Just returned from a week a Blue Waters, We had a great time. The staff was great, good drinks, and the food was mostly Gourmet and nicely presented. I was surprised at the quality for the Caribbean since most stuff is imported. Upstairs at Vyviens (no kids which is nice for couples) is quiet an intimate with only 20 seats. Reserve in advance. (ask Suzie). I had the veal chop, which was as good as any I ever had. On the buffet downstairs was Ahi tuna, whole roast suckling pig, caribbean dishes, snapper, mahi, etc. There was even pasta for the younger ones. They do require long pants after 6pm, which was a little warm in the evening, but I think it added class to the place and the dining, The kids did not like it, but they survived.. Afternoon tea at 4:00 was a delight, with pastries etc. even for non-teatotlers like me.
The liquor was mostly top-shelf, and I had my Jack Daniels!
My only disappointment was the Marlin, but in all fairness, I have never had good Marlin in any restaurant. Its always tough.
When we originally booked, we did not get the all-inclusive, but upgraded when we got there. It was worth it. The town of St.John was ok, but it was a lot easier and great food at the Blue Waters restaurants.
The staff was great. Carolyn the bartender at the pool had some great blender drinks and was very sociable.
Check with Ivan, the porter, if you need to get connected with anything while you are there. He has the inside scoop.
We had 14 people in our party, and everyone had a good time.
We took Taxis as we wound up at the resort most of the time except when we went diving or fishing.
Diving in Antiqua is not world class, but it was fun. Most is 50ft, but its good for beginners. We had 8 divers in our party and some were relatively new. We went with Indigo, who were very professional and SAFE. The boat was nice and only takes up to 10.
Even for the experienced, it was nice, as we saw nurse, reef and blacktips, rays, eels, etc.
We also went fishing with Capt. Mike on the Vitamin-B. which was good, but it was not the best season for fishing. We still got some fish, but mostly barracuda. Sept-Nov. is better. Still, a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work!
Its a 30 min cab ride to the dive/fishing boats at Jolly Harbour, the only drawback.
The town of St. John is interesting, but mostly souvenirs. A couple of hour is all we spent there. Some of the women in the "flea Mkt" section were a little agressive, but the Antiguans were all friendly.
The hotel is beautiful, rooms nice, and everything was working, except one of our rooms needed an air-conditioner recharged, which they did as soon as we told them.
They had nice caribbean music every night, including a steel band! Most hotels only do that on the weekend.
Beach and pools are nice, but there is nothing to see snorkeling off the beach as it is all sand. You need to travel to go snorkeling,
However, it is great for the litle catamarans, windsurfers and kayaks which a lot of our younger members took advantage of.
It was hot in June-July and a couple of days were humid, which took some getting used to, but it dropped later in the week. Only a brief shower but mostly dry and no rain. Antigua is fairly arid and not that tropical, but the hotel was very tropical and the grounds were beautiful.
We were checked in very efficiently and the bags handled well.
We were even given a cold towel, drinks, and fruit for our party while we were checking in! How great was that. I have never in all my travels had that before!.
The restaurant staff was good. We even could order off the snack menu when we missed lunch due to diving.
It is the Caribbean however, and things are not as fast as a NY city diner, but I did not expect that. It was still good, especially after a few days of winding down.
The spa was nice and my wife and son went for a great massage (I was fishing). They loved it. The pedicures were top-notch too!
Bugs were minimal, but my daughter did get some bites. I did not. The hotel sprays, but you might want to bring some.
I could probably go on, but I will leave some nice things for you to discover.
One of the best resorts I have been to! It was a little more expensive than some, but worth it and a good value in my opinion. Very accomodating!!! A 4.5-5 caribbean star in my opinion. The only down side was that I gained 3 pounds!
Regards,
Don, Pat, and crew!