Jumby Bay Island

Two miles of water separate Jumby Bay Island from the north-east coast of Antigua, and the only way across is the resort's launch. There are no cars on the island; guests ride bicycles along sand paths between the beach, the pool and the villas. The island covers around 300 acres, with a long beach of pale sand on its sheltered west shore and a wilder windward side where hawksbill turtles come ashore to nest between June and November.

History

The island was a sugar estate in the eighteenth century, and the stone estate house survives from that time. It became a resort in 1983, when the first guest cottages were built along the beach, and for many years it was run by Rosewood. In 2017 Oetker Collection took over management, and Jumby Bay Island became the group's first Caribbean property alongside Eden Rock in St Barths. Much of the island beyond the resort is given over to private homes, whose owners share its beaches and services. Since 1987 the Jumby Bay Hawksbill Project has monitored the turtles nesting on Pasture Bay, one of the longest-running studies of the species anywhere.

Architecture and design

The resort is low and spread out. The rooms and suites sit in two-storey buildings along the beach, with shutters, deep verandas and white-painted wood. Villas and estate homes are scattered across the island in gardens of frangipani and bougainvillea, many with their own pools. The Estate House, the old plantation house on a rise at the centre of the island, has been restored as a restaurant. Nothing stands higher than the palms.

Rooms and suites

There are 40 rooms and suites in the beachfront buildings, each with a terrace or balcony, an outdoor shower and a view of the sea. Beyond them, private villas and estate homes of two to seven bedrooms come with cooks, butlers and pools, and are the usual choice for families and groups. The suites in the Pond Bay House, on the island's western point, have the widest sea views.

Dining

The Estate House serves dinner in the restored plantation house, with Caribbean and Mediterranean dishes and a terrace under the trees. The Pool Grille, at the water's edge, is open through the day for grilled fish and salads. The Veranda, by the beach, covers breakfast and lunch. Antiguan rum and the island's own fruit turn up on every menu, and much of the produce comes from the resort's garden.

Wellness

The spa occupies a group of pavilions in a garden on the island's north shore, with open-air treatment rooms and a lap pool. Guests sail, kayak, paddleboard and snorkel from the main beach; the water on the leeward side is flat most of the year. There are tennis courts, a croquet lawn, a putting green and a children's club, and the three-mile loop road is the morning run.

Weddings and events

Jumby Bay Island hosts weddings on the beach, in the gardens and on the lawn of the Estate House. Couples can take an estate home for the wedding party, and the whole resort can be booked for a private celebration. Small meetings and incentive groups use the Estate House and the villas; there is no conference centre. The resort's team handles ceremonies, flowers, music and boat transfers for guests staying on Antigua.

Location

The island lies off the north-east coast of Antigua, about ten minutes by road from V.C. Bird International Airport to the resort's private dock, then a boat crossing of around ten minutes. Saint John's, the capital, is twenty minutes by car from the dock. English Harbour and Nelson's Dockyard, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2016, make the day trip from the mainland. As a resort on a private island, it has no neighbours at all; the beach belongs to the people staying on it.