Upcycle Café

Built from what the resort already had

The name is literal, which is the best thing about it. Upcycle Cafe was put together from materials reclaimed from around the property rather than shipped in, so the room is made of Galley Bay's own salvage. It is also air conditioned, which on the west side of Antigua counts as a design decision rather than a detail: this is the one indoor room on a resort whose day otherwise happens entirely outdoors. The salvage also gives the room a character that a shipped-in fit-out would not have had, since the materials carry the property's own history rather than a catalogue's.

Croissants early, ice cream later

The counter shifts with the clock. Warm croissants come out first thing, freshly brewed coffee and espresso drinks run through the morning, and house-made ice cream takes over once the afternoon heat arrives. In between there are sweet and savoury bites, juices and baked treats, and an afternoon tea service for anyone who wants the pause to be a proper one.

That the ice cream is made on site rather than bought in is the detail worth knowing. It is the reason to plan a stop here in the middle of the afternoon rather than treating the room purely as a morning coffee run. House-made ice cream in the Caribbean is a small commitment that says a good deal about how the kitchen behind the counter is thinking.

The indoor half of a Galley Bay day

Galley Bay Resort and Spa is an adults-only, all-inclusive property on the coast west of St John's, and it is built almost entirely around beach, sea and garden. Upcycle is its counterweight: a cool, quiet room with a chair, a book and something cold, positioned for the hour when the sun stops being pleasant.

Use it that way and it does more work than its size suggests. Take a coffee and a croissant early, come back for the ice cream when the beach gets hot, and treat the afternoon tea as the reason to stay put through the worst of the day. Everything else at Galley Bay happens outside; this is the part that does not, and that makes it the most useful room on the property between about noon and four.