Indeed. And 20%service charge is not the worst deal for the service.

I think once is also enough for me. And you are right: Often it�s simply on the bill without any hint. I guess some people will give another 20%.

After a day at the hotel, we went to dinner. I had again tried the Michelin and directly in the Bal Harbour Shops was Le Zoo, which has a Plate. Since I also liked the menu I reserved a table.
Although I initially wanted to sit inside I feared the air conditioning and we sat outside. The atmosphere was not so great now, you sit at the parking lot. Quite interesting was that one sat directly at the valet parking booth, I have never seen so many Ferraris, Bentleys and Rolls Royce in such a short time, plus of course other high-priced vehicles. For a romantic dinner but still only limited suitable.
Chilled Cucumber Soup, green apple, radish, marcona almonds

I'm not a fan of cucumber, but even aside from that, the soup was rather slimy.
Sea Scallops, spring leeks, tomato, lemon butter sauce

I would have imagined the dish differently, the leeks covered everything.
Prawns Flamb�, jumbo prawns, grilled asparagus

The shrimp were good, but again it was nothing special.
Grilled Salmon, citrus tabbouleh, mint

The dish was good.
Pistachio & Raspberry Paris Brest, pastry choux, pearl sugar, pistachio cream

If you like it very sweet, this is the right dessert for you. I found it delicious, but a bit too sweet and powerful.
The bill:

We were not really enthusiastic. Maybe I should have just taken some oysters or a cold lobster.
As expected, it was not too cheap. When I think about the quality you get in restaurants with a plate in France or Italy, the difference is striking.

Nice trip report. We have much better beaches, better sights, fewer weird people, and much less expensive hotels in South Carolina.

Why not

The next morning we went to the airport. If there's one thing I appreciate about American airports and American Airlines, it's the service at the right-of-way. As soon as we got out of the Uber, our bags were taken and immediately checked in on the sidewalk. With our boarding passes, we then went through security, which was so la la.
Now we were faced with the question of the lounge. Actually, I wanted to try the Centurion Lounge, but we were drawn to the Admirals Lounge. What I got to see there was remarkable. Rarely have I seen such a pathetic lounge. Totally overcrowded and a miserable food offer.





Really????

At that point we decided to go to the Enturion Lounge after all. Once there, we encountered a queue. After a short time, we learned that one is here for the waiting list, it could then take another 20 minutes or so. Well, thank you, that does not have to be then, especially since we had only about 30 minutes. So off to the gate......

First we waited at the terminal for our flight. It was an American Eagle flight in an Embarer 175.

When you board a short-haul or medium-haul plane in the U.S., you always wonder: why is business on domestic flights so crappy? Is it so difficult to fit a few decent seats? Anyway, the seats here were very decent for the upcoming 3 hour flight.


Economy

Another Embarer

Leaving Miami








Relatively quickly there were very beautiful views.









Now the service began. Besides nuts, there was a box.


The contents somehow matched the exterior. Inspiring is something else.

The highlight were these cookies. Yes, they tasted like they look.

Cashews, pecans and almonds.

It's better to look out of the window for a while.





Approach to Anguilla.


It's a pretty straightforward airport.


Reception Committee

On foot we went to the terminal (or whatever you call it), meanwhile a look back.

The airport building.

Inside we went through the small immigration, then our suitcases were brought and placed in front of us. There are no ribbons or anything like that. At the exit, a customs officer asked us a few more questions, then we went outside.....

That's too bad about the Centurion lounge. It's been a while since I've visited, but I've had a good time.

Indeed sad, but that's life.

Quote:

Originally Posted by offerendum

There used to be a small lounge at the [LHR T5] C gates if you got there a little early, but they've closed it now.

There hasn't been a lounge in T5C (yet). One might open one day. Possibly. Maybe. There is a J class lounge in the B satellite, that's still open.

Quote:

Originally Posted by offerendum

Special Offer????? The cost online at Lindt � 3.49, in the store it is often cheaper.

Ah, CVS for you. That sign with the price isn't marking any kind of sale or special offer. It's just the price on a bold sign, meaning *CVS charge a lot and we make it look special*

Ah, thought it was C. But doesn't matter anyway with their wired announcement policy.
CVS seems indeed to be special.

For Anguilla we had rented a car. This was handed over to us directly at the airport, it was a Hyundai Tucson.


For 25 US$ there was also an Anguilla driver's license, an expensive souvenir. Which sense it had exactly (except generation of income), I do not really understand.


The car was fine, an SUV is highly recommended on Anguilla. Many people do not rent a car, but then you are quite trapped in the hotel.
It was interesting to drive a less technical car again. I am no longer used to put the lever on P........ But then you learn very quickly.

I had been thinking about where to stay on Anguilla for a long time. While the Belmond was mostly recommended to me, I was leaning towards the Four Seasons. The latter was a bit cheaper and offered decent sized suites for the money. The Belmond also has very nice suites, but with over $ 5000 per night I was out.
In the end, however, I booked the Belmond. For the room, I took "the cheapest". The next higher category was not really different and the Junior Suite was $1000 more expensive per night and from numbers much bigger, but in videos the main room looked quite similiar. Somehow not really sensible for me. 5 nights came to $11,039.25 including taxes. What I did not know was that a service fee was also included. So I always tipped nicely, not a bad deal for the employees.
The hotel is located on a kind of headland, in the front the sea, behind it salt basins. The entrance is nicely done, at night fires burn in the bowls.



The view to the back is moderately nice, you wouldn't really need the ruined building.

After passing a guard house, we reached the main house. Here there are no rooms, but only a the lobby, the restaurant and other facilities. Everything is built in the Moroccan style, which now fits only limited to Anguilla, but is pretty. The rooms are distributed in smaller houses over the grounds, but more about that later.


Behind the entrance there is an art gallery.

Welcome drinks were served in the open lobby and check-in was done.




There is a closed area with the 2 libraries, the business center and the actual reception.



Across the street is one of the restaurants (Uchu) with the old pool on the terrace.

Looks nice, but as you say, does not really fit Caribbean IMO

To be fair, I can�t say what�s really Carribean. But not Marrocan