The hotel staff themselves not management were very friendly and helpful. The rooms were not always cleaned properly we had a cockroach in our room on two seperate occasions. I made a booking for a babysitter on christmas night and no one turned up. There was no apology. The tiles were coming off in the pool and several children cut themselves. The manager did not make it his business to introduce himself until we complained about the food. The food was totally unaccceptable. We were given our money back for that. It turned out the executive chef had left a month before and had not been replaced. I am sure a hotel with it's partner hotel being based in London could have done something. This trip was a present from my husband for my birthday and I was so looking forward to it. I wish now we had never chosen this hotel we did not get value for money on any level.

From the moment we stepped off the plane, the service and attention began. A representative met us inside customs to direct us to our car. We arrived at the resort where we were greeted by several attendants - hot towels, cocktails, etc. Following a brief tour of the grounds, we were led to our suite. This MO naturally exists elsewhere, but it is not always executed properly. Carlisle got it right and kept it going.

Their staff has the right demeanor and this approach starts and finishes with the property's general manager. He was omnipresent and approachable, even though we never requested his attention. He works each room at the property a la a celebrity chef in New York City. You find yourself wanting to attract his attention. Fear not - he seemed to pop his head out and resolve any issue with ease and a warm British charm. For example, while obtaining a cell phone for the week, out of shear curiosity, we also inquired about getting a laptop for in-room, wireless, internet use. Apparently within ear-shot, the general manager appeared from no where holding a lap top and wishing us the best - no paperwork, nothing, just well-wishes and a smile. This attitude continued through our stay, including our last exposure to Carlisle. Our taxi to take us back to the airport was running late by 5 minutes. The general manager again appeared from no where, told a polite joke or two, disappeared for a moment, only to reappear in the driver seat of Carlisle's shiny Nissan SUV. A porter quickly took the driver seat and whisked us of the airport so that we did not have to wait another minute. Again, problem presented, problem solved.

Moving to the suites/rooms: Exceptionally clean, sleek and spacious. Arguably the nicest room in the Caribbean we have stayed in. From your bed, you can sea the Bay. The bathroom has double sinks and a "roomy" wet area - both the toilet and shower are in separate enclosed areas, with a large bathtub in between these spaces. Ample closets line the walls of the bathroom, providing space equal to 4 closets. A quick comparison - Carlisle's room was superior, without question, to the room we recently had at the Four Seasons' Nevis (which I also would recommend, but it is just not as sophisticated as Carlisle's rooms).

Room service is consistent and thorough. Towels, complimentary bottled water and daily fruit are replenished without request. The bed is a bit firm but the linens and pillows are of highest quality. One weakness: our in-room cable was shotty at best (but no one in their right mind is there to watch TV inside during their stay).

As for the remainder of the property, the lobby, lobby bar and restaurants are impressive. The ambience in each bar/restaurant are very inviting and relaxing. The grounds themselves are manicured and maintained. Overall, the resort is a very peaceful retreat, and this vibe resonants no matter where you are on the property. Carlisle is certainly designed to maintain a spa-like flow throughout the property.

The beach proves a spectacular view from horizon to horizon, but the water is not that crystal blue the Caribbean is famous for. Antigua has 364 other beaches for that I suppose.

On to the food: We ate breakfast each morning on our porch overlooking the Bay. Fantastic and delivered quickly (never later than 15 minutes after our order was placed). The two restaurants are well-run and designed. Indigo overlooks the water, while East is a sleek design more befitting for urban life. The restaurant food was very good, but by no means spectacular. We live in NYC (and eat out constantly) and have traveled the world extensively, trying to stay and eat at "the" places wherever we go. Nothing at either of these restaurants is memorable. To be fair though, either is the best food in Antigua (we dined off-site at Shear, which is not as good as Carlisle's restaurants, although its setting is memorable). But the restaurants at Carlisle do not compare to other world class establishments (e.g., Daniel in NYC or Taillevent in Paris). But, I'm not sure any Caribbean restaurant is supposed to for that matter. So, perhaps our food review is a bit strong considering the circumstances. Or, perhaps because the rooms and service are so refined at Carlisle, you begin to expect the same from the restaurants.

Back to the positive side, the drink menus are creative and lenghty, and what you want from a Caribbean resort. The bar staff in the main lobby is terrific. We got to know them so well that by the last night we sat around looking at the wedding album of one of the waitresses that served us during the week. Like the general manager, we have only positive reviews.

Finally, the gym is sufficient and the tennis courts are in excellent shape. As for the spa, my wife raved about her massages. Again, the decor in this area was tranquil, consistently maintaining Carlisle's vibe.

While we frequent this website and many others prior to booking our trips, we have never contributed to any site. But I swore to myself because of the general manager's actions, I would relay this message to others.

So, hopefully this was not too long and provides useful insight. In short, if you are looking to escape without worry of expense and need to be pampered, Carlisle will exceed your expectations.

Just returned from an excellent week at Carlisle Bay. Travelled with husband and 2 children aged 3yrs and 9mths. It's a great place to take children - they really get the small details right like the insect net provided for the baby's cot and hooded baby towel!

The beach terrace suite was lovely and the study area the perfect place for the children to sleep. The kids club manager came to see us as soon as we arrived and explained what was on offer, the club facilities are excellent. We booked a babysitter every night and the hotel do their best to provide the same person for your stay which is great.

The chidlren's high tea is good and if you order in the morning they can provide pureed food for the baby which is really helpful, they can pretty much cater to any special requests for the children which we found incredibly helpful.

We ate in both restaurants and much preferred the food at East although both were fine.

The only things that weren't so great were that the pool was a bit cold for us and very few people were swimming in it and we sometimes had to ask for things that we had ordered a few times at meals but these really weren't major problems.

Overall a great place to stay and made our first trip with 2 small children much easier!

Certainly the best room we have had in the Carribean - the whole resort was very slick. They also have rooms with a separate extra bedroom/study, great if you are travelling with a child and don't want to pay for an extra room. Lovely Beach but, if you like snorkelling, note that the sea was muddy because of the proximity to a mangrove swamp. Much of the island is strewn with rubbish and nobody seems to care but you would have thought that this hotel might have tried to remove the scrapped cars just by the entrance.

Disappointed by the staff attitude - really lets down the hotel and not good enough in a place this expensive. Everyone we came across was competent and effective but very few were willing/friendly - we felt we were inconveniencing them by asking for food/service. We don't have that problem elsewhere but maybe we're not AbFab enough for the Carlisle Bay?