What a relaxing place to holiday. On arrival greeted with a cold fruit or rum punch. We were upgraded to an Ocean view room but whilst the views are great they are a bit of a walk from the beach with quite a few stairs so i asked if we could stick to a Garden View room, no problem at all. The room overlooked one of the wedding gazebos and the beach beyond...the beach only a few seconds walk from the room. If booking with Virgin I wouldn't pay the excessive upgrade to a beachfront. As all other people have said the rooms need an update but had everything and were cleaned well each day, new beds had just been put in garden view rooms so no jutting springs that people have mentioned.

the staff were wonderful and polite. Jules the activity guy was very hard working and really tried hard to get kids involved...much to my daughters annoyance as,at sixteen she just wanted to sunbathe. But even she gave in in the end. He would chat to guests and was very friendly. James on the bar made a good cocktail and got us a bottle of water the first evening as the shop was shut. Word of warning about the gift shop, the prices are in US dollars and prices high. we discovered a drinks machine by the snack bar that dispenced soft drinks and water so we used to fill our water bottle there each day.

The lady cooking on the snack bar gets friendlier the longer you are there and works very hard. I am not a fan of fast food on holiday but have to say her burgers were excellent. Mary at the outhouse a real gem of a woman. First time you go she explains where everything is and then after that you just help yourself to everything FAB ribs and chicken and sooo cold beer!!! Well worth the five minute hike up the hill.

The service in restaurants was very good, people have moaned about having to book each day but that prevents long queues and allows good service. And if you ask they will let you book for a few days in advance. The buffet at night in Topaz was rather disappointing, not a huge selection and never really hot, breakfast and lunch better. Pineapple grill alot better I thought. Chef Piettro is italian. Starters good, carpaccio to die for , but again i felt the mains were just average but good presentation.

Snorkeling really good, shallow waters so great for beginners and we saw a giant turtle come up to lays its eggs one night. I am glad we went low season as I think high season would be too busy for me. Beach vendors very friendly, get the jewellry guy to make you a bracelet and listen to his ever changing names. Booking the excellence navigation trip from Marvin on the beach is cheaper than through hotel and he works for the excellence company so not dodgy, just cuts out hotel commission i think. That trip is a good way to see all the beaches and a fun day, choppy when the atlantic meets the Caribbean, so hold on to the side!!!

Overall a fantastic trip and I would recommend the Grand Pineapple.

On arrival you get the Welcome of the heat - and a Rum Punch!
Fantastic beach, bar & overall site facilities!
Variety of food available is ok, never hot hot - but that could be a brit thing!
Marys Shack on the hill is an unusual alternative for lunch, and Joanne's omellette's at Breakfast are excellent!
We hired a jeep for 3 days to see the Island, a few things to see out and about but 3 days is more than enough to explore the sites.
Can see fish in shallow waters on the beach by the hotel, great for snorkelling, they also have a boat they can take you out on, all part of their leisure activities available. This resort is very good as Beach loungers are free - resort just up from us were charging $10 per day per bed!
Unfortunatley the entertainment on an evening was probably a little average, most evenings it was a different band playing the usual west indian favourites - with odd addition, and 1 night had a 20 min spell of a fire limbo guy. But the entertainment program only runs for 1 week, then you get the same again the 2nd week - lol!
If you want to just put your feet up and chill for a couple of weeks this is the place to go!

