My husband and I took a 10 day trip to Sandals Antigua from November 28th to December 7th for our honeymoon. What we loved about Sandals Antigua: The staff at the resort did everything possible to ensure that we had a wonderful time at the resort and on adventure tours. I think the first time we were on this website we read a bunch of negative comments about the resort, the staff and the noise. Let me tell you that if those people truly spoke to the management about those problems they would have been fixed. We were given a complimentary upgrade when we first arrived to the resort. The room that we received was the closest room to the nightclub and it was loud. We went to management and asked them to just turn it down during the late night hours and they were more than willing to both move us and turn down the music. We really liked our view so we opted to stay in our room. We were both amazed that the staff at the front desk (Denise, an intern from Holland) could remember our first names and greet us everytime our paths crossed. If you ever get a chance to come here try to get Michelle and/or Elijah in the dining room to be your servers. They were great! During the day the entertainment crew was awesome. K-Mat, Ann Marie and Deuce made it fun for all of us. At night Kevin, Karim, and Ali kept the courtyard bunch entertained. If you like off property entertainment make sure you see Monica and Karen to book your adventure trips. They are so nice and are more than willing to explain all of the trips to you a number of times before booking them. The other nice feature was that all of these trips could be charged to your room and placed on your charge card in US currency. What we liked about the trips was that we got to see a lot of the culture and we were able to meet a lot of nice locals. All of the restaurants on the property were top notch. Of course, we didn't like everything because we don't like certain types of food. But, they were more than willing to accomodate us. I would recommend Kimonos one of the first nights for dinner if you are interested in meeting other couples. The OK Corral has very good steak. Il Palio Italian restaurant had great calamari and was our favorite. Don't miss the Friday night international buffet in the Bayside Restaurant. It is only once a week and is definitely worth eating at. The Courtyard Bistro is good for your in between meal cravings. The worst part about the trip was the sand flys and the mosquitos. Bring lots of bug spray!!! Packing to go home was not too pleasant either. We understand that everyone has their own opinion of this resort, but every comment or concern we had was taken very seriously and resolved very quickly. We will definitely be coming back!!!

Just got back from my stay at Sandals Antigua from 11/25/05 to 12/02/05. I was worried about the "schizophrenic" nature of the postings I saw on here....one posting is great, the next one says the place is horrible. I hope this helps people to discover "what is and what ain't" about Sandals Antigua.

Just as a note, I am American, I do expect good service and yes I (as well as many of my acquaintences) do travel extensively (this in answer to the poster who says that Americans only travel in the US and the Caribbean) I have stayed in 5 star resorts (The Swiss Hotel Istanbul where many of the NATO delegates stayed in 2004 and The Sheraton in Port Douglas, Australia where President Clinton stayed during his visit)so I do know a nice resort when I stay at one.


The Rooms

We did upgrade but we only upgraded to the second or third level rooms. Our rooms were clean, spacious and I was so happy that the air conditioning was so good. The hot water situation can get a little dicey in the morning. No worries there.....I just threw my hair in a ponytail, went to breakfast came back and the water was fine. This happened twice..the other mornings the hot water was plentiful early in the morning. One hint...the water pressure is great later in the morning or in the evening before dinner. I found that I actually prefer having my shower in the evening before dinner so you can wash off the days chlorine and saltwater accumulation from the days activities. Our room was a little bit of a walk from the dining room but I welcomed the walk after everything I ate on the trip. It was not an unreasonable distance to walk. People needing assistance with physical disabilities should let staff know that up front. Otherwise get off of your couch potato butts and walk a little bit people!

The Food

Sandals is a chain and I found the food to be better than what I expected from a "chain" experience. I ate at the Bayside, Kimonos and Il Palio and while the food isn't five star I did like what I ordered. The only thing I didn't like about Kimonos was that for our seating we didn't choose an entree but everyone got a portion of all the entrees listed. I don't know if they always do this or not, but it would be better if people just chose the entrees. I am not a big fish or chicken eater but do like beef and shrimp (which they did well there).

They have a Courtside Grill which makes pretty good hamburgers and fries and I ate my share of those. They do have a carousel where they serve mozerella sticks, pretzels, onion rings and pizza. I don't recommend those so much only because if they are in the carousel they tend to get that warmed over taste. But if you happpen to get there for a fresh batch as they are going in the carousel then you'll get some pretty good snacks. The grill also offers fruit and nachos along with other sandwiches that I didn't mention.

I thought that for an all inclusive that the drinks were pretty good. Some had more alcohol in them than others...I guess it depends on who your bartender is ;->.

The Beach

The location is fantastic and I don't see how anyone could complain about it, the view or access to the beach. Beware though......my friends, boyfriend and myself came back with a nasty case of sand flea bites. Not something that Sandals can control (and trust me they are mneticulous about spraying for mosquitos!!) but something that as a traveler you need to be aware of and take care of it. I've read recommendations for Neutrogena Face Cream rubbled on your legs and feet as a way to combat sand fleas. You can use deet, too. Be vigiliant in using these methods. The bites don't show up for days and you may be tempted to blow off using insect repellent. One of my friends did manage to come home without the itchy agonies the rest of us suffered and that may be because she used the body lotion the resort provides in the rooms (lemongrass in the pack they provide). I don't know if this is a seasonal problem or what. Don't let it keep you off the beach though.....just be sure to reapply when you get out of the water and lay out on the beach.

