My wife and I had to overnight in Antigua recently and we chose this hotel due to its proximity to the airport and the fact that it had a beach as my wife wanted to bathe after a long flight.

On arrival we found the staff to be helpful and friendly. But once show to the room/cottage that is where it began to go wrong. I will list the problems one by one so as not to forget anything:

1. Getting to the rooms: The route to the rooms is full of obstacles that make it impossible to wheel your luggage, therefore you have to carry it by hand, which is not something you'd relish after a long flight.

2. The rooms: The room had all windows open and a strong smell of fuel vapour from the nearby boat terminal . It made me feel quite ill. The TV was quite antiquated but at least it worked. A small refrigerator allowed us to cool our water with the downside that it added to the heat in the room.

3. Windows: The windows did not have mosquito screens that fitted them fully, leaving gaps for the mosquitoes to come in and bite! The curtains did not fully fit the window which meant that there was always a gap where someone from outside could see into the room. It made us feel really creepy.

4. AIR-CON: The "air-con" was a "mere-con" as it did not work, merely the fan recycling the warm air. I think that they knew this because on arrival they told me that " you cannot adjust the temperature with the remote control provided, just on and off only". I think that this saves them money on electric bills but is a "real-con" if you were expecting a cool room.

5. Dinner. I think the prices were astronomical for what was locally produced food. I opted to go into St Johns for dinner, and felt that it was justified based on the ambiance and better value for money.

6. Breakfast: We had to leave at 7 and were told that breakfast would be provided. We made our way to the front via a side entrance and found hordes of mosquitoes attacking us along the way. When we arrived at the breakfast room, we were given a flask of hot water with which to make a hot drink and provided with a (refrigerated) muffin. As we sat down to get a hot drink two birds entered the room and became a nuisance and we had to shoo them away.

We decided to leave the hotel immediately and when we left it was with a sigh of relief.

I WOULD DEFINITELY NOT RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL.

We stayed at the Beachcomber for 1 night as we were awaiting connecting flight to St Croix. Its not that bad..its a cheap hotel (£55 for the 3 of us) so you bascially get what you paid for. The people on reception was not overly friendly but they also was not rude to us. Its not an hotel that you want to stay for the whole of your holiday but for a stop over stay it does the job and the food isnt too bad either.

we stayed there 1 night during the cricket world cup 2007. Thank god I had not committed to reservations for more nights.
The checkin desk is poorly lighted and rundown. Checkin staff seemed to have an attitude. The walkway to the cottage was dark and full of large stones. In the US, this would be an ivitation for a lawsuit.
The first cottage they gave had an AC unit and a phone that did not work. So they moved us to another cottage. THe linen and sheets were not very clean. It did not have a refrigerator, so their handyman brought us another one, which did not work!. We managed to get a night's sleep though.
The ground are poorly maintained and the beach is dirty.
By the way, we paid >$200 US for the one night. WHen I complained to the front desk, the lady had the gall to say this is what you get in a "budget hotel".
All I can say is we were had by them. They have a website which misrepresents the hotel completely, and that is why I think they get tourists from other countries.

Another great 2 weeks spent at the Beachcomber. Many thanks to Sybil and all the staff for looking after us so well again.

With some of the reviews posted, I have to wonder what some people want from a holiday. I look for good weather, total relaxation, a warm atmosphere and friendly people, all of which you will find at the Beachcomber.

Some of the bad reviews really are unfounded with petty things being moaned about... light bulbs not working! Do you not think that light bulbs fail all over the world?

I was amazed at it being described as an 'unattractive middle of nowhere' when there is such lush vegetation, exotic flowers, white sand and a pale blue; Just look at the photos above.

If anything should go wrong during your stay, all you need to do is have a word with Sybil, the General Manager, and she will sort it. Unless she’s made aware of the problem, she can’t solve it!

Thanks again Sybil and all the staff!! Have a good 2007 and we’ll see you again soon.