It’s been a long strange year indeed. And it’s not over yet, sadly. We’ve all struggled to get back to some semblance of normality. You remember that, right? Sometimes, I’m not sure I do.
The island of Anguilla has been slowly reopening in a phased approach, but businesses like the Four Seasons haven’t all been happy with their steady plan. The local government has recently introduced a concept in an effort to expand tourist access to businesses around the island. The concept allows for certain businesses to serve guests that are still under quarantine restrictions but outside of that business’s specific bubble.
On Thursday, November 19, 2020, Straw Hat Restaurant, located on the property of Frangipani Beach Resort, announced that they have received approval and authorization to operate in the Phase 2 re-opening bubble as a Safe Environment Certified business. So what does that mean?
As part of their phased re-opening due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the island of Anguilla has created a “vacation bubble concept.” Under this plan, businesses that obtain the Safe Environment Certification are allowed to welcome visitors who are within the 10-14 day quarantine periods. In order to do this, those businesses are required to set times and days where they will only be allowed to serve customers that are staying in an approved bubble. During these times no local residents or any others not staying in an approved bubble will be allowed to frequent the business.
In order to move from bubble to bubble, people must use Safe Environment Certified transportation that will provide “guided travel” between bubble locations. The transportation must be arranged by your bubble host from your approved location where you’re staying in Anguilla. In addition, you must make reservations at the business you would like to visit prior to going. This is a must-do requirement. You can not just show up at the business and you are not allowed to transport yourself.
The idea of the guided travel concept is that it allows short-term visitors to frequent businesses on the island that are located outside of their approved bubble. This also limits a guest’s interactions with the local Anguilla population while the guests are under quarantine rules. For more information, you can visit Anguilla’s Tourism website.
As for Straw Hat Restaurant, they will operate in the Meads Bay bubble Tuesday through Saturdays. That means that they will only serve guests who make a reservation in advance, and who are coming from an approved bubble location via Safe Environment Certified transportation. They will serve non-bubble guests on Mondays and Tuesdays only (locals and those who have completed their required quarantine period).
For more information, just click on the Facebook post below.
