Zemi Beach House LXR Review
Anguilla is known for its white-sand beaches, it's crystal-clear water and luxurious hotels and resorts. After various ToP team members visited this island, we believe we've found the near-perfect Caribbean paradise. In our Zemi Beach House LXR review, we give you our insights on this magnificent property, based on the combined experiences of three different trips.
Location
Zemi Beach House sits at the end of one of the most beautiful beaches in the world along Shoal Bay. This is no hyperbole. The pristine white sand and gorgeous turquoise water blow guests' minds as soon as they spot the shore.
The resort is quick 15-minute ride from Anguilla-Clayton J. Lloyd Airport (AXA). The only non-stop option from the US is on American Eagle from Miami. A lot of guests choose to fly into the larger airport in St. Maarten (SXM) and take a ferry over.
There are a few other restaurant options along the beach within walking distance. Somewhat surprisingly, those restaurants are mostly on par with pricing at Zemi Beach House.
Zemi Beach House LXR: Typical Booking Cost
Hilton Honors uses dynamic pricing for its awards but still offers “standard room rewards” that are akin to saver availability. A standard room reward at Zemi Beach House LXR costs 110,000 points per night. This makes Zemi Beach House an excellent use of Hilton free night certificates.
For our stay, we redeemed a combination of free night certificates and Hilton Honors points at the standard room rate of 110,000 points per night.
This boutique resort has just 76 rooms (including suites).
Check-In
We arranged for airport transportation through the resort, which was around $30 each way. Zemi Beach House has staff members at the airport to greet those guests who arrange for transportation through the resort. The staff member who greeted us walked us to our vehicle while asking for our drink preference upon arrival to the resort. (We were offered fruit punch or rum punch.)
The Zemi Beach House reception is at the ToP of the resort, near the front gate. As soon as we walked in, one of the staff members, seeing our toddler, retrieved a set of beach toys for her. All children at the resort received their own set of beach toys, which was a lovely touch.
The staff proactively informed us of our Hilton Diamond status benefits, which include complimentary breakfast and an upgrade to an ocean view room. I asked whether any suites were available and was told upgrading to a suite would cost $1,000 per night! I have yet to learn of any Diamond members receiving a complimentary suite upgrade at Zemi Beach House. So I would not count on it as it appears to be property policy to not grant complimentary suite upgrades.
The front desk staff left a great first impression with friendly and attentive service, while also engaging with our toddler. Once check-in was complete, a staff member drove us off in a golf cart for a brief tour of the resort and then to our room.
Zemi Beach House LXR Review: Two Queen Ocean View
Bedroom
Most of the resort's rooms are distributed among three buildings surrounding the adults-only pool. This location means the rooms are at a healthy distance away from the hustle and bustle of the main pool at the heart of the resort.
Though not particularly luxurious, our two queen bedroom was nice and made for a pleasant stay. The door opens to a narrow hallway with a minibar and fridge. The hallway then opens up to the bedroom and its large 700-sq. ft. footprint, which feels even larger with the high ceiling.
The balcony offered another sitting area with a couple of chairs and a dining table with additional chairs. A drying rack for swimsuits is a nice convenience for guests. For those traveling with little kids who want a quiet space to hang out after the little ones fall asleep, the balcony serves well.
Guests receive complimentary flip flops and a beach bag, which is my favorite perk at beach resorts.
Unfortunately, there are a number of missed opportunities that kept the room from being great or excellent, beyond just sprucing it up to make it luxurious.
The beds lacked any sort of night light, making it difficult to navigate the room at night without using a phone to light the way or disturbing sleeping guests. Both queen beds also shared a single nightstand between them. It would have been nice to see at least one additional nightstand on the other side of either bed.
Bathroom
The spacious bathroom also fell short in a couple of aspects. The shower has a half-glass stall, which isn't particularly popular to begin with. But those only work well with a rain shower head, which was lacking here. Instead, they used a traditional shower head, making the shower a rather chilly experience.
Meanwhile, despite featuring five different ambiances–shower, bathtub, vanity, toilet, and makeup counter–the bathroom had only two light switches. This isn't a dealbreaker for a bathroom, but rather just shows a little lack of attention to detail.
Overall, the room is not what I would think of when “luxury beach resort” comes to mind. Yet none of the issues above are deal breakers by any means. Besides, guests are unlikely to spend much time in their rooms at a resort like this.
Zemi Beach House LXR Review: Property/Amenities
Family Pool
The family pool sits at the center of the resort, next to 20 Knots restaurant and just below the Bohio Bar & Sushi Lounge. A glass wall on the far side of the pool offers guests beautiful views of the beach and sea. The pool has a lounge chairs, beds, and cabanas (all of which are complimentary).
Despite the resort being on the smaller side, guests did not have to “claim” any seating with towels early in the morning. The same goes for the cabanas.
Poolside service was friendly and attentive, with servers regularly making themselves visible and checking in on guests. Servers were also quick to clear up any empty glasses, plates, etc.