Returned from Grand Pineapple on July 4, 2009. We had both good and bad experiences there. The resort has some very beautiful grounds which are maintained very well. The rooms however, are in dire need of some 'sprucing up' in order to call this a 4 star resort. We stayed in the beachfront room and found it to be adequate. There are birds that have nested in the trees around this area and they are loud and constant. The room windows do not fully shut. They are merely screened windows with a shutter style opening and closing meaning that you will hear all the night wildlife noises, waves and morning bird noises. The same style of shutter system in on the room door as well so be warned.
We ended up staying in two different rooms due to an ant infestation in the first room. The front desk was quick to send someone over to deal with the problem. The problem grew from just ants to cockroaches however and we changed rooms. It's a tropical location so I guess you can expect some bug problems.
Again, the rooms need a good overhaul in order to bring this resort up to the level of other 4 star resorts. Our tub and shower area in both rooms was hideous and too worn. The floor tiles were stained as was the tub, toilet, and sink. The bed linens however were fairly nice and the bed itself was quite comfortable. The furniture is all wicker and quite dated looking.
Food wise, the quality was very good. My only complaint about the food would be the Topaz buffet area. In the mornings the staff does little to try and stop the birds from taking over the restaurant. They are everywhere waiting patiently for you to leave your seat. Once you are gone, they'll land on your table and eat from your plate. Make sure you cover your plate and your water glass as well. I watched a family get up to serve themselves at the buffet. Once they were gone 3 birds landed at their table. One bird actually proceeded to use the water glass as a bird bath. I warned the family when they returned and they cleared their area and got new plates and water glasses. I don't think it's very sanitary when the birds are flying around and eating from the buffet trays, spoons, plates, fruits etc..
The food in the evenings is very good. I'd highly recommend the fajitas served at the Pineapple Grill. You have to reserve your seating for every evening meal which can be quite tedious but I can understand the logic for it. If you go, make sure you take in Mary's Outhouse at the top of the hill for a tasty lunch of BBQ'd chicken and Ribs. Her sauce for the ribs is amazing and could win some awards. While there, you'll find lots of stray cats. They show up every day at lunch looking for some scraps. There is even a stray kitten that shows up at the Topaz buffet at 6:30 every evening looking for a bite to eat. He patiently trolls just outside the window on the ledges mewing for a treat.
The pools are fairly run down and in need of some maintenance. The larger pool has a lot of broken tiles along the side that need to be replaced. You'll find a lot of floating debris in this pool. It's all debris from the trees and plants. They seem to send someone to clean it a couple of times a day as the flower blossoms and leaves can build up rapidly in the water. You have to expect that however since the grounds of the resort are quite tropical.
The beach is very nice. The sand is quite fine in some areas and walking into the water is not a problem as there is no seaweed or rough patches to walk through. Overall, the beach is quite calm unless a storm is brewing then it gets rougher.
The bartenders and wait staff are friendly and nice. We didn't have any problems with getting drinks or ordering food. The portion sizes of the meals ordered a la carte were quite substantial.
We found the excursion prices to be quite high. We ended up going into St. Johns a couple of times. The taxi fare is $52 for a return trip of up to 4 people in one cab. Same price for 2 people in one cab. The resort offers a shuttle service to town for $15 return per person. However, you only get 2.5 hours before having to return on the shuttle.
The resort has a few people working in their activities centre. One guy (Joel) seemed quite nice and the kids enjoyed him. However, don't count on checking out the activities board to follow any sort of a set schedule. The resort has a beautiful beach volleyball area. The activities board says "Beach Volleyball - 3:00" everyday. It was only followed once. Joel seems to spend more time babysitting the kids than following any of the organization schedule. I showed up every single day to play some volleyball and the only day the activities staff set something up was on Monday. Every other day - no volleyball even though it was on the schedule.
There is a good hike to be done to Devil's Bridge. It's a simple 25 minute walk to get there from the resort. We warned though, the heat and humidity along the walk will wear you down. Make sure to take lots of water. Try to get out there later in the day when the tide is higher. We went earlier in the day and didn't get to see the water blasting up through the blow holes in the rock.
Overall, the resort is nice. It needs a lot of TLC. It's got a great beach, beautiful grounds, good food and good service. Since it has recently been purchased by Sandals the hope is that the rooms etc will be dealt with. It's going to take some time however, but I'd still recommend this resort. It's a 3 1/2 star not a 4.

We were greeted with smiles and rum punch at the reception desk which started the trip off wonderfully. They had already made a reservation for us for dinner so that was nice not having to worry about that. We were helped with our bags to our room and "shown the ropes" around the room and the resort. First off, location. The Grand Pineapple is located on the northeastern side of Antigua and is about a 20-30 minutes from the airport. It is located on Long Bay which is absolutely beautiful! The resort is located right on the beach. Long Bay is not only a beautiful beach (with cliffs on either side), it is wave less and is perfect for people of all ages and abilities. There is one other resort on the same stretch of beach as the Pineapple but it is small and does not interfere in the least with GP. There is a public access area located right next to the other resort but once again, it does not interfere with the GP at all. It does however strongly interfere with the other resort (the beach on that side is sometimes taken over by lots of locals with lots of small children so the guests at the Long Bay resort do not have much privacy or have a chance to just enjoy the beach). The security at the Grand Pineapple is excellent. They are all over the resort including on the beach monitoring 24/7. I myself did not see a need for security at all but it is nice to know they are there. The grounds of the GP are just gorgeous. It is beautifully landscaped with mature tropical plants and nice walkways and paths. The snorkeling was a lot of fun and we saw many beautiful fish. We also kayaked a few times which was fun.

