Sandals Grande Antigua has steadily maintained its title as the Caribbean’s most romantic resort. The enchanting Rondovals with private plunge pools, the all-suite Oceanview Villages, and the ease of butler-included vacations make this resort the perfect getaway for honeymooners. Intimate accommodations paired with savory dining options, from the fiery island dishes of Eleanor’s and the stir-fry drama of Kimonos to the heartwarming Italian cuisine of Mario’s—all of this sets the tone for your vacation. Then there’s the views. From the bright and tropical main pool with a swim-up bar, to the alluring Dickenson Bay. Here, relaxation and exploration are the theme of your stay. On any given night, dine at one of the 11 restaurants or socialize at the bars and enjoy themed events. By day, dive into water sports, try exciting land sports, or go off-property to explore the best of Antigua.
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Sandals Grande Antigua garners mixed feedback, with guests extolling its prime beachfront location and immaculate cleanliness, from the pristine beaches to the well-kept rooms. Despite the beautiful setting, some reviewers feel the value falls short, critiquing the overpriced services and the food quality.
The hotel's vibrant atmosphere is a draw for many, though others are put off by noise and dated aspects of the resort. While the staff generally receives high marks for friendliness and professionalism, instances of slow service have been called out.
Location
Beachfront
Atmosphere
Lively
Rooms
Dated
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Immaculate
Service
Friendly
Amenities
Satisfactory
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I’ve tried to summarise each part of our holiday and hope it’s helpful.
AIRPORT. Antigua airport is modern but small. It was very efficient, we were through security in no time at all. Tip - you’ll be given an immigration form to fill out on the plane so take a pen with you. Don’t forget to fill the rear section. You’ll need to go out of the door, across the first road and you’ll find the sandals desk there. Lovely ladies that looked after us there. We struck lucky and got our own car to the resort.
TRANSFER. Our own car with a lovely driver, the journey took less than 20 minutes.
ARRIVAL. We were greeted warmly on arrival with cold scented towels and a rum punch.
CHECK IN. Was efficient. Our room was ready for us which was good. I tried to book some restaurants but was told I needed to wait 30 minutes. We were taken to our room.
SUITE. We opted for a Mediterranean Walkout Club Level Suite (PF) which was situated on the Med side. The location was great with a view over the immaculate gardens, a brief see glimpse in the distance. The room wasn’t perfect, could do with some refurbishment but it was perfectly fine. The bed was super comfy, the air con and mini fridge were ice cold and everything worked. The bathroom was large with his and hers sinks, a whirlpool bath, toilet and separate shower cubicle with an overhead rain attachment. We could have done with a regular hand shower too but we were fine with what we had. Water was hot and plentiful, no complaints from us. Housekeeping was a bit hit and miss. The room was cleaned properly but there was no consistency in the restocking of towels, coffee sachets and drinks.
POOLS. We opted to spend our time at the main pool as it’s more lively. The pool is huge with floaties, a basketball net and a swim up bar. As to be expected, there were some groups of people that were incredibly loud and shouty which ruins the ambiance for me but then, I’m a grumpy old sod anyway. There’s a few other pools around which looked fine. Service at the pool bar was a bit hit and miss with staff varying from surly to charming. Drinks were fine, great selection. Cocktails are made with cheap spirits but the staff are happy to make with premium spirits on request. Often basics unavailable (coke, sprite etc.).
DINING. Food is good here. Not Michelin star / fine dining but it’s perfectly fine. There’s plenty of variety and we didn’t get bored in the 10 days we were here. Portion sizes are quite small but we found them perfect. And it’s worth remembering that you can order more dishes if you wish.
ELEANORS. for breakfast and dinner. reservations required The most exclusive restaurant on resort but I can’t understand the hype. Food was good but no better than other restaurants. We ate here once each for breakfast and dinner. Breakfast is A La Carte with a decent, varied menu. Our servers at breakfast were great. Dinner was good, servers were incredibly friendly, we enjoyed our evening.
MARIOS. For breakfast and dinner. Right by the pool, Mario’s is great. Breakfast is a buffet style with lots of choices of good quality fare. Fresh fruits, yoghurt, cereals, toast, hot dishes and so much more. Dinner is an Anti pasti buffet for starters with ample choices of lovely dishes. Mains and dessert are A La Carte with an Italian theme. Staff here were always lovely.
