We have recently returned from a week at Sandals Antigua from Jan 30 to Feb 6 2008

We were Sandals virgins and like many of the others I read every review posted immediately prior to and after booking our holiday last May. But we got a great 2-for-1 deal and hoped it wouldn’t be as bad as some Reviews had made out. Staying at a single, all-inclusive Resort for a whole holiday has not ever been our style before but we after having two young children now aged 5 and 1 we just hoped to be able to relax and get lots of sleep and have a rest from being parents for the first time in 5 yrs.

We were delighted to have an absolutely FABULOUS week. We couldn’t fault anything. We booked a Luxury Honeymoon Concierge room in the Caribbean Grove but on arrival were upgraded to a Venetian Suite in the newly opened Mediterranean village. (Just as well, the Anthurium block in the other side of the Resort where we would have been was covered in scaffolding and they were making repairs to the roof) The new half of the Resort is all of very high quality and certainly worth 5-Stars. Yes, Check-In is leisurely – rather than arriving and immediately having to join another line of tired, travel dishevelled people at the Front Desk you are invited to sit down, you’re offered a cold glass of champagne or juice and a chilled facecloth and your Registration Forms are bought to you. I think it’s designed to ease you in to Caribbean speed. It helped us shift into holiday mode immediately.

Accommodation - Our room was dominated by a giant 4 poster bed with crisp white linens with a subtle gold embroidered pineapple motif. The mattress and pillows were extremely comfortable and it being so peaceful we caught up on 5 yrs of sleep as well. There was also the biggest flatscreen plasma TV I have ever seen in a hotel room. The large, roomy bathroom had lovely decorative mosaic tiling, his and hers separate basins with marble surrounds, a large separate shower and a large Jacuzzi spa bath. And my husbands eyes popped out at sight of the full-size bottles of Whiskey, Gin, Vodka, Rum, wine etc. stocked atop the minibar. I don’t drink so was happy with the constant supply of bottled water and juices that were topped up daily. The Sony Clock-Radio also had a built-in CD player.

The new Mediterranean Village side of the Resort is very impressive – the scale and decorative splendor reminded me of the hotels in Las Vegas. The pool is vast and being aware that of complaints about the shortage of towels were pleased to note the arrival and distribution of at least 150 more on one of the days we were present. (The trolley contained 6 boxes of 25 each) We also noticed the arrival of a large number of new sun beds, although we never had a problem finding any to lie on in either side of the Resort. (Note: the blue/green plastic ones are far more comfortable than the wrought iron ones anyway) We couldn’t quite understand the obsession with towels though… the more there were, the more people seemed to need to have to lie on, we saw some draped with 3-4 towels each bereft of any actual owners.

We agree that there is a different vibe in the older Caribbean Grove of the Resort – the scale is smaller and more intimate and more secluded. Only the most expensive accommodation on this side of the resort has a view of the ocean, the rest of them have views of the lush gardens, whereas all the rooms in the Med Village have ocean views. We hung out on the Caribbean side more and preferred the shade of the palm trees along the sandy bits in front of the Rondovals, with sound of the waves and closer access to toilets and to the Bar and Afternoon tea served over there. It was nice to go back to our plush shiny new room but we wouldn’t have felt hard done by if we’d stayed in the older area either. The grounds of both sides are lovely and although they’re very different it offers something for all tastes. We did feel that the piped music that was in all the public areas on the Mediterranean side became a bit intrusive after a while – it was loud at times, and seemed to follow you everywhere, except, thankfully, over to the Caribbean Village. We were grateful not to have accommodation in any of the row of Villas near the bandstand as you would not be able to enjoy any peace and quiet with your private plunge pool & hot tub.

Restaurants – we weren’t expecting Michelin starred cuisine but it wasn’t as bad as some people have made out either. Most of the food is shipped out from the US (including that famous orange cheese) and it was fine but nothing spectacular. You can tell that compromises have been made to serve large volumes of people quickly and everything is fairly middle-of-the-road by necessity. We couldn’t fault the service in any of the Restaurants. The Pizza’s that are made to order next to Mario’s are slow to be delivered though – go BEFORE you get hungry! Our room came with Concierge Service but we never used it. How hard is to shift your [--] over to the Restaurant Reservations desk in St Marks Sq in the middle of the Resort after breakfast and do it yourself?! It was about the only exercise we got.

We stuck to the buffet at Mario’s for Breakfast – I enjoyed the omelettes made to order most mornings. We returned to the Lunch Buffet at Bayside most days (the Johnny Cakes – if they have them – were delicious) and tried a different Restaurant every evening. I thought lunch at Barefoot on the Beach was probably the most mediocre actually and didn’t try there in the evening. I enjoyed my steak at the OK Corral, and do try the Tempura Sushi at the Sushi Bar (no reservations required) and Eleanor’s for their take on more traditional Caribbean food. Although we only stayed a week we were more than happy with the variety and quality of food and size of portions and of the high standard or cleanliness and hygiene everywhere.

Staff – we had no bad experiences, everybody was generally friendly and eager to assist. Rooms are cleaned and beds turned down and any towels you’ve used during the day replaced twice a day. We were never bothered when we didn’t want to be. I had a pedicure at the Spa which was fine and has lasted well.

Tours & Excusions – we dragged ourselves out of the Resort one afternoon to visit St Johns. We were astounded by the size of the Cruise ships berthed at Hermitage quay and grateful that we weren’t staying on one. It was a fairly typical bustling Caribbean town, with ramshackle character.

We would LOVE to go back, there was nothing that disappointed us about this holiday. We think late Jan/Feb is a good time of the year to go, the temperatures day and night were perfect and there were very few mosquitos about. Hopefully it won’t be another 5 yrs before we manage it.