We took our two children (7 &3) to C.B. for our holiday and thought it was a super spot. We travel to very high end resorts and have loved some and been very disappointed in others. It's very difficult for hotels to find the fine line balance that caters to kids (kids club, foods, kid friendly staff) and that also makes it feel like a special vacation for parents. Most times it leans one way or the other, but CB has somehow managed to get the balance just right!

There were enough kids during our stay (June 29-July 8) for our kids to have playmates, but not so many that it was loud, out of control, chaos. Because there is a large non-American clientelle, it was not at all crowded over July 4th, but did pick up toward the 8th.

Things we loved:

* Kids club - usually our kids just want to hang out with us and don't want the club. This time was different. The club is brand new and gorgeous... nicest I've seen The staff, with a British woman named Claire at the helm, were awesome with the kids. Our last morniing at the resort we planned to be together, but the kids pleaded to go back to the camp because they enjoyed it so much. More time for mom and dad... hey, sounds good to us!!
* Food - dining in the Caribbean can be dodgy, but the food here was consistently very good. We enjoyed Indigo on the beach, but we loved the Asian fusian food at East. Don't miss the Thai green curry!!! Amazing!! We never got bored with the two restauarnts and one unique plus is that you can order food from either restaurant and eat it practically anywhere you want. Room service was also great. The cocktail list kept things fun and interesting and the bar staff was great... thank you Juney and Ashley and Michael for your yummy surprises. Ask Michael for the Mango Tropical Dream, which he made up on the spot for me. Juney has some surprises up his sleeve, too :)
* Service - We've had very disappointing service at some very expensive Caribbean resorts (beware of the Ritz, St. Thomas... dismal!!). But the staff at CB couldn't do enough for us. They responded to requests happily and bent over backwards to accomodate us. The GM is very hands on.. we saw him almost daily.. and his attitude prevails throughout the property.
* Rooms - great for a family. The kids get the small room.. parents get the big. The ocean suites are right on the sand... great at meal time so parents can take their time eating while the kids play in the sand. We were all happy and that makes for a great vacation.
* Pool - large, so there's plenty of room for kids to be rambunctious in one area while couples chill in another. The screening room is next to the pool and showed world cup soccer while we were there, which was great fun with the international crowd on hand. We took the advise of another reviewer and let the kids watch world cup or kids movies while we had afternoon tea (uninterupted conversations with each other... wow!!) and it was brilliant. Thanks for the tip... it was great. (One caution - when we were there, the room had a strange smell.. never figured out what it was, but it wasn't bad enough to get us or the others to leave.)
* Antigua - beautiful island... very poor. I'm not sure where the reviewer was coming from who said there's no poverty... you've got to be kidding. The people were very gracious... lovely. We went into St. John, the largest city on the island, and didn't get anything out of it. It's run down and we wish we hadn't bothered. I got far more out of going to an Antiguan church and getting to experience the culture there. I went to the Catholic church nearest CB (Our Lady of Perpetual Help) and had an amazing experience... steel drum band, very high energy, very very welcoming congregation. I almost skipped going because of being on holiday and am soooo glad that I went. It was so delightful that it was one of the highlights of the holiday.
* Antigua is beautiful on land, but that doesn't do it justice compared to Antigua from the water. We went out on a half day venture on the CB boat and loved it so much that we went again. The island is stunning from the water.... lush green mountains that stretch from the sea to the sky, tall green islands on the west side that remind me a bit of Thailand. Ask for Capt. Stuart.... he was great.
* Water sports - take a sailing lesson with Ione... he was a great teacher and was very patient. The staff didn't care when I capsized the catamaran and came out to help me right away.. then made me feel much less embarrassed. And even when one booking went wrong and they overbooked for one of our 1/2 day trips, they couldn't apologize enough and way more than made up for it. Thank you!!
* Spa: had two great massages... fabulous therapists. My husband loved his, too. The changing rooms felt more like locker rooms that spa sanctuaries, but we just used them to change, so no big deal. The workout room was nice... fridge full of cold bottled water... some cardio machines with personal tv's, which makes the time go by faster.

Beware:
* One reviewer mentioned the absolute nightmare that is Caribbean Sun ( and San Juan for that matter).... absolutely right!!! We arrived in San Juan on a USAir flight with 11 passengers trying to make the same connection to Antigua. 11 passengers is about 1/4 of the Car. Sun flight. We landed seven minutes late and Car. Sun did not hold the flight. The San Juan staff copped more attitude than I've ever seen anywhere in the world (I've seen that before there, too) and we had to push to get some help. We finally got booked on a flight five hours later, but were happy to get out that day because some people had to spend the night. Do anything you can to get a flight that goes direct. San Juan airport is horrible.
* Price of food is very, very high. Get a meal plan!! If your plan includes b'fast, tea and dinner, you should be all set. Drinks are very expensive, too. We figured, heck, we're on vacation... but if you're watching your budget, be aware that the drinks add up very fast!!

Be aware, the and is not that powdery white that you find on some Caribbean islands and the water... it's a bit brown, but still much nicer than the east coast of the US. The visibility in the water was limited at the resort, but better out on Cades reef. Also, the color of the water wasn't as brilliant as in Turks and Caicos, but it was still nice. None of this should at all be a deterrent, but it's nice to know what to expect before you go.

