The Copper and Lumber Store Historic Inn

Driving down the long, narrow Nelson's Dockyard driveway, which is flanked by high sandstone and weathered brick walls and lined with miniature canons, visitors are instantly transported to another time and place where 18th-century architecture has been preserved at its most timeless. Once inside, a street lined with stone-built dwellings unfolds, their history displayed on signs out front. About halfway in, the hotel’s 1789 brick, sandstone, and blue-shuttered exterior emerges, with tropical gardens and a big black canon. Thick brick walls and wood beams create a dark, moody interior ambience. The check-in and lobby areas are decked out in chesterfields, wingback chairs, Imperial table lamps, and old naval artworks.

A wide wooden staircase leads upstairs to the rooms and another formal (guest-only) lounge. The rest of the hotel unfolds like a Georgian time capsule, with wide, open brick archways connecting common areas throughout. The centerpiece is the open-air interior courtyard, which some rooms overlook from their Juliet balconies. Several free-lowing sections surrounding the courtyard feature thick wood columns, more chesterfields, old rum barrels, and a few banquet table settings -- with kerosene lanterns and chandeliers suspended overhead. The space is typically used for functions, such as wedding receptions. 

The Mainbrace Pub has cozy wooden booth seating enveloped by weathered walls. Street-front alfresco seating is available. Out back, the Wardroom Restaurant has dark-wood captain’s chairs around dining tables -- opening to a waterside terrace. There’s a marina, and it’s often a site for yachting or fishing events.

Remnants of the old fort boarder one side of the hotel and provide views from some rooms. It hardly feels Caribbean here -- it's more like a European stronghold that’s been shifted to the waterfront. The hotel is inescapably romantic and enchanting, a chock-a-block treasure trove for history buffs.

Overlooking English Harbor, the hotel sits in the heart of Antigua’s most historical area -- Nelson's Dockyards -- alongside the Dockyard Museum. There's a mini-market and liquor store, gift shops, a bakery, a woodcarving studio, and restaurants nearby. There are other restaurants nearby beyond Dockyard confines as well. Pigeon Beach is a five-minute drive away and Galleon Beach is 10 minutes away, and there's a little stretch of Harbor beachfront right next door to the hotel. Other nearby highlights include Antigua Yacht Club (a 10-minute walk), Shirley Heights, and Pillars of Hercules (both 10 minutes away by car). The hotel is a 35- to 40-minute drive to VC Bird International Airport, without traffic. There’s a taxi stand outside the Dockyard grounds, and water taxis can also be arranged.

The Copper and Lumber Store Hotel includes 14 suites and studios named after ships led by Lord Nelson in the Battle of Trafalgar. Rooms display their history, with Georgian windows, stone-weathered brick walls, wood-beamed ceilings, and chandeliers. Period furniture includes wingback chairs, chesterfields, and dark-wood pieces, some of which are antiques. Studios have wet bars and open-plan living areas, while Suites unfold over two levels, with full kitchens, separate living rooms, and bedrooms. Bathrooms are handsomely decorated in an Old World style, with dark-wood-paneled walls, and nautical brass basins and polished tapware contrasting with the more modern walk-in showers. Some rooms have Juliet balconies overlooking the interior courtyard, and views of the Harbor that extend across the water to Shirley Heights and include the fort wall neighboring the property on one side. All rooms come with flat-screen TVs, mini-fridges, coffee- and tea-making facilities, toiletries, air-conditioning, irons and ironing boards, and safes.

Aside from its iconic location and the fascinating history lesson the hotel provides, the hotel is a bit short on amenities compared to other properties. Its main feature is the on-site restaurant and pub and the marina. Breakfast and dinner are served in the Wardroom Restaurant, and lunch and evening meals are taken in the Mainbrace Pub area. The menu features traditional English pub food and fish and chips, and burgers, roti-inspired dishes, and plenty of seafood. "Seafood Friday" is a local institution that attracts visitors who pour out onto Dockyard lawns for a fish feast by candlelight, under the stars. There’s a marina right behind the hotel, and a little stretch of beach next door. The hotel offers an overnight laundry service, and babysitting can be arranged. Staff can organize spa, beauty, hair, and chiropractic treatments nearby. The hotel’s 200-plus year old story, the Dockyard grounds, museum, and naval remnants scattered everywhere are a features unto themselves. Wi-Fi is free throughout the property.