Thanks to all - destination found!
 

Thanks to everyone who responded with great recommendations to my "Help Me - Need a Destination" post. We have booked our first choice - CuisanArt in Anguilla - and couldn't be more pleased. It had everything we were looking for, except good flight times. Since my original post, we were able to find better flight times and prices. What's even better....this time next year I can revisit my original post and go back to all of those wonderful recommendations to research alternative destinations.

Now, does anyone have any good restaurant recommendations? Are the restaurants easy enough to get to from CuisanArt?

Any "must see" things to do? (Although we are quite content to enjoy the beautiful beaches and water)?

Any tips or pointers are welcome. Thanks in advance....

When are you going?? The majority of restaurants are closed Sept and Oct.

Sorry. We are going for a week in November.....before Thanksgiving.

The best advice is to rent a car -- we just booked Avis for $215/wk. You'd eat $30+ a day in cab fares. There are 33 0r so beaches & nearly 80 restaurants -- the beach bar places are fun & some have great food (Roy's & Johnno's in Sandy Ground; Smokey's; Gwen's or Elodia's on Shoal Bay East). We love the locally-owned restaurants like Tasty's & E's Oven. For higher end, there's Mango's, Hibernia, Altamer's. Straw Hat is a "don't miss" (built over the water on stilts); Picante's has great Mexican food featuring seafood; Trattoria is wonderful for lunch. Try either Palm Grove or Smitty's for lobster on the beach and Scilly Cay for a great lobster experience. You're going to love it!

Thanks MaryD.

What should be my top three, do not miss, romantic (or just plain fabulous) places to dine. Pricy is ok. (It sounds like Straw Hat is one of them.....)

Any word on Cedar Grove, Blanchard's, or Koal Keel? What is Oliver's like?

Hi Lizzie,

We are staying at the CuisinArt in December. Are you taking the ferry over or flying into Anguilla? I can't make up my mind!

We went to Anguilla last November and had great meals at Altamer and Straw Hat. I think we saw a baby shark in the water there! Altamer was more elegant; Straw Hat more funky and fun. I would not recommend Maillouhana. The food and service were okay but definitely not worth the price. Olivers was good but not amazing.

RKJ: We are flying into Anguilla. I know a lot of people prefer the ferry, but it seemed like more of a hassle to me unless you rent a private boat. Once you are in SXM you need to get to Marigot....and traffic in SXM can sometimes be bad, particularly at that time of day (when the flights land). The ferries run every half hour, so depending on what time you get there by taxi, you could be waiting (20+ minutes) for the next ferry. Then once you get to Anguilla, you have to get to your hotel. It just seemed like more of a hassle to me, with a lot of luggage juggling. But I know that there is no guarantee that the flight will get there in a timely manner either. So I guess it's pick your poison. The flight just seemed more direct.

Thanks Donna M. Altamer and Straw Hat are both on the list!