In summary - a delightful hotel, outstanding staff, very good food and all set along a beautiful beach.

As ever I booked this hotel based on the reviews here. I'll keep it short because I can't really say anything that hasn't been said already. This is a wonderful hotel.

The only advice I could give is to upgrade to the premium suites. They have been redecorated to a modern standard and feature full double glazing/flat panel TV etc. The older suites have slatted grills instead of glazing which you may prefer if you enjoy sleeping to the sound of the crashing sea and a million ciccadas! - That said, I understand a refurb is currently underway so this may no longer apply.

The hotel was sufficiently busy to be sociable but spacious enough that we could easily keep ourselves to ourselves. It certainly felt exclusive.

The food was very good and the choice of two restaurants most welcome. Above all, the staff were delightful.

This was our Honeymoon and I would certainly recommend this to couples looking for a romantic quiet holiday (my wife loved it).

We are certainly looking forward to returning for an anniversary some time soon!

We returned to galley bay 12 months after our first visit with 6 friends who we met whilst we were there in 2006. We were all worried that our return visit would not live up to our experience last year. IT WAS EQUALLY AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER. We had previously stayed in a Premium Beachfront Room which was fantastic overlooking the beach, (room 77). We opted this year for a Gaugin Cottage!. Wow, these were just wonderful, overlooking the lagoon with our own little bird sanctuary and the highlight being our own plunge pool with jacuzzi which was wonderful in the day and more fun late at night!. These are hidden treasures and well worth a visit.
Service, food, staff including the workmen were extremely friendly and courteous. Difficult to pick people of out but Heather and Vaughan were exceptional with their customer service, nothing being too much trouble. Many guests from last year had returned again and it was good to catch up with them.
Whilst we were there, we booked a sailing day with "miramar, Brian and Pippa. [--]. This was the highlight of our holiday. Four of us went out on the sailing boat for the day, stopped off on a beach and had a beach bbq of lobster, wine, salad. We then sailed some more on a beautiful 40ft yacht. Brian and Pippa are so friendly and knowledgeable. We stopped off in a bay and watched the sun go down drinking rum punch. A very special day for us. So good, we returned the following week and did it all again!.

Galley bay has that something special that allows you to wind down from the moment you get out of the taxi and have your first taste of rum punch. If being totally chilled, enjoying good company, friendly service and an atmosphere which I wish I could bottle up and bring home with me, this is definitely the place to be. Nothing was too much trouble. It was good to see the management team readily available to join in the dancing on the decking and chatting with the guests.

There is some building work going on. The building of the new restaurant and apartments will add about a further 40 guests. The work did not interfere with our holiday and although it was fully booked whilst we were there, our party of 8 always had a table together and were served without delay.

Don't make a habit of returning to places each year but we will definitely return again in 2008 and will look forward to our trip out on the Miramar once again.

Galley Bay looked first choice from our Virgin brochure and from comments here, for those not wanting a high density hotel with good beachfront accom and delivers a lot, Most of which is elsewhere so here are a few issues and info. We had a deluxe upstairs and it was vg for vfm. Spacious bathroom and loads of wardrobe space. We had an upstairs room with large balcony and comfortable loungers. We were worried about people walking past on the downstairs ones but the set up is such that this is not a problem. Premuim rooms have
more space but not enough for the exrea money. The deluxe does have windows and you can still hear the sea (which can be very noisy when the sea is rough)! The superiors do not have glass and do not look great but are on the beach and great for those who like that, The cottages are cute but a bit more spartan, however they are terrific value as the resort is v good, great facilities, low density, v smart, thus one can get a bargain stay. When you upgrade (more premiums are being built and a new restaurant (this may imapct density and pool usage) you get a great room but the service shoulld match the standards they set - which sadly it does not.

