Anguilla on $1000 a day - NYTimes

[Tyler Durden]

Wanna cut to the chase here? I don't think Jennifer Anuston is a 
cryptographer, and I got bored hacking my way through this reporter 
commiserating at being at a high-end clip joint.
-TD

>From: "Bill Stewart" <bill.stewart at pobox.com>
>To: cypherpunks at al-qaeda.net
>Subject: Anguilla on $1000 a day - NYTimes
>Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 19:19:55 -0800 (PST)
>
>The NYT updates us on a favorite cryptographers' hideout....
>
>
>http://travel2.nytimes.com/2005/02/27/travel/27high.html
>
>February 27, 2005
>HIGH LOW
>High: Anguilla on $1000 a Day
>By JULIET MACUR
>
>N hour after arriving on Anguilla in early January, I was soaking in the
>hot tub at an exclusive resort, sunglasses on, eyes closed, sun warming my
>pasty Northeastern face.
>
>Ah, Anguilla, a quiet island that has recently become "the next St.
>Barts," a hedonistic hideaway and magnet for members of the boldface set.
>At the northeast corner of this narrow isle, Jennifer Aniston and Brad
>Pitt spent New Year's in a villa on Captain's Bay. On its southwestern
>coast, Jay-Z and Beyonci had cuddled on the sands of Shoal Bay West. Down
>the beach from my resort, Uma Thurman had kicked back at a local bar.
>
>Just as I began to imagine that I, too, was a star on an
>escape-the-paparazzi trip, reality interrupted. A foreign object crashed
>into my hot tub and sent water slapping against my face. A small boy and
>his father were throwing a ball wildly.
>
>The father's next toss bounced off the boy's head and against a woman's
>forehead. The father laughed. The woman smiled. I growled and thought,
>"This doesn't happen to Jennifer Aniston."
>
>I left in a huff because I had no time for distractions. This was serious
>business: I had to figure out how to get by on $1,000 a day.
>Related Feature
>Low: Anguilla on $250 a Day
>
>Though Anguilla is a relatively undeveloped island where goats might
>outnumber residents, $1,000 a day at a chic resort amounts to roughing it.
>
>At the Cap Juluca resort, the cheapest room in high season cost $936 a
>night, including the 20 percent tax. Malliouhana Hotel offered a garden
>view room on the first floor for $744.
>
>If my best friend, Rose, and I were to eat, drink and even think of going
>to the spa on my $1,000-a-day budget, the only high-end resort I could
>afford was the CuisinArt Resort and Spa, which sits near the island's
>southwestern end on Rendezvous Bay's beach, one and a half miles of
>flour-soft sand, blindingly white.
>
>The turquoise ocean water was as clear as Evian, and you could see fish
>near the sea floor. The cheapest rate, $550 plus $110 tax - but including
>Continental breakfast - would allow us to pretend we belonged at this
>beautiful place.
>
>The resort's grounds were simple and elegant. Eggplant-colored
>bougainvillea climbed the whitewashed stucco buildings that looked as if
>they had been plucked from a Greek cliff. In a nearby garden were trees
>heavy with guavas, fig bananas and star apples.
>
>As we looked from the lobby onto a series of rectangular pools cascading
>to the beach, a receptionist said we had been upgraded from the main house
>to a suite in one of the 10 three-story villas clustered along the shore.
>"We hope you don't mind," she said, unaware that I was a journalist.
>
>No, we didn't, and certainly not after seeing the room. The upgrade, to a
>junior suite that would have cost $120 more a night, allowed us to hear
>waves from our patio.
>
>Our "suite" was a cheery, not fancy, single room, but at 920 square feet
>was nearly as big as my Manhattan apartment. A navy couch broke up the
>space into sleeping and lounging areas. Two double beds with wicker
>headboards faced the porch and a walkway to the beach. Paintings of Greek
>fishing villages and bright bedspreads splashed color against the white
>walls and tile floors.
>
>A brochure called the bathroom "your own private sanctum," large enough
>for an oval tub for a honeymooning couple's bubble bath. But nothing was
>that private, considering one wall was made of warped glass. While on the
>outside walkway one day, I gasped when I saw a fuzzy version of Rose
>heading for the shower.
>
>At the resort's free reception on our first night (with food and drink),
>the manager, Rabin Ortiz, told us, "Do not make plans for your weekend."
>We quickly learned why. There are no plans to make because, on Anguilla,
>there is basically nothing to do. And that's the point.
>
>At CuisinArt, stay away from the main pool (where ball-tossing children
>congregate). Instead, sit on the beach and take delivery of homemade lemon
>sorbet from waiters whose goal is to fill you with fruity rum drinks.
>After sundown, submit to spa treatments like the Anguillan coconut
>pineapple scrub, which smells good enough to eat, and the hydroponic
>cucumber and aloe wrap, using ingredients grown on the premises.
>
>It was the perfect place for us: upscale, but not one bit snooty.
>
>Night life is minimal. (At 10:30 on Saturday night, only one couple was at
>our resort's bar, where a trio sang "Endless Love.") Sea kayaks,
>sailboats, catamarans and tennis courts were available and mostly unused.
