We just returned from our wedding and honeymoon at Sandals Grande Antigua. I cannot say enough positive things about the resort, the people and the island. From the moment we arrived, we were treated like family. Everyone was very friendly, the resort was beautiful, the food was amazing, and the wedding planners were fantastic!! Everyone was always smiling, and asking what they could do, or get for you. Our wedding was more than I could have imagined. Though they have several weddings each day, we never once felt like we were being rushed, or ignored. We were treated as if our wedding was the only wedding, and the most important wedding. We had read many negative reviews about this resort, but decided that we would see for ourselves, and are extremely pleased that we did. While we realize we will not make it back every year, we hope to get back in the near future!

Absolutely amazing!!!!

We traveled to Sandals Antigua for our Honeymoon June 16-23, and had the time of our lives. I will try to describe every detail that I can below. (sorry it is so long)

THE ROOM:
We stayed in a Monte Carlo Suite on the 4th floor of the Mediterranean Village. It wasn’t exactly a “suite” per se (just one big bedroom, not separate rooms), but still very nice! It had a beautiful King 4 poster bed, a large sitting chair, large (probably 46”+) flat screen TV, HUGE bathroom with dual vanity, big Jacuzzi tub and separate shower, and a separate toilet room. Everything in the room was brand new and perfectly clean. Also, each room in the Med Village has a private balcony with two chairs and a cocktail table that overlooks the grounds and the ocean. If you are on probably the third floor or above, you will have a great ocean view.
Perhaps the best part of the room, however, is the fully stocked bar. This was definitely worth the little extra $$ that it costs to get in the concierge level room (non concierge rooms do not have a full bar). Our bar was restocked daily with beer, red and white wine (merlot, cab, pinot, and chard), champagne, vodka, dark rum, gin, and scotch, along with juices (tomato, apple, orange, pineapple), bottled water, sodas, soda water, and tonic water. If the “bar re-stockers” came while you were not in the room, they would just refill your fridge with what was missing. If you happened to be in your room when they came, they’ll ask if you have any special requests. If they do this, you can ask for brand
name liquors, or extra of whatever you want…it was GREAT.
Every day we also utilized the Jacuzzi tub. It was so relaxing, highly recommend this also.
One thing about the room that I did not notice until our last night, is that they will not change your sheets unless you request it. Something about conserving water in the washing machines…anyway, there is a sign/card on the desk in your room…if you want fresh sheets, put this card on the bed when you leave. Otherwise, they will just make the bed with the same sheets.


THE FOOD
First off, someone at Sandals must have read some of the reviews that explained the headaches about making dinner reservations. Our first morning, I was so paranoid about getting reservations that I was down at the MV desk at 7:45 AM. At 8:00 on the dot, Sara, the concierge supervisor, came over to the table and took care of us. She made reservations for our entire week (not just 2 days in advance). We got reservations at every restaurant we wanted to visit, including Marios, OK Corral, Eleanors, and Kimonos. Here is my review of the food:

BAREFOOT: Both my wife and my favorite, we ate here twice for dinner. The first night I had the Blue Marlin, and my wife ordered the steak and shrimp…both were AMAZING. If you like spicy sauces, then the Blue Marlin is definitely for you…if you don’t like spicy, you may not like it though. The steak and shrimp was also very good…well seasoned, juicy, and tender. The second night we ate there, my wife liked my blue marlin so much she ordered it for herself, while I got the Swordfish (I think…it was either swordfish or Mahi Mahi). Both were excellent, again. For appetizers, the crab cakes were very good, and dessert both the cheesecake and Chocolate Rum Cake were excellent. If you like seafood, you DEFINITELY should go to Barefoot at least once.

We had Barefoot for Breakfast once, which was decent but Mario’s is better. We also had lunch here one day, and it was pretty good…they had typical American grill/bar food (burgers, quesadillas, wraps etc.)

MARIO’S
We did not really enjoy Mario’s dinner, but I think this was our own fault. Instead of getting an Italian dish (at the ITALIAN restaurant), my wife got swordfish and I got Red Snapper. Both were OK, but lacked any taste…both were very plain. Instead we should have gotten a more Italian entrée. The appetizer bar, however, was delicious, and had a nice selection. My wife also said the tomato soup was the best she has ever had.
We also ate at Mario’s a lot for breakfast and lunch…these were great. For breakfast (buffet) they have several stations…waffles, pancakes, create your own omelet, sausage, bacon, fruit, etc. etc.
For lunch, they usually have several pasta salads, green salads, 2 or 3 hot dishes, and create your own pasta bar. I especially liked the pasta salads, and the TOMATOES!!! All the tomatoes had so much flavor, it was incredible.

