We got married at the Grand Pineapple hotel and absolutely loved it. We chose the hotel because we liked the look of the wedding gazebo in the hotel gardens and the ceremony could be watched on the internet live by friends and family who couldn't attend. We were also keen on a location where it would appeal to all guests who were coming with us so not just a 'couples only' resort. We were not disappointed.
Our stay at the Pineapple was fantastic, the beach is the best beach I will probably ever see in my life, because we were a wedding couple we were upgraded to a supa dupa suite which we did't know about until we arrived, it was a lovely surprise.

The staff were very nice and friendly, if a little too laid back but again it's what you expect in the carribbean. The only thing that slightly lets the place down is the evening entertainment. The main bar shuts at 12 and the disco which is open till the last guest leaves is pretty rubbish and freezing cold with air con so noone goes in there, but we just made sure we stocked up on drinks at the bar so when it shut we could stay sat there till later. The entertainment was usually a band every night that weren't really our cup of tea, but it didn't spoil our stay one bit.

Our wedding day was fantastic and everything I could of wished for. The wedding coordinator, Novella, is ridiculously laid back and doesn't seem to do anything but somehow everything gets done and turns out perfect! (For example I didn't find out until the morning of our wedding whether I could have a hairdresser)
She didn't come to find us either so after being there 3 days we went to find her ourselves to let her know what we wanted. The choices you're given for the wedding are:
Colour and type of flowers
Colour and type of cake
Which wedding venue hilltop or garden gazebo.
We chose the garden one as it was prettier and had the webcam which the hilltop does not. (My friends and family at home loved watching the wedding on the internet)
She also asks if you want any extras such as dvd, steel pan drummer, disk with all photos etc. We got all of these and they were well worth it! The dvd is lovely. You can take a cd with you and have yor own choice of music put on the dvd which we didn't know about so we've got a cheesy song on it instead but somehow it suits!
We did a multi-centre break whih was nice so afer a week with family and friends at the Pineapple we went to a couples only resort called the rendezvous in St lucia for our honeymoon. This was nice as it meant we had two totally different holiday experiences.

Beautiful beach, and the food was great and beautifully presented.
Would go back in a flash.

We went to the Grand Pineapple with friends, what a fantastic time we had!!

Must admit we did stay in the standard rooms and felt a little dismayed as we had a shared balcony, but to be perfectly honest not a problem. We were never in the room long enough to be worried!!

The staff were great, nothing was too much trouble, as for the birds this is standard in any exotic location, we had the same in Mauritius, as long as you cover your food and drink whilst you are away from your table.

Marys outhouse is great, just be careful when you come down the steps or you will end up like me falling down in an undignified heap!!

The food was good, plenty of choice, just make sure that you pre-book the restaurants on arrival.

What can I say about the beach? fantastic my other half even managed to teach me how to snorkel, that was a feat in itself!!

We have re-booked for next feb and are already counting down the nights!!

This was our second visit to the Grand Pineapple having stayed there 2 years ago at Easter. We are a family of four with two daughters aged 7 and 5 and we stayed between 22nd August and 5th September.

Practical stuff first. The hotel is situated ion one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to, hence why we returned. It is very quiet at the hotel and if you are looking for night life this is probably not for you. The Hotel is dated but kept clean throughout with lovely gardens - it has almost achieved "shabby chic" status now and this is part of the attraction as it is a refreshing change from the marble monoliths built by the larger chains.

Very little has changed since our first visit, however we did notice that being low season this time the hotel was only c. 45% occupied and as a result stock was being run down and things would run out (ice cream etc). Also things like the reef fishing trips weren't running in our second week, possibly due to less staff, boat maintenance etc.

You will read a lot of reviews bemoaning the food. The food is certainly not gourmet standards by any means (and I've yet to stay at any all inclusive in the Caribbean that is), however there is a good selection of well cooked and healthy options and I suspect the food may be more to European tastes than North American. Lots of fruit, chicken, rice, vegetables, roast meats, barbecue, salads etc. The main restaurants only serve fries on the childrens menu, so if this is a staple requirement for you then you may be disappointed, but there is always the snack bar for a fried fix.

People also complain about brids in the restaurant. There are plenty of them and despite the efforts to get them out (putting food out for birds away from the restaurant, scarers etc) the only real solution would be to enclose the restaurant and glass in the windows. This would be a tragedy and not a price worth paying. If you don't leave your table unattended however you will have no problems

It always surprises me that people complain that the staff are unfriendly as we have found the exact opposite on both visits. Antiguan people are quite reserved I think and conduct themsleves with the upmost dignity, perhaps that reserve is possibly what makes people think they are less friendly than on more commercial islands where extrovert behaviour is the norm when chasing tips? I also think travelling with kids makes a difference as the Antiguan people are mad about children and bend over backwards to make sure they are having a good time. There is no doubt you earn respect from the Antiguan people, you cannot demand it or buy it, and this isd also a big plus from my perspective. The nature of the resort is such that ignorant behaviour from guests is almost un heard of (unlike some of the mega resorts I have visited in Mexico and the Bahamas), but we have observed that those who forget their manners at the bar, reception, restaurant etc will get very short shrift and rightly so.

Despite being in the windy / rainy season, the weather was excellent and very hot. There were a couple more very quick sharp showers than we experienced at Easter but these numbered only 5 in 14 days, and 3 of these were at night. None lasted more than 15 minutes. It was noticeably more buggy and we got a few bites which we did not get at Easter.

Other than reef fishing with Charles (which is excellent fun) we took one excursion which was the Island Safari. This is quite expensive at $300 US for a family of four. We toured about 50% of the island in a Land Rover jeep including Nelsons Dock Yard. The tour is about 6 hours long and includes a burger and fries lunch at a nice restaurant overlooking the beaches in the South West of the Island. Antigua is not a pictureque island in the inerior and there is not a great deal to see. The trip also includes a visit to a beach which is OK, but not a patch on long bay so might be better for guests of other Hotels rather than the Pineapple Beach. The drivers are however all comedians and some of the social history you get to see is fascinating. All in all not great value for money but nice to get out and about for a day. A shorter safari can be done in conjunction with other actvities such as kayaking, rain forest canopy abseiling etc. This might be a better option.

So there is the practical stuff. The future for this resort is however going to be very different. We attended a repeaters dinner hosted by the General Manager who has been brought in by Sandals (who now own the resort) to keep it running during transition. He has advised that it could be up to 2 years before the resort is redeveloped as Sandals have a number of other priority projects on the go. When it is redeveloped however it will be a Beaches resort. This means that the whole resort will be designed with a "Sesame Street" theme and will be the kind of place where you leave your kids at the gate and they have 2 weeks bonding with the Cookie Monster whilst you practice drinking cocktails etc. They are almost certainly going to signifcantly increasse the number of rooms and due to the lay out of the resort this means going from 2 and 3 story buildings to apparently possibly as high as 8 stroies (information from other guests not the hotel management so treat with caution). A large part of the gardens will also be redeveloped to construct a large theme pool with slides and rides etc. This will become a completely different proposition and I suspect that the current clientele will be unlikely to return to the new format. That said, if the existing format was making money then it wouldn't have been sold and I have no doubt that the new format will be a roaring commercial success, just not my sort of thing.

It is sad to think that I will probably not return here now and that means we will probably not go back to Antigua as there can be few if any locations that live up to this one. So on to pastures new!