We got a very good night’s sleep. Our only item scheduled was to ensure that we got to the breakfast buffet before it ended. It’s included thanks to Nicole’s Hilton Honors diamond status. So far, we surprisingly haven’t spent a lot of money. The room didn’t cost anything and the food hasn’t been too overpriced when compared to a Conrad. The LXR brand is considered Hilton’s 2nd highest of its top tier luxury brands — just below a Waldorf Astoria. With that being said, it does seem a bit more laid back here than say — the Conrad Maldives where we essentially had our own butler.
After a successful visit to the breakfast buffet where I had a made-to-order omelette, we took a stroll up Shoal Bay beach until it ended. It is considered to be the most popular beach on the island, which doesn’t really say a whole lot because this island is pretty quiet.
After our walk, we sat by one of the two pools that the LXR has. It is an adults-only pool, which is peculiar because the other more “family-oriented” pool is much closer to the bar. Either way, we were the only people there. We read books, I went for a swim in the lap pool, before we sat in some partially-submerged loungers.
We had a late lunch that involved reheating the leftovers of Nicole’s pizza from last night. So far today, $0 has been spent on food. Good for us! Some nice touches that I have found around the LXR, are the presence of bottled water stations and sunscreen dispensers around the pool and beach areas. I found it a rather thoughtful addition that goes in contrast to the practices of say — the Conrad Maldives which charged $50 for a small tube of sunscreen.
The rest of our afternoon was spent lounging at the beach where we continued our reading, chatting, and debating whom among our fellow guests have actually paid full price for this establishment. Anguilla is considered to be a rather exclusive, luxury destination. I am not entirely sure how these things get decided. We are, after all, a short ferry ride from St. Maarten, which has the same general landscape and beaches as Anguilla, but doesn’t have the same reputation. Who knows.
We went for a wee stroll in the other direction down Shoal Bay beach until ending up at some rocky cliffs that were best not traversed in flip flops. It was fairly cloudy this afternoon/evening, but we didn’t mind. In many ways it was a nice reprieve from the intense sun that occurred earlier in the day. The place at the hotel where we ate dinner last night is having some sort of Caribbean night / barbecue / $150 per plate menu, so needless to say we ate elsewhere. After dinner, we retired to our room and very large balcony. The turndown service here is actually worth getting because they don’t simply close the curtains, they leave cookies! Last night it was some sort of oatmeal raisin thing, so not even worth blogging about. But they switched it up tonight to chocolate chip!!! What. A. Day. We relaxed on the balcony and enjoyed some champagne (thanks to Nicole’s Hilton Honors Diamond status). Lastly, since we’ve been doing well with money thanks to aforementioned status, I offered to gift Nicole a massage at the spa tomorrow. Now, this will ultimately be charged to the room under Nicole’s name, but the thought is there yes? Tomorrow is another busy day. I am supposed to get a rental car while Nicole is in spa.
passports & pepto bismol 