Antigua and Barbuda: the old-school islands drawing the cool crowd (2023)

Now De Niro is part of the vanguard aiming to transform Barbuda into the Caribbean’s hottest spot.

Nobu Barbuda — De Niro’s latest restaurant-cum-beach club, which opens in November (noburestaurants. com) — occupies a prime position on Princess Diana Beach, where its sleek zen style brings urban sophistication to the West Indies. There’s every chance that Giorgio Armani, Oprah Winfrey or Lionel Messi — all regulars on Antigua — will be in the next cabana along, tucking into signature Nobu dishes such as miso black cod or Barbudan lobster.

The restaurant is the first salvo of a ten-year masterplan from Charles Fernandez, the minister for tourism, to turn Barbuda into “St Barts on steroids”. His blueprint also features luxury resorts including the Nobu Beach Inn, a boutique hotel, wellness retreat and organic farm next to the restaurant that will break ground soon.

If you’re not interested in star-spotting, there’s always birdwatching, because the enduring appeal of Barbuda is its natural assets. It has the world’s largest colony of frigate birds, the avian answer to a Red Arrows display, and a ring of reefs where you can tick off turtles, rays and the rest of the cast of Finding Nemo. It also has some of the region’s most beautiful palm-fringed pink and white beaches, including one called 11 Mile (take a wild guess why).

While Antigua is more developed, it is no less appealing, with beaches so spectacular that St Lucians honeymoon there, along with exceptional sailing and minimal crime. It is the closest Caribbean island to the UK and, consequently, has always been popular with British families and silver-haired winter-sun warriors. But over the past two years a new travel tribe has arrived: the digital nomads — Antigua’s relatively good pandemic (it registered 145 deaths and lifted restrictions quite quickly) put it firmly on the millennial map as somewhere lovely to sit out lockdowns.

This younger market sparked a sharp rise in the number of Airbnb properties — up 50 per cent last year, making the island more affordable for visitors. The presence of self-caterers has also encouraged chefs to open restaurants beyond the all-inclusive resorts, the traditional mainstay of the Antiguan tourism industry.

One of the best is the Asian-inspired Rokuni, perched over Nonsuch Bay, so that diners can look down on eagle rays in the turquoise waters as they tuck into delicious truffle-laced gyoza, or look up to see the palatial villa of Silvio Berlusconi (mains from £17; rokuni-antigua.com).

● Antigua’s most luxurious villas
● Best hotels in Antigua

For something more authentic, dishes such as black pineapple-marinated pork and West Indian fish curry are getting rave reviews for the new Fox House, a Creole farm-to-table experience in St Mary’s (mains from £17; thefox houseantigua.com).

Antigua is also capitalising on the global trend for upmarket holiday villas. Construction is under way at the Pearns Point, a lush west-coast peninsula with a pristine beach and reef. Homes cost skyward of £1.8 million, with the likes of the Rothschild banking dynasty and the Thomson family, billionaire owners of Thomson Reuters news agency, having snapped up plots (pearnspoint.com).

The hotel scene is also buoyant. The international brand Nikki Beach, famed for its ultra-hip beach properties in St Tropez and Marbella, is building a resort, and high-profile chains such as One&Only are scouting sites.

Meanwhile, existing properties are upgrading. Next month Tamarind Hills — which straddles Darkwood and Ffryes, two of Antigua’s best beaches — unveils 46 one-bedroom villas that have a whitewashed minimalist mood board; in sharp contrast to its existing 57 rooms, which have colourful Caribbean decor. It is also adding a contemporary beachfront restaurant and a pool with a swim-up bar.

For De Niro, the decision to choose this corner for his first Caribbean hotel was simple: “I went to Barbuda on a day trip and never forgot it. It’s a wonderful spot like you can’t find any more. The location and the people are special.”

Susan d’Arcy was a guest of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (visitantigua barbuda.com). Room-only doubles from £335 (tamarind hills.com). Transfers between Antigua and Barbuda take 90 minutes by ferry, from £87pp return (barbuda express.com). Fly to Antigua

What’s new in the Caribbean ?

By Nigel Tisdall

St Lucia

Adults-only retreat
A 50-minute lesson in the art of Swedish massage is one of many ways couples can enrich their relationship at the new adults-only StolenTime by Rendezvous resort. Set beside a two-mile beach near Castries, the 100-room property focuses on reconnecting experiences from date nights and wine tasting to guidance on how to really switch off. Expect also watersports, diving, tennis, archery, cookery classes and mixology competitions.
Details Seven nights’ all-inclusive from £2,499pp, including flights and transfers, departing on November 13 (tropicalsky.co.uk)

Yacht adventure
For the first time in two years, VentureSail Holidays has a complete winter season of Caribbean voyages by luxury sailing yacht and tall ship. Departing from Soufrière just after Christmas, the two-masted ketch Chronos, which is fully crewed with 13 en suite double cabins, will make an eight-day voyage south to Grenada with stops in Carriacou, Bequia and the Tobago Cays. No sailing experience is required, just a lust for adventure.
Details Seven nights’ full board on the Luxury New Year Sailing itinerary from £2,670pp, including most meals, departing on December 28 (venturesailholidays.com). Fly to St Lucia

