St James Club and Villas: Perfect Vacation

We have just returned from what I have been telling everyone was a perfect holiday. My husband and I stayed at St. James Club in 2018 and loved it so much we vowed we would return. Check in was a breeze and we love the fact that wristbands are not in use here. We stayed in a beachfront room and it was like we had gone to heaven. Clean large room and bathroom with a lovely soaker tub. The AC worked perfectly as did the ceiling fan. The porch was about 15 x 10 in size with a table and two ch [... read more]airs with footstools. We walked off the porch right on to the beach and into a lounge chair. Watching the sunrise every morning from the porch with a freshly brewed cappuccino from the coffee shop was so decadent. We did have one rainy day which we spent on the porch playing cards and reading. We were very content to be outside in spite of the weather. The room was centrally located so it was a short walk to the restaurants, bars and Mamora Bay. The food at every restaurant was delicious. With a variety of theme nights you never felt like the food was repetitive. We enjoyed our dinner at Piccolo Mondo as well. Good food is an important part of our vacation experience and we can honestly say that we never had even a mediocre meal. The beaches are beautiful. You never really needed to get up at the crack of dawn to save yourself a good spot on the beach. There always seemed to be spots available. It was impressive to see staff on the beach around 9:00 PM straightening up the chairs and collecting glasses and towels so that when you come to the beach in the morning it was all set for your day. Picture perfect! The crew was out early morning cleaning up the seaweed and raking the sand so it was never packed down. We are not pool people so I really cannot comment on that except to say that when we were at the Rainbow Restaurant for breakfast, there were few chairs with towels on them. Unlike other resorts, we were not required to return our beach towels to where you pick them up in order to get clean dry towels. Just leave them on the beach and pick up fresh towels after you have breakfast. So easy. The WIFI was always available and worked great. We did two excursions. The first was a full island helicopter tour with CalvinAir out of St. Johns. $199 US per person which I booked ahead of time on line. It was amazing. After the helicopter ride we went into English Harbour and had lunch at Pillars restaurant that was recommended to us by the taxi driver. It was awesome. The food and surroundings were amazing. The taxi to St. Johns then to English Harbour and then to the resort was $110 US and the taxi driver will wait for you at all of these locations. The second was swimming with the Stingrays which we arranged at the resort. Nikki at the tour desk was so friendly and helpful. We enjoyed chatting with her. She has been with the resort for 41 years and gave us some interesting background about the resort and island. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the cost for this excursion but the taxi was $90 round trip. The taxi drivers were friendly and always pointed out interesting bits about the island. What we noticed that was different during our stay this time was that some of the staff were not as friendly or helpful as we remembered. Several times servers in the Rainbow Restaurant would outright ignore you if you said excuse me when they were right beside your table. I am not sure why but that is something that could be improved. We did notice that management stepped up and helped out in the restaurant when it was overwhelmed and we were impressed by that. One day we had an issue getting towels for our room and after three phone calls over the course of a few hours a gentleman by the name of Peter brought a fresh set of towels directly to our room within minutes of speaking to him. We later learned he was one of the management staff. The couple of issues we had were minor really and would not deter us from staying here again. I would like to make a couple of suggestions. One is that there be a space (perhaps the library area near the front entrance), that could have table and chairs suitable for playing cards or games at night or on a rainy day. The chairs and tables currently in this room are low and uncomfortable. The lighting would need to be a bit better as well. Secondly, a great majority of the people at the resort are 50+ and have difficulty getting up from the deep chairs and couches. While they look wonderful, they are not comfortable particularly for people with knee, hip or back issues. A few chairs here and there that would suit those needs would be appreciated. Thank you to the staff and management for making our stay the perfect vacation.

