Having experienced the vacation of a lifetime at Galley Bay in 2008 we managed to top it this year by going back. Somehow the best has managed to get better. Our ground floor beach front room (the same as last year) had improved furniture. The weather was hotter and dryer. Even the beach was changed slightly with sand now covering some of the rocky sections on the western end, altering the shoreline shelf and making access easier for the less competent swimmers amongst us. Duty manager Ian Bailey confessed that Galley Bay had no hand in this. “It was Nature doing us a favour,” he admitted.
Food and drink preparation and presentation was of the very top quality. Friendly service, again second to none. And what a joy to renew acquaintanceships with Queen of the cocktails, Natasha; Maitre-D Michael and others including Heather and Althea. But close behind these senior staff are the up and coming younger waitresses who have inherited the same friendly smiles of the older hands and can be spotted most evenings sashaying between tables in time to the live music.
Enduring romantic moment of the holiday: returning along the meandering path from dinner with a full moon peeping down on us between the palm fronds and the incessant serenade of the tree frogs. Next morning we spotted a disoriented frog on the sand. Being a creature-friendly creature my wife picked it up and carried it back towards some more welcoming foliage. On getting close it was a case of one bound into its natural habitat where it hopefully survived to form part of that evening’s tree-based choir.
To balance this review and to make sure that it is not dismissed as a PR handout I’ll mention two minor criticisms. I am not in favour of the non-replenishment of mini bars, surely a compromise could be reached with at least water and possibly beer and soft drinks re-stocked? And biting insects were more apparent than the previous year although the resort did have regular morning fogging sessions to combat them.

We found the Galley Bay resort by accident and it was the best accident! The setting is idyllic, the food is amazing and no buffets (other than fruit, croissants and muffins etc. at breakfast - although there is a choice of a la carte cooked breakfast). There are 3 restaurants which means there really isn't much need to leave the resort at all.

We stayed in Galley Bay for our 10th wedding anniversary and wanted somewhere restful, romantic and peaceful. We certainly got that. The view is amazing. The pool was quiet and clean and there's a waterfall there too! The beach was white sand and the only noise is the crashing of the waves against the shore.

The cocktails were lovely, as was the rum, the wine, the champagne... they have well stocked bars. Order your drinks by the glass because if you order a bottle you'll get charged.

This was supposed to be a one off holiday of a lifetime but we enjoyed it so much we're already planning on going back. We can't wait for the next time!

The staff and management should be proud of their resort. Everything was served with a smile, nothing was too much trouble. Galley Bay is truly something special.

We spent a week in Galley Bay in January, we celebrated our Silver Wedding and renewed our wedding Vows. Wow, what a week, the resort was perfect for us. A beautiful beach, excellent food and drink, and staff who were very friendly and nothing was too much trouble for them.
When renewing our wedding vows everyone was so organised, Ernistine who organised the ceremony, Jenny and Mayna who took part and were witnesses and not forgetting Iva who took the service and Joseph who took the wonderful photos.
We would go back tomorrow.

We stayed at Galley Bay from May 27th to 3rd June 2008. Overall we were extremely impressed. We stayed in a fantastic second story suite (number 74). Our balcony overlooked the sea and palm trees. Our bathroom was cavernous and had a his and hers walk in shower, two sinks an enormous raised bath. The bed was enormous and the room air-conditioned very effectively. I’d recommend a second story suite as you get the wonderful vaulted ceiling.

The beach was wonderful and the water warm teeming with life only a metre or so from the shore. There are no Germans running out at 4am to put towels on loungers – primarily because you have pretty much the entire beach to yourself anyway and there are more loungers than guests. The beach is never busy and the whole ambience is very tranquil. You can even see one of Armani’s houses up on the hillside from the beach.

The service was on the whole exemplary although do readjust yourself and try not to be too British. The staff are attentive and helpful although they do things in “Antigua Time”. I witnessed one stroppy English guest giving a lady at the desk a hard time because her Virgin rep hadn’t turned up. She was rude and it wasn’t the resort’s fault. You need to relax and not let things bother you too much.

There are three restaurants to choose from and all are exemplary. Food is very subjective but I’ve been to a lot of nice eateries so I think I’m relatively well placed to comment. If you’ve ever been to a Hotel du Vin – the food is comparable. And that’s every breakfast, lunch and dinner. The fish is wonderful and all local. Mahi Mahi Thai curry is a highlight. The meat is also of very good quality. I had lamb one night which was perfectly pink in the centre and so tender. The steak was also fantastic. I also had a great local goat curry. Seagrape is the large restaurant in the centre. There’s Ismay’s at one end of the beach which is new and named after a long serving employee. It is smaller and looks straight out onto the beach. Then there’s Gauguin where each table is under its own umbrella – very intimate. The food is all of identical quality and service is very quick. The food for us was the highlight of the holiday – always good. Look out for the BBQ on Thursday’s – a lavish spread of cooked to order meat and a suckling pig plus every conceivable salad and side dish.

The one slight downside which we were aware of was how strictly monitored and disciplined the staff were. One lovely waitress we were served by has 4 children – she also holds down a full time job at Galley Bay. Employees are clocked in and out of work and she had been a total of 30 minutes late over the last 4 months and was as a result of that on strict disciplinary. There were other more subtle aspects which we noticed but it’s obvious that all of the waiters and waitresses are extremely disciplined and constantly monitored. They always serve you with a smile but some seem very nervous not to trip up and are a bit too apologetic when they make a minor mistake like spill a drop of water. I’m sure it’s the same in all expensive resorts in the Caribbean but we picked up on it a couple of times and just wished that they could work a bit happier with less of the stress they were obviously put under. Needless to say all the staff seemed like very genuine and welcoming people, just a little stifled by ‘big brother’.

Overall, the holiday was wonderful and we’d almost certainly go back to either there on another of the Elite Island Resorts.