My husband and I spent a week at the Royal in February 2005. Our aim for this holiday was complete relaxation, a good beach, warm clear water to swim in and guaranteed sunshine. We certainly got all this at this resort - and at what I would consider a reasonable cost.

I find some of the comments on this resort hard to understand. Yes it certainly is a little shabby round the edges, and yes we did have a room overlooking the mountain, with no balcony. However we decided against an upgrade for a view - we did not go all that way to sit in a room anyway! Our room was clean, spacious, hardly luxurious but perfectly acceptable. So the reception on the TV was poor - but who wants to go to the Caribbean and watch telly anyway? We only had it on twice for a few mintes.

We found the staff were always pleasant and helpful - and yes sometimes slow, but hey we spend our life rushing around it's good to slow down on holiday! The person who said only one restaurant at a time was open was wrong. Two out of three are open at a time. We ate in all 3 - I prefered the Andes - it was lovely relaxing with your meal whilst the sea gently lapped under the stilts. I am a very fussy eater - liking only plain "english" food - but my husband likes to try a wide variety - we were both well satisfied.

The beach here is fantastic. We did not spot any which looked better on our catmaran trip - that includes the beach at Sandals which looked more commercialised, narrower and far busier. The sand is soft and clean. The bay is wide and the hotel guests keep mainly to the end nearest the complex, however it was nice to get some excercise with a beach walk each morning. The sea was warm and clear and very safe - although it got waistdeep very quickly and that would worry me with young kids. We never had any trouble getting a sunbed.

On the subject of hawkers - yes there were - about 4 of them - including the rasta man Ive seen mentioned on this site. The other ladies sold the usual sarongs, bits of jewellery etc, and a couple offered hair braiding. On our second day here I bought a small item from each of them costing just a few dollars - actually the necklaces I bought were 3 for 27 dollars and she added an anklet for free! These same necklaces were on sale at Shirley Heights for 15 dollars each - so I know it wasn't A rip off on the beach. Every day afterwards these ladies would stop and say good morning and have a little chat, they did not try to get me to buy anything else. So I did a bit of shopping, contributed a few dollars to the local economy and I dont mind that at all. Iris, the lady who does the braiding charged one of the guests 45 dollars for a full, medium length hair all over braiding - which took her 3 hours to complete! Great value compared to prices Ive seen in Florida.

We chatted to lots of other guests on the complex, with a mixture of age and nationality - mainly British, Canadian and from the Maine area of the US - all of us escaping snow! Everyone we spoke to was of much the same opinion as us on things.

Not a lot to do at night - but we like to spend the day in the sun and that does tire you - ready for an ealy start next day. I wouldn't recommend this resort for night owls or teenagers though!

We went on the snorkelling trip to bird island. The catamaran comes right onto the beach for you. The trip is great fun and a good way of getting to know fellow guests and for swapping resort info with people from other resorts. I have to admit the snorkelling was disappointing though - I dont like to be way out at sea - but from the beach there it was just too shallow and kept getting my flippers caught! We went to Shirley Heights for the steel band, reggae and sunset. The atmosohere was fantastic, the views stunning and the music brilliant! Well worth it! Shopping in ST Johns was not great. Quite pricey I thought and not too much choice - there was only 1 cruise ship in harbour the day I went so it wasn't too crowded - but a couple of hours was enough. My all inclusive wristband showed the taxi drivers etc that I was staying on the island rather than a cruise tripper and they pretty much left me alone. I did this shoppoing trip by myself - my husband could not be shifted from the beach! But I felt totally safe and comfortable.

Our holiday was booked through Virgin and the flights were from Manchester with BMI - no complaints here - the best service etc we've had on cross Atlantic flights.

Overall for what we wanted out of a holiday this was perfect - there is much more they could do to upgrade - but its hardly the doss hole some people are making out! This is not Sandals prices remember - and if it was we couldnt afford it! We would certainly return.

We were in Antigua the week of Feb 27-March 6, 2005 had great weather people were just as friendly as before. We were there in 2001 and loved it so much we went again and stayed at the same place. Very relaxed place needs a little maintenance but is under new ownership so we will see. You can snorkel right from your beach at resort. Food was good and plenty of it.

We have just returned from a stay with Virgin at the Royal Antiguan. I would like to add opinions to this review, of course not every one shares the same thoughts or has the same standards, but as individuals who are quite well travelled round the world we thought our comments may be of to others who are thinking of staying here in the future.

1. Rooms. We had a mountain view room which is at the back of the hotel. The rooms are a decent size and have a very comfortable large king size bed, etc. No hairdryer. With views of the hill behind. The windows probably dont get opened very often as they had lots of condensation on them and only 1 of the 2 windows opened. The room smelt of damp when we walked in, not such a good sign if like me you have asthma.Overall the bedroom furniture was quite old and battered about. The bathroom was worse, the tiling looked like it had been done by a 2 year old child **SEE PHOTO'S**. The basin tap was split in two and was hard to use and the whole room was in a severe state of deterioration. It was clean, although the bath was stained badly.
We were amazed there was not any literature in the rooms about the hotel, normally one would expect a brochure etc to explain about dining, times of opening, locations of all facilities etc. There was nothing in the rooms apart from a lamiated card about phoning from the room and a book about the island.

2. The staff in general at the hotel were 'Surly', some were smiley and friendly but we found the majority were not really interested in their guests. We were polite and used our manners at all times but we may as well have been as rude as some other guests.