Two big issues for us - 1) the sea, it is rough, poss just at this time of year but was red flagged for half our two weeks due to big waves, this is a surfers beach with strong breakers, murky water and v little opp for water sports. Even when not flagged the water people were only happy to do trips out and getting back was too tricky, this is not rare from what we gathered there so think again if you want sailing, kayaking and snorkeling,

2) The service. This is tough due to all the staff being really nice, which they are. However, there are limits to what being nice can overcome. At first we let it all ride but as time went on more and more things began to grate. The biggie is wine - it is served in small glasses (125ml) and whether you get some before your main course or not depends on where the wine waiter/ess hapens to be. Refills were haphazard - some days we were offered 3 or 4 refills - other days it was very difficult to get more than one glass. If you want red and the waiter is carrying white he will say that he will return but never did. Most people simply accepted whatever they were offered and ended up with mixed drinks. You can ask and your order will be accepted with a smile and then nothing will happen! Whatever you do do not try to have white with a starter and red with a main course as it simply will not happen. Of our 28 meals maybe three or four worked out, it seems trivial but was grating over time. It smacks of meaness yet the measures at the bar are often jaw-droppingly huge so it is hard to see a reason, the money cannot come close to the aggravation.

3) Minor complaint, the puddings are woeful, heavy British fare cooked by someone who has only a passing understanding of what is involved. Every pastry we had was uncooked, as was a crumble - a cold uncooked crumble. There was also a lot of 'chemical' piped cream and cheap chocolate used. Having said that the key lime pie was very nice and the ice creams - alhtough bought in - were fine.

Most of the food is exemplary and it is fine dining style, artful, delicate portions of well seasoned, high quality food until pudding, There is a British head chef and a lot of the food is steered to standard fare with a random addition of fruit for tropicality so this is another dichotomy we found hard to understand. The breakfasts are super, the cooked ones in the Sea Grape are great, but not for everyday, lunch is also fab, Gauguin has the bext setting, intimate, secluded super views and much smaller with 14 private tables. Lunch has the most local food, all of which was super but often too heavy for lunch, evening is lighter and more European. Pudding is reluctantly served at lunch and at any time at the Gauguin but really why bother?

Personally we found the Sea Grape lacking in atmosphere and as other reviewers have noted it is quite dark and a bit barn like at the back. The deck at the front was being refurbished whilst we were there which spoit the view a bit. A simple rearrangment of the tables so they are not in regimented rows would help.

Lastly trips - heavy sell on these obv and in a q resort why not, The Shirley Heights thing is great for an early evening, steel band are great and then a disco, the food looked good too but it is set up as a four hour visit which is too long. The cab is a minibus but $40 a couple! All cab fares are set by the govt and v high. An hour here is fine and then many people got a cab back rather than wait the full four hours, We also went on the island circumnavigation by Wadadli Cat, booked from Guest services at $150 for two, $44.95 is taken by the resort, we were told we would be picked up on the beach or they would let us know if we were to go elsewhere, we were told on the day to go next door to the Royal Antigua Hotel, a cab we were told would be waiting for us at no charge. However, the cab then asked for $12 and got a bit shirty, we made her call the resort and they said they had no idea what was going on, in the end she went back to the resort, this could not be the first time it had happened as the sea makes landing at GB untenable most of the time. We also wanted to go on the pirate ship, which goes out of St John to Deep Bay next door, we went to enquire at Guest Services and they phoned to say it was weekly on Friday, which was too late for us, however, we saw it out each day until we left! We were given the impression that this was not something we should do!

Our thinking was that if less was promised the offering would be good but so much is claimed that it could not deliver. Which was a shame as the facilities are excellent.. Oh and for snorkellers either go right to the little bay at the end of the resort where Georgio Armani has his house as that is less rough and lots of fish or go out and 10 mins walk to the next resort, Hawksbill, and use the beach there for snorkelling which is also good.

This will be short and to the point. My wife and I returned yesterday from 12 most enjoyable days at this resort. If you enjoy relaxation, excellent food & 1st class service, then Galley Bay will suit you. This locations greatest asset is the highly professional and helpful members of staff who go out of their way to ensure that you have a good time. Best wishes to them all and thank you for a memorable holiday.