A private-island resort six minutes by boat off the coast of Antigua, Jumby Bay is one of the Caribbean’s top luxury, all-inclusive stays, and one of its most environmentally aware. A $28 million renovation in 2010, which included the addition of 28 suites and a first-ever spa, gave it all the digital-age essentials: 42-inch flat-screen TVs, iPod docking stations, Bose sound systems, free Wi-Fi. Yet its underlying spirit of environmental responsibility, highlighted by its hawksbill sea turtle preservation program and its banishment of wheeled vehicles except for golf carts and bicycles (every room comes with two bikes), continues to reign. Rosewood manages the resort, but it belongs to an association of island homeowners, some offering their properties for rent. So if, say, a 1,346-square-foot beach-view pool suite isn’t big enough, it is possible to do as celebs such as Hillary Swank, Jim Carey, and Paul McCartney have done and plop down up to $20,000 per night for a private villa or estate home. Couples can be perfectly content here, but it is especially attractive to families, who appreciate programs like the Rose Buds kids’ club.
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Jumby Bay
At Jumby Bay, A Rosewood Resort, you can hop from the small island of Antigua to an even smaller one off-shore. The private island resort is just a short boat ride from the main island, but the carefree—and car-free—atmosphere make it perhaps the most exclusive spot on the island. Jumby Bay Island has 4.5 miles of sugar-sand shoreline where guests stay in a collection of ultra-luxurious rooms, suites, and villas. Two pools, including an oceanfront infinity pool, offer comfortable sun-lounging space, while the Sense spa provides locally grown herbal treatments in personal spa suites. And the Estate House restaurant occupies former colonial plantation home from 1830, serving Italian fine dining like seafood risotto and roasted butternut ravioli with truffle butter.