BAYSIDE. For breakfast, lunch & dinner. As the name suggests, this is an open sided restaurant right on the beach side. Breakfast is almost identical to Mario’s but the location is better. Lunch is a buffet, different theme every day. Dinner is A La Carte, again nice food. Service was a bit hit and miss here.
BAREFOOT BY THE SEA. For lunch and dinner. My favourite. Around 60 covers under a magnificent pergola in the sand. Lunch is A La Carte, lighter dishes such as Jerk chicken/ pork, salads, fish sandwiches etc. we ate lunch here a few times, always enjoyed. Dinner is again, A La Carte with a great menu. Calamari starters, surf and turf main courses were the resort winners.
DRUNKEN DUCK PUB. for dinner and late night dining. Standard effort on British pub grub here. We didn’t eat here but the food looked ok. The staff here are absolutely amazing. I loved my times here as I had some good banter with the team.
KIMONOS. Dinner only, reservations required. Kimonos is Tepanyaki show cooking and is great fun. Our chef created a theatre and cooked us some nice food. It’s an intimate experience with 5 couples around the tepanyaki table. We had a good laugh with our fellow diners.
SOY SUSHI. Dinner. Authentic sushi bar with everything made fresh in front of you. The menu is great with plenty of choices. Our favourites were Snow Crab Rolls, Champagne Lobster Rolls, Crispy Philly Rolls, Soicy Crispy Shrimp Rolls. George the chef has been there for ages and is fantastic. The Japanese beer here, ice cold, was lovely. Soy is a real treat and is good as a pre dinner stop or a full meal. It’s easy to get carried away and leave there absolutely bursting.
OK CORAL. Dinner only. reservations required Tex Mex style restaurant. We enjoyed our meals here. We had a table overlooking the magnificent beach and listening to the waves over dinner was incredible. Service was a bit stiff here, functional. Nothing wrong with it just not very personable.
COURTYARD BISTRO. Lunch only. Sandwiches, Hot Dogs and Burgers. We didn’t eat here but other guests said it was fine.
BELLA NAPOLI PIZZERIA. Lunch. A wood fired pizza oven turning out decent pizzas. You can eat all fresco at their tables or have it boxed up to eat poolside, on the beach or in your room.
CAFE de PARIS. 7am until 10pm. Fundamentally a coffee shop with cakes, ice cream and fresh crepes. A great offering here, I loved the iced vanilla latte and the ice cream. My wife had a couple of crepes which she enjoyed too. The staff here were mainly awesome though I did have the misfortune to be served by one lady who was incredibly rude sadly.
BARS. There’s several options for bars here. Plenty of choice.
ENTERTAINMENT. We didn’t go to much entertainment though what we did see was good. We enjoyed the Antigua Elite Dance Troupe. Very energetic. The fire show was a bit meh - lots of noise and action but nothing too entertaining really. I’m told that Mikes Piano Bar sing along is not to be missed……. But we missed it every night as we were in bed early 😂. The entertainment team at the pool were very good - dishing up your standard quizzes, Mr & Mrs etc.
WATERSPORTS. We only did snorkelling (twice) which was great. The watersport team are so happy and smiley - I think I would be too though, it’s gotta be one of the best jobs in the world! Tip - take your own full faced mask and snorkel. There’s also Padi Scuba Diving, Hobbiecats, Paddle Boarding, Kayaking etc. available should you wish.
LOYALTY. The loyalty team here are great. We dealt with Sandy who is just lovely. The manager, Andy brings a ray of sunshine to the resort. He’s a really funny guy. Tip. Book your next trip before you leave to get a significant discount. Deposit is just £350 and It’s flexible so you can change resorts or dates up to 71 days before you travel.
SHOP. My wife spent loads of time in the shop 🤷🏽♂️. So I’m guessing it was awesome. I didn’t. See ‘Drunken Duck’ above 👆🏻.
