My husband and I just returned from 2 weeks at Sandals Antigua (4/4-4/19). So I will start at the top! This is going to be a long one.

Airport:
long lines at immigration, but otherwise it flowed nicely. We got our luggage and easily found the Sandals booth where we waited about 30 minutes to get a bus to the resort. We were told that we were waiting for another to couple to show, but apparently there was a miscommunication, so the airport staff decided to just ship us off finally.

Hotel:
The staff didn't seem ready for us, although check in was otherwise ok. The lobby is beautiful -open air, parrots, pool tables. There was the standard cold towel and sparkling wine. Nice treat after 3 flights to get there!

Room:
OK....first off, I have to say the room was beautiful and big. We had a seperate shower/bath/toilet huge vanity area with double sinks, fridge, big four poster bed and nice sized balcony. We were in the Poinsettia block (the green building - there was also a pink and yellow buidling in the block) with a Honeymoon "Oceanview" Suite, complete with full bar, Butler (we had 4 different ones during our stay) Concierge and 24 hour room service. I don't really know how this was labeled as "ocean view". Our room was more of a garden view and ocean "peek" off the side of the deck (luckily we had the top floor, or it would have been "ice chest/construction view"....but I digress. As soon as we walked in the door, we were greeted with not the sound of the ocean waves and Antiguan breeze, but JACKHAMMERS! The room was literally shaking. We were assured by our Butler that it was the only day the jackhammers would be used and they only worked from 8-5. We were tired and loopy from travel so we really didn't care at that point. Well...were we in for a surprise. The construction literally was about 12 feet from our window. Trust me...we took pictures. Work began at 6:30am and ended around 6:30 pm most nights. It was awful. We could not get any rest. We could not sleep in, and we could not go back to the room for an afternoon nap! I ended up getting less sleep on this vacation than I do at home working on the grave yard shift. Needless to say, I complained on the 3rd day to our Butler. I asked to be moved, but was told there was no where we could go as the hotel was booked. AHHH. Ok....day 4...wake up 6:15 by hammering outside the window. I am in tears...irritated, grumpy and exhausted. I call AGAIN to the Butler and ask what the procedure is to speak to the manager about moving. I don't care what category room...I just wanted to be AWAY from the construction, even if it meant a downgrade. The Butler says he will take care of it and get back to us. True to his word, he does, but we were told there was nothing open but they were working on it. That was the last we heard until 4 days prior to departure, when we were offered another room. This one was still next door to the construction AND on the bottom floor. WHAT? We stayed were we were.

Yes, we knew Sandals had construction going on when we booked the vacation. Our original room was a "deluxe level" room. Sandals contacted US about a special "Signature Guest" upgrade for a killer price and we took it, thinking it would actually UPGRADE us away from the noise. In all actuality, it was a downgrade as it provided us a room closer to the noise when our orginal room would have been further away with no disruption. Sandals left this little detail out when they offered us the upgrade. I feel like they kind of duped us in to that one. Granted we had 24 hr room service, which was cool. Although nice people, I could have done without the Butler's service. Our Butlers were super nice though (Larry was THE BEST, Maureen and Cecil very kind and attentive and we only dealt with Floyd 2 days, and rarely saw him, but he seemed nice.) The Butlers are clearly overworked and cannot keep up with the Butler level room needs/requests. There was more than one occasion were something I asked for was forgotten. I know they were trying hard, but if I had paid full price for the service, I' d be HIGHLY dissappointed.

Beach:
GORGEOUS. Best beach we have seen-softest sand (been to Jamaica 3 times: Sandals Whitehouse, and Dunn's River (2 times) and the Bahamas 1 time at the Royal Bahamian. In addition we have been to Maui and Puerto Vallarte). The water was also more green than the others. Breathtaking. The beach was public, which wasn't that big of a deal, but by the 20th time of being approached by the same vendors, giving the same "No thank you" you'd think they'd remember me and pass by! Also, did not know this, but Sandals sells day passes to the resort and spa. They had a sign posted on the beach. I don't think that is fair at all to the guests who pay to stay there.

Pools:
Clean, but only 1 swim up bar. The other pools are really small, but nice and quiet. They are planning on a HUGE pool in the construction. (Biggest zero entry pool on the island)

Grounds:
Probably the most beautiful we have seen at a Sandals. The plants and foliage were gorgeous and very well taken care of. It smelled fantastic walking around the resort and alot of the plants were labeled so that was cool.

Staff:
For the most part, nice, but not stellar. We did not get the reception that as "Signature Guests" we have grown accustommed to with Sandals. Of course, there were some that were AWESOME (Larry, Maureen, Cecil, Telcita at the Sundowner bar, Rodney in the Piano bar) I felt as though asking for a drink or other item was more of a bother to certain staff sometimes. When taking your order, it was almost as if they were reading a script. Little eye contact, and you know they thought of you as just another face in the crowd. Definately not like at the other Sandals. Jamaica had the BEST staff. They were over the top friendly and ALWAYS remembered your name, where you were from and what day you were leaving. Sandals Antigua staff definately viewed their hospitality service as just a job they could take or leave and that was apparent in the treatment we received. Asked a few bartenders for their own special drink concoction - and almost none had one! At the other Sandals resorts we have been to, they ALL have one, and if not, they make a special one up for you AND remember it the next time you go up to the bar.

Tours:
Sandals Antigua REALLY pushes these from the minute you walk in the door. We did 2. Shirley Heights and Eli's Eco Tour. I actually booked the Eco Tour on my own before we left and it is cheaper than through Sandals that way.

Shirley Heights was WAY too crowded, and a tourist trap, but a MUST see. The sunset is breathtaking. The Eco Tour was AMAZING. It is recommended all over the web, and with good reason. This is the best tour, highly recommended.

Food:
Not the best. Actually, the worst among the Sandals we have been too. I got sick one night on oysters. It was the only night we had gone to the Internatial Buffet, so they probably had been out in the air awhile. Buffets kind of freak me out.

Best: Ok Corral was our favorite, followed by Il Palio. Kimonos was also AWESOME, but we eat food like that alot at home, so we only went there 2 times. The Beach BBQ was not too exciting - typical buffet food. Beach grill was ok for a quick fix. Veggie burgers, chicken sand., fries, onion rings (sommetimes), pizza looked kind of gross though. Hubby liked the club sandos alot.

They did have an Afternoon Tea service at 4pm that was cool. I am a big fan of a proper tea service. Although, shocked at some of the guests, People from the beach would show up in their speedos and bikinis and dig in to the tiny tea sandwiches using their fingers and not the tongs provided. No manners among alot of guests there. I was surprised. I realized we aren't dining with the Queen herself, but have some class, really.

Signature Guest dinner was great the first week and bad the 2nd week. Different chefs I think. We earned our "Gold Sandals" had a picture taking with our table and got Rum and Tshirts.

Entertainment:
Typically had some form of music in the courtyard every night. Nice to stop by after dinner. We did not go to "Betty Joes" so I cannot comment. We did go to the Piano Bar a few times, but it was never grooving! That was a diappointment, because it has always been a hot spot at the other Sandals we have stayed at.

Check out process:
Smooth as pie. Our flight was at 6:25am, so we left the resort at 5am with only 1 other couple. No problems.

Bottom line:
Nice vacation, and beautiful island, but if I had to recommend a Sandals Resort to a friend, I would NOT recommend Sandals Antigua.

Feel free to email with questions! I love to talk, obviously.
Cheers!