We were happy with the access to the Hobie cats and liked the person who showed us how to use them (Delia). We were off sailing in them in about 10 minutes and felt happy and comfortable that we knew how to use them. One of the instructors was unfailingly patient when my boyfriend was trying to learn how to windsurf. He was very nice and helpful - and trust me windsurfing isn't easy to learn how to do.

The Grounds and Staff

I was happy with the grounds. There is some construction going on around the resort but we didn't hear a lot of noise or experience much inconvenience because of that. Yes there are cats running around the resort. Unlike much of the misinformation that some others posted they are well cared for - I think this made me the most annoyed of all with these negative posters. I volunteer for an animal shelter and trust me I know what a sick cat looks like. Their coats are clean and healthy looking. They are at a healthy weight....people are just too used to overfeeding their pets and seeing how plump they get when they are being overfed. They do roam the Bayside, Il Palio and Courtyard areas. They will sit on the ground and observe you....if you don't give them a treat they will get bored and move on. The staff is very good about gently shooing them away if they appear to be bothering people. I only saw one of them get a little pushy but even he was easily shooed away. I got to know them quite well as I always managed to carry some treats with me. One of them is a cute little black fluffy kitty who joined the golf putt activity. He was so funny and sweet the people running the event let the him chase the balls as people were putting. Another one is a calico momma cat with two cute little babies....one calico just like her and the other one is a tabby. They are shy and will run away if you don't have "handouts" like I did. The mother and her babies got to know me so well they would run up from across the lawn to meow and greet me.

The staff went out of their way to be very friendly for the most part. There were of course one or two that didn't look overjoyed to be working at Sandals, but none of them were rude in any way. I got everything that I asked for in a reasonable amount of time.

The spa was nice but small. I liked the sun lovers facial and the couples massage was nice. They do have a small steam room and some plunge pools which were fun. You can sit in the jacuzzi and them plunge into a cold pool where the water is 55 degrees. Exhiliarating to say the least ha, ha!

The swimup pool was small but there are other pools scattered across the different courtyards so that no one should have had any trouble finding their place in the sun.

In summary

There is just no pleasing some people. One woman complained about not having marble in her bathroom even though she reserved relatively modest accomodations. Another woman took pictures of the swimup bar so she could back up her complaints about some tiles missing off of the roof of the swim up bar (even though a tropical depression blew in the night before and blew off those tiles). People who are that high maintenance should really consider staying somewhere else (and paying the price to boot!) At least one couple I ran into was ticked about the negative postings because they almost decided not to come. They were very glad that they ignored the negative postings.

The best thing to keep in mind is that Sandals is a chain that does a pretty good job trying to provide a little something for everyone. It is not the most upscale place to stay and lets face it you are not going to wake up to Wolfgan Puck scrambling your eggs every morning. But for those of us looking for the best value for your dollar I would recommend staying here.

After reading some of the comments people expressed about Sandals Antiqua I began to wonder if I was at the same resort.

Although I must say I wasn't staying on the side of the new construction.In defense of the noise it could have been created by building any structure next door but in this case it was an addition to the resort.

From the maids to the gardners to the manager Franklyn Eaton I found them all to be most courteous and extremely friendly.

The food generally was above average,but not gourmet.But I don't eat gourmet at home so it was no loss to me.

The bar in the food court area copuld have used more help butbthe selection of liquor was excellent.And the staff very friendly when time oermitted.

The cats running around were never a nusiance(I am not a cat lover) but they are there for a reason.
I did receive a few bites but I came prepared with spray with Deet.Do these people think if they stayed somewhere else they would not have got bitten.Its the tropics.
There were the usual handfull of obnoxious people that had to show how much they could drink in a short period of time .Then use the liquior as an excuse to act and talk foolish.

On a scale of 1-10 ten being the best I woud rate this resort a 7.
But all in all I would recommend this resort to anyone.
Go and enjoy

We spent our honeymoon at Sandals Antigua during the week of September 2, 2005. It was the height of the hurricane season, but there was in fact no wind whatsoever - not even the normal characteristic trade winds - and only one half-hour shower of rain during our inland excursion. Overall, it was a wonderful vacation and we would visit Antigua again and probably stay at Sandals again.

ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE:
We arrived around 1:00 PM, after 15 hours in the air and intermediate airports. The airport in Antigua is chaotic, and reports of luggage damage by the American Airlines crew were everywhere. They pretty much destroyed both our checked bags. The arrival lounge is crowded, hot, stuffy, and the customs lines are long and slow. When we moved through and out to the street, the Sandals rep checked us in immediately but we had to wait quite a while for another couple to arrive. When they did not, the Sandals rep got us a taxi, took care of the vouchers, and after a slight detour by the driver that had us a bit worried at first, we arrived at the Sandals hotel. We were greeted warmly, given cold towels and champagne, and automatically checked in while we relaxed.

