OK, so i have never wrote a review on here before, but used this site to pick my honeymoon destination. Today is tuesday, we arrived home sunday. I can honestly say that despite the fact this was our honeymoon it was the most amazing holiday i have ever been on. I will try to keep my account short and to the point.

We flew Virgin Atlantic, if you have the choice, my advice is to book with them. They offer such a great service. Having booked both flights direct before and also package holidays from the likes of thompson, we booked our whole honeymoon with virgin. The difference between virgin holidays and eg thomson is unmeasurable. There attention to detail is outstanding. From start to finish.

Galley bay!! we originally booked for Coco Bay but chickened out due to their lack of air con. and the reports of huge spiders etc on this site we decided to switch to galley bay.

whilst in antigua we visited coco bay so got to see what we missed, and to be honest, we missed nothing. In my opinion there is no comparison between the hotels.

Galley Bay is the most beautiful, friendly and customer satisfaction orientated hotel i have ever visited. The staff are so genuinly friendly and interested. Speak to either "Mike" or "heather" whilst you are there both of which became friends of ours. You really get the feeling you are welcome, i have never visited the same hotel twice but will find it hard not to book here again.

FOOD: Galley Bay offers a choice of 2 restaurants, both of which serve the most amazing food as well as offering a bbq every thursday the choice and quality is fantastic. My only critiscism is the service could have been slightly quicker, but hey, this is Antigua and when you are there you need to relax and chill out. It ttakes a couple of days to relax into their way of life which is significantly slower than ours, a reflection of the whole island, not just galley bay.

DRINKS: They offer a full range of premium brand drinks, whatever you want i'm sure they have it. Some all inclusives offer only cheap substitutes, not Galley Bay. We enjoyed the likes of Remy Martin, Real Champagne, Hennessy, Amaretto, Smirnoff and Gordons Gin.

ACCOMMODATION: We stayed in A geogian Cottage, which, in my opinion, although the cheapest room available at galley bay is also the best by far. We were offered an substantial upgrade to a beachfront room when we arrived, although that was very kind, we chose the bigger, more private geogian cottage with its own private pool. Trust me its the one to go for and exceptional value for money.

SUMMARY: If you have the choice, stay at Galley Bay. It is truly a magnificant place to stay, you wont be dissapointed. We have enclosed some photos to show you how beautiful it is there.

PS You MUST take a tour with Eli. He offers 2 tours, one called andventure Antigua, the other Extreme Circumnav Adventure Antigua. We went on the extreme tour. Although the hotel will try to sell you all sorts of other tours, trust me this one is the one to take. Its the most informative exciting tour i have ever been on. If you want a true taste of Antigua, accompanied by a valuable insight into loacl wildlife and marine life this is the tour for you, Eli will guide you round the island on his amazing boat and giving you a great chance to swim, snorkal and see the most amazing sites Antigua has to offer. Check out his site at [--]

It is well worth the money. Ask Eli about his English Jelly Fish finding friend!! He will remeber me!!

Antigua is a beautiful place. Combined eith Galley Bays hospitality and Eli extreme eco tour, we left having spent 2 of the most amazing weeks in our lives on this beautiful island.

some pics included to help u decide.

We have just returned from our honeymoon spent at Galley Bay and it was superb. I loved the Gaugin Cottage we stayed and I'm sure the beach front rooms (all types) are lovely but we found the cottage preferable for privacy and the splash pool. We were treated well as soon as we arrived and found chilled champagne in our room on arrival which was a nice touch. The resort itself was lovely, the staff very welcoming and the food great.

My only problem was that I kept getting bitten but I could put up with that for a little bit of paradise. We found that an excursion helped break up the week so we decided upon the island tour on the Excellence. It was worth every penny as it was a great way to see the whole island.

Unfortunately I found St John's to be a bit busy but then we went the day the local children went back to school but nevertheless it is good to see the capital, however I did start feeling a bit stressed with the cars so we decided to go back to our resort. Galley Bay is a great resort for honeymooners - we'll never forget ours!

Just returned from a wonderful 12 night stay at this excellent hotel and couldn't wait to review it.

The Hotel
The hotel is about a 20-30 minute, very interesting ride from the airport. The entrance is very attractive with a disused sugar mill at reception. When we arrived we were greeted with a delicious rum punch and check in was very polite and swift. We were taken on a tour of the resort on a golf buggy and then shown to our room. The grounds of the hotel are kept beautifully. The resort is not very big, which is an advantage. There is some building work going on which can be a little noisy at times but it in no way spoilt our experience. The facilities at the the resort are very good: a simple gym, spa providing massage and manicures etc, free internet access, library with a large selection of books, well-stocked shop, tennis court, jogging track, ping pong table, bike loan and non-motorised water sports.
Evening entertainment consists of small bands. If you are looking for a rave-up, don't bother, we were delighted to find that the evening was as low-key as we hoped.