STAFF. A mixed bag here ranging from surly and rude to absolutely amazing. Fortunately the amazing massively outweighed the surly rude. Notable superstars were. Sandy and Andy - Loyalty. Shanique - Drunken Duck. Brea - Barefoot There were so many more whose names we forgot. But a huge huge shout out to Hotel Manager, Mr. Leighton Joseph’s. He took care of a few of our niggles and was a real pleasure to deal with. His smile is infectious, his energy unreal. Leighton - thank you for sparing us your valuable time. TIP. Please please use the Gina app to communicate with management. They read all the messages and deal with any issues you may have. But also, please praise any staff who impress you on Gina. This is how management get to understand who the superstars in their team are. It’s important and means the world to the staff.
CATS. The resort has lots of colonies of cats. They’re very tame, harmless and respectful. Don’t let them put you off. If you like cats, they’ll come for a fuss. If you don’t, they won’t pester you at all.
BEACH. The beach here is the star of the show. It’s nothing short of stunning. Soft white sand meets crystal clear blue water. It’s the best beach I’ve ever been to. Yes, there’s a few vendors and yes, they’ll approach you to peddle their wares. But a polite ‘no thank you’ and they’ll leave you alone. They’re nothing to worry about at all. A massage from Racquel (she’s set up by the Barefoot side) was a treat. I had a sports massage which was quite vigorously delivered but it sorted out a knot in my neck. Reasonably priced too.
REFURBISHMENT. They embarked on an exciting refurbishment just before our holiday with a section of the resort boarded off. This didn’t impact on the holiday at all. There was no disruption or noise at all. The plans sound amazing with additional rooms, restaurants and facilities all being added over the next few years.
SUMMARY. We got off to a bit of a rocky start due to a few niggles however, Hotel Manager Leighton sorted these out personally and things quickly improved. There’s a few staff here who really let the team down but I must stress, the majority are fantastic. It’s worth remembering that Grande Antigua is an ageing resort so there are a few areas that look a bit tired. But the refurbishment programme has started so I’m sure in a few years time it’ll all be tip top. I’m sure that the rates are reflective of this, I thought our 10 days was great value for money. If you look for the fault lines you’ll find some I’m sure. But then that’s true of everything. We chose to enjoy our holiday in paradise. The grounds are absolutely stunning, a true trademark of Sandals. It’s a pleasure wandering around. So, we had an absolutely amazing holiday here and it’s most definitely on our list of places to return to. We love the sandals brand, it ticks all the boxes for us. Next stop Dunns River in January 25.
Thank you Sandals for another lovely holiday. And special thanks to the jewel in your crown, Mr Leighton Joseph’s.
Tony & Katie.
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Date of stay: October 2024Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:Take plenty of sunscreen, insulated cups, pool floaties and cat treats
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rondell O'Neale, Marketing at Sandals Grande Antigua
Responded Oct 15, 2024
Hello and thank you for sharing your detailed review of Sandals Grande Antigua with us. We appreciate gaining some insight into your experience and we are sure it would be of great help to future guests. We are delighted to note that the hospitality of our staff was an outstanding aspect in your experience, as we love going above and beyond to ensure our guests have a fantastic time with us. We are also happy that you enjoyed our gourmet dining options along with other amenities. Providing variety for our valued guests is among our goals and we love knowing when everyone is satisfied! We appreciate your review and are also looking forward to hosting you again soon!
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This is our third trip to a Sandals resort and the only disappointing trip with Sandals.
The location is excellent and Dickenson Bay is very pretty with calm water and white sand. Facilities on the beach are very good and the local hawkers not in the least bit aggressive with Sandals guests. It’s very laid back.
The Caribbean side of the resort is very well landscaped and does not feel like a large resort at all. The Mediterranean side where the premium suites are is very built up and a different feel completely.
Restaurants at this Sandals are generally average or sometimes poor. Barefoot is not too bad and OK Coral very good, but the rest are not up to Sandals quality. Evening food at the ‘French’ Bayside restaurant is a pastiche of 70s French food and either badly cooked or just cheap ingredients. Mario’s is by far the worst meal we have eaten at Sandals where steak comes bland cooked to how the chef fancies it (always well done) and Italian favourites are nothing of the sort.
