We were very disappointed with this club. We had huge American cockroaches in our room and all members of our family had stomach problems. The room was grubby and never cleaned until the afternoons. The restaurant was also messy with sticky tables and floors.
The hotel is due to be for closed refurbishment which we didn't know about and the staff we believe were very apathetic as a result. We had to put up with the smell of insecticide. Overall the quality was very poor. Never again! I have complained to the company but don't seem to be getting an appropriate response.
On a plus point the sailing is good but not enough to make it a great holiday. Two weeks was just a week too long.

We stayed at Club Colonna in April. We knew from the Tripadvisor reviews that experiences of Club Colonna were mixed.

First the good bits: Food was by far the best I have had at Sunsail and better than Mark Warner. Tennis was better than expected and about as good as you can get with only one court. The peninsular rooms have great views and a door each side means you can have a nice breeze through them. The manager was very visible. John the Gardener gave a delightful tour of the club gardens explaining the medicinal uses for the plants and he finished up shining up and down a coconut tree - this is not to be missed.

Disappointing: the bar and restaurant staff were grumpy and only some of them were helpful, at times the way they spoke to some guests was just not acceptable. (I never saw guests being rude to staff!). At times there was no hot water. Trips from the hotel were poor value - especially Shirley Heights - it was so bad we and another couple paid the taxi driver to bring us back early. Kids club was poor - narrow range of activities and unenthusiastic staff (according to my 13 year old).

Also disappointing was the last day. With a 19.20 departure you might have thought that you would be able to do something with that day but in practice it was a write off. Sunsail arrange check-in at the Club - sounds like a good idea but in practice it means that the whole morning is wiped out checking out of the rooms by 10.00 and then queuing for an hour for airline check-in between 10.30 and 12.30. None of the facilities are available for the rest of the day so you end up queuing and sitting around waiting for the whole day. We were even forbidden from sitting on our ground floor balcony! We were still taken to the airport 2 hours before departure so check in at the hotel did not save any time.

The Club is due for refurbishment this summer and I am sure this will improve the rooms. It would be a good opportunity for Sunsail to refurbish some of its staff or at least train them in customer service.

Not to be missed on Antigua is the helicopter trip to see the volcano on Monserrat - truly exceptional and worth every penny of the $220 fare.

Our first Sunsail Club holiday in 3 years and expected more...

Very average rooms (we had 424): 1) although it is hot in the Caribbean it would have been nice to get hot water out of the shower in the evening; 2) the undersheet on the children's bed was covered in the MOST DISGUSTING aged stains; 3) the bathroom was very badly stained and unpleasant.

It was good to find a high proportion of local staff, although they could be somewhat abrasive and offhand (but there were Union meetings being called at the time of our stay because the locals are apparently all being laid off whist the refurb is carried out this summer and there is much discontent). The UK staff had clearly all been produced in the same manufacturing facility that would appear to provide all of the staff for a Sunsail club holiday (dating back to 2003 at least) - the young and immature bleached blond/e English version of laid back cool (in their eyes) who address everyone as "mate" or "guys" and treat the place like it is there for them rather than the guests. The attraction of the work would appear to be something other than customer service.

With regards to the sailing etc - Youth Sailing Club was good fun for an 11 year old; RYA 1 & 2 powerboat course was good (when we eventually managed to get a place - instructors were a bit "thin on the ground" (despite it being heavily sold at the ghastly "Welcome morning" until husband complained. Place then found on a course as the third member. Instructor Jim was very good. Only drawback was I found myself on a course with 2 14 - 15 year old girls which was particularly interesting as the RYA states that the minimum age for the course is 16 years. Hey ho - that's Sunsail for you!) ; boat maintenance was generally pretty poor - our powerboat had malfunctioning gauges and a hole in the bow which let water into the lockers. There generally seemed to be a pretty blase attitude and staff members had no problem removing things from our boat (keys, MOB equipment) if it suited them despite it being reserved for a training course.

Kids Club - 8 year old had a good time. Only complaint was that they did not seem to ensure that the kids were kept out of the sun enough and when they were in the sun, they did not ensure that hats were worn (meaning sunburnt scalp). Dehydration was another issue with Kids Club and the Youth Sailing Club. One day was missed in the latter through dehydration leading to mild heatstroke. Another child on the same course missed a day due to sunburn to legs.

Food - OK. Our main reason for not going to Sunsail during the last 3 years was the appalling food we were served at a club in the Med. Quality of food at Colonna was better - but not much. Further, the eating experience is very canteen and not relaxing at all. A very noisy environment and self service is simply not conducive to a great dining experience. The budgetry constraints shine through...

Would definitely go back to Antigua - doubt would go back to Sunsail Colonna until we know it has got better. These are not cheap holidays and still promise more than they deliver...far too amateurish still. A great pity - it ought to be a lot better than it is.

It's like Butlins in the sun,with most meals being buffet style and because the complex is quite small the kids clubs takes over the only small swimming beach and swimming pool during the day so it's hard to really relax for those who would wish a little peace and relaxation.The sailing ? well because of the normally strong winds and lumpy sea conditions, this does not meet expectations . The bar staff and waiting staff were very off-hand and unfriendly. The accomodation was okay but there was a terribly strong smell coming from the drain in the shower. Being a family that enjoys sailing and being out on the water we thought this holiday would appeal to us, unfortunately it didn't meet our expectations.