My partner and I spent four nights at Belmond Cap Juluca in November. We had a great time, and given how many in-depth reviews there are on this forum, I’m not sure I can provide any new insight (TL;DR, loved it, will go again), but I do think I can contribute in another way: a weigh-up against a comparable resort in price and reviews, Rosewood Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda. Hopefully this will help someone deciding between the two!
We did four nights at both - Virgin Gorda in February 2022, and Anguilla in Nov 2023.
Price: Tie
Pretty comparable. At both resorts we were upgraded to a junior suite from the highest non-suite category. We booked LDB through FHR, and CJ through our Virtuoso agent. Both got us an upgrade, though LDB didn’t have the upgrade available until our second day. IIRC we got the Rosewood on a stay-4-pay-3 deal at the time through FHR.
Pre-arrival communication: CJ
The Belmond did a great job preparing for us, staying in contact throughout the lead-up to our arrival. This may have been influenced by booking through our agent rather than via FHR.
Rooms: Very slight edge to CJ
Junior suites at both. Bathroom at CJ wins; comfort of non-bed furniture at LDB wins; bed at CJ wins. Outdoor sitting area at CJ wins by a good margin. Size of both junior suites was about the same, LDB maybe *slightly* larger, but smaller outdoor space. LDB had an outdoor shower, which I love, while CJ did not. Better views in general from room at CJ. All rooms at CJ are beachfront, so this may sway some, though rooms closer to the restaurants have less privacy than those farther down the beach, whereas most rooms at LDB have pretty good privacy (which necessarily obstructs views of the water on the ground floor rooms).
Hard Product: Tie
Both were quite well appointed, and very clearly high quality. Belmond’s public areas felt a little more sumptuous, especially their lobby spaces. The style in our room at CJ tied together quite well. Cap Juluca is an older resort (though it has been recently refurbed, particularly the rooms, which you can tell), so some parts of the resort are starting to show their age. Things weren't quite as "fresh" feeling as they were at LDB, but still very beautiful.
F&B: Tie
We much preferred the bar at LDB, but Pimms (main CJ restaurant) and Reef House (main LDB restaurant) were both fantastic. Both are right on the water. Pimms is slightly more fine-dining-y, while Reef House is a bit more "barefoot luxury" feeling. Taken together, food was great at both! Food at Uchu at CJ was underwhelming for dinner, but the live music was always fun. Breakfast I think was equal, though LDB had some slip-ups charging us for breakfast when it was free through FHR.
Beach: Really depends on your preference. Both are similarly well-protected bays, and similar lengths of beach. Both have enough chairs for all guests, and everyone gets a front row view. Maundy's Bay at CJ is technically public, but it's far from things; so while you see non-guests walking around, it's never really noticeable. There is a small jetty in the middle of LDB beach, where boats take guests to/from the resort. Not an eyesore by any means, but it’s there. The other thing I'll say: LDB's views from the beach are a little more dramatic and interesting. Anguilla is quite flat, so you basically just see the resort from the beach; while on LDB's beach, you can see some of the hills and famed Virgin Gorda boulders. Otherwise:
LDB: a little more narrow from water to trees; trees offer some shade to lounge chairs, sand isn't quite as perfect as CJ, but it's still very soft.
CJ: sand wins - sugar white, power soft, truly beautiful. Wider (but not as wide as many reviews here suggest - it’s maybe 15-20 meters of sand, depending on the tide; really not that dramatic).
(FWIW: My partner preferred the beach at Cap Juluca, I think I preferred the beach at Little Dix Bay.)
Service: CJ
Not even close, IMO. The butler situation at LDB was completely useless, and we ended up going straight to concierge to book things like a boat day. That said, we spoke with other guests at CJ who’d also been to both, and they had the opposite experience, believing LDB’s service superior. Our friend at CJ, Maury, was great - he even went off campus to get us Advil one morning, which they did not have at the resort.
Sense of Place: LDB
This is more important to me than it is to my partner, but I love to “feel” like I’m in the place that I’m visiting. Here, LDB wins for me. It feels more genuinely Caribbean, and - while beautiful! - the Greco-Moorish architecture at Cap Juluca doesn’t have the same feeling of Carib villas.
Others:
Spa: we did not visit the Arawak Spa at CJ, but we LOVED the spa at LDB. Can’t compare, unfortunately.
Pool: CJ but barely. Neither pool is particularly impressive. LDB's was...tiny and not good. These are both beach resorts - not pool resorts.
Island/off-campus: There’s just more to do on Anguilla. Visiting the Devil's Baths and the Bitter End on Virgin Gorda were both fun, but Anguilla has a bit more local character, at least that's what we found in our time there.
Overall: tie, maybe slight preference to CJ, but that could just be because it's still fresh in my mind