Bar drinks are mostly better than we have had at Sandals and with the exception of a Manhattan, all our cocktails were well done and close enough to us what we would expect. Pool drinks are low on alcohol but then most guests spend the day at the bar so hardly a surprise.
Scuba quality is OK for the Caribbean and like many Sandals does suffer from a large number of novice divers, so expect short dives because somebody in the group is low on air or cancelled dives as divers get freaked by even 4-6ft swell. I did see some monster lobster and an impressively enormous turtle. Dive leaders look after the group, they have great boats and rental equipment is decent quality if you need it. Dives are only booked 2 days in advance and COVID-19 has reduced boat capacity. They did put on extra boats some days and I only missed one dive due to capacity. 2 days were lost to a storm advisory, plus one due to a diver freaking out at the (actually pretty average) swell.
Communication of staff is often poor and they badly mismanaged a room swap due to broken AC. Stuff breaks so that was not the problem, but they botched the communication when we were tired from our flight. The manager offered us late checkout but then when the checkout letter arrived, they had forgotten.
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Date of stay: August 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Shawn Redhead, Owner at Sandals Grande Antigua
Responded Aug 30, 2020
Hello and thank you for sharing your review of Sandals Grande Antigua. While we are delighted to know that you enjoyed your stay overall, it is disheartening to see that there may have been some areas that you were not completely satisfied with. Your input is very important to us and assists us with perfecting our service and product. We remain dedicated to offering a service where we go above and beyond for our guests, ensuring that the memories attained will leave a smile on every face. Your review is greatly appreciated and we do hope that we will be welcoming you back to one of our resorts in the future.
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We stayed in the Caribbean side with a walkout room near a pool and not far from the Caribbean pool. After a day or two of finding our way around, we realized that this location was central to most restaurants and activities. The weather was not cooperative and it rained a few times most days, but not to worry since we were either poolside or walking with our complimentary golf umbrella. Our room was always clean and amenities were replaced as needed. We had to call one night for some coffee packs for morning and they arrived amazingly fast. The refrigerator was always stocked with water, juice, soda and the local beers Wadadli and Carib. The activity staff at this resort were great, especially Shenika, always encouraging the guests to participate and making the games and activities fun. Our afternoon water volleyball games were something we looked forward to each day. Althea at the Caribbean swim up bar knew our favorites and was a pleasure to speak to each day.
We traveled with two other couples and getting a table for six at dinner was never a problem. We had good surf and turf at Barefoot on the Beach, and an excellent meal at Kimonos with our chef Jayson and servers Charlika and Erica. Breakfast at Marios and Bayside were both very good with plenty offered, we enjoyed fresh cooked omelets and eggs most days.
The grounds keepers were always out and busy trimming and cleaning up the property. The one downside was the smell from the daily fogging of the property, but we didn't have bug bites!!
We enjoyed a visit to the Red Lane spa and had nice massages, the facility was clean and the staff very welcoming.
Hats off to General Manager Matthew who we met at the returning guests dinner and saw him several times through the week around the property. There are a lot of good people working at Sandals Antigua.
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Date of stay: January 2020
Location
Cleanliness
Service
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- [ ] So, here we are on day 3 with no housekeeping service. Normally, this wouldn’t bother me, but we are now out of towels, because we’ve had to use the ones we have to keep the water from seeping through the doorway, (there was a tremendous rain storm), our room has sand on the floor, the pool is now an ugly shade of brown, and the hotel phone system is down. We booked a butler level room, and the butler isn’t answering the phone, there is no way to order food or ask where we can go to get food. When we did get ahold of the butler, he said he’d bring menus, towels, and coffee; the coffee arrived, but no towels or menus, and he didn’t speak to us.
I get that things are difficult during this rain storm, I really do, but i just expected more for $12000 per week, especially considering we were told they were at full staff with only 50% capacity. I really tried to do our part by ordering spa services, tipping over $100 when they had to deliver in the rain, buying things from the gift store instead of from outside vendors, and not asking for things I could do myself. We even had one of the butlers tells us, “oh, you’re going to be one of the easy guests”
This was not the experience we were hoping for, and we would definitely not recommend this property to anyone who is looking for good (not even great )service. What we experienced at their St Lucia property was 1000 times better than this, and we only had concierge level during that trip 8 weeks ago. Save your money, don’t go to Sandals Grand Antigua!