>For casino or dance club action, it's a half-hour ferry ride to St.
>Martin.
>
>Still, after too many games of boccie and gin rummy - or perhaps not
>enough gin and rum - we searched for some fun. Down the beach was Dune
>Preserve, a delightfully mellow bar inside a wooden shack owned by the
>local reggae legend Bankie Banx. A CuisinArt bartender said that Uma had
>been there the night before.
>
>We followed the shoreline to get there. But then, as if the local gods
>ordered punishment for all $1,000-a-day cheapskates, two stray dogs
>charged us in the darkness. We couldn't see them, but they barked and
>snapped like rabid Rottweilers, sending us running back to CuisinArt. So
>much for Uma.
>
>Cowards that we were, we rented a car the next day for $55 (including $20
>for an Anguillan license) and that night drove 60 seconds to Dune
>Preserve, only to realize we were too full for a drink. Because, on
>Anguilla, what you do is eat - often.
>
>Our gluttony had begun at Santorini, which, like CuisinArt's other
>heavenly restaurant, Cafe Mediterraneo, uses food grown in the resort's
>high-tech hydroponic garden or its old-school organic one. There, Rose and
>I went to a class led by CuisinArt's executive chef, Daniel Orr, formerly
>a chef at Guastavino's in New York City.
>
>Neither of us is a great cook. (My fridge at home contains two bottles of
>seltzer, nail polish and AA batteries.) But we are great eaters. We
>stuffed ourselves with a tangy serving of stingray, a dizzyingly delicious
>chocolate souffli and yellow lentil bisque so good we were tempted to lick
>our bowls.
>
>Afterward, I was shocked at the $75 charge, well over the advertised $55 I
>had budgeted (it had just gone up). I next heard my whiny voice telling
>the concierge:
>
>"You don't understand. I cannot afford this extra $20."
>
>The concierge rolled her eyes, but, hey, I needed $110 for the seaweed
>scrub later.
>
>That evening, we took a cab ($13 each way) to dinner at Blanchard's, a
>top-notch restaurant in a quaint cottage. Most of the 23 tables were
>arranged on the main floor, but we sat on a lower patio overlooking
>fountains and gardens and the sea beyond. The only disappointments were
>the rubbery lobster included in the $56 Caribbean Sampler and the waiters'
>rushing us through the meal. Total for my dinner: $110.40.
>
>Perhaps the management could sense that we were not the stars of our
>imaginations. I asked the man at the bar if any real stars came in. He
>reeled off names of those who had been there "just yesterday": Denzel
>Washington. Johnny Damon. Liam Neeson and his wife, Natasha Richardson.
>Courteney Cox Arquette. And, of course, Jennifer Aniston.
>
>The next day, though it was dry season, it poured. So on that rainy Sunday
>we rented a car and checked out Anguilla, which didn't take long. It is
>only about 16 miles long and 3 miles wide. We found it pleasingly devoid
>of cheesy T-shirt shops and fast-food joints but plentiful with
>road-roaming goats and the smiling people who own them.
>
>We lunched at Gorgeous Scilly Cay, a primitive restaurant on a tiny island
>off the northeastern coast. With no electricity, it's open only from 11
>a.m. to 5 p.m. To get there, you stand on a dock and hail a boatman.
>
>Normally, patrons sun themselves there on lounge chairs between courses,
>and get foot rubs from the restaurant's masseur, said the owner, Sandra
>Wallace. But not on this rainy day. On the boat over with us, she wore a
>garbage bag to stay dry; the masseur stayed home.
>
>Still, a calypso band played upbeat music in the main house, which had
>about a dozen tables and was open on all sides. Outside, there were
>several palm-covered huts, each with a few plastic tables and chairs,
>where I ordered the crayfish and chicken plate for $45, as sweet as their
>rum punch was dangerous. My lunch, with tip, came to $74.
>
>We found no famous people there, either - we were managing to repel them -
>though we did hear that Sharon Stone had recently rented out the whole
>island. And Jennifer Aniston (her again) had been there the week before.
>
>That evening, I had my second treatment at the Venus Spa - a place without
>much character or Zen - at CuisinArt. (In the thumbnail-size locker room,
>I awkwardly rubbed elbows with someone's naked grandmother.) The Caribbean
>warm stone massage ($115, plus $22 tip) was a step up from the seaweed
>wrap of the day before - better called the seaweed chill.
>
>That one began with me shivering in the treatment room. The masseuse said,
>"If I told them once, I told them 20 times, this room is freezing."
>
>Then she spread cold seaweed gook over my goose bumps. I groaned while she
>mummified me with towels. Under those coverings, wrapped inside foil, I
>felt like a hypothermia patient.
>
>But relief came with the warm stone massage. As the smooth rocks rolled
>over my muscles it felt oddly soothing, as if I were being seared by a
>giant stick of roll-on deodorant. I felt so much at ease that later I
>splurged on a smoothie for Rose, at $8.05 the only thing I could afford to
>buy her all weekend.
>
>When the sun came out on our last day, I passed the hot tub and saw that
>same annoying family with their dreaded ball, this time being tossed
>between two strollers. So I headed for the beach.
