We felt we had to write this having spent two wonderful weeks in the Sandals Antigua. I had read some of the other reviews and were were a bit worried however as soon as we arrived we knew we had nothing to worry about. This was our honeymoon and it had to be special. It was..... every minute was wonderful.

The staff were friendly and helpful. The key to enjoying a holiday here is to remember it is in the carribean and things move at a different pace... once you get that decide that you are on your holidays then you'll love it... Food was great in all the restaurants but the Japanese restaurant was our favourite followed very closely by the Bayside and OK Coral.

We visited the Red lane spa for several treatments... full body massage and exfoliation is a great start to any holiday and they really know how to accommodate couples. We've been to many Spa's and this is up there with the very best.. worth the indulgence. The hot stone massage was a real treat.

The island and people have so much to offer take some time to talk to them and learn more...

Enjoy the holiday I know you will.

Well what can I say......... I have just recently come back from Antigua & stayed at the Sandals on Dickenson Bay. What an experience it was. I read many reviews on this site, many negative ones too which in turn put little niggling doubts in my head as to whether I should cancel or not, but I thought about it long & hard & thought well......you will hear mostly negative feedback from people as they take the time out & put the world to rights & they have the most to say & want to express it the best they can. I met many a people on this holiday who visit Sandals resorts all over the world & 90% of them said that the one in Antigua was in there top 2-3. Now considering the amount of Sandals resorts there are in the world I think that answers itself. Now I can go on about all the things there is to do, places to see & foods to eat but i'm not, as after this review there maybe a negative one & then you will be sat there yet again thinking shall I or shouldn't I. All I can say on this matter is if I hadn't of gone then I wouldn't have had the best wedding day of my life, meet the most wonderful people & live the lifestyle of a king. The only way you will ever know is by going.................................... & with what ever attitude you come back with at least you can say "AT LEAST I DID IT & I TRIED IT".

P.S. I would have given it a 6 rating (if I could).

We chose this resort because of the new Mediterranean Village. However, we were bitterly disappointed when we were notified that the new section would not be ready due to construction delays. So we were booked in the old part-Honeymoon Luxury Concierge Room of the Anthurium Building.

THE ROOM: This building is at the very back of the resort, along a main road, so the loud and numerous cars/trucks zooming by were very audible. While the bed area of the room was nice, the bathroom was AWFUL! Old tile with stained grout, wimpy shower head, discolored sink, tarnished faucets, beat-up mirror, and rust on the wall all around the light fixture...And as an added bonus, when my husband removed a towel from the bar, the bar fell off the wall! I don't know if they are planning on renovating the baths in this building or if we just managed to get the one room that hasn't been re-done yet, but I would try and find out which rooms/buildings have nicer updated facilities.

THE POOLS: We could not get chairs at the main pool because we didn't get there early enough. We hung out at the small pool outside our building instead. It actually was nice and quiet there, very intimate and never more than 4 other couples there at any given time. No towels are available poolside, they could only be obtained at the water activities desk at the beach which was inconvenient.

THE BEACH: Being used to pounding surf and waves in the ocean in the Pacific, it was a shock to see calm water. It was so quiet and felt more like being at the lake. Walks along the beach were great due to soft sand and a decent stretch of beach from end to end.

THE FOOD: I think it was helpful to have concierge service so that reservations could be made, guaranteeing you get in somewhere each night. They only let us make reservations one day ahead though. Saturday evening Bayside had a wonderful buffet spread-delicious. There was another buffet spread at Monday night's Beach Party. Note: They close one of the main restaurants on these special nights so your options are a bit limited if you're not into the spreads. Bayside presents splendid breakfast and lunch buffets with MUCH to choose from. We also ate at OK Corral, Il Palio and Courtyard Bistro
-all was very good except the steak at OK which was tough (very low quality, disappointing). Lastly, we found it endearing to have a kitty cat or two roaming around the grounds. We watched a sunset with
a sweet calico one night, each in our lounge chair lined up on the beach!

Overall it was a nice vacation, just very different from the grand, over-the-top "glory" that other resorts we've stayed at offer. If you
want a quiet, quaint, intimate experience you'll get it here. If you want lots of bells and whistles you may want to look into a newer
Sandals property or a different resort chain altogether.

My wife and I went here for our anniversary and what a mistake we made. The resort is nice, but not nearly worth the money we paid. I have been to several all inclusive resorts and this was by far at the bottom of my list. The beach was nice, but there were too many vendors bugging everyone. The food at the resort was ok, but no where near what it should have been. My wife and I are avid scuba divers and one of the reasons we chose this resort is because of the daily dive trips. Sandals chooses the worst dive spots on the island. They don't even take you to the places they advertise on their website. The dive crews were nice and great divemasters. But, the dive boats were overcrowded and filled with lots of divers from the resort course. After this experience, we will never stay at a Sandals again.