If you do choose to go, save yourself $223 and don’t get a massage! I purchased a deep tissue massage and it started out as a lotion rubbing session. When I asked for a little more pressure, she used her elbow directly on the top of my shoulder, held it there, then repeated the process 4 more times, each with more pressure until I said stop, then she moved to my arm, applied lotion, then went back to my shoulder with her elbow. From there she went to my calf, then my foot, then my hand, then back to my shoulder, spending about 60-90 seconds in each location. Needless to say, the bruise I ended up with on my right shoulder, was not what I had hoped for when I booked it.
Update: towels were just delivered in a garbage bag by a guy in a Lakers jersey, no mask, who said, “here’s your towels” and left. Nice...but hey, at least I can take a shower tomorrow and not have to dry off with a washcloth!
I do want to give kudos to Jason and Dillon. They did what they could to provide a meal to us after we waited 3 hours from the time we ordered to the time it arrived.
Update #2: housekeeping did arrive at 9pm to apologize for not servicing our room for 3 days and let us know they would be coming tomorrow (the day before we leave) to clean. They showed up at 8am on the last full day of our vacation, so we couldn’t sleep in, but our room is clean! We also received coffee packets for the coffee maker; however, they were too big and caused coffee to leak all over the floor. Thank goodness we had towels in the garbage bag so we could clean it up!
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Date of stay: November 2020
Rooms
Location
Service
Room Tip:The ONLY butler level room with beach access is 911
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Response from Shawn Redhead, Owner at Sandals Grande Antigua
Responded Nov 15, 2020
Hello and thank you for your reaching out to us with your feedback. We would like to know a bit more about your experience as your input is very important to us and assists us with perfecting our service and product. Kindly reach out to our Customer Care team (customersupport@sandals.com) with the details of your stay and we will be happy to review your matter in its entirety. We look forward to hearing from you soon and appreciate your commitment to improving our brand.
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This was our fourth visit to a Sandals resort together and the first to Antigua. The resort and the surrounding areas are beautiful and the island has to be one of the cleanest we have ever been to. There was only a short ride from the airport to the resort and check-in was quick and easy. Room was a typical Sandals room with a balcony looking out to the ocean. After settling in to our room, we noticed that the exhaust fans in both the bathroom and shower were not working. Waited several days and made two calls and a visit to the desk before they were repaired three days later. On our fourth evening at the resort, one of the bathroom sinks stopped draining. Called the front desk (who assured me that engineering would repair it) and we went to dinner and the nightly entertainment. Returned four hours later and the sink was still full of water. After another trip to the front desk, the sink was repaired. The room was well cleaned daily except that either you had lots of towels and washcloths but no hand towels or no hand towels or wash rags at all. The refrigerator was well stocked when we arrived, but after that, either we happened to see the staff with the beverage cart to get refills or we got them ourselves ( and I mean just water due to not being able to drink the tap water). There was liquor in the room, but the bottles were already opened when we arrived and had pouring spouts, so we did not drink any of it. We had an ant problem in the bathroom that the maid attempted to remedy, but her spray did not work (they were there when we left). We found that most of the bartenders and water sports staff were very friendly, but other staff would not engage in conversation or in several cases were just rude. Food was very good overall, but if the restaurant required a reservation, there were few to be had unless you wanted a 9pm spot. When we asked about this we were told that tables were kept open for couples with butler service and they were released if the couples did not show up 15 minutes after the reservation time. This was not the case as we found out multiple times when there were seven empty tables at the restaurant. The beach area was nice with multiple chairs and umbrellas there, but it is a public beach where you are constantly hounded by vendors trying to sell excursions, jewelry or clothing. At times the beach was very crowded due to the cruise ships bringing folks to the beaches. The main pool was clean and seemed well maintained, but spa personnel were constantly trying to sell massages. Entertainment was mostly non-existent even though the daily flyer listed activities all day. There were entertainment staff, who danced to music near a big speaker but all we saw at the main pool during an entire week was trivia one afternoon and water aerobics (15 minutes long). Nightly entertainment was usually a band and opportunities for dancing. Beach party was good with lots of food. Overall, we had a good time, but for us, this was a one and done resort.
