We stayed in one of the garden view rooms during our stay at Antigua Village. If you leaned over the porch rail you could see the water. Most of the rooms are not oceanfront and it is a short walk to the water. The beach directly in front of the resort was small. To get in the water, you had to walk down a small pier and take a couple steps down. From the water you could walk up onto the beach. The sand area was small, you really couldn't lay out on the beach itself. I have a child so it was a little hard for me to relax and keep an eye on her swimming since the beach chairs were not directly on the beach. The beach to the right of the resort is in front of Sandals (which is open to the public). Then there is a beach to the left of the resort. It is a five minute walk but well worth it (I prefered this beach). The grounds were beautiful and the pool was nice. The housekeepers were great and even did the dishes. Our room was a studio with a nice sized kitchen. There was a sitting area and a large balcony. We enjoyed eating breakfast out there. Every morning we were greeted by bird and lizards. My daughter enjoyed feeding them. We did have a mosquito problem in our room and had to have the unit sprayed by the management. The room smelled like bug spray for awhile. There were two resturants next to our resort. The Beach and Coconut Grove. Both places were expensive, but you are paying for the atmosphere. I packed a suitcase full of non-perishable food for the room and that worked out great. There is a large grocery store on the island and a little grocery store at the resort. We mainly ate in the room.
Things to do:
-Shirley Heights is a must! Every Sunday afternoon there is a get together. While over looking the harbour you can feast on barbque and drink rum punch. Boy, was the rum punch good. A steele drum band played and the view was breathtaking, the best I have ever seen. My seven year old daughter danced into the night.
-Monday night Pool Party at the resort. It was nice to meet all the people who were staying with us that week. Rum punch and light appetizers were served.
-Rent a car for a day. We rented a vehicle for about $60 for the day. It was well worth it. With the help of a lady in the office we mapped out a route around the island. We went to Nelson's Dockyard (not too much to right home about), Devils Bridge, Darkwood beach, through fig tree drive (which are actually bananas) to Halfmoon Beach. Halfmoon beach was the most memorable beach for me. The water was a pristine shade of blue, I can not even describe. This beach had waves that reminded me of the east coast of the U.S. Definitley make a point in going to Halfmoon!
-Prickley Pear Island. One day the resort trys to get all the guest to go to Prickley Pear. I would definitely suggest this. The island itself was not too far off the mainland. Once there we had our choice of beach chairs, lunch and free snorkling equipment. Oh and rum punch (which was again great). We really enjoyed the snorkling as well.
-Take a taxi to St. Johns for the day. Even though I am terrible at it...the key is to bargain, bargain, bargain.
Overall Antigua village was a wonderful vacation. I would love to come back some day.




