PIERS MORGAN: Fears turned to cheers as I discovered that my favourite Caribbean hotel hasn’t been ruined by a refurb – but is better than ever (and well worth a $30k-a-week stay)
The most dreaded words in my life are ‘closed for refurbishment’.
Whenever they apply to my favourite hotels, restaurants, bars or shops, they inevitably signify the end of something I love and the beginning of something I will loathe with a deep intensity.
In my professional world, I crave change and unpredictability because I’m in the news business.
For the past decade, Piers says he has regularly returned to Jumby Bay in Antigua for an August summer ‘lads’ holiday with his three sons. He’s pictured here taking a dip in the water from the comfort of a chair on the resort’s main beach
Jumby Bay is a 300-acre private island off the coast of the mainland with 40 hotel suites and 50 private homes. It was previously run by Rosewood Resorts but it is now managed by the Oetker Collection, which has refurbed it
Piers strikes a pose with his three sons (from left to right, Bertie, Spencer and Stanley) on the Jumby Bay 45ft yacht Yennecot, which can be hired by guests for a day or half day
But in my personal off-camera existence, I crave the complete opposite: I know what I like, and I like what I know. I’m the archetypal creature of habit.
So, for the past decade, I have regularly returned to the same Caribbean resort for an August summer ‘lads’ holiday with my three sons – Jumby Bay, in Antigua; a 300-acre private island off the coast of the mainland with 40 hotel suites and 50 private homes.
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We stay in the same two interconnecting suites, sit on the same stunning beach all morning, play afternoon cricket on the same 22ft stretch of sand, dine in the same delightful three restaurants at night, and I get mocked in the same merciless manner by my offspring before finally collapsing (after an outdoor bath or shower) in the same gorgeously appointed bedroom.
It’s been an utterly reliable, gloriously peaceful and fabulously paradisaical break from the frenzy of working in the modern 24/7 global media.
But then, as I tried to book this summer’s trip, back came an email saying: ‘New Owners: Complete Design Transformation.’
Piers says: ‘Oetker has introduced a spanking new beachfront infinity pool, a much-needed addition for all show-offs like me who wish to taunt people back home with the most jealousy-inspiring holiday photos’
The journalist and TV host gets into the holiday swing of things with his three sons (from left to right, Stanley, Bertie, Spencer) on the Jumby Bay transfer boat
The rooms at Jumby Bay boast outdoor baths and showers, so guests can enjoy the tropical climate as they spruce up
Piers says the rooms at his favourite resort are ‘gorgeously appointed’, with lots of space to relax and lounge about in
Many of the villas have their own private swimming pools with stunning views of the surrounding coastline
Even worse, the refurb would be actually going on while we were there.
I would thus literally see my dream being turned into a nightmare right before my tormented eyes. We flew in, full of fear and trepidation.
One of the many beauties of Jumby Bay is that it lies just a two-minute drive and five-minute ferry from Antigua’s V.C. Bird International Airport. Within just 40 minutes of landing, we were on the resort, sipping a rum punch.
That’s not the only unusual thing about Jumby. There are no cars: every guest gets a bicycle instead.
There are no locked doors to your suites either: the island operates on trust. Ah yes, trust.
I could trust the old ‘Jumby Bay’, run by Rosewood Resorts under the cultured eye of its brilliant former general manager, Andrew Hedley.
But could I trust the NEW ‘Jumby Bay Island’, bought and run by the Oetker Collection since we were last here a year ago?
THAT was the $30,000 question… (it’s not cheap, but as with most expensive things in life, you get what you pay for).
Piers indulged in a spot of beach cricket during his lads’ holiday. He says he’s ‘allergic to anything serious’ while on vacation
An exterior shot of the Estate House restaurant, where Piers says he enjoyed ‘varied meals of high-class culinary calibre and a notable step in quality’
Piers says breakfasts at the ocean view Pool Grille (pictured above) were ‘as lean and healthy or sumptuously fattening as your arteries desired’
An interior shot of the Estate House restaurant bar, complete with palm tree murals and animal-inspired art
The beach bar at Jumby Bay serves up an array of drinks, including a spread of Caribbean-inspired cocktails
My first surprise was the food. It was always good, but this time it was exceptional, especially in the signature Estate House restaurant where I enjoyed varied meals of high-class culinary calibre and a notable step in quality.
