 120-hectare Long Island (or Jumby Bay Island; it depends on who you speak to), which is off the northeast coast of the West Indian island of Antigua. Also on Long Island are 50 or so private homes, half of which are entrusted to the resort management to rent out when the owners are not in residence. Resort guests arrive by motor launch, settle in to plush accommodation overlooking lawn, beach and aquamarine sea, then set about relaxing. Being an all-inclusive resort, there is little else you have to do, as the more than 200 staff ensure your every need is met.
In 1998, the homeowners clubbed together to buy the entire island, including the resort, which is now operated by New World Development's Rosewood Hotels and Resorts. The homeowners' master plan limits development to 56 private houses and the 40 resort rooms currently in operation, meaning the 50 hectares of common land and its wildlife are protected from further encroachment. As a guest, you can shake off the real world and range across this paradise - on wheels if you wish. Outside each room are bicycles, on which you can fill your lungs with the largely flat island's sweet, clean air while riding the well-kept paths that criss-cross it. Given its nature, the resort is very safe, and there are no room keys to keep misplacing.
Bright and airy; so much so, in fact, that, if you open the back and front doors of your suite to let a breeze through, before you know it a yellow-breasted bananaquit is likely to have flown in to peck at a sugar sachet next to the coffee machine. Semi-detached pool suites are a generous 1,346 square feet in size and include an alfresco bathtub alongside the alfresco shower (found in all room types) - so sunbathing in a literal sense is an option. Little things such as a mark slipped into your book - at the right place - and a wipe left next to your sunglasses by housekeeping make you feel especially welcome.
Very fine comfort food, in the main. Breakfast is taken in The Verandah restaurant, looking out over Jumby Bay Beach and the jetty, and the menu includes a full Antiguan (cornmeal "funghi", tomato creole salt fish, poached egg and fried plantain) alongside the full English. The Pool Grille does a mean fish taco for lunch and the beautifully restored Estate House offers a romantic setting for the upmarket Italian cuisine served in the evenings.