My husband and I honeymooned at the Sandals Resort on Antigua. During the months leading up to the trip, I frequently checked in for new reviews to be posted in hopes that there would be more "good" than "bad."

In the end, we had a fabulous honeymoon. We were there 5/23-5/29 of 2004. It rained the first day, but the weather was gorgeous for the remainder of the trip.

One suggestion before booking this resort---I would not stay for more than a week. There are only five restaurants to choose from, and you may get tired of the choices. Our favorite was the Italian restaurant--IL Palio. It was excellent!! Another tip...go to the Japanese restaurant early on! You'll meet other couples...we did and had a blast!

My husband I agree that the only bad thing about Sandals Antigua is ALL THE COMPLAINING. Maybe we lucked out...?? But we heard people complaining all day long by the poolside and it was tiresome.

The staff at the resort were super friendly, too. I honestly don't get some of the complaints on this board. (My husband thinks only the "cheap" people were complaining).

We plan to go back in 20 or 30 years (Lord willing!) to have our second honeymoon.

After 23 years of Naval Service I was looking for a restful vacation with my wife who works as a lawyer. We work hard for the money and just wanted a rest and some time away from long hours and the New York way of life. What we got was something more to the tune of what should not be done at a resort and how not to treat people who pay the big bucks for a 5 Star Resort. We looked at the reputation of the Sandals Resort and the advise of our travel agent, but based on our trip, the reputation and what out travel agent told us, were way off by a lot!!! There was Construction and Demolition of 4 building right next to our room, loud bands at night, poor service at meals, no refrigerator in the room. Cats running around begging for food and fornicating while we were eating, dress slacks had to be worn in some restaurants even when the weather was extremely hot, mosquito as dinner guest feeding on us while we eat. No ATM, no computer service to speak of and a place that was in need of a lot maintenance which went on while we were there!!!! Worst dive gear I have ever seen and I have been diving for 20 plus years. Resort personnel just not caring at all with the complaints that we made. We did manage to speck to Joseph Kelly Resort manager who stated he would look into these problems. I will not hold my breath on that and will never use the Sandals chain ever again, a rip off of peoples hard earned money. By the way, just to let Sandals know we have pictures and video, you will hear from us very soon!

We stayed here with our friends in February. We chose Sandles because all of us work very hard and can only take one holiday a year so we like to push the boat out. Unfortunately we believed all the hype about ultimate luxury.

We had booked an upgraded room with a pool view and to be fair that is what we got - however I dread to think what the basic rooms are like. Ours was filthy - grime not grout between the tiles on the floor and thick dust on the furniture. The bathroom was worse - more like one of those old fashioned Butlins type bathrooms of the 1960's. Tiles cracked and the bath so old the enamel was worn off. There were also cracked and broken tiles in the jacuzzi and swimming pool and the pool attendant's idea of cleaning the pool area involved taking a bucketful of water out of the pool, swabbing the tiles and then sweeping the dirty water back into the swimming pool, no wonder there was a thick rim of algae around the edge.

Food was O.K. first night in the main restaurant - not a great deal of choice but adequate. Then we found same menu throughout our stay as they only change the menu every 10 days - 4 choices for main course - 1 of them fish which I don't eat so had three dishes to choose from throughout our stay. Speciality Restaurants? The Italian was O.K. if you could get booked in - the others don't bother.

All I can say is that all the guests who have given this resort rave reviews have never experienced a proper 5 star hotel. I have never been to a 5 star hotel which doesn't offer waiter service in the bar - or at least room service in all rooms -you queue up and get your own drinks from the soaking wet bar - they don't even give you a paper mat so everyone gets drips on their clothes. Don't expect to sit down with a nice drink in the evening and watch the show - there are only enough seats and tables for about a quarter of the guests. In fact unless you are in the bar very early indeed don't expect to be able to sit down with your drink at all!

This resort is over-hyped, over-priced and disappointing to say the least - we hired a car and went to have a look at Blue Waters which is another close by resort. The difference was amazing and when we looked at the tarrif we were really upset to see that it was cheaper than Sandles - oh! if only we had gone there - the place was spotless, beautifully maintained and an absolute paradise compared to rip off Sandles.

We just returned from our Weddingmoon April 22 - May 2, 2004. We cannot wait to return to this property. We had also read some bad reviews and were a little nervous about our selection. However, as soon as we checked in we knew we had made an excellent choice. The grounds were absolutely beautiful it smelled wonderful because of all the flowers. The food was good, large portions and a large selection. It is not gourmet dining but neither one of us lost any weight on this trip. The wedding was incredible and the wedding coordinators were excellent. The only thing we wish that had been different was that the main pool does not overlook the beach. There are so many positive things to say about this resort and its staff. Can't wait to return.