Adults-only Pool
The resort's adults-only pool is nestled among the room blocks, elevated away from the family pool. Different seating options surround the pool deck, including plenty of cabanas. Just below the adults-only pool is a lap pool for those looking to exercise. Despite having lots of palm trees and room blocks around it, the adults-only pool still has plenty of sunlight throughout the day. Unfortunately, the adults-only pool is not oceanfront. In fact, it is not even oceanview.
I did not spend time in the adults-only pool, so I did not notice any pool-side service. But I did see plenty of guests with drinks, so it looks like servers do tend to this pool during the day.
Dining
Zemi Beach House offers three dining options, although only one option for breakfast and lunch.
20 Knots
20 Knots is the resort's main restaurant, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and also catering to room service. Hilton Honors elites can enjoy complimentary breakfast buffet at 20 Knots.
The restaurant is spacious and has both indoor and outdoor tables, but is rather small. While we never saw a wait for tables during our stay, it is feasible it could happen.
Breakfast was quite good each day. You can expect all the typical staples of a breakfast buffet–scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, breakfast potatoes, pancakes, various breads, oatmeal, cereal, yogurt, assorted fruits, etc. There was also an omelet station and pancake station. Beverage service was slow, but attentive–servers were friendly but very busy. All of the food looked fresh at all times and nothing sat for too long. The highlight of breakfast every morning was the grilled vegetables. Not a traditional breakfast, by any means, but quite tasty nonetheless.
20 Knots is also the resort's poolside restaurant. The lunch menu is typical of what you would expect of a poolside restaurant–sandwiches, fries, burgers, etc. Servers walk through the pool and beach areas to take orders. Placing an order from the pool area was tough in light of how busy the resort was. We had a much easier time placing orders from loungers on the beach where there were much fewer guests.
Similarly, 20 Knots has a dinner menu that consists of Caribbean specialties. We had dinner there on two occasions and each were quite good. The resort has an eclectic wine list, but prices are quite expensive.
Stone
Zemi Beach House's more elegant restaurant is The Stone, perched above the resort's family pool. The Stone is only open for dinner and requires reservations. We did not get a chance to check out this restaurant.
The Bohio Bar & Lounge
The Bohio Bar & Lounge offers sushi and is a nice place to grab a drink in the shade. Located between the family pool and Stone, the bar lets guests enjoy the outdoors, while avoiding direct sunlight. We grabbed a drink here, but did not try the sushi.
Rhum Room
For guests looking for a nightcap, the Rhum Room is marketed as an after-dinner bar, with 140 single-batch rums and fine cigars. We stopped in on our last night at the hotel and waited over 15 minutes for service. I then went to talk to the bartender at Bohia Bar & Lounge about service in the Rhum Room. He seemed confused and was unaware of the rum bar or that the hotel sold cigars. We went back and waited another 10 minutes and then left. During our entire stay, we never saw anyone in the Rhum Room.
Zemi Beach House LXR Review: Gym and Spa
The gym is next to the adults-only pool at the ground level of one of the room blocks. The gym has an adequate selection of equipment but lacks much space. The low ceilings make the gym feel even smaller, which, coupled with the lack of any view of the ocean in an ocean-front property suggests the gym was an afterthought.
As is usually the case at hotel gyms, there was a cooler stocked with water bottles that were free for guests. Whenever we required additional water, I went to the gym and grabbed a few bottles.
Service at Zemi Beach House
Despite the resort being close to full capacity, service was consistently good for most of our stay. Service was on the slower side at breakfast and by the poolside sheerly due to the number of guests, but servers and staff were still friendly and attentive. All the staff clearly desired to make your stay memorable and enjoyable and their positive attitudes and vibes was noticeable.
Housekeeping was helpful and quick to respond with our requests for a rollaway bed and additional towels. One day, housekeeping did not come by while we were in the pool for the entire day. I called the front desk and asked for housekeeping to come by while we went away to dinner, which they did.
Overall, I cannot complain about any piece of service at this property. It felt like 5-star and boutique-level service in every way.
Hilton Elite Perks & Status Recognition
As mentioned previously, my Hilton Diamond status was immediately recognized at check-in. I was proactively upgraded to an ocean view room. However, suites were an additional $1,000/night cost. Full breakfast was included daily at 20 Knots Restaurant. Overall, it was standard “by-the-book” Diamond recognition, with no additional perks, but also none missing.
Zemi Beach House LXR Review: ToP Thoughts
The Zemi Beach House is a fantastic luxury Caribbean resort. Guests get excellent value out of 110,000 Hilton points per night or a Free Night Certificate. There is no lack of activities to keep kids of all ages entertained. The food and service are spectacular and the oceanfront location and pool are can't-miss. Anguilla itself is a treat and this hotel makes a special island even more special. We cannot wait to return to this property.
Have you visited Zemi Beach House LXR? Come over to our Facebook group and let us know.
