Castaways Party Experience at Jumby Bay Island Resort

...lap of luxury

A chartered flight descends into the azure of the Atlantic as it meets the Caribbean Sea. You wave at your reflection in Winthropes Bay as you land in Antigua. After landing, a water chauffeur transfers you from Antigua to Oetker Collection's Jumby Bay Island, one of the most elegant and discreet private islands in the West Indies. Known for its ultimate understated and casual luxury, the 300-acre resort is the bower of barefoot bliss for you, your beau and two other couples, or the sweetest escape for you and five girlfriends.

Upon arrival to the secluded Blue Belle Villa, you are welcomed by your dedicated butler with a crisp Champagne toast in the salt breeze of the terrace overlooking your private heated pool, a crystalline sea view, and the beachfront where you will roam barefoot and carefree, enjoying chilled-out charm.

After obligatory disco naps or lingering a little longer under the shade of one of the property's thatched bohios, you and your guests will enjoy a private dinner on the white-powdered sand fringed with palms, kissed by tranquil turquoise waters. Laughter swells under the hospitality of your very own Houses & Parties-designed beach folly, suffused in radiant yellow cabana stripes and miles of Samuel & Sons jute fringe that dances in the wind like the tell-tales of the fantasy to come. Executive Chef Erick Sanz will work with you on a personalized tasting menu showcasing the bounty of local land and sea, prepared with a European flair. 

Dinner is served by a handsome server in sunny stripes, exuding the same Caribbean warmth as your tent and table. Each course takes center stage on cobalt striped china by Richard Brendon and accompanied by wine pairings from sommelier Jason White while accoutrements are awarded in artisanal woven tidbits baskets lined with airy embroidered cotton. Confessions and conversation are shared over wild wind hibiscus and yellow allamanda. Eyes twinkle from a crackling bonfire. Ostentatious costume jewelry from popped marbled party crackers refract the light sprinkled from the candlelit wicker table lamp and twinkling votives as the sun sets on Jumby Bay, an iconic vision. Each moment of the evening is captured in spirit by a live guitarist, who strums a little louder after dessert for the table abandonment of dancing. The last one back to the villa is in a bush and most likely missing half of the next day's festivities.

The next day, the island is your oyster - or six dozen. Circumnavigate the sun-kissed Jumby Bay by sea with a private charter, teasing the sporty among you who have split off for windsurfing or waterskiing. Dress up and play committee boat to a regatta of tan men or scud over the seas to slip into the clear waters for spectacular snorkeling. There's a little mermaid in every group, who will seek out parrot fish, sea turtles, blue tangs, and octopus in bubbling song. Houses & Parties designs her tail and the Shemelia Arrindell sews in her long, flowing, fiery red extensions in preparation of a themed dinner to come.

The afternoon is dedicated to you and no one else. Surrender your soul to the spa for a "Ley Ley" massage and relish in the ritual of treatments from the globally loved 'Queen of Green Beauty', Tata Harper. Bathe in the gentle sea breeze and float on the hush of waves as the therapeutic practices and West Indies traditions wash over you in the form of heritage herbs and extracts from the island's indigenous Neem tree.

As you all become one with salt and seaweed, so does your attire for dinner in accordance with a festive theme and dress code: "Sirens & Sailors". You and your shoal of mermaids sink ships with your cascading waves that rival Daryl Hannah in the '80s classic Splash. "Flipping your fins, you don't get too far...", so sequin dresses complement your flowing tresses and clamshell handbags. Men meet their pearl-of-a-girl donning bespoke tricorn hats, windblown lace-up linen shirts, and petticoat breeches that billow in the breeze. One captain gets hooked on jests about "pirate's booty" while another later shares mid-courses with the parrot on his shoulder.

As twilight descends, your party pack ascends the stairs to The Estate House, the crown jewel dining destination of The Caribbean. The circa 1830 house, once the centerpiece of the island's sugar plantation, richly combines the impressions of a traditional colonial home with a food program that combines classic fare with modern West Indies island flavors. Curated local artwork of Antiguan life, flora, and fauna will draw you into the culinary traditions that are shared to capture your heart as much as your appetite. While you experience the land (ho!) and sea with dishes like local corn and saffron velouté, Lionfish Bouillabaisse, and a shareable Fariguole lamb rack, a piano plays softly nearby. Eventually, the soft serenade swells to accompany your boisterous bunch as you lead a contagious sing-a-long of rum-tinged shanties over dessert from custom songbooks.

The next morning, sailors roll out from plush quarters by the airlift of a team of gentle house attendants and the aroma of Antiguan coffee and sirens are assisted with tangles. Once men wipe away their liquid eye liner, a sunny nature guide leads them through the Eden of the island, bursting with bright flora and fauna. The informative stroll through palm-fringed paths leads you to the garden, where a bountiful brunch is set amongst exotic fruit trees as a farewell to the island. The scent of sugar apple, sapodilla, fragrant herbs, and local spices is your heady hangover cure as a farm to table menu is served by Chef Sanz, who fills in memory lapses from the previous evening's oceanic odyssey. After a daiquiri toast, you explore the 300-acre island by bicycle, naming free ranging ducks and sheep before encountering the endangered hawksbill sea turtle, the harbinger of the hospitality and sanctuary of Jumby Bay island.

A house is a party and Jumby Bay Island is both.

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