We stayed at Sandals Grande Antigua for our honeymoon and it was wonderful. We had booked the Grand Luxe Beachfront Concierge suite in the Carribean side and we were upgraded to a Monte Carlo Honeymoon suite on the Meditarranean side upon arrival.
From the beginning everything was wonderful. When we arrived at the airport we found the Sandals counter easily and they called a Taxi to take us to the hotel. The taxi drivers are very good and knowledgeable about the Island. Check in was a breeze we were greeted with a cold towel and champagne while they checked us in and had someone take us to our room. I would highly recommend staying in the meditarranean side, the rooms are really spectacular. They restocked the mini bars everyday, offered us turn down service every night which was a new concept to us. The pool was fantastic and although it does take a bit to get a drink it's definitely not a deal breaker, the drinks are great! It can be tricky getting a lounger with a umbrella but if you're up early you shouldn't have a problem. You can get loungers without umbrellas very easily though. Also you can rent a cabana for I believe, $125 and it's beautiful, comes with a butler and everything. The spa was fantastic. We had the Scrub a dub dub two in a tub, the staff were very professional and the setting was lovely, definitely worth checking out. The food was wonderful, make sure to make your reservations early and book them all at once that way you are sure to enjoy all the restaurants. Our favorites were Eleanors, Ok Korral, Kimonos, and Bayside. The pizza place is also fantastic although it will take about 30 mins for them to make your pizza it is cooked in a wood burning oven and is spectacular. Needless to say there is always something to eat, even late at night at Cricketers. The Beach BBQ on Mondays was AMAZING! definitely don't miss it, with Mr. Move doing fire eating and limbo-ing. There are plenty of excursions to go on to see the island. I recommend checking out Shirley heights on Sundays but you may want to go with your own taxi as we went with the excursion from the hotel and we left at 7:30 right when things were getting good. The staff were great you couldn't walk past anyone without them saying hello. Everyone likes to sing along to the music too which definitely brought a livelihood to the resort. Over all it was a wonderful time, we were really sad to go. Antigua is a beautiful island and Sandals was a great experience.

First, I want to start off by saying that my husband and I had a very nice, relaxing honeymoon. The food was delicious, the grounds and pools were beautiful, and the spa services were excellent. Though my husband and I would probably never go to another Sandals or another all-inclusive, we did have a wonderful week. We were just a little disappointed by a few things (and believe me, we are not people with outrageous expectations). We were told all about this great concierge service when we first arrived and how they would basically be on call whenever we needed them. (Sidenote: we read a previous review that said a tip at the beginning of the vacation goes a long way so we tried and we were denied.) Really, they don't do much at all. Besides making our dinner reservations, they did nothing else for us. In fact, when we tried to actually go to the concierge and speak with them, we were told they were "closed" and that we would have to call a different concierge. Apparently, the Caribbean side of the complex doesn't help vacationers from the Mediterranean side of the complex. Who knew. It was next to impossible to get an umbrella unless you woke up in the middle of the night, snuck down to the pool, and left towels on the chairs for the next day. We didn't get an umbrella all week. Good things they have cabanas, right? Not quite. They'll cost you $110 a day to rent (at an "all-inclusive" resort). We were seriously asked to leave an empty cabana so they could possibly rent it out when, no joke, there were at least three other empty cabanas near us. A couple more quick points: the mixed drinks that were not "Sandals-inspired drinks" were terribly watered down, the service left a little to be desired, and our snorkeling trip consisted of us being dumped into a huge school of jellyfish and getting stung multiple times. This does sound really negative but again, I just want people to get the low down on this Sandals. We feel like if we were to have gone elsewhere and not done an all-inclusive, we would probably pay about the same, and gotten much better service (and drinks :)

What a beautiful resort and fabulous staff!! My husband and I were there for our honeymoon and could not have been more pleased. We felt very safe at all times!!
Everyone was friendly and helpful. Our A/C broke and someone was there immediately to fix it!
A++++++

My wife and I got married the day before we left for our trip to Antigua but in the spirit of it all decided that we would love to have a ceremony there while we spent our week at the Grande and Sandals did a great job making that happen.

Upon arrival, the resort is breathtaking with stellar views from just about every angle. We tried not to compare it to the other Sandals properties but couldnt help noticing it was just as good if not better than Whitehouse or Negril, etc...

We were booked in the Mediterranean Village on the second floor and the room was very cozy. There was a problem with the A/C but management took care of us and put us in another room at a different level with a much better view.

There wasn't to much construction going on which was nice. As far as the activities, we never had a problem getting a Hobie and always felt like the days were melting away. We did seem to spend quite a bit of time at the pool vs. the beach but thats due to the lack of umbrellas there. If you want shade, get to the pool early!

The wedding was great. Although it did seem at times like it was a wedding mill as they moved you along at a steady pace but overall it was a great experience and even the pace it didn't take away from the mood of it all.

As far as top shelf liquor, dont expect Grey Goose or anything super nice but even what the had stocked in the bar was good and the rum is great!

Now the island.... AMAZING!! Antigua by far has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. If you go, rent a car and see if for yourself. The people are kind and will help if you get lost.

I guess the only question left is would I go back or recommend it to someone else and I would emphatically say, YES! If you dont feel like splurging on the MV the Caribbean village is very nice and thats where most of the action is. The only part that I would like to see changed is the reservation system. While we didnt have any problems with it, having to stand in line to make reservations when you would rather be at the beach can be a bit aggravating. Other than that, enjoy!!!