The departure was more aggrevating, but a bit quicker. Unfortunately for west coast guests, the airport taxi arrives at the resort at 5:30 AM, so we did not get a chance to have breakfast and had to do most of our packing the night before. The customs officials searched our bags by hand... on a table right in front of all the other travelers. It was a relief to finally get on the plane. Tip: Stick $20 US in your passport when you first arrive at the resort - you'll need it to pay the departure tax at customs when you leave and that way you won't spend it.

ROOM:
When we first arrived, the room we had booked was in a block that was high up on the property. It was quite a long walk from the main part of the hotel that included several sets of stairs. Having somewhat troublesome hips and knees, my wife and I asked if we could be moved and we were given a Grand Luxe beachfront room on the first floor, near the main lobby. The room was clean, rather charming, and very quiet. Contrary to some other reviews, we never saw mold or cockroaches, and our room was made up every day, albeit sometimes rather late. There were some mosquitos, but it's the Caribbean... take mosquito repellant. Also contrary to others' experiences, the power did not go off at all, and only once did the maid turn off our AC... we left it running nearly 24/7 because of the humidity. Tip: If you book one of these rooms, get one on the second floor which will give you a better view of the ocean.

DINING:
Most reviews you read will rave about Kimonos (Japanese) and the Il Palio (Italian), and they are very nice restaurants. We ate at each once and enjoyed them. The Bayside is lighter fare, and not as good, but still adequate for breakfast and lunch. One night a week the Bayside does a beach buffet which was delightful. The OK Corral was very good - we ate there twice - and the staff there was the most friendly. Lastly, the Courtyard Bistro looks like a hole, but actually serves up some really good all-American type food... we were surprised at the burgers. We didn't try room service. We did see three cats that hung around the restaurants, but they never jumped on anything, never begged, never even made a noise. Tip: Make reservations early for Kimonos and Il Palio, they fill up fast, and be aware that only certain restaurants are open on certain days.

DRESS CODES:
The dress codes listed in the brochures and on the web site are confusing and sometimes contradictory. We were a little worried but never had a problem. Kimonos and Il Palio have the highest dress code, but I wore new black jeans, a dress shirt, and boots, and my wife wore black pants, a nice blouse, and open-toed sandals and we were fine. For the rest of the restaurants, we wore nice shorts (not swim trunks) or pants, and nice looking shirts (not T-shirts). I think as long as you don't look sloppy they don't care.

ENTERTAINMENT:
We did several of the excursions: The circumnavigation boat tour with Admiral Duck (quite a character) and the Land Rover tour of the inland were great rides. Both were led by operators that obviously enjoyed their jobs. The hill climb on the circumnavigation tour is a very steep and strenuous climb, but optional and pretty short. The Shirley Heights party was rather disappointing - they make it sound like the premier party where the locals go, but the tour returns to the hotel before the local bands start. The food looked good, but was very expensive - $12 US for a chicken sandwich. Mostly it's an opportunity for local vendors to sell you things. We also went on a sunset cruise, which was fun even though the "hors d'euvres" were meatballs in a tupperware box, and a shopping trip to town, which was really a fun and inexpensive way to see the local faire.

The beach toys were fun and in good working order. We paddled about on a water trike, tried out the new pedal-powered jet skis, and swam as much as possible. There were always plenty of towels, life vests, sunbathing chairs, and space on the beach and the water was heavenly. The beach is public and there were some vendors that wandered through, a couple of which were bold enough to try to sell us drugs (the hotel management encourages guests to report these incidents). We bought some items from a couple of vendors, which gave us very good deals on reasonably good stuff and were fun to talk to, and to the others we just politely told them "no thanks" and they went on their way. Also, since it is a public beach, Sandals can't prevent topless sunbathers, so be prepared. Tip: Sunscreen!

The piano bar was our favorite evening hangout. Rodney, Henson, and Althea were excellent bartenders and very friendly. Tip: Treat the employees as people and you'll get much nicer reactions than if you treat them as just paid help.

POOLS:
Having a beautiful warm ocean mere steps away from our hotel room, we didn't use the pools. A couple were closed on two different days for cleaning, but all of them looked to be clean, nice pools. We kept saying we were going to check out the swim-up bar but it closed rather early and we were pretty busy during the days.

In General:
* Bargain on everything! We got the sunset cruise free for buying several other excursions and probably got all our gifts for 50% or less.
* The gift shop in the hotel has most first-aid type things, but is extremely expensive. Bring your own sunscreen, band-aids, etc.
* We witnessed one of the Sandals weddings... if you're considering it, be aware that they're very strict and very scripted.
* It's the Caribbean... not the UK, not California. Learn to enjoy what it has to offer instead of expecting what you're use to and it'll be more fun!