Jolly Beach Antigua: 3* at best

Being processed at the airport was fairly fast and the same with the airport shuttle. Upon check-in, we were quickly processed and driven to our room. Pros: - our bed was very comfortable - fabulous beach (5/5) - loungers were very plentiful everywhere - staff were very friendly - entertainment was ok Cons: - our bathroom floor was always wet due to leaking toilet - shower water came out deep yellow but that only happened once - lots of hot water; very little cold - no fridge to [... read more] keep meds cool - no bottled water - housekeeping on 7th day only; otherwise $10/day - had to proactively seek towels and toilet paper - TV reception awful - WIFI mostly available in lobby; signal is weak - 1 buffet/1 à la carte-food was just ok…2/5. Outdoor grill good - barely any outdoor maintenance taking place. Many walkways were crumbly - part of resort closed due to maintenance so this could be a bonus if they renovate the whole place - we noticed 3 groups asking for upgrades and being turned down. So, didn’t even bother - sometimes they’d run out of key alcohol (vodka, gin) - We’re not pool people but pools need full overhaul (2/5). That’s the only reason we rate “beach/pool below as a 3. They should be rated individually - seemed more like a 2* resort at best

The Verandah Antigua: Amazing Resort

My Husband and I stayed at The Verandah this past week and loved it! So much of it was brand new after their re-opening into an Adult only resort. We enjoyed the mini-golf, the water sports, the Aqua-fit each morning, the walk to Devil's Bridge, and the restaurants. Our room was beautiful, I loved the large bathrooms and huge shower. We had a waterfront suite that looked out on the cove, with a nice large balcony. I liked having our room cleaned every other day, to help cut back on other pe [... read more]ople being in our room as well as helping the environment. The Buffet was good, plenty of food (although sometimes it wasn't quite hot enough) We went to the Portifino twice and loved their food, Unfortunately we were not able to get into Nicole's. We also went over to PBC and went to the BBQ Outhouse which was delicious. On the downside, they usually ran out of Beach towels around 9:30 am so grab your before Breakfast and as they just hired a lot of new staff they are still training some and are working out the kinks. We would definitely go back and this time I would stay 10 days, a week is too short!

The Verandah Antigua: Great time at Verandah

Rooms are huge. Resort is nicely spread out. Food was great. Drinks were awesome. If you don't like it at this resort you ate the problem. 99% of people I asked if the liked the place said they loved it. We met one young couple who hated it. Their problems were: it took too long for a shuttle (you poor able bodied 30 year old), no service around pool or beach (I am older and travel alot, pool/beach service is not a norm - clearly they are used to it because they stay at certain name brand hote [... read more]ls), and they hated the food. They had just got there! Food was very good. Although I hear Pineapple food was better...but you've got to stay at Pineapple, no thanks. We had so much fun, met some great people. Like I said, if you don't like the verandah, I'd say you're the problem.

St James Club and Villas: It was dated, but amazing resort

The grounds were wonderful, but the beach was not the best, since they put in the wall. The food was great, but the service was very slow. But I was on holiday and had nowhere to be. The Bay and the ocean were a cool feature, almost 2 different places. The room was huge. There was an unexpected covid tax when checking out of $238 American, but everyone is making a buck.

Galley Bay Resort and Spa: Quiet as quiet can be

We stayed at Galley Bay resort Jan 2024 our room was on the east side on the 2nd floor. I would ask for a room on the west side. The coffee shop restaurant bar, guest services, etc. are approximately a seven minute walk from the east side. One restaurant is a 15 minute walk. They have golf carts that will take you where you’d like to go. The two restaurants are menu full service no buffet they have a small shack that serves burgers and hotdogs and the fish of the day on the beach. They also hav [... read more]e a restaurant called IsMays that charges $50 per person dinner only. Opened approximately twice per week. This restaurant is worth going to, but I am of the opinion it should be included in the price. If wifi is important to you. You will only get it right outside of your room on the beach. It’s often spotty at times there Wi-Fi is fine in your room and at the TEEPEE bar. there is no Wi-Fi in any of the restaurants or anywhere around the property. They have bar service. It starts approximately 11 AM and they come twice during the day even with a five dollar tip the beach is approximately 3/4 of a mile long and is on a slope. The riptide is extremely strong. We had a red flag every day, but 2. even with the yellow flag on the other two days it was tricky to get out of the water. On red flag days they take you by taxi to deep bay beside the Royalton because it has calm waters. The staff is extremely friendly and accommodating. Every single one of them we met has an amazing attitude. The general manager Cedric was very lovely and took care of our problems immediately. He is a delight, and always came over to check on us in the evenings The pool is not in view of the ocean and is not heated. Check in was nothing like I have ever seen before we arrive to approximately 6 PM and there were guests checking in ahead of us. We were not welcomed we were not offered a drink. We had to provide our boarding pass our passports, and we had to email them a copy of our invoice. Overall, I would say that this resort excels in service and accommodating their guests they have multiple repeaters, but I believe the average age is approximately 70+ and mostly from the UK every evening they had a band but the music put us to sleep. other than that there’s nothing to do in the evenings.

