My wife and I stayed here Nov 24 thru Dec 3. We loved it. Let me set you staight about all the crazy stuff people are writting. The ride from airport is only 15 minutes and the roads are paved! Our check in was very fast. We received an upgraded room. We had a Honeymoon Lux Concerige room. They took us and our luggage right to our room. Had a very nice room, King size bed. Large refridge with beer, coke, diet coke, sprite, water, champagne, white wine, tonic water etc. Also had a stocked bar. This comes with all concerige rooms. The came everyday and restocked whatever we drank. Never ran out of anything. Air conditioning was freezing cold. My wife kept making me turn it off. Water pressure was fine and always had hot water. We stayed in 819 (Anthurium bldg) All the construction you are hearing about. They are building a new part of resort next to this one. You once in a while heard a truck or two, but really it was no bother at all. There are also remodeling one od the buildings while we were there. If you walk right by it you can hear a saw or hammer or too. NO BIG DEAL. Oh about the cats. I counted 8 all together 3 hung out by room near pool and rest roamed around. The were very nice and seemed in great health and looked very clean. We actually brought them treats. My friends dont have cats this nice or this clean looking. The resort is on the beach and has an amazing view. Water is beautiful, beach is clean no rocks no shells. Very smooth. All the beaches in Antigua are public so you do have vendors and occasionally people from cruise ship. Vendors were fine You just say no and they move on. After a couple of days they reconize you and leave you alone. The food i thought was great. OK corral was wonderful. Steak was great. Italian was also great. They have a courtyard bistro which had burgers, fries, nachos, sandwhiches. It was open 11am-5pm then 11pm-7am. We ate there alot. It seemed to be very popular for that late lunch meal. THe bugs that you are hearing about YES are bad. They are sand flies and yes they bite. Many people had bites. The trick is to bring OFF with DEET in it. My wife and I had 98%deet OFF WE received 0 bites. They ccome out at night so a little spray before dinner and wahla no problem. The trips were wonderful. We took a helicopter tour to Monserrat. We saw sea turtles THe volcano on Monserrat was awesome. It did cost us $200 a piece but well worth it. Also took trip to Barbuda. WOW it was beautiful, pink sand beaches and color of water Ive never seen before. Also see KAREN the tour desk operator SHE is THE BEST. SHe hooked us up with cab driver for entire day. We toured the entire island. We saw everything. The staff on this resort was great they did everything for us. WE even got 2 extra pillows for room so we ended up with 6 large pillows. Antigua is an awesome island and people were wonderful and very nice. Please e-mail me with any questions. THIS IS A VERY NICE RESORT AND A GREAT ISLAND. FOOD AND DRINK WERE EXCELLENT.

My husband and I stayed at Sandals Antigua for one week in December 2005. We loved every single minute of our honeymoon vacation at Sandals Antigua.
Our arrival at the V.C. Bird airport was the most unpleasant aspect of our vacation. It was pure chaos and very disorganized. Two hours later, we finally made it to Sandals. Whew!
As previously mentioned on this website, we were greeted with cool towels and sparkling wine. These little extras were much appreciated and needed after our ordeal at the airport. We were very delighted with our Luxury Oceanview Beachfront room in the Frangipani Block. It was located far away from the construction zone on the other side of the resort. In our opinion, the Frangipani Block (Block 13) is the most secluded and also the most convenient block of rooms to stay in. We could just walk out of our room to the beach and the dining areas were situated very close by- although we could not hear any noise from the main area of the resort.
The room was large, clean and nicely decorated. The mini-fridge was stocked on a daily basis. The king-size bed was comfortable and the A/C was silent.
The resort itself was beautifully maintained and well laid-out. The gardens were lush and tropical. There were many different places around Sandals Antigua where couples could get married. We observed over 10 wedding ceremonies during our week-long stay at Sandals Antigua. Indeed, it is the ultimate choice for a WeddingMoon!!
The beach at Dickenson's Bay was fantastic. Water was calm, good for swimming or just waddling around in. The beach vendors did not bother us much, a polite "No, thank you" sent them on their merry way. We were fortunate enough to partake in several excursions during our honeymoon. The Best of Antigua 1/2 day tour gave us an inside tour of the island, through local villages, rainforests, Shirley Heights and Nelson's Dockyard. We also took the CircumNavigation Cruise around the entire island of Antigua and admired the country's lovely coastline. The duty free shopping in St. John's was good.
The food, service and staff at Sandals Antigua were beyond expectations. Everyone on staff went above and beyond to satisfy our needs. They were always helpful, polite and friendly. A special mention to Alvin, who was in training and took excellent care of us. The food was delicious, and carefully prepared and well-presented. We enjoyed the specialty restaurants, in particular Il Palio and Kimono's. We also opted for a special Romantic Interlude dinner to commemorate our recent marriage. It was served outside in the gazebo and was very intimate and memorable.
All in all, Sandals Antigua was beyond expectations and we look forward to visiting another Sandals resort in the future.
P.S.- the cats were not a bother. They are well-cared for and healthy. They provided a lot of amusement during mealtimes as they sat next to our table and silently observed us eating.
Thanks for reading our review!

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.