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Curtain Bluff Resort
St. Johns, Antigua, West Indies
They call this a tropical paradise and that's hard to dispute.
Run by former pilot Howard W. Hulford for the past 41 years, Curtain Bluff
exudes care and planning with an understated elegance in an almost perfect
setting. Hulford had spotted this promontory overlooking two beautiful white
sand beaches on either side (one with surf and one without) and chose it
for his 12-acre resort. It's a place you would like to visit time and time
again, which is what most people do. Their repeat business is 65 percent.
The simple, yet tropical-perfect dining spot is located in
a re-creation of an old stone sugar mill-style building with a thatched roof.
Chef Ruedi Portmann serves up delectable meals, making sure you see their
wine cellar, where 10,000 bottles are there for the asking.
The rooms are memorable, not only for what's inside, but
also for their spectacular views overlooking the sea below the bluff. Inside,
the rooms have a casual decorator look with colorful fabrics, bathrooms (outfitted
with rum near the tub) and sitting areas.
Though peaceful and quiet, there is entertainment nightly:
dance combos, steel band and calypso music. Guests still dress for dinner
(although ties and jackets are optional). In May, the Antigua Tennis Week
moves in at the resort, a program began by Hulford in 1975 to send island
kids to tennis camp. It eventually became a scholarship fund and has sent
many Antiguans to college.
Presided over by the redoubtable Howard Hulford, one of the
Caribbean's foremost hoteliers, this 25-acre enclave on Antigua's southern
coast has a long reputation for caring deeply about good food, wine, amiable
service, and tennis. Its 70 rooms and suites trail along a rocky peninsula
that separates two bays, each lined with a glorious beach. On paper, the
small number of courts—four—seems to suggest a perfunctory interest
in tennis. In fact, they've been allotted a prime location, right along the
sea, and the staff of local pros choreographs a nonstop series of matches—mostly
doubles in the high season—that make the courts an epicenter of social
activity. The tennis enthusiasm reaches a zenith during Antigua Tennis Week
in May, which began in 1975 as an island-wide professional tournament and
has evolved into a pro-am tennis festival, featuring Fred Stolle and a bevy
of other Grand Slam greats.
Reservations:
Curtain Bluff Resort
Box 288
St. Johns, Antigua, West Indies
212-289-8888
Toll-free: 888-289-9898
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