The 80-room Reef by CuisinArt, which officially opened on Thursday, November 10, is Anguilla’s newest luxury resort. It is an alluring, modern hotel, with a main building of 50 rooms and four exquisitely beautiful villas comprising a total of 30 rooms – all featuring colours and schemes indigenous to Anguilla and the rest of the Caribbean region. There are also attractive images of fish, sail boats and local paintings adorning the walls – all creating a feeling of national and regional life and culture.
Set in open spaces and lush gardens down to the beachfront with a palm-fringed pool in the middle, the resort also comprises two top notch restaurants. Overlooking the world class beaches of Merrywing and Rendezvous Bays, and the mountains of neighbouring St. Martin/St. Maarten, this unique property on eight acres, is a delightful portion of a 300-acre estate that includes its parent hotel – CuisinArt Resort & Spa, four restaurants, an 18-hole Greg Norman Golf Course – one of the best in the Caribbean – and a cluster of estate homes. All combined, the developments make the property the largest and most developed tourism project in Anguilla.
The Reef had its soft opening on November 2, marked by CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa’s third annual Epicurean Dinner in honour of renowned French Chef, Paul Bocuse. That event, a forerunner to the official opening of The Reef, attracted many high-profile travellers from across the United States and the world.
Mr. Stephane Zaharia, Vice President and General Manager of CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa property, owned by American investor, Leandro P. Rizzuto, told The Anguillian that The Reef should not be considered as a resort in a metropolitan city, but one having a set of design features, colours, and furnishings indigenous to the Caribbean region, creating a sense of belonging.
He continued: “First of all, we call the resort The Reef because there is an absolute beautiful and untouched reef, a little to the east of the property. Prior to us being here, Casablanca and Sonesta were here and for the past twenty years after they departed, that reef has been able to regenerate itself. We have had guests who went snorkelling there and were amazed with the sea life they found, including big fish and other marine life that you do not see any more around Anguilla’s shores. We have the responsibility to ensure that this reef continues to be protected.”
The resort’s main 75-foot building comprises a stunning bar, kitchens, dining areas, a boutique, and an expansive and attractively furnished lobby. It has five storeys, with spacious airy rooms of 750 square feet each. It is a specially-designed structure as Mr. Zaharia explains: “When you look at the front of the building, even though it is square, and you see the curves, the lobby area, and the Yacht Club seafood restaurant, it really gives you the sense that ‘I am on a luxury yacht.’ What a great feeling. We wanted to make the feel very warm. That’s why we have a lot of earth colours, brown, gold and khaki. A modern look can sometimes be translated cold but while we wanted to create a modern appearance, we also wanted to translate it to warm, elegant and vibrant.”
The General Manager also spoke on another area of The Reef. “Apart from the Yacht Club restaurant, we have a very nice setting on the beach called ‘Breezes’. It is a beachfront restaurant that will mainly serve lunch right now. This restaurant will have a capacity of 125-150 people with a beautiful and fantastic lower and upper deck. The deck is right on the water, really giving our guests from abroad as well as Anguilla, St. Martin/St. Maarten and other islands, an opportunity to come and enjoy that exceptional setting.”
Mr. Zaharia described The Reef as “a true Anguilla/St. Martin/St. Maarten project”, noting that the builders were employed from these territories rather than brought in from the United States.
The General Manager is obviously gratified with the construction of The Reef which, he emphasised, could not have come about without its forerunner, CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa. He summed up the entire luxury property and its offerings as follows:
“All in all, in the entire property, you have six restaurants, a golf course, five tennis courts and the most beautiful beaches in the world. And then you have us giving you the service, attention and Anguillian hospitality at its best. Why should you want to go somewhere else?”
