This place was the biggest nightmare, EVER!!! The upper management and front desk are the worst you can possible have. They ruined my family's stay, my wedding, and another couples wedding. I've never been to another Sandals, but after this one- I'll never go. Our family spent alot of money to get there and were disappointed and rudely treated. Most of the staff has about as much personality and are as friendly as stale bread. When I wrote a letter complaining they brushed it under the rug.
I seriously doubt they ever get return visitors. It's too bad, because it has the most beautiful beach and grounds I've been to. If you are planning a wedding here- CANCEL!!!

For what we paid it had to be much better!
It is a nice place if you plan to have some quiet holidays. The swimming pools are small and nice, give you a chance to relax and read, but some shadows are missing. There is no drinking service ( except in one pool) and if you want a snack you have to go to the main place - the food there is too greasy and without much choice - hamburgers, hot dogs, terrible fries ...
The thematic restaurants, except for OK Curral ( where the waiters know nothing of how to deal with wine) are far from being fair on what they want to represent. The japanese food knows nothing of Japanese food, they will cook you a "kind of" chinese food, not japanese. They don't even show you some sushi. At the Italian restaurant the waiter that served us had no idea of rhe names of the dishes he should recommend us, when at the end we asked him for two expressos, and there was an expresso coffee machine there, he served us watered american coffee in small cups. The food was not so bad but the mushroom soup is nothing but musherooms.
The bartenders have a lot to learn, they can only prepare their own cockeils and can´t serve a straight drink properly. They also lack being nice. I think it all comes because they get no tips. Cuba,Dominican Republic are other worlds, people are extremely nice!
The all complex is kind of old.
The ladies from the rent a car and travel services are absolutely unkind, sometimes even rude. They are not interested in doing a good job, probably they get their wages whether they sell or not.
For a Sandals resort we were expecting much better! - just compare it with Mexico.
The beach was very nice, the water perfect. The barbecue dinner was also nice, but you had to be there by 6,30 ...

HONEYMOONERS BEWARE!!

Sandals Antigua has earned in my book "Scandals Antigua." My expectations were not even close to being managed. I was really embarrassed because I really hyped the trip up, and it was a surprise destination for my wife on our honeymoon.

If you have never been to an all inclusive resort before, which I am assuming that many of you haven't, this place will probably seem like paradise to you which is the reason for all of these great reviews. I've been to the Carribbean now 6 times, and this was the worst resort that I have ever been to, and also the most expensive resort.

Don't get me wrong, nice beaches and water, but that is not what I am talking about here.

Here are a few reasons why I am very unsatisfied:

The resort looked run down. Paint job was poor, landscaping was not taken care of, architecturally looked very old.
My room had cockroaches.
They are re-furbing some units, and construction/demo started every day at 7:00 am. No need for an alarm clock.
They turned our air conditioning off in mid-day while we were at the beach because of an "energy policy," to return to a room that was extremely warm. I had to come back up to the room to turn it back on...complete BS.
The Service was average, not so much catering to us...maybe a cultural thing?
The food was average, and not a lot of variety
It was a public beach, so all the locals were hanging out selling everything from shirts to drugs.
The main pool is very small
There are only 3 tiki huts near the beach unlike the picture that has a hut right in the middle of the beach, as if there are many. I'm Irish, I need shade. Only 1 day did I get up early enough to be lucky enough to get one.
My room wasn't ready until 3 hours after I arrived, You can count on that. Most people who I saw waiting in the lounge in passing were waiting on there room to be ready.
Management desparately needs improving.
It's really sad to hear employees from other Sandals who were transferred for several months say how disappointing it was for them to be at Sandals Antigua because of how run down it is, food, and how poor management is. They were transferred from a few of the other Sandals that I was considering.
Yeah there's a Casino in town, but it makes Atlantic City look like Vegas. What a dump.
No room service!!

There was a lot of negativity about the resort from other Honeymooners complaining about the same stuff. Including ourselves, everyone seemed to be have taken for a ride. No way would I ever stay at Sandals in Antigua again, however I would go back and stay at some of the other eye appeasing resorts that I saw as we circled the island on our tour. Everyone, and I mean everyone was complaining, and because of the lack of service from the employees, honeymooners confided in other honeymooners to vent.

Sandals does a great job of marketing, and there are much better places out there, all inclusive, much cheaper, and top notch service.

Try other Sandals, but not Antigua. They have a ALOT of polishing up to do.

I stayed at the Iberostar in Playa del Carmen in December where we got engaged. Now that is service!!!

Recently returned from our honeymoon at sandas antigua (7/12 to 7/19). Overall, it was a great trip, but heck, it was our honeymoon, and if you're miserable on your honeymoon, it sure isn't the resort's fault. However, we did have some issues with our trip, so here's a quick overview in order of what I cared most about going in...

Beach: awesome. Beautiful water, Incredible sun. Sure, there were vendors, and they can hound you a bit, but you learn how to deal with them real quick

Weather: Hot, humid, but great. Weather's forecast was for rain every single day. It rained all of 10 minutes while we were there. So can't complain. And the heat is to be expected..my god, it's the Carribbean. But with heat, you'd love some good A/C, and unfortunately...

Facility: There was basically no A/C in the main builiding/restaurants because it is an open air resort. So I found my forehead glistening with every dinner I ate. Definitely got frustrating, would've loved some good A/C during our dinners. Other than that, the facilities were nice, not incredible, but nice.

Rooms: Not a plus for the resort. Our room, 619 (overlooking one of the pools) was not up to par. A/C was weak. The bathroom was old. And it just didn't have a great feel to it. Just don't go in with high expectations, and you'll be fine.

Wild animals: Definitely annoying. There were wild cats in the main builiding/bayside restaurant and dogs on the beach. I love animals as much as the next person, but could've done without them (word to the wise: don't feed them or pet them, it ticks off people who are sitting near you who don't want them around)

Spa: Awesome. Get a couples massage.

Bar/drinks/service: Great. No problems whatsoever. They have a big board with all these crazy tropical drinks at the main bar. It helps. But in the end, you'll probabaly go with a Sip Sop every other drink. It's delish.

Food: Restaurants were ok. Italian one is best, I'd say. Food is good, not incredible. Tip: Don't underestimate Bayside for dinner. The food is good and if you get there around 6:30 or so you can sit practically on top of the beach. Very nice.

Entertainment: They have something every night in the courtyard area, and a lot of people loved the shows they put on. We just weren't in to it. We're only 25 and it seemed more catered to people who are 35. We would've tried the nightclub but we were too tired when it opened at 11. But we would go get some drinks, shoot some pool, walk along the beach. We still had a great time at night with each other.

The Points: If you don't know by now, Sandals has this points system to encourage participation and interaction with other couples. You get X # of points for everything you participate in. Good if you're into it. We weren't.

Overall, the trip was incredible. But again, it was our honeymoon. Would I go back? No. I stayed at the Raddison Cable Beach in the bahamas prior to this trip, and that was better. But hey, to each their own.