When I read the reviews on this website before holidaying in Antigua, I hoped that the people commenting would all be proved a bunch of moaners. I'll keep my review brief, because unfortunately the others are all pretty accurate!

The beach is the best thing about this hotel, and we never had trouble finding sunbeds around the well-presented grounds. Our hotel room was spotlessly clean, but the bathroom was in need of attention.

Shirley Heights was one of the highlights of our holiday, but if you like lively night-life, stay away from the Royal Antiguan. The casino comprises of slot-machines only, and the hotel is pretty isolated, so we were forced into many 'early nights' (not always a bad thing!)

Overall, I would say that the name of the hotel is far grander than the reality.

My friend and I stayed at the Royal Antiguan 3rd - 11th Sept 2003. The hotel is shabby, in desperate need of investment. The pool is dirty, with rough concrete under the water so you end up with many cuts and scratches, so be careful. The staff are rude, badly trained and no customer service exists. I only met 2 nice staff whilst staying there. The food is mediocre and very expensive - at least 4 times more expensive than other places in St Johns. It is also expensive to get out of the resort in taxi's - so try to share with others to keep the cost down. The only good thing is the beach which is beautiful. However, you will be hassled to buy trips, which are more expensive than properly organised trips - so be aware. Also I was propositioned on the beach with the person exposing himself! If you are female you will be hassled. All inclusive does not include a whole host of things, so make sure you have taken a fair amount of money with you. The best thing to do is not go all inclusive and then get out of the hotel on the properly organised boat trips, which are fantastic. You are away all day and are given free drinks and a barbecue for lunch. The island is beautiful and well worth exploring.

Hi Readers, Before we left for Antigua, my Husband and I, both read some positive and negative reviews about the Royal Antiguan, which did worry us, but we went with an open mind, hoping to make the best out of our holiday. The airport is about 15-20 minutes away from the hotel. As we checked in, we were welcomed with the Local Rum Punch. It was very hot, but nice. I personally could not wait to see the room, as i read some bad reviews about it! By the way, the receptionist upgraded us to the Bay View Room,as it was our anniversary and we asked for it!! So, make sure that you ask for an upgrade too...no harm in asking, you might get lucky and get an upgrade! The room was of an average standard with two double beds, a TV that did not work ( got it replaced after a long discussion with the receptionist), the bathroom had some rust here and there ( IT SERIOUSLY NEEDED MAINTENANCE) and there were no towels at all in the room. The was no safe in the room, so we had to use the reception safe at a cost of $3.00 a day. The beach was lovely and the swimming pool area was good too. We spent most our times on the beach, so we did not bother re-upgrading our room to a deluxe one. After all, if i was expecting a five star hotel room, then i suppose i should have paid for one. My husband really enjoyed all the watersports available on the beach. There are lots of vendors who would hassle you while you are trying to just relax on the beach, but a polite:'NO THANK YOU' would be enough for them to understand that you are not interested. There is Mr Piper who is the Foot Reflexologist, he is actually very good, so try him. MAKE SURE THAT YOU GO ON AN ALL-INCLUSIVE PACKAGE! The Lagoon Restaurant was my favourite, as it had different types of buffets. Andes Restaurant facing the sea was ok ( not my personal favourite)- because of the number of cats over there & i also spotted lizards, so we did not go back there again for dinner! We went there for lunch most of the times, but that was ok. The beach grill was nice too. Barringtons was nice, we went there twice. The service was overall good. If there is any divers out there, make sure that you check for The certification of the diving master who you go with as not all the Diving school over there are registered with padi (avoid deep bay Divers) and it can be quite risky!!! Sightseeing was brilliant, although shopping was not good at all which was a disappointment. Overall, we both had a good time and we would probably go to other parts of the Carribean and see what they are like.

I stayed at the Royal Antiguan from August 9th to 16th, 2003. I went for $599 using a package deal that included air and hotel (I did not do all-inclusive). Given the price of airfare alone, that alone made it a bargain. Well, after reading several negative reviews, I was actually prepared for the worst. That way, I was pleasantly suprised about many things. My friend and I were able to get a free upgrade to the bay side of the hotel. But this "score" was quickly offset by us coming back to our room to find the door open. When we went to hotel security and management about our concerns about finding our door open, we were repeatedly told, "well... YOU must have left it open". They couldn't seem to comprehend that someone might have tried to break in our room. This was my second night and the experience kinda left a sour taste in my mouth.Well, since our room wasn't robbed, we quickly decided not to let this spoil our vacation. We focused on the beach and had a BALL. The beach truly makes this hotel worth the experience. The bay is secluded from the ocean so the water is tranquil. Beautiful views. Non-motorized sports are included, even if you aren't all-inclusive (like me!) so you can snorkel, paddlboat, kayak, etc. There are alot of locals on the beach who are quite friendly. There were also a few smarmy men who were hitting on the single ladies... harmless (I laughed in their faces!). DRINKS: I don't drink alcohol, but the non-alcoholic drinks were tasty and inexpensive. FOOD: TOO expensive. The food at the Lagoon buffet is nasty and NOT worth your money. But if you don't reserve at Andes or Barringtons, it's the only game in town (outside of room service). I went to the Andes one night... expensive but at least it was tasty. Your best bets eating on site are either room service or the beach grill. Breakfast is notoriously expensive, so you should bring your own food or do grocery shopping in St. John (I never ate so many granola bars in my life!). The water at the hotel is potable and actually quite tasty. I never got sick and I drank ALOT of water. Take advantage of the freebies (morning coffee, afternoon tea, manager's cocktail party (a place they try to sell you stuff... but eat as many hordouvres as you can!!!)). There is "entertainment" every night, but some is better than others. The steel band (The Ebonites) was FABULOUS and I had a ball doing Karaoke. There were morning hikes and games (soccer, cricket, tennis). I never did those but thought it nice to have options. NOTE: Don't do the spa... it's a ripoff. they want their money in cash (no credit cards or billing to the room).As far as leaving the hotel, I never rode the taxi but walked over the hill (kinda steep) and caught the local bus for 50 cents EC. I liked walking around St. Johns and seeing where locals live. I ate some local food (I recommend Roti King).They will try to sell you various cruises and activities outside of the hotel. I HIGHLY recommend the catamaran ride from Treasure Island Cruises. You WILL have fun, even if you choose not to try snorkeling. Tony and the fellows really try to get people involved in having fun. It was a highlight of my trip and worth the money. On the other hand, I hated the "party" at Shirley Heights. If you don't like being part of a drunk crowd of "party" people, don't bother (I like things a bit quieter!).BOTTOM LINE: If you want a place to relax (there's nothing else to do), get some sun (whew!! that sun was strong!), and meet new people (I met people from all over the US, UK, and Portugal) on the cheap, I'd recommend staying at the Royal Antiguan.