Kayak the east coast
Beyond the popular beach resorts is Praslin Bay, on St Lucia’s less developed east coast. Kayak on the Bay is a new company offering small boat tours, kayaking and hikes with the option of a beach barbecue. Surrounded by mangroves with a two-mile sandbar, it’s a prime spot for birdwatching and learning about sea moss farms: the red seaweed is harvested for use in health and food products.
Details Three-hour boat trip from £26pp (book via Instagram @kayakonthebay)

Barbados

Sail now on
Tui will home-port two of its cruise ships, Marella Discovery and Marella Explorer 2, in Barbados this winter — the operator’s biggest programme yet to the island. In addition to time on Barbados, the cruises call at the British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe and the Grenadines. Departures run from November 20 to April 13, with charter flights available from Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and some other regional airports.
Details Seven nights’ all-inclusive sailing the Caribbean Dreams itinerary from £1,362pp, including flights, departing on January 26, 2023 (tui.co.uk)

Going underground
Harrison’s Cave is a dramatic natural attraction running for two miles at the heart of this limestone island. It’s best viewed on an hour-long subterranean tram tour, and for added fun there’s a new eco-adventure park. Highlights include a zip line 100ft up in the air and a 14-test Gully Challenge course (minimum age six). Allow four hours for both, including hotel transfers. For the less brave there are nature trails and rum tastings.
Details Combined experiences £120pp (chukka.com)

Bee is for Barbados
Walkers Reserve is a huge, now-depleted sand quarry on the northeast coast that is being transformed into an organic, self-sustaining ecosystem. The aim is to provide food and employment for the island. There are guided walking and driving tours if you’d like to explore the site. You can also try a two-hour visit to its professional beekeepers, which includes a jar of the sweet, sticky stuff.
Details Beekeeping tours from £87pp; minimum two guests (wirred.org)

Jamaica

Let’s go Downtown
Planning to start or end your beach break with a stop in Kingston? While most luxury hotels in the Jamaican capital tend to be found in the New Kingston neighbourhood, the 168-room ROK Hotel — a first Caribbean venue for Hilton’s Tapestry Collection — opened in July overlooking the waterfront of its Downtown area. That puts guests mere steps from the National Gallery and provides access to open-air craft markets, reggae history, stellar street art and landmarks such as Kingston City Hall.
Details B&B doubles from £200 (hilton.com). Fly to Kingston

Spa of the moment
Ever wondered how the herbs, plants, spices and fruits used in spa treatments are sourced? Jamaica Inn — a sophisticated beach resort in Ocho Rios that will celebrate its 65th anniversary next year — has introduced a complimentary, therapist-led tour of its tropical gardens showing you how to make beauty products using ingredients such as papaya, pineapple, lemongrass and coffee.
Details Seven nights’ B&B from £2,840pp, including flights and transfers, departing on November 14 (elegantresorts.co.uk)

Small is beautiful
Explore’s small group tours of this charismatic island now include a visit to Charles Town, a semi-autonomous community in Buff Bay where the Maroons — descendants of freed and escaped enslaved people — maintain their distinctive culture. The trip also visits the excellent Bob Marley Museum in Kingston and includes forest hikes, river-rafting and insights into the Rastafarian lifestyle.
Details Nine nights’ B&B from £1,860pp, departing on October 31 (explore.co.uk). Fly to Kingston

Grenada

Flight club
British Airways is increasing its flight quota from Gatwick to the Spice Isle to three times a week from October 30. With new luxury resorts from the top names Silversands and Six Senses some way off, bag the freshly designed two-bedroom penthouse with private pool at the family-run Calabash Grenada, available from October 1.
Details Seven nights’ B&B from £3,749pp, including flights and transfers, departing on November 6 (caribtours.co.uk)

Keep it simple
Looking for a low-key place to lay your hat? Simple Stays is a new collection of small, government-approved hotels, cottages and apartments on Grenada and Carriacou, its smaller sibling. Top picks include the leafy Mount Edgecombe cocoa plantation and the three cottages of Bogles Round House. Trawl the website for ideas on river-tubing, kayaking, hiking and chocolate tours.
Details B&B doubles at Bogles Round House from £74 and at Mount Edgecombe from £130 (simplestays.puregrenada.com)

Villa thrillers
Kuoni has added Grenada to its collection of Caribbean holidays. Where to head? Try the little-known 473 Boutique Resort, on a private peninsula, with one to three-bedroom villas, two tranquil beaches and a shared pool. You’ll need a car to see the rest of Grenada, but the local beaches in this part of the island’s south are almost certain to be deserted.
Details Seven nights’ B&B from £3,499pp, including flights and transfers, departing on March 8 (kuoni.co.uk)

Sign up for our Times Travel newsletter and follow us on Instagram and Twitter