Pineapple Beach Club: Wonderful Staff

The grounds were stunning, well maintained. The food was very, lots of variety. Lot’s of choices where to have dinner. Room was good but too many steps to get to it. Will look at alternative view, next time. The staff was beyond incredible. All very friendly, helpful and courteous. The island is beautiful.

Royalton Antigua Resort and Spa: Poor resort

The hotel is very nice, the location is beautiful, however the staff is not friendly or helpful and seems to be only opinion very lazy! The service is the dining rooms weather it's breakfast, lunch or dinner is poor! No one cares to service you unless you ask 4 to 5 times for tea, coffee, cream etc! Especially the restaurants are so so and don't care ! You wait over 20 minutes when you get seated to get asked for water or drinks and another half hour to take your orders d then your meal takes an [... read more] hour to come to the table. I have never seen that before at an all inclusive resort. I Have been to 3 other Royalton Resort and this is the worst for service, running out of hot dogs and hamburgers and other foods???? They staff at the Diamond club are so unfriendly and not accommodating at at all. They never seems to want to help when you are not happy with something! This is one Royalty in Antigua I will never go back or refer to anyone. It's the worst service I have ever witnessed in my 30 Years of all I inclusive resorts and very disappointing for a Royalton resort hotel!

Royalton Antigua Resort and Spa: Poor resort

The hotel was very nice clean, however the staff were not friendly at all and the have a lot to Learn about customer service. The are not helpful nor do the attend quickly to the guest needs and wants! They do not seem to care about the guess. The talk more amount lthemselves rather than serving the guests in the dining room, weather is breakfast. Lunch or dinner! You have to ask 4 to 5 times for the staff to bring you tea, coffee , cream basically they do not care to help with in a reasonable [... read more] time.

Jolly Beach Antigua: 2.5 Star resort

Quiet spot and not overcrowded. Rooms did not have coffee machine or kettle or bottled water and no cleaning or fresh towels over 7 days. Some bartending staff could be friendlier to tourists as country depends on tourists.More training needed. Beer was average and only one choice. The beach was very nice and the sunsets were beautiful. Restaurant staff were quite good. The food was adequate for this hotel with ample choices.

Sandals Grande Antigua: Above average stay, but All Inclusive is definitely not for us!

First all inclusive in 10 years and Sandals Grande Antigua has proven that we didn't miss much. "Caribbean Honeymoon Grande Luxe Poolside Walkout Room" (we were in the Oleander building) is dated; its bathroom lacks ventilation; and bathtub didn't drain well. 3 out of 4 times housekeeping never bothered to clean the bathtub. (We only requested for room to be done every second day and only the first day was done adequately.) Concierge made dinner reservation for us. They messed up our reserva [... read more]tion, booked us to a restaurant on the day that it was closed. Evening a la carte dining was excellent for a resort, probably best we've ever had at a resort. Breakfast was decent, could have more fruit variety. Lunch buffets were hit and miss (our favorite was Indian Cuisine, least was Asian theme). Beach was nice, but I think Rodney Bay in St Lucia and Seven Mile Beach in the Grand Cayman are nicer! Tennis courts albeit with odd "plastic tile" surface, are decent and lit for night play.

Jolly Beach Antigua: Amazing beach and Carribean water

Beautiful grounds amazing beach. Very attentive staff. However it needs upgrades to its facilities and needs to provide organized activities & evening entertainment mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmm

Royalton Antigua Resort and Spa: Love the beach and view

Picturesque resort with beautifully groomed grounds. The ocean and beach were amazing. Although it is a small resort with short beach you can walk up to the lookout point- just wear appropriate shoes for the incline.

