We have just returned from a week all inclusive at the Rex Halcyon. The resort itself is in a fantastic location, right on Dickenson Bay which hs a long lovely white sand beach.
The rooms are basic and are clearly in need or a refurbishment, but they are spotlessly clean, nice and cool and are sufficient - lets face it, you use the room to shower, change and sleep in. The stunning location more than makes up for the rooms.
We took adapters that we had previously used in Jamaica which did not fit, but the reception got housekeeping to make and deliver us an adapter for the hairdryer etc. Newer rooms apparently have UK fittings, but ours did not.
Staff are as nice to you as you are to them, if oyu say " thank you", they always respond with " your welcome". You are in their country, so treat others how you expect to be treated yourself, if you do, you will find everybody friendly and curtious.
There is little to do on an evening, but then most people were in bed early to make the most of the beach the next day.
The food is nothing special, but is certainly very edible, just slightly repetitive, but then hot and cold buffet style meals always are.
There is also the Pier restuarant ( can't remember name sorry) which is quite romantic at night, but is drastically in need of redecorating when seen during the day. This is available at a slightly enhanced cost, food is good here, but service quite laid back.
There are two restaurants close by, a Pizza steakhouse 200 metres on your left going out of the main gate which is nice. Then there is The Beach which is a 5 minute walk along the beach past Sandals, this is a lovely busy restaurant with bags of athmosphere and great food.

The island is beautiful, the beaches are stunning and the people are friendly. We hired a car which was well worth while. £25 a day plus £10 for a temporary island license.
I put £20 of petrol in which was far too much for the two days, £5 would have been ample.
There are only about 6 road signs on the whole island, but there are so few roads that it is impossible to get lost.
St John's is the capital and busiest place, but hard to find a parking space. Jolly harbour is nice, as is nelson Dockyard and Shirley Heights. Worth a visit is betty's hope - a redundant sugar mill slowly being made into a museum - very humbling to see how we treated the slaves.

Our favourite and most recommended place was Harmony Hall -we went for lunch, it has amazing food and stunning views over a lovely bay. Then when you finish lunch you get get a free boat transfer to a small island with two beaches called Green Island which was 10 minutes away. We were the only people on the boat out to the island, when it dropped us off it picked up the only four people already there, leaving us with the whole island to ourselves until we got collected two hours later ...amazing!!!

Would I recoment Antigua, definately!!! we'll go back. Would we go to the Halcyon, perhaps, but not guarenteed. But for what we paid, it was worth every penny.

stayed at the rex feb 19-26 2005
lucked out; got a time share room(s) #277-278
with the separate bedroom it was very spacious, clean and convenient to the beach; the plumbing in the hotel could use upgrading but you get hot water!
can't drink the water at the hotel; there is a grocery store behind the "beach bar" that has all you need; lady sells fresh fruit in the parking lot tues, thur & sat; try the pineapples
didn't have the all-inclusive plan but you can buy 7 day breakfast-dinner plans for about $226 aperson; it is well worth it because the restaurants are very expensive (we averaged about $100 a meal and we are not big drinkers or dessert freaks!

we ate at the bay restaurant (great view; very small portion of snapper; the lamb was good and plentiful); the beach (for breakfast); coconut grove (over cooked the snapper, service slow, good atmosphere); commissioners grill (in down, recommended by the locals, great food, decor, service but still not cheap!)

did 2 boat trips: treasure island cruise to big bird island(ok but not worth $90)
highly recommended: eli's eco adventure ($90)- eli gives you a lot of history; a visit to 4 different places; lunch, snorkling, hiking, caving and a small group setting(25 max. per trip!). do it!!! eli fills up fast; make reservations beforehand or if fully booked just show up at 9:30 at the beach bar and ask eli if he has any cancellations (our day; he did!)

We just got back from a week stay at Rex Halcyon Cove. The hotel was very nice, very friendly staff. No complaints whatsoever. Great buffet. Best of all, the beach was long, wide and spectacular. It was a pleasure to walk and up down it. Antigua's beaches are public so feel free to walk up neighboring Runaway Bay for example.

Out room was big, clean , no "minimalist" furniture but comfortable and simple. We had a large balcony overseeing the beach so no complains here either.

Overall, a wonderful stay and a wonderful hotel, equally pleasant to couples or children. Nicest, safest, prettiest island I've been in the caribbean.

Miguel
London, UK

We have just returned from a week, all inclusive at the Rex Halcyon Cove. I was prepared for the worst after reading some of these reviews and I have to say it is not all that bad. We found all the staff very friendly, it was my birthday whilst there and they went out of their way to make is special - with a cake and they even sang....and were in tune.
We booked a superior room which looked exactly like the example in the brochure, the bathroom could use a make over, fresh paint and there seems to be an issue with the water being brown.
I think this resort could be lovely if the owner just sorted out some of the smaller things, the meals although themed every night are pretty samey, and if you don;t like rice you might go a bit hungry. Although would highly recommend Pari's pizza, just out of the resort past the security gate on th left is a lovely pizza place, with good atmosphere and fantastic pizza!
The main problem with the resort is the smell of sewage. It is not there all the time but just occassionally and also on the way into and out of the resort it is very over powering... this really needs to be sorted out as it lets down a perfectly good hotel.
One couple had to move room as the smell in their room was so powerful that they were ill all night, it seems the higher up you are the less likely it is to affect your room.
It may sound all pessimistic but we had a wonderful holiday, the beach is beautiful, the breakfasts are great, the staff are lovely and the superior rooms are great (if you forget about the bathroom) you will have a fantastic holiday here but it is the kind of place you wouldn't actually come home and recommend to a friend, you'd say, try elsewhere....i stayed in the Royal Antiguan two years ago and apparently this has had a makeover, and although a bit uninspiring to look at the building- the grounds and facilities are much better, the pool is bigger, there are more restaurants and its around the same price......