Overall, the kind of family vacation that's fun for the kids, indulgent for the parents... the kind of balance that's really hard to find. We debated between CB and two other resorts before choosing CB and we definitely made a great choice.

Having stayed in 5 star hotels in 4 other Caribbean islands I think I am qualified to judge fairly.

7 night stay with my wife.

This place is superb. Why?
- Beautiful location: back drop of lush farmland and then rain forested hills, view across the water to Montserrat
- 1 mile away from cades reef
- Next to Old Road village, a charming, safe rural idyl
- Stunning design: a daring grey that works ideally, suiting thye evening sky, occasional cloudy spell and is understated and suggests pure class (which this place is). Carsile Bay has in a single sweep made nearly all the other 5 stars look old-fashined and rather gaudy and gausch
- The rooms (all suites) are oppulant and 'Cool' very quiet air con if you want it, subtle yet no-expense spared furnishings
- Numbers: the hotel size versus rooms means it is never crowded (just 83 suites yet 250 staff, 9 tennis courts, 3 bars, massive pool...get the picture)
- The beach: Short swimming distance from great visability snorkelling (50 foot visability), we saw lobsters, a turtle, sea slugs, beautiful corals, an excellent selection of fish, a manta, star fish, conch and many other things. Clean. Pure sand enoughthat is fine enough to jog on in the early morning bare-foot. There are a fgew sand flies after dark, so dont sit on the beach at night, or if you want to spray some of the Off provided. NOTE many / most other islands have worse problems inc. mosquitoes
- Service: top notch. The beach team in the diving shop are very helpful and knowledgable, cleaning and waiting staff also first class. The hotel makes it so easy to do whatever you want e.g. go on a boat trip to a deserted beach and have a delicious picnic lunch (from a wide choice) with cold wine, rum punch, beer and juices...get picked up and dropped off from the hotels jetty night off the beach
- Food, excellent: intlligently cooked and well presented; first rate cocktail list
- Antigua: if you know the Caribbean then you will know that Antigua is not poor, it is safe, friendly and lush, in fact, it is one of the most attractive islands, with agreat personality. If you want sanitised, boring to look at and rich all over go to Cayman.
- Spa and gym - we never made it there, looked great, but in 7 days there was just too much elase to do!!
- Pool had to be 40 metwers long and 25 wide at its widest oints (its free form and on 2 levels in terms of ebtering it (very clever)

Anyway, thats enough from me, even though I could go on (and on), just go there and find out for yourself!

My husband & I went to CBay for our 10 year anniversary. We are travel snobs & very hard to please. We LOVED it and would return again in a heartbeat. My only complaint is about the beach/water which was still fine, just not ideal (see below). Very chic, hip hotel with great service & suprisingly good food.
*rooms- very spacious, elegant modern decor, yards from the beach (ocean suite rooms)
*dining- excellent; we thought we would tire of the same two restaurants for 7 days/nights but the daily specials kept things interesting. everything we tried was good and some dishes were delicious.
*activities- tranquil outdoor yoga w/an instructor whose Carib. accent lulls you into relaxtaion; loads of tennis; decent scuba diving; movie theater was fun; we golfed at Jolly Harbour & it was about a 2 star course if that. I believe the other island course is better maintained; windsailing & kayaks galore w/free lessons from friendly staff
*beach- very nice setting but my only complaints lie here. I am very sensitive to sand flies & used bug spray daily. I still was bitten a handful of times (mainly at dusk). Also- the sand is brown, not that beautfiul sugar white which results in water that is dark green, not the turquoise you dream of in the Caribbean. Still pretty- just not excellent.
*service- excellent (especially for the Caribbean), the easiest check in I have ever had- they basically gave us a yummy almond scented towel to freshen up and a champagne cocktail and we were free to go to our room! tip-find a beach waiter you like the 1st day, tip him about $10/day and you will get the best service ever. Also you need to tip them cash, one of them told me they don't actually get the full tip if you add it to your bill. Try the Roti (Antiguan sandwich wrapped in dough)
*getting there- if you are coming non-direct (we are from Texas & flew thru Puerto Rico) beware of Carib. Sun airlines. they have an unrelenting 2 hour pre-flight check-in deadline. We almost missed our connection in PR b/c some clerk with an attitude told us the flight "was closed" 1 hour and 50 minutes prior to departure time. After an hour and 1/2 argument, her supervisor had to rush us on the plane. ridiculous! take an American or British line if at all possible.
*outside the resort- sadly, you should not leave the sanctuary of the hotel. Antigua is very poor and the roads are bad. Trust me, you are not missing anything out there.
*other guests- its was about 50/50 split btw couples & families which the resort keeps pretty well separated (kids tend to take over the pool, the kids' club is supposed to be finished in June- looked very nice); mainly Brits (who were all very friendly); also a big fav of celebrities/socialites (John Kerry was there before we went; Oprah, travolta etc).
Enjoy! We did!

My husband and I just returned from carlisle bay and it is absolutely magnificent! We travel alot and enjoy staying at the leading hotels-Cap Juluca, Palmilla, etc. The location is stunning, as is the ambience. The food at Indigo is wonderful. Be sure to book a Jetty Dinner- What an unforgettable treat! Also, concerning the mosquitoes-there weren't any!
I always get bit and this was the first place where I did not have a problem-that alone was the best treat!! The suites are large, tastefully done and have amazing ocean views. We really enjoyed the whole feel of the place- soothing, romantic, & intimate.