We paid full price for our holiday from the Virgin brochure. My advice would be to only book this hotel if you get a real bargain, and then book either room only or B&B.
The hotel is very tired and in need of renovation. Our bathroom was rusty, although was a clean as it could be. Our balcony railings were also rusty. The bedroom area was fine - though ask for a room where the air-conditoining unit is outside, as the older units are inside and very noisy.
The hotel is advertised as a 3 star, but I would rate it more as a 2 star, due to the standard and facilities on offer. There were numerous leaks around the hotel, and no effort was made to fix them, so frequently there were large puddles in reception and also at the bottom of the stairs up to the restaurant. During our stay, there was a 2-3 hour power cut, even the beach shacks had power at the time, and as there are no maintenance staff on site, this added to the delay in fixing the generator.
Due to the inclement weather, the entertainment was usually in the small lobby bar, though may have been better in the room next to the restaurant, as it was larger and air-condiitoned. This room was closed for the duration of our stay.
The Warri Pier restaurant was also closed, though didn't look too appealing from the outside anyway. Some of the staff were fine, whereas others weren't - mostly the younger ones. There were several occasions where we were told we couldn't have a drink as there were no glasses.
I didn't like the food at all, although everyone has their own taste, so of course it will suit some but not everyone. Burgers and chips for lunch each day, and the evening meal was an assortment bones and vegetables. Breakfast was great though, and I would recommend you opt for this.
Jonathan, the duty manager was very good and did his best to help and we very much appreciate him rescuing our holiday for us.

Some of the recent reveiws on this hotel have been so far off the mark its untrue. I understand everyone has their own opinion but come on!!

I stayed at the Halcyon Cove for 2 weeks at the begining of October with my wife and 2 young children (10 and 8) and we had a fantastic time.

Yes the bathrooms are a little tired, but they are always spotless.
Yes the restaurant is open air and hot but ITS THE CARRIBEAN !
Even Sandals has an open air restaurant - it'd be hot in there too!!

The food in the restaurant is fantastic. In fact by the end of our second week i could hardly eat as i'd tried almost everything on the menu every night.I was fed up of food! At breakfast ask Orlan to cook you an Omellette with everything on it, this guy is a genius.

There isnt really a kids club here, but if you cant find something to do with your children on a Carribean beach then go to Butlins.The sea further down the beach in the middle of Dickenson Bay is really clear. There are fish / crabs to be seen, shells to collect, its fantastic. The sea is a little cloudy outside Halcyon Cove because its at the end of the bay, i guess the currents whip the sand up a little more. Having said that, the sea is great for kids though, really safe and warm. Our children also loved the pool. Its fairly shallow and loveley and warm.

A must is a trip on the Waddadli Cats catamarran circumnavigation trip. Its a cruise around the island with a stop at Green Island for Lunch and great snorkelling.

As the islands roads aren't that great we paid one of the hotels Taxi Drivers to take us on a tour of the island. We saw so much more, that any other tourists would just miss. We only used Mr Cole who's taxi is number 103. Ask for him, he is the most polite, helpful, gentleman you will meet on Antigua. Whenever we needed a taxi we used him, he couldnt do enough for us. A true Gent.

Our room was overlooking the pool area. It was nice and cool due to the Aircon. The maids changed towels daily and cleaned throughout. The room was always left spotless.

I hope iv'e covered any points that may concern people if theyve booked a holiday at Halcyon Cove and have been put off by some of the revews they have read. I could write down some of the things that would improve the Hotel, but to honest, i'd be nitpicking for the sake of it.
There are some staff that need a shake to get them going, it is a fairly quiet hotel, it isnt Sandals, but its a great hotel, on the best beach on the island.

The food looked so hideous we didn't even try it (oh and one of the two restaurants was closed), the decor in both the rooms and elsewhere is tired and in places so old ingrained dirt was lodged in (including in the bathroom and the bedroom floor tiles you had to walk on). The services of the reception staff was ok in the circumstances, but some of the bar staff were frankly rude. The hotel is run on such a shoe string when the island had a power outage there was no one on site to start up the hotel's generator, so tourists, including those with families were in pitch darkness for several hours on one occasion. While we were there the amount of complaints lodged with the hotel that we knew of was incredible and we know of at least one couple who were moved to another hotel because standards were so bad. My advice - do not waste your money on this hotel, if its not shut down on health and safety grounds alone I'd be surprised. Also if you are thinking of taking children there I wouldn't bother - despite the adviertised activities nothing is really available so children are left to to a rather unappealing looking swimming pool or the sea (that we didn't go into because it looked and smelt like sewage was being pumped into it).

We have just returned from the Halcyon Cove hotel. As previous reports have stated, it is a nice hotel with good beaches, and the staff are very helpfull.
It was also fantastic that the hotel was Non-Smoking!
Our gripes are:
Transportation is limited and expensive. No busses or ZR! Only option is taxi, which is $12us (£6.50) into St John about 3 miles! ($24us round trip)
Bathrooms are in need of refurbishment! (They were always clean though with fresh towels)
Restaurant was unbearably hot! (No problem with the food)
If you are on Room only basis, we found food and drinks expensive! (Coffee beaker of beer $us3 £1.70 about £5.00 per pint! Breakfast about £11.)
Up grade to All-inclusive is $us80 (£45) per person per day. Both in room have to sign up! Min 5 days but we bartered to 3 days!