KIMONOS
The night we ate at kimonos, we first went to the sushi bar around 7:30 for some appetizers and drinks. The sushi was pretty good, and I also had sake for the first time. After we had our sushi, they took us upstairs for our 9:00 reservation. At Kimonos, the only thing you really order is your appetizer. After that, you get a portion of every meat they fix. For us, we had shrimp, Mahi Mahi, Steak, and Chicken, each marinated differently and prepared separately. You will NOT go away hungry at this place…I had to be practically rolled out of there I was so full. Lots of food, and it was all very good. The mahi mahi was very good, and the steak excellent. And on top of that, you have an entertaining chef preparing your meal table side. We had a great time here, and would highly recommend anyone going to Sandals Antigua get a reservation at Kimonos.

OK CORRAL
We ate here the last night of our stay. I had the salad bar and new york strip which was very good. My wife had nachos for dinner (don’t ask…) The jalapeno popper appetizers are also very good, I recommend those. At this point in our trip, we were no longer hungry and had no energy, but this place is still worth visiting.

ELEANOR’S
I’m going to be completely honest…I was hammered when we ate at Eleanor’s. I don’t remember what I had. I think it was good…at least I don’t remember disliking it…sorry I couldn’t be of more help here…

CRICKETER’S
This is the English Pub. We ate here when we first arrived at the resort. They are open every day at 5 PM…and the concierge told us that they don’t really have a “closing time”, they just close up shop whenever the last person leaves. The atmosphere here is much more casual, serving your typical bar food…burgers, sandwiches, nachos, fries etc. The second night we were there (see Eleanor’s above), we stayed at the pub until about 3 am just having a good time (and maybe chugging a beer or 4) They serve food late into the night for your late night munchies.

PIZZERIA
Every day at 4:30, like clockwork, my wife and I ordered a pizza from the pizzeria and took it up to our room. The pizza was AMAZING! Personally, we liked the four cheese pizza with pineapple, ham, and jalapenos. We never ate there for lunch, so we can’t refute or confirm the claim that it takes over an hour for the pizza…but we didn’t hear any complaints while down there. At 4:30, it usually took about 15 minutes for our pizza to get made.

THE GROUNDS (POOL/GARDENS/BEACH)
In a word, Amazing. The new Mediterranean pool is magnificent, and the beach is gorgeous. Both water temperatures are perfect, and feel very refreshing on hot days. The water in the ocean is crystal clear, and depending on time of day and how the sun hits it, turns a brilliant blue/turquoise color. While in the swimming area on the beach, several small white angelfish would swim up to us (almost touching our hand). My wife and I both found this to be very cool. Poor guys were just looking for some food…
We spent a lot of time swimming in the ocean…the water was so relaxing and felt so good.
The Swim up bar was also amazing. In previous reviews, people had complained that it took too long to get a drink. Yes, sometimes it would take 5 minutes to get a drink, but not because they were not working…there were just a lot of people who wanted drinks. A few drinks I recommend are the Banana Colada, BBC (Baileys Banana and Coconut), frozen margs are pretty good, bloody marys. If Alvin is working, get the Alvin Special. It is tasty, and strong. I had about 3 once, and was tipsy. Also, if Georgia is working, ask for Georgia’s Old Fashioned Rum Punch (frozen). It tastes like fall in a cup!
One day my wife and I rented a Cabana. If you don’t mind the extra $125, it is well worth it. We got down there at about 8 am, and a waitress was there to take our orders for drinks. They filled our cooler with champagne, beer, wine and juice. At about 10, they came around and took our lunch order, and asked what time we would like to eat. We said 1:00. At 12:57, our lunch was on the table (from barefoot). Inside the cabana, there is also a fan and a mister, which will put you to sleep in about 30 seconds. Again, if you don’t mind shelling out $125, the cabana rental is well worth it.
As far as getting chairs by the pool, we really did not experience any problems. The first day we were so nervous about it, we went down at 7:30…I really don’t think this was necessary. There were days that we did not make it to the pool until 9:30 or 10 after breakfast, and there were still plenty of chairs. There were also plenty of available chairs on the beach to grab….i didn’t see the problem here.

