Breakthrough in Anguilla
of challenging yourself to push past your comfort zone—or sleep right through it.
Retired financier Tim Reynolds did not set out to create a collection of exclusive-use resorts where guests habitually leave with a new lease on life. But it turns out that what began in 2010 as his family’s 10-bedroom Caribbean villa has evolved, with ÁNI Private Resorts expanded across four countries. ÁNI Anguilla (from $16,000/night for six bedrooms, all-inclusive; aniprivateresorts.com)—unlike traditional wellness destinations focused on food intake and strenuous exercise—subtly edges guests toward better health by crafting individual programs for them, if they are interested.
Every ÁNI visit includes six massages daily; guests could leave it at that and return home plenty relaxed. Or they could take the opportunity during their stay to expand their horizons. Since it’s often the head game keeping you from your next step, with supportive staff to guide guests through the challenges set before them, breakthroughs happen quickly, in a few nights’ stay.
The challenge could be to hike to a rock face, rappel down, swim to a 30-foot-high rock, climb up, and then jump into the warm waters of Little Bay Beach. Or it’s to learn to play Adele on the steel drums with a local teacher. In order to kite surf, it takes a little grit and a few lessons, and then you’ll be sailing. The goal here is to get guests to try something new and experience the feeling of success (if not quite mastery), which is—especially for those middle-aged and older—deeply restorative. So is cantering on a horse, then riding him as he wades through the gentle waves (a type of equine-assisted therapy growing in popularity across the globe).
For anyone who’s been reluctant to pick up a racket for fear of ridicule, there’s the chance to re-engage muscle memory. A tennis pro is one of the 20 staff always on site, and if you spend an hour a day with him, both your backhand and your overall confidence will markedly improve. The floodlit, private court sits close to the property entrance, far from prying eyes. By the end of a week, you’ll remember why you once loved the game after you find yourself rallying at length with the pro. There’s also guided cycling tours of the island, SUP, and a fully equipped gym with a Peloton.
To expand horizons further, ÁNI encourages going out at night, making use of its extensive local inroads. Reynolds’ give-back ethos (he’s opened an ÁNI Art Academy near each of his all-inclusive resorts, training novices over three years to become gallery-represented painters) has created a virtuous circle, with locals like bona fide rockstar Bankie Banx (the “Anguillan Bob Dylan”) opening his nightclub to ÁNI guests, who may recline on reserved sofas down front—but who wants to sit when you can dance? Another active pursuit: paddling in illuminated, transparent kayaks beneath the moon, you can look down into the crystal waters and gaze up to the blanket of stars. How infinite the universe, how small our daily problems, the island seems to whisper. It’s the epitome of an immersive wellness experience.