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from ShawnRedhead, Online Review Coordinator at Sandals Grande Antigua
Responded Jan 15, 2020
Hello and thank you for taking the time to share your review of Sandals Grande Antigua. While we are delighted to know that you enjoyed your stay overall, it is disheartening if you felt like there were elements of your stay that did not meet expectations. We always embrace feedback, the positive as well as the negative, as it presents an opportunity for us to review our operations and improve where necessary. Most of the changes we make at the resort level are as a direct result of the feedback received from our guests. We have also always sought to recruit socially engaging employees with pleasant personalities, as we are fully aware that our team members are our greatest assets, so it is disheartening if you felt like your experience did not reflect this. Training continues to be a vital part of our improvement plan and as such, we have shared your feedback regarding our cleanliness standards and general service with our Training and Development Manager for action as required, in order to prevent any recurrences of this nature. We are respectful of the opinions you have expressed and recognize that one person’s specific experience can only be judged by that individual. Our response to feedback continues to be in word and deed and we hope that you would afford us an opportunity to demonstrate this during a future stay.
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We had a great 2 week holiday from 30th December 2019 to 13th January 2020 at Sandals Grand Antigua. We stayed in a Sunset Bluff Honeymoon Club Room, which was clean and modern with a massive 4 poster bed and a fantastic walk in shower. The linens and towels were high quality and changed regularly, we had nightly turn down service and the used towels were changed again then as well as after the day clean. Our fridge and bar were topped up daily, as were the bathroom products. The little pool and hot tub just outside these rooms were great and we would use them in the afternoon after being at the beach all day. The beach was clean and there were lots of sunbeds and parasols, although the hotel was busy we still managed to get a bed without getting up at the crack of dawn. There are beach sellers but they are all polite and go past when you say no thanks. The food was really good and of a high quality and plentiful. We ate in all the restaurants with no problems. Drinks are top brands and plentiful with 95% of the staff being friendly and helpful, there were a couple of grumpy ones but hey that happens everywhere. We often had drinks at the Mediterranean pool bar in the afternoon which was great with the music and everyone having a good time. If you are looking for 5 star London hotel luxury this is not for you, but if you want sun, sea and relaxation in a fab atmosphere with quality food and drink then you won't be disappointed,
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Date of stay: January 2020
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Some of the rooms are slightly rundown and need refurbishing, but the overall site and gardens are nice. The Caribbean end is quieter so if you prefer a more lively area go for the Mediterranean end There is a no Tipping policy which is good but does effect some of the staff and their attitudes. Some are friendly and can not do enough but with others it feels like everything is too much. There are 11 restaurants which are supposed to serve 5 star global food and they most definitely do not apart from Soy which serves Sushi and Nix and the Chefs George and Jessica are fantastic, we ate there every other night as the other restaurants served mediocre food at the best. The menus sound good but the food and presentation leaves a lot to be desired, plates and food cold and service tended to be very slow and rarely accompanied by a smile. The only other one we enjoyed and not for the food but for the experience was Kimonos though yet again the waitress was unfriendly and very slow to give us our drinks. Drinks at the bar are plentiful and good quality and James one of the bar staff was a definite asset. We were there for over a week before someone rang to ask if everything was alright, a little late I think. The room was cleaned daily but usually not till after 4pm and then the turn down service came at 6, hardly worth it! We had decided never to return to a Sandals but were visited by Sandy who appeared genuinely interested in our opinions and persuaded us to try Grenada so here we go.
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Date of stay: February 2020
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from ShawnRedhead, Online Review Coordinator at Sandals Grande Antigua
Responded Feb 24, 2020
Hello and thank you for taking the time to share your review of Sandals Grande Antigua. While we are delighted to know that you enjoyed your stay overall, it is disheartening if you felt like there were elements of your stay that did not meet expectations. We always embrace feedback, the positive as well as the negative, as it presents an opportunity for us to review our operations and improve where necessary. Most of the changes we make at the resort level are as a direct result of the feedback received from our guests. We only regret that it seems the points mentioned in your review were not brought to the attention of Resort Management via the Loop during your stay, as the team would have been more than happy to see that every aspect of your experience agreed with your standards. Nevertheless we do remain respectful of the opinions you have expressed and we only hope to be granted an opportunity to host you again in the future for a vacation that we trust will be more in line with your expectations.