ACTIVITIES
The first night we were there, there was a Newlywed game that took place in the Caribbean Grove. This was a lot of fun, and provided for some funny moments between husbands and wives. After the newlywed game, a reggae band played on the stage and entertained the crowd. We danced until they stopped playing and had a great time doing it.
During the day, there are several other activities that take place. Sand volleyball, pool volleyball, putting contest, water balloon toss, and even a beer chugging contest! If you want to do some of the watersports, they offer kayaks, hobie cats (catamarans), snorkeling, aqua bikes, and windsurfing. My wife and I went on the snorkeling excursion one morning. They took us about 15 minutes (by boat) away from the island to an old shipwreck, and basically turned us loose. I was only in the water, however, for about 2 minutes. After the first minute, I started seeing jelly fish (HUGE). I just don’t do jelly fish. After seeing about 10 of them in 1 minute, I decided to get out of the water. However, if they would not have been there, I think it would have been great.
There is also a casino right next door to the resort, but beware, this is NOT part of Sandals, and is thus open to the public. Take that however you want to. We went to the casino one night and played some blackjack…it was nice, but we did lose.


COMPLAINTS
Though I have very few, there are a few things upon which Sandals could improve. First, the concierge team is hit or miss. Some things they are great at doing for you (making reservations, booking activities etc.), but other things you have to hound them on. For instance, my wife and I signed up for the “Honeymoon package” when we booked our trip, which is supposed to include 1 breakfast in bed, and turndown service. We had to keep asking and asking each day (probably 2-3 times per day all week) to get this service. They kept telling us they would put our breakfast order card in our room each day and give us turn down service that night, but it never happened. After going through this for 5 days, I finally just asked them to personally hand me the breakfast order card instead of saying they will put it in our room. We finally got our breakfast on the last day, but we never did get our turn down service. This is not a humungous deal, but it would have been nice to get what you expect without having to beg for it.
The other annoyance I had was with our departure, and I heard many other couples that had the same complaint. When you check in, you verify your departing flight information, and with this info, Sandals will assign you to an airport shuttle on your departure date. Well, our flight left Antigua at 8:50 am, and Sandals wanted to put us on a shuttle that left at 5:30 am. The resort is 15 minutes from the airport, and the airport is not somewhere where you want to burn 3 hours (I think there are 5 gates, and 1 room in the entire place.) I tried to plead with the concierge team telling them it was completely unnecessary to leave that early, especially because the check in gates don’t even open until 6:00! We would have been just fine if we left at 6:30, even 7:00. Well, they were unwilling to work with me the night before, and told me to talk to them in the morning. So I said fine, and asked for a wake up call at 4:45. The wake up call never came, and luckily I rolled over to look at my watch at 5:25. it was clear we could not make the 5:30 shuttle. When I went down to the desk, they told me that the next shuttle was not until 8:00. this would not work with our 8:50 flight, so I told them since they didn’t give us our wake up call, they should provide us with another shuttle. The concierge rep that was on duty said no way, and that I would have to pay for a taxi. This actually made me really upset, but I wasn’t about to stress on the day of my departure. I went upstairs to shower and finish packing. My wife and I got down to the lobby at 5:45, and luckily this had happened to another couple. They had somehow persuaded the concierge to get another shuttle for 6:00. So in the end, everything worked out, but you really had to twist their arm to get them to accommodate you…especially since it was their fault you slept in to begin with!
These were the 2 major complaints I had, and while they annoyed me a little, it was nothing big enough to preclude me from going back to Sandals Antigua, or from recommending this resort to a friend. If my best friend asked if he should go there with his wife, I would say DEFINITELY YES! I hope that my wife and I can make it back sometime in the future.

We were really scared about going because of the reviews that I read before we left. We had a wonderful time! The staff were very nice and friendly. My only complaint is not being able to get reservations at the Resturants. The pamplet in the room says you can book up to 48 hours in advance. We came in on Saturday and I called to make reservations on Monday and we could not get into any of the resturants we wanted to go to. and we were there for 7 days. Very disappointed to hear about these wonderful resturants and not being able to get in to any of them. The only other complaint was the taxi driver that took up back to the airport. He was rude and very unfriendly and drove like a mad man to the airport. We saw alot of beautiful weddings. The staff at the hotel really went out of there way to make you feel welcome. The food in the resturants were pretty good but be aware the scrambled eggs were like soup. Thank you Sandals for a wonderful vacation its just what we needed after my husband having open heart surgery and surviving a rough year

This was the perfect honeymoon!! We stayed in the new part of the resort and were upgraded to a Portifino sweet, which was fantastic. The bar was always stocked!! The food at the restaraunts was absolutely fantastic. The pizza bar was excellent as well. The only thing that we didn't have was room service, which is something you only get if you get the package with the Butler. Overall it was a great trip!!!