3. The bars were a bit of a joke !!!!! No bar menu's. We found it sometimes off-putting that the staff seemed reluctant to serve us to a drink even though we were All Inclusive. It felt to us like they were giving away profits in giving us a drink. Thats how we felt by how the bar staff served us.... The Main Bar in the 'Lobby' has absolutely NO atmosphere, with tables and chairs spead out how can the bar be used for socialising and getting to know other people. They should turn the Andes restaurant at the beach into the Main Bar, more people would go and socialise with each other. Then the Lobby could become a Lobby once more.

4. The beach bar/grill. The food here is good whilst sitting on the beach, but after a few days it becomes boring. The staff here are not the friendliest and obviously this bar is not monitered by the hotels management. We felt the staff were more interested in chatting to each other and playing loud music than serving us. I could even say at times the staff were quite rude, uncommunicative and unhelpful. There were at times too many non-employees hanging around inside, making it difficult to get the staffs attention.

5. The food in general at the hotel was good, we enjoyed the buffets at the Lagoon Cafe, overall if you are not expecting gourmet food you will not be disappointed.

6. The shop was a RIP-OFF. The prices were a joke ! As an All Inclusive guest you will have to pay for bottled water ( a first for me ) and the bottled water at the hotel bar & shop is very expensive.

The beach at the hotel is very nice, the sea is beautiful and clear and great for swimming. The hawkers on the beach are at times too insistent but not offensive, except for the stoned rasta man who asks guests for money !!!!!. The 'watersports' on the beach are rather primitive, and could be made better.
The Hotel in general has the potential to be good but we would not return to this hotel or given the chance again we would have picked another hotel.
Good Luck for the Future.

Just returned from a week's all inclusive (AI) holiday at this hotel and absolutely loved it. Found some of the criticisms on this and other websites a bit harsh. We had spoken to a few people we knew who had stayed at the hotel prior to our trip and spoke very highly of it. Everyone we spoke to during our stay liked the hotel and exceptions were made for the state of the hotel as they knew it was to be upgraded.

All the staff, from the housemaids to the manager were very helpful, polite and friendly when you were the same to them. Our room faced the hill at the back but you can upgrade to a room with a balcony to look out over the lagoon for an extra cost. We didn’t have any problems with our room, it was always left very clean, the beds were good and everything worked well (TV, hairdryer and air con).

Wristbands were given to AI guests, which we thought was a great way for the staff to know which people were entitled to which offers. If this wasn’t in place then anyone could just give a room number and get something they were not entitled to. We did come across some people who didn’t like the wristbands but we went on a few excursions during the week and found that wristbands are the norm with the other hotels on the island.

The food in all of the three restaurants was excellent, plenty to choose from with two of the three open on any one night. Local dishes were on offer within all of them, which was a real treat. The beach bar did offer burgers and hot dogs during the day if you preferred English food.

The lagoon café offered a wide selection buffet for lunch and dinner, with certain theme nights making a change, however the meals did change nightly. The Andes restaurant on the beach had a set menu for lunch and dinner when open, the Caribbean BBQ buffet night was very good. We ate at Barrington's one night during our stay, found it a bit dark inside and the food was an up market version of the meals served elsewhere. All inclusive guests were given $30 towards their meal. All of the restaurants had dress codes - trousers and shirts for men at night with closed shoes needed in Barrington's.You don’t want to be put off your meal by seeing other people’s feet beneath the next table in a restaurant do you?

The bars were good, the staff were friendly, although they may not have been as quick as people are used to at home. The pina colada slipped down too well, and the local Wadadli beer was good and the wine was apparently very good.

The beach next to the hotel could be one of the best on the island (the Sandals beach is shared with other hotels and didn’t look as good). The beach is situated within Deep Bay and was sheltered, clean and quiet with limited access for non hotel guests, although a few ‘Hawkers’ were on the beach they were not too pushy and if you were polite to them then you were fine. The view from the neighbouring Barrington's Fort across the beach and over the surrounding area was great and well worth the walk/ climb. Non motorised water sports were free to all guests at the hotel and beach towels were provided by the hotel so you may not need to bring you own

The Hotel pool was ok for those not wanting to go out of the compound, it was clean and cool and there were plenty of sun loungers available throughout the day. Drinks at the bar were free for AI guests with afternoon tea provided about 4pm. Local music was played on most days we went by the pool.

We went on a few excursions that were either organised with our Virgin Rep or the lady by reception. We were well looked after on all of them all with meals and drinks provided on a number of them. The trip to Shirley Heights on a Sunday is a must if you want to experience the true spirit of the island, steel drum plays as you watch the sun set over Monseratt. The eco jeep / kayaking trip was a great way of being shown the island, with jungle juice (rum punch) on constant supply to those who want it. We had Elmo who was a great tour guide don't think I have every laughed so much in a single day before. The classic tour is available and may be less bumpy for those wanting a more relaxing trip. The Wadadli cat tour round the island was good with the best snorkelling on offer. We also went on a cat out to Barbuda for the day and although the trip was bumping and some people sea sick it was well worth it to go to the 17 mile stretch of unbroken pink coral sand beach.

St. Johns was ok, the museum there although small gave a great insight into the history of the island. By the dock there were a mixture of duty free and souvenir shops. The taxi may be seen to be expensive it was safe, well air conditioned and could be shared if more people go together. There are plenty of people asking if you need a taxi in the town but if you are polite and so no thanks they don’t hassle you.

If we ever went back to Antigua we would definitely stay at this hotel again.