Having spent four nights at the Jolly Beach Hotel and one awful night at the airport hotel following a cancelled flight I booked myself into the Trade Winds for a night as a treat. It was such a contrast to the other two, so beautiful, friendly and attentive staff, quiet, lovely spacious rooms and a great deck to catch the sun. Highly recommended - great restaurant too!

My husband and I stayed at Trade Winds from 23 May til 8th June 2007. We had a great time there. and What a view from the balcony!

We booked the trip direct as is was cheaper. We sorted our own flights out which made it cheaper than going through holiday companies!

Because we have friends who live in Antigua and so we have been to the Island before we wanted the freedom to pick and choose, Trade Winds helped us tailer our meal plans accordingly.

It appears to be cheaper to book evening meals before you go, there is a $50 ECD limit for breakfast but not limit for dinner. We had the most expensive dishes for some meals and it was all taken care of in the meal plan.

The rooms were ideal, they were clean and spacious, and the maids came in daily. The bathroom was a bit dated but clean!

All staff were extremely helpful and pleased to help you.

Reception staff were very helpful and friendly, restaurant staff were great sports, and as they have to put up with the BA staff then that is no mean feat!

The BA staff had no appreciation for dressing for dinner, even though other guests, both residents and not, all complied with the dress code! The BA crews were noisy on occasion. This was only around the bar and restaurant so did not affect the tranquility of the rooms.

I am so pleased we stopped at Trade winds rather than in Dickenson Bay, you can watch the world go by whilst eating breakfast, and watch the sunsets whilst having a drink!

Dickenson Bay is only 10 minutes walk, but the walk to Coconut Grove for Coconut Bay Shrimps is worth it!

Although we were so impressed with the Bay Restaurant that we stopped there even for the meals we were not booked in!

I would quite happily go back to Trade Winds and we intend to!

Tradewinds Hotel in Antigua is nice enough at first. My room was large and had a view of the sea from the balcony. It was clean and well maintained. Pool and deck are very nice as well.

The problem is noise. Presenlty they are building a new sun deck and the construction noise went on during the day and they worked some nights as well.

Moreover I asked the front desk each of my five days to fix the incessant rattling of my air conditioner and nothing was done. In additon the compressors for several of the uits seem ot be right on the roof above my bed. I had five nights with virtually no sleep. As I was there to work it was quite offputting.

Also, the lighting in the rooms is ridiculous. I understand energy conservation sure, but these tiny low watt lightbulbs render the whole room with a sickly dim hue that is really unpleasant.

Final comment, the onsite restaurant BayHouse used ot be really nice years ago. I found that this trip the service, while friendly was far from professional. And the food was badly overpriced and not very good. To be fair, after sending back ny dinner twicefor being indercooked they did take the whole cost of my meal off my bill.

Overall its an ok place that is just missing the point. Rather like antigua itself perhaps........

This hotel and staff were excellent! We had a wonderful time and will definitely visit again. The rooms were very clean and the staff was very friendly and fun. The only staff we found a little unfriendly were the girls at the front desk. They really need to smile more!