Our Room
We had booked a premium beach front suite which is the most expensive selection and is definitely worth the money. We had a large bathroom with 2 sinks, toilet, huge bath and double shower (2 shower heads opposite each other in a walk-in shower). It also had an excellent hairdryer which actually blow out hot air rather than some pathetic puff of warm air which you usually get. The living area consisted of bedroom and a sunken lounge. The bed was huge and very comfortable and the living room had settees, a tv, a fridge with 'free' beers, water and pop, and coffee maker (in which you can heat water for tea). A safe is provided in one of the wardbrobes. Through large French windows we could walk straight out onto a terrace with two loungers and a tap for rinsing off before entering the room, and just beyond that...the beautiful beach and sea. We were on the ground floor which we were very happy about because lying on the beach or swimming in the sea has never been so easy when you can just simply walk straight into your room.
The room is kept spotlessly clean and towels are plentiful.
The a/c in the room works very well and the hotel even provides insect killer and plug-in repellent. Watch out for the 'magic clock' though which seems to race ahead of real time trying to speed up your holiday! (Told you I would mention that guys!)

Eating
Let me put it this way...diet starts today! There have been a few negative comments on this site about the food and I genuinely cannot subscribe to those opinions. My husband and I are not fussy about our food but we like a good meal. We are also realistic about the standard of food we should receive from such an expensive resort. We were not disappointed.
Breakfast is taken in the Seagrape restaurant and consists of a buffet of fruits, cereals, muffins, breads, hams, cheese and yoghurts. As well as that you can order a variety of egg items (omelette, fried eggs, pancakes etc) with bacon and/or sausage and/or creamy potatoes.
Lunch at the Seagrape and the Gaugain is delicious. At the Seagrape there is a 3 course menu to choose from which, whilst the main menu remains the same, the specials change daily. The Gaugain is more nachos/ burger/ chicken wings sort of menu for when you just want some 'junk' (except it isn't 'junk' because it is such good quality).
Afternoon tea is served later but we were so full we couldn't fit it in!
Dinner in the Seagrape is a daily changing menu consisting of three courses. We only had one bad meal when my lamb was over-cooked but that was it, ALL the other meals were delicious. Dinner at the Gaugain is far more private and romantic but the menu doesn't change. Having said that, some of the items are so delicious we found ourselves purposely going back to experience them again.
Drinks are as plentiful as you want them to be and of good, branded quality. I was delighted to find that the white wine wasn't just Chardonnay which is often the case; a perfectly palatable Pinot Blanc was the other option. I know my husband enjoyed the red....! A tip for the men: if you ask for 'beer' you will get an Antiguan Wadadli beer, otherwise ask for Red Stripe directly if you would prefer that.

The Staff
Whilst staying in St Lucia we had a very bad experience with rude staff and so we looked very carefully for a resort with good reviews in this area. The staff at this hotel were very nice. As with all resorts, some were very friendly and personable whilst others were just polite. As a Brit, we don't want people to fall over themselves to be nice, we just want people to be polite which they were, and so we were very pleased. Service was generally excellent with just a couple of blips, particularly at breakfast where it seems to take them as long to cook 2 eggs as it takes me to rustle up a full roast dinner at home. Ha ha, yeh yeh I know, we should be working on 'Antiguan time' but there is surely a limit?!

The Beach
I am very fussy about beaches because, being very fair skinned, I find them quite uncomfortable places to be, however I loved the beach in this resort. The sand is soft with lots of lovely shells, there is plenty of shade and beds, and the sea is lovely, if rather dangerously rocky in places. Please make sure you experience snorkeling; it was my first time and I LOVED it!
There are a few hawkers on the beach who will flatter you whilst suggesting you look at their wares. They then leave you alone for a few days and then come back to see if you want anything. They are non-threatening and will take no for an answer so just be polite but firm.

The Clientele
I know it isn't really the hotel's responsibility but I think your fellow guests can really make or break a holiday. We found the guests at the Galley Bay to be a real mix - old/ young, glamorous/ plain, loud/ quiet which is great because it means you can be who you are. There were lots of British people and then generally Americans, Italians and Germans. Everyone was very pleasant and polite and we met some excellent people (V&P, D&A xxx)

The Birds
OMG! Ornithology has never been so exciting! Beware the sugar-hungry birds and wonder at the pelicans dropping into the sea for fish. Amazing.

All in all this was a superb holiday. The best by far that we have been on for pure relaxation. We would definitely return.

Couldnt wish for a better holiday.the wedding was something we will always remember and was stress free,all we had to decide on was the cake and flowers.Ernestine was fantastic and so were all the other staff.food,room,everything what more can we say.We definatley recommend galley bay and will be returning.