I stayed at this hotel with my partner back in May 2006 and, quite frankly, it is remiss of me not to have posted this review earlier. We booked the celebration package - it was my 50th birthday - and what a fantastic time we had. The executive transfer was superb, as was the greeting at reception. The beach suite was fabulous... two tier room with massive bed, a large balcony with a day bed overlooking the beach, great bathroom with wet room shower, good choice of TV channels and a DVD player with loads of films to choose from.

The food was superb, and that's saying something from veggies who find it difficult to get great food abroad... you must try East... brilliant!!!

The staff were the friendliest we have ever encountered and, on the few occasions where the service standards fell short of 5* standards (but were probably 10* for most Carribean hotels) you just know that this had been discussed at the morning team meetings as the staff bent over backwards to raise their game.

The beach is beautiful and the watersports staff were extremely patient in teaching this landlubber to learn sailing.

A must do is the boat trip to a deserted island for snorkelling, we feel sure that Stuart kept us out far longer than we should have been but I drank so much I'm not sure!

Our trip also included a massage in the Spa. Brilliant!! For 12 months I had been suffering from severe neck pain and stiffness. After the massage, it had gone and has never returned.

Yes it is pricey, but it is exclusive, it's classy and the manager is a great team leader.

I love this hotel - in a different class to the Malliouhana Hotel & Spa in Anguilla - see separate review.

Fab room, great service, delicious food, high quality exercise classes, diving well managed but sea quite choppy and visibility not great. Beach quite short, can't walk for miles. Felt a bit captive. Didn't enjoy St Johns; 3 massive cruise ships in, place packed and dirty.

We spent a week at Carlisle Bay (CB) over the Easter period. One of the biggest concerns I had about CB were reports about the number of young children at the hotel. Our experience was that there were quite a few young children but that they were generally very will behaved. There are 3 main areas where problems could have arisen. 1) The beach. Segregation solved this. Couples migrated to one end and families at the other. 2) The pool. We didn’t use this but walked past it at least twice a day. There were a few children there, but most people preferred the beach. 3) The dining areas. The only time I noticed the children was at breakfast, and as I said at the start for the most part they were well behaved. We didn’t experience any problems at lunchtime or during the evening in either of the restaurants (but usually ate in East, which was the more formal of the 2). The hotel has successfully managed the difficult task of satisfying young families, couples and older residents looking for peace and quiet.

The rooms are great, if you like minimalism, which we do. Very large and comfortable with all the facilities you would expect. The only criticisms that I would have are the lack of cupboard space in the main bedroom (I think this is only a problem in the suites, which are 2 bedrooms) and the price of any items from the minibar –USD5 for a can of coke is ridiculous in my opinion, but solved by heading out of the hotel and buying drinks, snacks, etc from the shops nearby – turn left at the entrance an head in the direction of Curtain Bluff. One of the advantages (amongst many) of this resort is that it is relatively small and therefore you don’t have to walk too far to use any of the facilities. Another advantage is that informality rules – bare feet or flip flops and shorts were the order of the day at Indigo for breakfast and lunch. Most people dressed up a bit more for dinner though, but it wasn’t a requirement.

We used the gym and tennis courts every day. Gym is well equipped and hardly used. There are 9 very good tennis courts and tennis pros available. My wife had a couple of massages which she said were very good, but expensive. One of the biggest problems with CB is that it is expensive. The headline price for a basic massage is USD120, for an hour. Add to this the 10% service charge and 10.5% sales tax which means that the true cost is just under USD150. My wife goes to a famous spa in Mayfair which is considerably cheaper. It’s not really a problem, but it is better to be aware of it. I was under the impression from the website that there was a dive shop on site. It’s not a shop, but an office. A boat arrives, morning and afternoon, with the gear to take you out. However, because of this they can only take about 10 divers per trip, and they pick up from other hotels as well. My advice is book by email well in advance. And again be aware of the cost – 2 dives with taxes USD180. The guys on the boat were great though.

The restaurants were pretty good – not superb, but better than average. Our pick was East – Asian fusion. Nice room, good food and very pleasant service. We only had one meal outside the hotel – Catharines Café in English harbour. Simple food, beautifully cooked. (Check on the opening times as it’s not open every day, or every evening).

We were impressed with the hotel’s management. They greeted us (and everyone else) on arrival and were also there when we left. They were also highly visible throughout the stay. Staff were competent and for the most part pleasant, but some of them haven’t mastered smiling yet. Initially this came across as being rude, but I think is more shyness and by the end of the week they were a lot more friendly.

When we first arrived we thought that the place was a bit soulless, ie: it could have been a resort anywhere sunny. I think that this may be true of Antigua generally. It doesn’t have the cultural identity of South East Asia or even the Middle East. However, as the week progressed we enjoyed the hotel more and more and would be very happy to return and to recommend it to others.

We just returned from a week at Carlisle Bay, Antigua. The staff was amazing - true service w/ a smile and no tips expected.

The food was very good - there is something for everyone on the menus. My husband had a wonderful beef dish at East. We have never found good beef in the Caribbean, so it was a real treat. The eggs benedict in the morning was outstanding along w/ the fresh made pastry and mango jam -yum.

The rooms were just ok - kind of tired. The grey color scheme was a bit boring and drab and the TV was an old small one - no flat screens here which at over 1K a night , I would expect better. We had some problems with the in room coffee machine and they immediately replaced it with a smile. THe shower pressure is terrible but they have a nice tub.

Our biggest complaint was the amount of small children swarming about the resort. You cant use the pool because there is always a new Mom trying to teach her child to swim and spash - nice! and in the late afternoon they all come out to swim so forget a relaxing lap in the pool. The children in the restaurant - another issue - The resort has no enforced restricitons on children in the restaurants, in the evening , it was a real challenge to have a relaxing romantic dinner w/ kids clanking their silverware and fine crystal glasses - quite annoying. The staff is too nice to request the Parents mind their manners.

Overall, it was a wonderful location w/ a lot of visitors from Europe - not so many americans. We felt the cost was way too high for the offering. $500 a night would be worth it. As expected in the islands the food was very expensive as were all beverages. They offer a dinner plan for $70/pp I would recommend it.


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