Stayed at The Verandah December 7 to 21, and held our wedding there on the 13 December (no not a Friday).

Whilst having some reservations prior to travel having read reports that the resort had not been completed, the truth was that whilst some work on rooms/swimming pool was going on, these works did not cause any problem.

On arrival Lionel Lake Customer Service Manager, took control of our wedding arrangements and nothing was too much trouble for him and his staff to organise, even offering to landscape an area of the resort should we have wished to hold the ceremony in that location. In the end we chose the gazebo overlooking the beach which provides stunning views, and gave us privacy, but at the same time allowing guests to watch the ceremony from a discreet distance. The gazebo, the beach, and the whole of the resort have provided us with some wonderful photographs, taken by a local photographer (Lionel will have his name), who took his time to ensure each shot was perfect. (ie not like other resorts where the photographer was on a timescale).

The rest of our stay at The Verandah will be remembered for the wonderful location, excellent food, unbelievable staff (friendly, pleasant and always smiling from senior management to gardeners always having an hello/good morning for you).
Apart from Lionel other senior management took the opportunity to enquire that we were happy with our wedding experience, and we know that this was extended to all other guests holidaying at the resort.

We certainly will be returning to The Verandah to see our many friends.

David and Susan Gaffney

We stayed from 12/27/07-1/04/08. All and all it was a good vacation. we traveled with another family as ours 2 adults 2 girls 7 & 9. The kids had a great time. The kids club was very large with a great playground. The problem was they didn't do to much at the club like activites and such. Our kids went anyway for about 1-2 hours a day. The food was better in the 2 full service resturants than the buffet. I don't like buffet restaraunts because I'm a fat pig and eat too much wether its good or bad. so with that said lets move on to the rooms. They were large and nice. There was something missing though. They felt empty like they forgot to finish decorating them. Also no big deal. Now to the beach. There are many stairs to go to the beach now just so you know I'm 47 years old 5'8 190LBS. I do not smoke and am 15-20 pounds overweight. I must say that the steps and small hill at the top of the steps were a pain in the behind. If you are a big fatso or old or have a heart condition this place is not for you. but if your are in decent shape no problem. The grounds will be nice once they finish the hotel. I would not on a serious note bring older people the grounds are quite hilly.

If your family standards are set high to enjoy a 5 star travel/vacation expierence, do not stay at the Verandah Resort.

This is a work in process 3 star facility charging 5 star pricing.
The food is ; buffet bad, and the selection over our 7 day stay in the a la cart restaurant was poor .

Please note my family is grown and this was a very special opportunity for the four of us , my wife and two daughters to spend time together.
We are professionals ages 57/53 and our girls , 24/26.
And no , we are not snobs!
We enjoy high end properties and this does not fall in that class.

We had two rooms ,initially in a construction zone, our room was completed literally hours before we arrived.The bad news the first morning we had 15 workers next door building the next units with a backhoe BEEP-BEEP Beeping at 7:30 am . The rooms are large yet very basic . Furnishings are new yet entry level.Forget beach front there is none!
But we paid for beachfront?Changed rooms after 2 days .The description should read BayView /Beachview/Pool view/Garden view.

The food became prediciable and poor , the entire week .
The Seabreeze was the Buffet ,we hate buffet ; but after trying the higher end NICOLE'S and the Buccaneer ; we acually would recommend the Seabreeze.

The entertainment was not in a proper location to allow the performers to entertain, at the outdoor bar were the wind Blew , everynight and made the expierence marginal at best.,
The resort was a ghost town by 10pm everynight except New Years Eve.

The gym is new , and the equipment was fine.
The highlight for us was leaving the property to ZIP-LINE, great expierence and worth the expense.

The beach(2) , man made , only had 5 umbrellas, imagine that battle at 7 am to secure a piece of shade although the trees on the beach do provide ample shade.The equipment is current and in good shape .Watch out for the Sting Ray in shallow water on the right side of the beach! He seemed to visited every day.

The guys manning the beach were great .
The beach bar was also very good for a hot dog, albieit slow.

I have never seen so many misbehaved 7-10 years olds in my life whom were un supervised and throwing sand at the guests on the beach and gennerally running wild.
I mean crazy.They have a kiz club but not sure whom was using that new beutiful facility?

If it was 3 star prices we paid , this resort would have been a fair expierence however charging approx. $1200 a night for our side by side units (all units the same) desevers a big thumbs down for the discriminent Traveller . Management admitted the resort will be a wonderful place in 3/5 years.

One final comment , this is a very windy side of the island and I mean windy, not breezy.


We will never return.

This is the 2nd time I have stayed at the resort - this time with my Wife and 2 kids in tow - well 1 kid - she became a Teenager on the day we left !

The resort certainly has the WOW factor and the name is the giveaway - where can you get your own massive Verandah overlooking turquoise caribbean sea for the price of a non descript resort. All the 3 restaurants were open, 2 serving a la carte and the main Sea Breeze - buffett.

The whole resort has a 'Resort Elegant' atmosphere - and everything is brand new - so it feels really luxurious !

The staff make all the difference - trying walking past one of them - without them giving you a smile and a Hello.

They are still building the units between reception and the main area - but there is virtually no building noise and the electric mini vehicles trransport you through this area anywahy.

Another pool is also being built in the middle of the new units.

A lovely beach to consider - apart from the Resorts 2 is Long Bay Beach this is 100 yds from the resort entrance and reputed to be one of the best in Antigua

Overall had a great time and will certainly come back again.