We have just returned from a relaxing week at the Rex Blue Heron. The location of the hotel is excellent, the beach and sea are wonderful, normally deserted.... it is also easy to reach the main attractions from the RBH, we did'nt hire a car, but just took taxis when we wanted to go anywhere, and although the taxis are not cheap, we didn't want to go out every day, we were enjoying ourselves on the beach, in the sea, and at the beach bar with the very friendly Kimberly, Andy, and Errol - very good bar staff.

We stayed in superior rooms which were kept spotlessly clean, and although the bathrooms are a little dated there was absolutely no problem with the water pressure during our stay.

We found the management and staff extremely professional and very helpful, nothing was too much trouble for them, from the first welcoming rum punch onwards..

We stayed on a B&B basis, which suited us very well, as we like to try different places to eat. We visited Mellini's at Jolly Harbour which was very good, however most of the time we were happy wandering down the beach to OJ's for the red snapper, lobster, and salads etc. The view was unbelievable, and the food and drinks excellent.

Sometimes we went to Turners next door to the RBH, which was good for lunch. This could sometimes be busy with cruise ship passengers who spent a few hours on the beach there, but we knew that we would soon be back to our lovely peace and quiet.

In summary, if you just want to chill out on a great beach saying in a fairly quiet hotel with great staff, and some interesting and non intrusive fellow guests, you will enjoy the Blue Heron.

A must is Shirley Heights on Sunday, and also try and see some of the other beautiful beaches on the island.. Half Moon Bay is spectacular, although fairly isolated. We thought it worth the trip, and suggest you take drinks and a picnic with you.

Our weather was great, one thing to report the mossies and sandflies are very active, don't forget your sprays.

We only saw one jelly fish in the whole week , so no problem there.

Enjoy!

We stayed at the Blue Heron for 5 nights arriving Oct. 28th after a fiasco at the airport involving our rental car. Alamo, with whom we had reserved a car, apparently had "no cars left" and gave our info to a local car rental company which had nice staff but horrible old cars. The Blue Heron is quite a distance from the airport, so if you're driving there be sure to get very accurate directions, as there's few street signs and we got to know the town of St. John's very well, after driving around lost for an hour . The beach & area where the resort is located is remote & beautiful. The water color is that lovely turquoise you see in pics of the Caribbean. We were nicely greeted by the receptionist Amethyst when we arrived, and provided with rum punch. We had reserved a superior room and went with the all-inclusive option. Originally, I had booked the reservation directly with Rex Resorts, but Expedia was able to beat their price, so we ended up booking through them. We were impressed with the cleanliness of the resort. The grounds appear well maintained. The pool was crystal clear. This is an older resort, so the rooms are basic, but of adequate size. We were in room #73 which overlooked the pool. It was a ground floor room, but from our patio did have a partial ocean view. The TV had only 5 channels but 2 of those channels were premium movie channels and we didn't travel all this way to watch TV anyway. We had 2 twin beds which we pushed together to make it king size. There are other rooms which have various size beds though. I just didn't want to end up with a double, as that would have been too cramped for the 2 of us. There was a little refrigerator in the room. There were fresh flowers throughout the room when we arrived. We never had a problem with water pressure and always had hot water. The air conditioner was quiet but could have been colder. Fortunately the ceiling fan worked so well that it succeeded in keeping the room cool. We also always kept the curtains drawn, as the sun was very intense and the glass on the patio doors would become super hot. The beds were so comfortable, and the resort was very quiet at night, so we slept well. Mosquitoes are an issue though. Bring your spray from home as the supermarket in Jolly Harbor is quite pricey. We put a towel at the base of the door each night if the room lights were on, as they could enter the room that way. The way in which the resort handles mosquito control leaves a lot to be desired. They use a very loud machine which blows thick oily smoke throughout the grounds. The mosquitos are then apparently pushed toward the beach in the evening.

All of the meals are open air seating. The food was somewhat limited but we definitely did not go hungry. We did take advantage of eating lunch at one of the other Rex resorts on the island, as this was a perk with the all-inclusive. The Hawksbill Resort was gorgeous and had a more extensive food selection, but I'm glad we weren't staying there. It was too busy, with lots of noisy children (the Blue Heron is adults only), and there were too many steps to navigate. The Blue Heron is working to improve the food selection. They reported they are seeking to hire a chef.

The feature which stands out above all others was the hospitality of the staff. Having traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean over the years, we found the Blue Heron staff to be amongst the friendliest, as were the locals. Miss Francis and Miss Adams are the managers and working hard to make this resort top notch. They have a managers reception on Tuesday evenings which was a nice way to meet both them and the other guests. Our fondest memories are of our servers Jillian, Ronis and Ursula, the bartenders Errol & Andy, and the "egg-lady" Andrea. The security guards are ever present.

Be careful driving at night if you rent a car. We went to the casino in Jolly Harbor 4 miles away every night as the entertainment at the resort is very limited. On Antigua, driving in the middle of the road with high beams on seems to be the norm. It is very un-nerving coming around a bend.

We were the only Americans at the resort. It was mainly British guests. We met the most wonderful people. Marsha and Neil, Harold and his wife, & also Jonathan from Wales. You are forever in our memories. Harold , I don't think we'll ever be able to forget you dancing with the gentleman from Germany!

Please remember, this is not a 5 star resort and this is reflected in the price. $174 a night for an all-inclusive package for 2 people is a rarity. The resort has its quirks but they were not extreme. For those of you who are animal lovers, please take care of the stray cats at the resort. Boycott the jet-ski rental guy on the beach. I received an email from one of our fellow guests yesterday, that they had witnessed him trying to kill the sweet stray beach dog "Rex" by beating him over the head with a large conch shell. For those of you familiar with Rex, please take comfort in knowing that he's been rescued by the Humane Society, and they assured me he'll be placed in a loving home. Sorry this review was so lengthy. You won't be disappointed with the Blue Heron as long as you're not expecting a Sandals type resort.

I've just returned from antigua (Blue Heron by Rex Resorts) the accommodation and the facillties was bad no disabled access we had no runing water for half a day no entertainment in the day no sports activities and there a dag runnig round withing the resorts and it not a (3 star) it more like (1 star)...........the reception very friendly, bar staff very good keep up the good work boys

My husband and I have just returned from the Rex and we had the best time ever!!

Most of the staff are excellent, and will do their best to look after you. Jarrell, Andy, Erroll, Kerri-Ann, Tonza - you were wonderful and always there with a smile.

Colin in housekeeping was great and kept our room looking fabulous.

Miss Adams and Miss Francis from the management team were a great help (make friends with them and you won't go wrong!).

The rooms are nice, although the lighting does need to be improved around the mirror as it is nearly impossible to see how your hair looks.

The food was great for my husband; not so good for me being a vegetarian, but everyone did their best to look after me in that respect.

The people around Antigua are all very friendly and we had no hassle whatsoever, which was a refreshing change. The Island is beautiful and must be explored.

It was our first time in Antigua, and most certainly won't be our last. If you want to chill out and be in a wonderful setting, then this is the place for you.

The showers are a bit hit and miss due to the water supply, and the water did go off totally for a few hours, but the housekeeping team brought us bottled water so we could at least brush our teeth and have a wash.

All in all, the staff cannot do enough to assist, and do so whilst working extremely long hours. They never stopped having a laugh and a chat with us even though they were busy. Life does go at a slow pace there, but you find yourself soon settling in to the same attitude!

Please note, there is a lovely puppy called Rex who lives on the beach outside of the hotel. He is the most gentle dog in the world and just loves a little bit of food and attention. He won't grab the food from you - please feed him!