Obviously some biff about this place.
Just back from a week and it was all working pretty well.
I don't have kids, so don't care about the kids club...for me the fact that I didn't see/hear it is a definite plus. Not that I'm a grumpy old git or anything, but well...well, you know....
My room was spotless, well serviced, comfy bed, great air con. A little frayed around the edges, but nothing to get umpty or e-mail the owner about.
Food was very good on the whole, East is excellent, steaks and pasta top notch in Indigo...and came pretty quickly. Major fault - no ribs. Shocking really. There is a very nice English lady running it now..maybe that's helped?? No music either which is tremendous....I was at the 4 seasons in Hampshire recently and had to beg to get the Star Wars theme turned down ..in the library! Breakfast delivered every morning, always on time, now and then a couple of things missing, no big deal, who cares, the sun's out, the water's warm (if about as clear as pea soup).
Beach service good, gym about the best there is in the Caribbean.
I don't know why people are moaning about not meeting management...don't you see enough of them in your work life?
Other guests - which can be the real killer - are fine too. No real mobile screamers or sun lounger nazis (apart from my OH) a few good ol' boys there to murder some fish, only one guy with pec implants, and as i said, kids are kept corralled away from the adults.
I'd go back.

Having visited Carlisle Bay last year as a couple, we were thrilled to be able to return to the same resort as new parents. However, excitement had turned to nerves once I'd read the previous reviews... but I needn't have worried... it's still fabulous!

The experience with a baby is quite different to that as a couple ... no sitting for hours on the beach... but the staff have been wonderful and nothing has been too much trouble.

Firstly, lets address the issues raised by others. Yes the second bedroom in the Beach Suites is smaller than the main bedroom. But its designed to host children, not to be an aesthetic place of beauty. Its dark, but only if you keep the shutters closed all day. Its cool and calming and thats what you want for a place for the child(ren) to sleep, and not somewhere thats full of trinkets for them to destroy (or attempt to eat, in our daughter's case).
Also, I agree that there's not a huge amount of cupboard space in the Beach Suites.. but there's enough for a shelf each and ample amounts of hangers and a sensible sized wardrobe. I wish it wasn't in the child's bedroom, but all that needs is a little bit of forward planning to get your clothes out before they go to bed... There is ample storage space in the Ocean Suites and you get the same furniture in the Beach Suites and even an extra sofa so everyone has space to sit!!

The other worry for me from the previous reviews was the food and service. There's a new management in the food area (Indigo Restaurant Manager Katherine and Chef Alex) and it seems to have paid dividends.

All I can say is that breakfast has never been a problem. The baby's food arrived almost instantly after requesting it. The longest we waited for eggs cooked to order was 15 minutes ... breakfast can be as long or as quick as you wanted. The service has been great, all the staff are friendly, sincere and remember your choices (e.g. at dinner last night I was offered the selection of wines I'd had on previous nights and a suggestion made for something else to try!) Things may take a little while e.g. 15 minutes between courses on occasion but that has been the exception. We have enjoyed the food and company and the atmosphere in Indigo has been great.

In addition, the staff have been so helpful. We have food allergies, and nothing has been too much trouble. Even when I've inadvertently ordered something that I'm allergic to, its doublechecked and I'm offered a substitution or told that unfortunately I can't have that! All done with a smile and with concern that I don't become ill!

The kids tea is an inspired idea and it ensures that feeding time mayhem is spared for those people who've come as couples. I think that the hotel has done its best to ensure that both types of holiday can be catered for.

Yes things may take a little longer than they would in major cities, but this is the Caribbean... (e.g. an ice cream took 10 minutes to appear yesterday) but as my husband reminded me, you're on holiday, so RELAX !!!

And if you're wondering why I'm writing this in the middle of the day, well it's raining!!

Have just spent 10 days at the Carlisle Bay with my family, we had an enjoyable time. Reviews are very mixed here, but a lot of what has been said has merit.
The welcome was very warm and friendly, the staff were very friendly, the rooms were good. We had a beach front suite. The second bedroom is very dark and dingy and the wardrobe space is not adequate, especially for a family of five.
The location is great, facilities are good. The tennis lessons were great.
Room Service was slapdash, although twice per day. As an example, if you actually used a coffee cup or wine glass it took 2 or 3 days for a new replacement to be provided. The mini bar was randomly re-filled; some days it was, others it was not.
Restaurants were good, although the never changing menu was a little monotonous, despite 1 daily special dish. Service in the restaurants was very friendly, but totally inadequate, especially for a hotel of supposed 5* quality. My view is that the staff were simply not managed, food would arrive randomly, sometimes individual ordered items would never arrive at all. Generally service was very slow, even for Caribbean standards. Breakfast was excellent, but allow 2 hours to get served and finished.
We were there during the awful tragedy of the honeymoon couple, the hotel assured us extra security would be provided, but none was present. There was random security at the end of the beach, but once past 4pm and through the night none was present / visible.
Our view was that although a great hotel and resort, the 5* element was missing in the service and some of the facilities. No-one went the extra mile to provide the kind of “outstanding” service you would expect at a 5* resort and at this price. Additionally requests were always fulfilled, but usually with some grimacing by the staff and a huff or puff as they went on there way to do it.
Checkout was interesting; we had arranged a late checkout on arrival, which was “no problem”. On our last day we were told to leave our room by 11am (hardly time to get served breakfast – as it takes 2 hours). I reminded them that we had agreed a late checkout, but to no avail. We were told we could be moved to a room at the other end of the resort for the day. I refused this, as didn’t fancy trekking with children, suitcases, baby stroller etc to a room on the 2nd floor of another block. We were hassled every hour by phone to leave the room. At least I can say the double lock on the door works and prevented us from being evicted until we left our room, as agreed by the hotel in the afternoon! It was a shame for the hotel to leave such a bad impression on the last day.
If you go to Carlisle Bay you can expect a good resort, good facilities, but lets not kid ourselves, it is not 5*, perhaps 4 or 4.5* at best and at those prices, they really need to get some proactive management in place to encourage the friendly staff to actually provide excellent 5* service.