Now for the rooms (which seems to be of major concern or interest to many). I was one of the many but once I arrived I was pleasantly surprised. We stayed in the beachfront rooms. Only warning I have about rooms is that there are three buildings on top of the hill (garden view rooms I believe they are) that require quite a hike up a lot of stairs to get to. Would not be suitable for those with disabilities or those with small children. We ended up having to change rooms while there but it was not due to the rooms but a set of loud neighbors. Our first room was room 116 and was on the second story. Our second was 119 and on the first floor even closer to the water with a private patio. Upon requesting a room change, it was taken care of very quickly (30 minutes) and someone was sent to help us move. The rooms are not fancy but work perfectly for what they are intended. Ours had a tub/shower and plenty of counter space. The rooms are cleaned daily including sweeping and mopping (which is nice when staying on the beach). Rooms have TV with most of the major U.S. channels including about three premium movie channels. Rooms include hairdryers, ironing boards, safes, coffee makers and telephones. They do not however have a clock or any type of alarm clock. In both our rooms the A/C worked wonderfully.

We found the food at the GP to be quite good. You have to make reservations each morning for dinner than evening. Sometimes they will let you make it a day ahead. The main restaurant which is The Topaz is where breakfast and lunch is served. It is open air and has wonderful views of the beach. The Topaz is the only restaurant that is open every night for dinner. It is either a themed buffet or a la carte. The buffet always has a good selection and something for everyone regardless of the theme. The a la carte has about 5 choices for your main course (duck, lamb, pork loin, fish). Also offers soups and other appetizers. Another choice for dinner is Chef Pietro. This is an Italian dinner which we loved. You eat in The Topaz but it is in a different area. Offered a large menu and everything we tried (which was a lot because we ate with another couple) we loved. Chef Pietro is not offered every night, only twice a week but definitely worth trying. You will get a pamphlet upon check-in that gives you the days that each restaurant is open. Lastly there is the Pineapple Grill that is located in a different building on the property. The menu there is like a Caribbean/Tex Mex. I had the fajitas which were good but overall I was not impressed with the atmosphere. That also is only offered 2 or 3 times a week. We always made reservations for the first dinner time which was 6:30 because the entertainment typically starts around 8:30-9:00pm. If it is not a buffet it can take a little bit to get your food but if you have appetizers and bread it is not a problem. There is a snack bar that offers things like hamburgers, huge hotdogs, fries, chips and cheese, sandwiches, ice cream, chicken wings, chicken fingers, popcorn, fountain drinks etc. The snack bar opens at noon and closes at 5 or 5:30 and then reopens at 11:00pm-1:30am. We did that for lunch a few times just because we could bring it back to our beach loungers and eat in our bathing suits. Another option for eating from noon-5 is Mary's Outhouse. It is located on top of a cliff and takes about 5 mins or so to get up there. Serves ribs and bbq chicken. We tried it on our last day and were not impressed at all. Views are nice but food not so nice.

The service at the GP overall was good. There are always one or two that are not so polite anywhere you go but the rest really made up for it! We found the people of Antigua to be fabulous. Just remember, their lifestyle is different than most of ours (fast paced) and they do things slower but it is fine. In our experience, they wait to see how you treat them before they open up to you or become friendly. If you smile and greet them and even ask how they are doing I guarantee you will be treated well. Unfortunately what I noticed is many guests treating the staff not very well and then expecting to be waited on hand and foot and treated great. Not gonna happen anywhere! We enjoyed all the staff from the security to the activities desk.

The nightly entertainment is typically a band. During our stay we saw a steel band, a reggae band, jazz band, bands that play different genres, and a fire eater. Most very enjoyable. After that entertainment ends the Pineapple Grill Disco opens up and is a bar/dance floor. We spent many nights in there and had a wonderful time listening to our favorite Bob Marley songs and dancing. I would recommend just going and having a drink and let yourself let go and dance to happy music.

We took a private tour around the island which was amazing. Our guide was Eustace and he was one of the highlights of our trip. We spent 5 hours sightseeing and getting the history and information all around the island. I highly recommend it! The activities desk can arrange it for you. If you would like Eustace's contact information private message me. He even bought us pineapple and coconuts from roadside stands. The island is so beautiful and there is so much to see and it all can be done in an afternoon.

Overall, our trip to Antigua and stay at the Grand Pineapple Beach was the best vacation we have ever taken (and we take a lot of them). I tried to give as many details as possible because I am one to want all the details before a trip. Just relax and enjoy yourself and you will have a wonderful time too!