The Med Village was brilliant, the other side of the complex is a bit dated but is going through a refurbishment program. The resturants are brillaint and the food quality is very good, the best place to eat in "barefoot by the beech" and the cricketers is the place to be, the staff are very friendly, george and andy behind the bar always serve you with a smile, and igress and claudine are just briliant. the only down side is the srvice at the pool bar, it is very slow and unless you are in the swim up side you tend to be ignored.

May 11, 2008

Just returned from Sandals, Antigua. It was our first "all inclusive" and we really didn't know what to expect.

It was far beyond our expectations in almost every way.

The food was very good. Especially the breakfast in the Bayside. Buffet but several items are made to order. The help couldn't have done more. We ate in 2 of the 4 "finer" restaurants. The food there was very good, but not great.

We stayed in the Gardens, which is the older section. Room was very comfortable and the only problem I saw was the drain in the sink was nearly completely clogged and the shower valve dripped. I didn't mention it while I was there because the maintenance people had already changed out the A/C unit and that kept us from our room for about 4 hours.

The pools are beautifully kept and the big one is out of sight.
Everything you want is at your fingertips.

I don't know much about other all inclusives, but it is hard to imagine that any of them could be better than Sandals.

You literally could come down with nothing and need only the $20.00 departure tax Antigua charges. A lot of bang for your buck.

Jim Ney

We've just returned from a 2 week holiday and WeddingMoon in the Caribbean Grove at Sandals Antigua. We did enjoy the holiday, and were really pleased at how well the wedding went – thanks especially to our wedding coordinators Luana and Licia.

However, like several people I was a bit concerned about the mixed reviews before going. There is much to enjoy about Sandals, but we came away feeling that it's overpriced. Because of this we don't intend to visit a Sandals resort again. One particular impression I came away with is that Sandals isn't as sophisticated as their advertising suggests. The Grove rooms are tired and a bit small, and the food which they call “gourmet” would more realistically be described as good.

The Mediterranean Village is a lot nicer, but you'd need a second mortgage to afford to stay there!

The Good.

Most of the staff are friendly and helpful. If you can get reservations then there's unlimited dining at the a la carte restaurants. Our favourite was Mario's (Italian) which had very good food and a nice atmosphere. You can get champagne (well, sparkling wine) at breakfast – though this appealed to me more than my partner!

There were several quiet pools which we preferred to use, and for those who prefer a more lively atmosphere there's the big main pool in the Med Village and a smaller one in the Grove. Besides, at the Med Village pool it was difficult to find a free sunbed.

The grounds are well kept and the beach is not far from most rooms. Yes, there are vendors because all beaches in Antigua are public. The vendors are well mannered and a polite “no thank you” is enough for them to leave you along – I don't see why anybody should resent some of the locals trying to make a living from what to them are rich tourists.

And of course – it's an adults only resort so no kids!

The Bad

Arrived at the hotel around 3pm only to be kept waiting until 4pm for our room. The controls on the shower in our room were dodgy which meant running the shower for several minutes before hot water came out. Also, during a night of heavy rain our roof leaked causing our bed to get quite soggy – an amusing but annoying experience. They did move us to another room when I complained about this, but it had happened to several people so it wasn't one bad room.

The Grove courtyard doesn't have enough seating when popular entertainment is on. Also, there's not much in the way of toilets serving this area and the Grove restaurants. For a few days somebody had taken away the hand dryer from the Gents toilets without leaving anything for drying hands – this is not the sort of management I'd expect at such an expensive resort.

We tried all the restaurants apart from Kimonos (Japanese). All were good apart from Cricketers (English Pub) which was forgettable and had no atmosphere.

The Ugly

As guests came and went there was an ever present but changing minority of loud Americans. The worst time was during a nightly entertainment when one guy was talking nearly louder than the music. He then started chanting “U.S.A. U.S.A” and shouted “French are [-]” when the entertainer asked about where people were from. Then there was the guy who shouted and jumped into the pool outside our room at 1:30am.

Some days a quiet time spent at a pool would suddenly be ruined by prolonged periods of ear shattering noises from a machine used to jet spray the pathways. Something I've never experienced at any other hotel, and hope not to experience again.

Excellent service, clean rooms (we stayed in the Caribbean Village side, which I high recomment,) crystal clear pools, beautiful beach, can learn to sail or windsurf for free. Wonderful daily free snorking trips. Food far exceeded my expectations for all-inclusive fare, much variety. Need to make dinner reservations 2 days in advance for non-buffet resturants. Spa has an extremely relaxing decor, and a treatment for everyone.

Only negative points...no pay phones on site, to call the states must use the phone in your room which costs $14 for the first 3 minutes connection fee, and $14 for each 3 minutes after that. Which does not include what your phone bill via prepaid minutes, calling card or credit card costs. Also there was only 1 working computer to gain access to the internet on the Caribbean Village side. Cost $7 for 30 minutes, which I felt was reasonable, but the computer was alway in use.

I would go back in a heart beat!!!!