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We stayed 27th January to 10th February. Visited with my husband, 88 year old Dad (who had had a stroke at Christmas) & his wife. They stayed on 5th Floor Mediterranean side, we stayed In Caribbean side, room 502. This is NOT a 5 star resort! For the duration of our holiday, & long before by looking at previous reviews, there was only one lift working in my Dads block. for one day there was NO lift! Please see photo for remaining lift! The Manager, Matthew, assured my Dad someone was on their way from St Lucia to do repairs, what was his mode of transport? Never arrived. At night it is dark walking in the grounds as majority of lights have bulbs out - not great when someone is unsteady. Food was not mediocre. We had 3 meals at Eleanors and food was always barely warm. Some staff were lovely, some could barely smile. Furniture in rooms was worn & our rug was dirty. We had to be up by 6:30am to get sun-beds otherwise there was nothing left. Often rooms not made up until after 4pm & on occasion we had to beg for towels. We are Emerald guests. We were not even acknowledged as Returners. Loyalty blamed our travel agent for not attaching our Sandals reference number, they had! They then said they’d left a letter in our room on arrival stating that they thought we were Returners and to contact them - there was no letter. The hotel from the beach looks dilapidated, curtains tied up?! If I was the couple getting married on the beach on 10th February I would be devastated, pergola erected no more than 6 feet from the Beach Party being set up! Our daughter was married last January at Beaches Negril & it was heavenly. We are not complainers but this resort is very poor. Having read other reviews the response is just a standard reply. We have stayed at other Sandals/Beaches resorts, this is the only one we wouldn’t return to!
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from ShawnRedhead, Online Review Coordinator at Sandals Grande Antigua
Responded Feb 16, 2020
Hello and thank you for taking the time to share your review of Sandals Grande Antigua. We were sorry to read your review indicating your stay with us may have left you with a negative impression of our resort family. Our team members usually do a great job of attending to each guests' individual needs and we try to make it easy for guests to reach out directly to resort management via the Loop, so it was most unfortunate if your experience was not according to the norm or if their response was not as you expected. Our maintenance teams also do their best to ensure that our facilities are always in excellent condition, however there may be times when items may become damaged without our knowledge. Once incidents are reported, we respond immediately to repair any damaged items as quickly as possible to avoid any further inconveniences. We are happy to see that most of your concerns were addressed on resort, however, should you have any other lingering misgivings, please feel free to contact us at customersupport@sandals.com. We are grateful for feedback, inclusive of reviews such as yours, as it allows us the opportunity to identify our strengths and weaknesses. Our response to feedback continues to be in word and deed and we hope that you would afford us an opportunity to demonstrate this during a future stay with us
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We are so glad we visited antigua for the second time this february. fantastic grounds. beautifully lush and workers are keeping it up each day. we love having a butler to book our dinners and saving our spot at the pool. after a couple of high energy days at the main pool we took in our last few days at the smaller pool. joy was our favorite bartender. everyone was friendly. we loved all our meals! no complaints. we enjoyed room service since the buffets weren’t at full capacity and you get a couple of different choices. I used my own sanitizer since they want you to use it when you enter any eating area and shops. going into town was a waste of time since it’s like a ghost town without cruise ships. we took advantage of the deal you get when you book your next sandals trip, so looking forward to grenada next year.
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Date of stay: February 2021Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from , Owner at Sandals Grande Antigua
Responded Mar 2, 2021
Hello and Thank you so much for your kind comments and for such great feedback, as this is exactly what we love to hear! At Sandals Grande Antigua, we truly want all of our guests to have a memorable Caribbean vacation, so we are thrilled that you thoroughly enjoyed your stay with us and felt that we exceeded your expectations. We remain dedicated to offering a service where we go above and beyond for our guests, ensuring that the memories attained will leave a smile on every. Your review is greatly appreciated and we do hope that we will be welcoming you back to one of our resorts in the future!