>
>I bobbed around the water for a while, then moved my peaceful self to a
>lounge chair. There I sipped on my own smoothie until it was time to get
>back to the real world by way of the St. Martin airport.
>
>At a terminal newsstand, I finally saw Jennifer Aniston - on a magazine
>cover. How terrible - her Anguillan experience included suffering greater
>than my seaweed chill - she and Brad had broken up.
>
>"Hey lady!" the cashier yelled. "Did you see the sign? You can't read the
>magazines until you buy them!"
>
>What, she thought I looked rich? I had already spent my $2,000. So I
>dropped the $3.95 magazine onto the shelf and walked away.
>
>TWO-DAY TOTAL: $2,000.35
>
>Visitor Information
>
>Getting There
>
>Several United States airlines run flights to Anguilla, but most operate
>in connection with other carriers. Most flights go through San Juan, and
>the cheapest fares (from about $646 round trip for late March) can require
>an additional connection in St. Martin. If you fly into St. Martin (from
>about $561 round trip), you can take a 20-minute ferry to Anguilla ($24
>round trip plus $2.75 departure tax from St. Martin and $3 from Anguilla).
>Ferries run every half hour from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
>
>Where to Stay
>
>Cap Juluca, (888) 858-5822, www.capjuluca.com, is tucked away on the
>secluded beach at Maunday's Bay, making it a favorite hideaway for
>celebrities. Doubles start at $780 a night in the high season, from $445
>in April, and $345 from May 1 through mid-November. (Add 20 percent in
>taxes to all rates.)
>
>Malliouhana Hotel and Spa, (264) 497-6111, www.malliouhana.com, is the
>perfect place to see an Anguillan sunset: it sits atop a cliff facing west
>over the crystal blue waters of Mead's Bay. Doubles start at $400 from
>April 1 to 30, and $290 from May 1 to Nov. 19; ocean-view one-bedroom
>suites are $825 and $660.
>
>CuisinArt Resort and Spa, (264) 498-2000, www.cuisinartresort.com, is
>perched on Rendezvous Bay. Rooms start at $550 a night from January
>through March, $395 in April, and $350 from May 1 to mid-December.
>
>Lloyd's Guest House, (264) 497-2351, www.lloyds.ai, has 14 rooms on Crocus
>Hill, in walking distance of Crocus Bay. The spacious rooms, some recently
>renovated, go for $65 to $85, with breakfast.
>
>Where to Eat
>
>Blanchard's, (264) 497-6100, www.blanchardsrestaurant.com, has a romantic
>setting overlooking Mead's Bay, and serves food with a Caribbean flair.
> >From mid-October through May, it opens for dinner at 6:30 p.m. and is
>closed Sunday. June through August, it is closed Sunday and Monday. Closed
>Sept. 1 to Oct. 20. Entrees from $34.
>
>Gorgeous Scilly Cay, (264) 497-5123, is an open-air restaurant on its own
>island, with free ferry service from Island Harbor. It is open on
>Wednesday, Friday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Since there is no
>electricity, all food (chicken or seafood) is grilled. Live music on
>Wednesday and Sunday. Entrees start at $25.
>
>Roy's Place, (264) 497-2470, www.roysplaceanguilla.com, is a charming
>beachcomber's joint overlooking Crocus Bay, with a lively beach bar and an
>Internet connection for guests (including wireless). There is a Friday
>happy hour with dinner specials for $12. The Sunday specials are prime rib
>($20) and lobster ($38). Lunch and dinner served daily, except dinner only
>on Saturday.
>
>English Rose, (264) 497-5353, a tavern in the central business district of
>The Valley, serves generous portions of comfort food at reasonable prices:
>burgers from $4, salads from $6. Closed Sunday.
>
>Tasty's Restaurant, (264) 497-2737, offers chic-casual Caribbean dining in
>South Hill: dishes like stewed creole-style lobster for $30, and
>coconut-crusted filet of parrot fish in banana rum sauce for $20. Open for
>breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, except Thursday.
>
>Trattoria Tramonto, (264) 497-8819, has open-air dining and a beach bar on
>one of the island's prettiest beaches, Shoal Bay West. The Italian menu
>emphasizes game and seafood, including wild boar filet mignon ($35) and
>spaghetti with crayfish, clams and shrimp ($30). Lunch and dinner except
>Monday.
>
>Uncle Ernie's, (264) 497-3907, is a quintessential beach shack on Shoal
>Bay East; open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
>
>What to Do
>
>Taino Wellness Center, off Spanish Town Road, South Hill, (264) 497-6066,
>www.magma.ca/~phwalker/, offers massages (from $40 for 30 minutes),
>manicures and pedicures (from $15), facials (from $50), and body
>treatments.
>
>Devonish Art Gallery, the Cove, West End, (264) 497-2949, shows works of
>local artists, including those by Courtney Devonish, a woodcarver and
>ceramicist. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday or by appointment
>Sunday.
>
>Horseback riding with El Rancho del Blues in Blowing Point, (264) 497-6164
>or 497-6334, starts at $25 an hour.
>
>JULIET MACUR is a sports reporter for The Times.
>
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