Our fourth visit and we plan to go back again later in the year. Just gets better and better - most of the previous reviews say it all so I won't bother repeating the good bits. Ignore any negative comments as they simply cannot be true (or if they are true they are one offs or not worth worrying about). We just love Galley Bay and all the staff, the service, the food, the restaurants (the new Ismay's is excellent), everything - cannot fault it at all. The only downside was tearing ourselves away to come home.

We have just got back from a fantastic two weeks at Galley Bay and we can say that we are the FIRST to report that the new restaurant is OPEN

There are now three restaurants at Galley Bay serving food a la carte. The Seagrape is the main restaurant which serves fantastic food. The menu changes regularly, the service is first class and the live music each night is fantastic.

The other two restaurants are the Gauguin and Ismays. The Gauguin consists of separate tables with little huts over each table looking out to sea. You can have a continental breakfast, lunch and dinner here. The menu does not change but believe me it does not need to. One night it absolutely poured with rain and we did not get wet - needless to say the waitresses had to run between tables with umbrellas - great stuff!!!

Ismays is the new restaurant which I would describe as colonial in design. It is on the opposite side of the resort to the Gauguin and again the food is great.

You do not need to book to eat at the Sea Grape but you do to go to the other resaurants. The reason for this is to save disappointment because the walk from the bar is about 5 minutes. When you go to breakfast you pop in at reception and book your table - there are two sittings one at 6.45pm and one at 8.30pm. We ate principally at these two restaurants and we never had a problem booking.

Wine served with your meals is either pinot grigio, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon or merlot. The wines were fab and there was never any need to BUY any wine.

The bar always served premium brand drinks and cocktails and were never short on measures. You can also have champagne by the glass.

We stayed at one of the Gauguin cottages - how fab was that. Having your own plunge pool! No problem going between bedroom and bathroom. Plenty of beds on the beach to get (which was a worry that I had before we arrived).

The staff are unbelievably attentive and remember everything. On the second or third day I had the chefs salad at the Sea Grape restaurant for lunch but asked for no egg as egg on its own disagrees with me. About four days later we were at the Gauguin restaurant for dinner and they took my order. Two minutes later the waitress ran to my table saying that I would have to order another starter because there was egg in the one I ordered and they understood that I had a problem with egg - where in the world would you get that service?

Reading other reviews I would remind all of you that you are going to the Caribbean - there are mosquitos, various crawling flying insects and mongeese - but believe me most of them are more frightened of you than you are of them - including Burt the huge cockroach in our bathroom who eventually lost its battle against my flip flop. We got bitten once or twice - just remember to spray yourself in the evenings - we used Jungle Spray with Deet. Also the staff leave large cans of insect repellants so that you can spray them. You will find that when your bed is turned down at night you can smell that the staff have already sprayed before you return to your room!

The dress code is very strict and no jeans, shorts are allowed in the evening. Ladies I did where my fancy flip flops and guys most men were wearing smart sandals with long trousers. One person turned up to lunch with no shoes and was turned away. To be formal/casual is what you make it - hubbie wore linen most of the time I wore skirt, dress and nice tops etc.

This is a place for chilling - nothing is too much bother but remember sometimes things are done in 'Carribean time' not 'central London 2 minutes to spare time' - enjoy!

We stayed at Galley Bay last year and enjoyed it so much we booked immediately for the next year. My husband and I do not do this, we enjoy visiting different parts of the world and have never gone back to the same resort. Galley Bay is a wonderful relaxing small hotel (100 rooms), it never feels full and the staff cannot do enough for you. The new restaurant Ismay's had just opened when we arrived and it is great that there is now even more choice (3 restaurants), the food in all the restaurants is fantastic and if there is something you fancy that is not on the menu then ask, my Mum requested jumbo prawns one night and had a plate full at no extra cost. Prepare to put on a few llbs if your on a 14 day holiday! The new spa had also opened since last year and this is a welcome addition, I had two wonderful hot stone massages and would highly recommend one when you arrive and just before you leave.
As far as trips we went to Shirley Heights on Sunday - it was ok , the view was good but very touristy and to be honest you get a better sunset in Galley Bay with a cocktail that you dont have to pay for! English Harbour and Nelsons Dockyard are worth a visit particularly just before sailing week. We also went out on Sean's sailboat twice, once to the North and once to the South of the Island, I would highly recommend this. The South is better and the snorkelling is great plus we saw 8 giant turtles.
My only critiscm of the resort is breakfast, since the addition of 20 rooms breakfast in the Seagrape is a nightmare it can take you up to an hour an half to have your breakfast due to having to order Al a Carte, I think an egg chef / full buffet may have been better due to the larger numbers of guests. We got fed up and used to go to the Gaugin for a continental breakfast you can still get toast or a bagel as well as a fruit, yoghurt etc. and it was wonderful sitting out in a pod watching the waves.

When we there Giorgio Armarni arrived at his villa and used to walk the beach, he always said hello when you passed him. We will be booking for next year and cant wait to see all the friendly faces, Mike, Natasha, Quaciann, Ryan, Nola & Heather.

We got married at Galley Bay just over two weeks ago and the wedding and whole holiday/honeymoon experience was wonderful!

From the moment we arrived (where we were greeted with a much needed rum punch and the instruction to 'stop working now'), we felt like we were in paradise. The staff are welcoming and friendly, the food and drink was amazing, the location beautiful and every day we had to pinch ourselves when we woke up and stepped out of our room onto an amazing beach in front of a dazzling turquoise sea!

Our wedding day was wonderful and completely exceeded our expectations and Ernestine, the wedding co-ordinator took care of everything for us. After the ceremony and photos, we enjoyed a bottle of champagne on the beach while watching the sunset, then ate at the best table in the Gauguin restaurant (not that any of the tables are bad!), ending the night by dancing to a steel band! Perfect!

It is impossible to explain to someone who has not been there what is so amazing about Galley Bay, but so many of the people that we met were on their second, third, even tenth visits, so I guess that speaks for itself.

We really can't think of anything negative. The sea was loud, but it was a background noise that we loved just like the crickets! Service was occasionally slow, but we weren't in any hurry!! The building works were discreet and hardly noticeable. And while we appreciated that the rooms were not equivalent to a UK/US style rating, we thought they were lovely, clean and comfortable.

And the appearance of a huge leatherback turtle on the beach on our last night summed up the whole 12 nights...absolutely amazing!!!