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Sandals is know for an all inclusive but I would like to take a second to recognize that despite all the odds they remain open and still strive for excellence. @marco as the head of your food and service team you should recognize your top 10%. Kimonos and Soy are your two best restaurants. We had the pleasure of visiting Kimonos multiple times and both times we had Carrol as our server. She was fantastic! Before my wife’s drink was empty it was replaced. She explained the menu and chain of events throughly and was an absolute pleasure to be in her presence. Dipak was our first chief and his steak and finesse on the stove was fantastic. The last time we visited we had Jayson and he did a fantastic job with the chicken. Mario’s was also another surprise. Raquel was our server and she was extremely thoughtful and asked questions about what types of foods we enjoy and was able to make changes to allow for a better experience. Barefoot was also an enjoyable experience with Ken running the show. He was extremely pleasant and easy to work with. Elanaors has a food ceviche the only wish would be to have less fillers. Bayside has a great rotating daily menu and is always a surprise. Every night ends with the drunken duck where you have Mario, Andy, James and the team. These bartenders are fantastic they really do everything they can do to make customers happy. The entertainment team starts working a 12 hour shift every day from going from the pools to the wee hours in the morning trying to energize they resort. This team makes the vacation experience come to reality. The grounds are maintained meticulously in main areas and are a pleasure to walk during the days and evenings. For the travelers that are worried about the cleanliness of the resort I would say this. They truly live by their platinum cleaning procedures. Every restaurant and rooms follow their strict protocols. Antibacterial lotion is used on ever guest when you enter a restaurant.
Areas for improvement (non butler service) The in room bar should really have an order form. A lot of assumptions are made how to stock the fridge and it’s near impossible to get a replacement bottle of wine. Room service can take over an hour for a simple breakfast to come. For any traveler coming to this resort know that this beach is breathtaking. It also is a public beach. You will find plenty of vendors trying to make a living daily. If you are trying to make purchase make sure you bring cash with you prior to travel as their is no ATM on the property.
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Date of stay: August 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Shawn Redhead, Owner at Sandals Grande Antigua
Responded Aug 23, 2020
Hello and thank you for sharing your review of Sandals Grande Antigua. While we are delighted to know that you enjoyed your stay overall, it is disheartening to see that there may have been some areas that you were not completely satisfied with. Your input is very important to us and assists us with perfecting our service and product. We remain dedicated to offering a service where we go above and beyond for our guests, ensuring that the memories attained will leave a smile on every face. Your review is greatly appreciated and we do hope that we will be welcoming you back to one of our resorts in the future.
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Don't tip the employees (other than massage). To be honest (and blunt), if you are one of those folks that always feels the need to tip, please just get over that for this resort. You might feel better about tipping for your benefit, but you would (hopefully) feel terrible if the employee was caught and then lost their job because of it. The rooms themselves have different levels. But other than that all guests on the resort are equal. if some guests were to start tipping, that changes the game of equality where some guests (the tippers) will now receive better service from the bartender than other guests. I have been to resorts that prohibit tipping and others who encourage it, and I am okay with both. Just follow the resort rules and everyone is okay. It's when people don;t want to follow the rules when problems arise---just like the real world.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina44 contributions13 helpful votes
The restaurants that do not require reservations are usually not busy enough to make you stand in line. The exception to this is the Italian restaurant. It is usually the busiest.
Eleanors and Koi require reservations and they are worth any wait that you may experience. The Sushi was fabulous.
If you don't have a butler, just call or visit the main desk and they will help you out.
The staff here is plentiful and very friendly and helpful.
We went October 19-26. We’re also from Florida where both hurricanes just hit & another was on the way to the Caribbean. We lucked out and had no issues with rain or delays. I would recommend travel insurance on both the trip and flights just in case.
There are more places to choose from in the St. John's area.
PRICE RANGE
$640 - $1,105 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
sandals grande antigua hotel st. john`s, sandals grande antigua resort and spa, sandals antigua, hotel sandals grande antigua, sandals grand antigua, sandals grande antigua resort & spa, antigua sandals
LOCATION
CaribbeanAntigua and BarbudaAntiguaSaint John ParishSt. John's
NUMBER OF ROOMS
373
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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