We have been to Antigua many times over the past 5 years. This hotel is set in a lovely location within a few minutes walk to the wonderful sandy beach.
The hotel is small, the rooms are adequate, nicely furnished with views over the water sports bay. The fans provided in the rooms were often not enough to cool the rooms. Bathrooms need showers updating. Mosquitos were a problem and when it rains the rooms and hotel floods! There is extensive building work on a new resort in the bay opposite Long bay rooms.
The staff at breakfast and dinner were a constant talking point for the guests. Trying to get a smile from a waitress was impossible. The attitude was really awful... ask for something and you get a huff and rolled eyes! things were slammed down on the table, coffee spilled, and your breakfast order was often wrong! When i repeated a request for some sauce I was told sternly "I'm getting it" ! It never came! this happened several times after which I gave up asking. You really felt that you were an inconvenience to them.
Menu for breakfast was the same every day, dinner changed daily , sometimes good sometimes awful!
Lunch at the beach bar was different. the service was generally good (unless you got a breakfast waitress!) and food was good.
The beach was an experience. The cruise liners seem to bus their guests to that small beach for the snorkelling. Long bay hotel willingly rent out their beach chairs to them and so on some days you are over run with very large, loud groups of people, shouting across to each other . Not exactly the peaceful relaxing location expected!!! Beware the green towel brigade!! Take flight as we did on the days the liners are expected in! The beach is shared with grand pineapple at the other end.. but thats not a problem.
The age range of guests was 20's to 60's during our stay of 10 nights. Entertainment was limited and most guests were in bed by 9.30p.m. We met some very nice people there.
We were also shocked at the 10% tip added to the bill... especially since service was so awful!
In summary, a nice location, lovely beach, hotel is badly in need of a face lift, not just paint! Some staff need urgent training in politeness! Air con is needed in rooms and coffee tea making in rooms would be nice. Some of the staff were lovely, namely Sandra on the bar, and Dave the manager. This could be a real gem but with some urgent work and attention.

Long Bay should be a gem and in many ways, it is a lovely place. The beach is great. The beach bar is well maintained, with a small gazebo where a steel band plays on Thursdays. The Bay itself is a nice spot for kayaking, sailing or taking out the fishing boats, and although the rooms are pretty basic (don’t expect aircon) they have their own charm. The manager Dave is very hospitable and bends over backwards to keep the hotel running smoothly. We felt set to enjoy a magical holiday in paradise.

The problem with Long Bay however is the table service, which is incredibly belligerent. We thought this was a function initially of being younger guests but it soon became apparent that the service was universally poor.

We tried very hard not to let the behaviour of the waitresses ruin our holiday, but with half board obligatory and only a beach bar and another hotel as alternatives within walking distance, it was difficult not to be affected. Examples include Sandra, at the beach bar, barking at us to “Choose something easy!” and “The chef’s started packing up,” when we popped down at 5.30pm (when the leaflet said it remained open until 6pm). One waitress refused to talk to guests at all, so rather than asking for your order, stands by pen-in-hand at the table, glaring at you. If you forget to order something, expect to be asked “Why don’t you order everything at once?” and to hear the staff complain amongst themselves about this afterwards (within earshot of other guests). As a result, there were many occasions when the restaurant was deathly silent during mealtimes. It sapped the enjoyment from the evening almost completely.

The buck has to stop with the owner, Christian Lafaurie, who is far too hands-off. While he is often in the hotel, I did not once in two weeks see him outside of the office where he sits back facing out, playing solitaire on the computer. It’s not unusual for him to keep his back to you even when you are in conversation. He ignored an initial request to fix a leaking toilet, simply say then next day that "he forgot" (no apology). Mr Lafaurie sets the tone for the hotel and will happily defend the staff when he should really consider sacking many of them. This is desperately needed for the hotel to become the idyll it could so easily be. Until this happens, don’t go there.

Long Bay Hotel should be a gem. It is exactly the sort of place we like: small, quiet, unpretentious. It is set on the most beautiful beach we saw in Antigua and has good snorkeling. Unlike the March 2007 reviewer, we never encountered cruise ship passengers on the beach in the ten days we were there. The rooms while modest are very well thought out and have large incredibly comfortable beds and big terraces facing an inlet where you can watch egrets and sting rays and the local kite-flying contests on Sundays. The first half of our stay there was a breeze at night, but during the second half, the room was quite close. The staff with the exception of the dining room waitresses is lovely, and Sam the bartender is a treasure.

What mars the Long Bay experience is the service in the dining room, which features two angry, hostile, inept waitresses who turn each breakfast and dinner into a trial. If anything, the March 2007 reviewer underplayed how horrible the service is. At our first breakfast, when someone at the next table asked for a second cup of coffee, the waitress rolled her eyes. Things got worse as our stay continued. The waitresses never ask if you need anything, and if you do ask for anything at all, there is no reply. The two of them clang dishes, talk to each other as loudly as possible, and make a racket setting up for the next meal while they are serving the one before. One deliberately knocked over a book on the table. Another was saying something we couldn't catch as she set down my plate, and when I asked, her reply was "I'm not talking to you!" They clear your plates without asking if you are finished and generally turn meals into a nightmare. (By contrast, the waitresses at lunch at the hotel's beachfront restaurant are fine, and so it is not a question of the local culture.) We escaped and had dinner out one night, which was a relief. This is not much of an option because there are few restaurants near the hotel.

The waitresses are a big topic of conversation among all the guests.

The management must be aware of this problem. It is a pity that they don't do anything about it.

As to the March 2007 reviewer's comment about the age of the guests, it varied during our ten-day stay. By the end, most of the guests were in their 30s. At the beginning of our stay, they were older, as are we. We found all the guests quite sympatico.

There is a 100-unit development under construction across the bay. If this is ever completed, it may change the place.

We stayed at Long Bay for 12 nights in February 07. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in what is a really beautiful location and probably the best on the Island. The atmosphere at the hotel is unusual in that it resembles a house party with regular returning guests making newcomers such as ourselves feel welcome. It is difficult to fault the hotel with Chris, Dave, Sam and Sandra going out of their way to provide good service and to deal with any questions etc. I would very much agree with a recent review that the hotel does have a significant problem with staff attitude in the restaurant. Whilst the limited menu was excellent, service from at least one member of staff in the restaurant was surly if not aggressive. The prime objective of restaurant staff seeming to be how quickly they can get guests in and out of the restaurant before leaving for the night. A pity when the hotel has so much else going for it