The head chef was trained by French genius Alain Ducasse and it shows. Trust me, you won’t eat better than this anywhere in the Caribbean.
Breakfasts at the ocean view Pool Grille were as lean and healthy or sumptuously fattening as your arteries desired.
And I particularly enjoyed the new lunchtime beach shack barbecue that delivered deliciously decadent lobsters in minutes as I read inane thrillers on my sunbed (I’m allergic to anything serious on holiday).
My second surprise was the general standard of service, in all parts of the resort. It was faster, better and more consistently reliable than it had been before.
The Jumby staff, many of whom have been there for a long time, take great pride in their work and their enthusiasm for the renovations was infectious.
Piers says many of the Jumby staff have ‘been there for a long time’ and ‘they take great pride in their work’
There is a water sports centre at the Jumby Bay resort, where kayaks, catamarans and other vessels can be rented
Piers says that Jumby Bay is a haven for big name stars who want to ‘escape the trials and tribulations of celebrity life’
Once I viewed the extensive ‘structural changes’, I realised why… and my fears promptly converted to cheers.
This refurb is more evolutionary than revolutionary.
Oetker has introduced a spanking new beachfront infinity pool, a much-needed addition for all show-offs like me who wish to taunt people back home with the most jealousy-inspiring holiday photos.
It has also performed substantial upgrades to the water sports centre and luxury spa, which both now rival any competing resort.
And at its heart, the frankly rather uninspiring old Veranda restaurant and lobby area has been ripped up and replaced by a dazzlingly elegant new Italian restaurant, bar, boutique and reception area.
But what none of this has done is change the ‘feel’ of the place.
There’s a reason why Jumby is where many of the world’s biggest names come to escape the trials and tribulations of celebrity life.
I’ve seen everyone from Sir Paul McCartney to Mariah Carey and Will Smith strolling along the beach, unbothered by anyone.
Other guests, who all get treated exactly the same way as the celebrities, tend to be too rich or too dignified to make a nuisance of themselves.
Sir Paul McCartney, Mariah Carey and Will Smith are among the celebrities who have stayed at Jumby Bay. Above, an interior shot of one of the resort’s incredible suites
One of the villas features a large living room area, with a turquoise theme running throughout
There are no cars on Jumby Bay and every guest gets a bicycle instead to navigate the sandy paths running across the island
Another unusual feature of Jumby Bay is that there are no locked doors to the rooms – the island operates on trust
Last year, Barcelona footballing superstars Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were both at Jumby the week before we arrived, causing my sons to nearly disown me for not booking us in at the same time.
‘Dad,’ raged my eldest, Spencer, ‘have you ANY idea how many Insta likes I’d have got for a beach kick-about video with those two?’
More than he’d get for playing cricket with me, definitely.
You can be as energetic or lazy as you like on Jumby.
There’s a great gym, some excellent floodlit tennis courts, and of course, you can cycle wherever you like.
Or, like me, you can just take a gigantic metaphorical chill pill and do almost nothing.
There’s nowhere I relax better than Jumby, nowhere I get pestered less (by fans and… non-fans!), nowhere I feel more at ‘home’.
And joyously, I no longer feel threatened by the new owners.
Instead, I feel enthused by Oetker’s commitment to preserving the best of Jumby Past, and excited by their vision for Jumby Future.
As the company says, the work – all executed by acclaimed Brazilian designer Patricia Anastassiadis – is designed to ‘inject a new lease of life to the much-loved island’.
That, I’m relieved to say, is exactly how it feels.
If I were writing a news headline about it, it would be this: BREAKING NEWS: Jumby Bay’s back – better than ever.
TRAVEL FACTS
Rates at Jumby Bay Island start from $1,175 + 22.5 per cent service and tax per night.
This rate is based on double occupancy in an entry-level Rondavel Room and is inclusive of daily breakfast, lunch and dinner; beverages, cocktails and house wine by the glass; use of two resort pools, three tennis courts, fitness centre and yoga pavilion; watersports; Wi-Fi; and daily complimentary children’s programme.
For more information, visit www.oetkercollection.com/destinations/jumby-bay-island/.
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