We returned last week from 10 days at Carlisle Bay and had a wonderful time. Having read reviews here before we left I was a little worried as some of them were so negative. This is how it was for us:
We were picked up from the airport and driven through the banana trees to the hotel. On arrival we met by very friendly staff and given fruit cocktails (non alcoholic) and lovely cold scented flannels to freshen up. We were then shown to our suite which was fabulous. We stayed in Carlisle suite 39. It is ground floor with direct access onto the beach. A large shady deck on two sides of the suite. 3 bedrooms -one twin and two king. The twin was a little small and also had the smallest of the bathrooms, but was fine for 2 children sharing. The 2 king rooms were large and spacious with tv and dvd players. The storage was excellent in all 3 rooms (there have been many complaints about wardrobe space, I can only imagine it is different in the 3 bedded suites) The master bedroom had a large walk in closet with full length mirror, plenty of hanging and shelving. There was a small kitchen with fridge (always stocked with drinks) microwave and gaggia coffee machine. There was also a dishwasher but we didnt use it as the housekeeping staff washed up every day. The lounge wasn large and beautifuly cool with tv dvd. dvds could be borrowed from reception although often the one you wanted was already out. The deck had a large table and 4 chairs. we asked for 2 more chairs and theyb were brought immediately. The table could easily have seated 8. The real beauty of this suite is stepping right onto the beach. The beach staff arrived early every morning and made up our beach loungers with towels/covers etc and set up the parasol. cold water and fresh fruit were brought every day. There was one day when we had been out and family were sitting on our chairs. The staff were very apologetic and went to pains to make sure it didnt happen again.
The food was excellent - only one morning the eggs a little over cooked. Indigo had a pretty extensive menu and always dialy specials and the food at East was excellent. The only complaint was the air conditioning was broken at East while we were there which made it too hot to eat in, but we did eat East's food outside by the pool. Somebody mentioned that only one restaraunt served food at lunch time - but both Indigo and the pool bar (serving East's food) were open for lunch. Actually after such a great breakfast we often weren't that hungry at lunch time and ordered something light from the children's room service menu! A very good cheeses and ham sandwich with a little salad or a small dish of raw vegeatbles with a sour cream dip. That way we could manage the lovely afternnon tea as well!
The spa was excellent, we all had massages and my teenage daughter had a lovely teen session with mini facial, back massage and manicure. Tennis courts were well used by my family and the tennis coach was very friendly. The highlight of the holiday was going out with Hugh and Cleve (from watersports ) on the great resort boat. They took us on a beauiful scenic trip around the coasts and showed us some of Antigua's other beaches and landmarks. Stopping at a reef for snorkelling, and then on further over a hundred year old ship wreck, still visible from the boat. They were so friendly and helpful, stopping the boat when we were over a large group of jellyfish and leaning over to catch one to show the children. Then on to a deserted beach for a fantastic picnic, cold drinks etc. Followed by a great trip back to the hotel - quite fast with lots of spray and fun! Nothi8ng was too much trouble, the boats loaded up with fruit punch, rum punch, coke, water etc. My daughter didnt want to snorkell so Hugh stayed on board with her chatting and offering drinks etc.
My husband sailed every day and discovered that there was some great snorkelling just to the left of the bay. He saw all sorts there including a huge spotted Eagle Ray.
Husband and daughter went horse riding locally and enjoyed it thoroughly. We never tired of watching the pelecans diving in to the sea for fish.
We didn't really use the kids club. there were activities for older children but the older chi8ldren were having too much fun in the pool or the sea. My 8 year old went along for a "fun tennis" session but was thee onlyone there. No problem - 3 members of staff from kids club played with him - he rather enjoyed the attention!
All in all it couldnt have been better. we will definately be going back.
The only downside was mosiquitos on the deck in the evening - althugh plenty of mosispray was provided in the rooms.