Hawksbill Resort Antigua: Staff was incredible! Resort and management........Not so much.

After arriving at 5:15pm, we finally got a key to our room around 9:00-9:30. Denise at the front desk had no management or people skills and just hid from us in her office instead of telling us what is going on and why the delay. Not a great way to start a week of vacation. Luckily the majority of the staff were excellent. Resort was old and neglected. Broken concrete sidewalks, pool was out of order, repairs were poorly done. To be fair, i heard that it has been taken over by a new owner.  [... read more]They have been doing repairs. It was a chore to get water. Bars and restaurants were always out and said you could get it at the store. If and when the new owners get this place back to shape and put new management in place, it will be an incredible place to stay. Unfortunately, we won't be back.

Jolly Beach Antigua: Jolly Beach our review 12/03/23

After noticing our room did not have a refrigerator we asked our agent to arrange for one for medical reason. She confirmed that there would be one for us. This did NOT HAPPEN and the front desk staff at the hotel did not not seem to care. There was no follow up by our travel agent to ensure our needs were met during our stay. Poor customer care!!!!! Travel with West Jet met our assisted boarding needs. There should be a posted policy on tipping these assistants or not. I have flo [... read more]wn some airlines and been advised by they assisting person they can't take tips. Others allow tipping. Airlines should make the policy clear. Food was for the most part very good. Our favorites were NOT the Indian or Mexican buffets. Great Breakfasts with a wide selection. There was no pop/soda in cans available at the bars to take back to our rooms. Ice for rooms had to be obtained at a Bar. There should be ice machines in each building of rooms. Rooms were small but acceptable. Sheets should changed every other day in an all inclusive without having to pay extra. The hotel should have internet available for the whole property not just lobby area. This hotel is more semi inclusive then all inclusive in my opinion. I know 3 Star but could a 4 with some mall changes.

Royalton Antigua Resort and Spa: ROYALTON ANTIGUA GREAT RESORT

People were so happy and friendly, the food was good at the buffet, variety of food. The Hunter Steakhouse was very good we went twice...be there at 6:00 pm and you can get a table. The beach had plenty of seats with umbrellas. The Ocean beautiful, the view from our room was very nice you could see the Ocean Liners go by. The Staff was very friendly, expect the Check in Ladies at front desk, not very friendly. I wish I could remember their names two were poor other two were very good. All  [... read more]in all a good resort. Swim up bar was good, the drinks were very good, get Sherry-ann to make them. The chef from the Buffet came over and asked how everything was, and if we needed any special meals, to please let him know. We did not have to let him know, as the meals were very good. Enjoy, you will not be disappointed.

Royalton Antigua Resort and Spa: Nice place

There were a few bumps. Their check-in process is very slow. Our room for the first 3 nights was not what was reserved. We moved ourselves to our proper room. The maid service was not consistent in regards to bath mat, bath towels, hand towels, facecloths. We seemed to be always missing something. We found the food was mostly very good. The portions in the “served” restaurants were small, especially the appetizer portions. Some meals were over spiced with peppercorns, etc. All in  [... read more]all, it was a nice hotel. But it didn’t live up to a 5 star as far as we were concerned.

St James Club and Villas: Still a great property... but not much else :(

List of issues (many went unresolved) Room safe; not working. It took a day to get repaired and after three formal complaints. Several undercooked/cold meals at different buffet and à la cart restaurants. One night, a 6:30 seating for dinner, slow service and problems caused us to not leave until almost 9:00. Finished plates were left at table for 50 minutes! We had to get own water and drinks from the bar. At the orientation, Stephen had announced laundry service was included at no charge [... read more]. Many were surprised by this announcement and confirmed the information was correct at the meeting. Requests for a laundry bag: simply went ignored. Just as well. We found out later the costs for this service were very expensive. Requests for a bath mat (which housekeeping didn't have on the cart) were ignored. Nothing done. Bars were regularly out of limes, out of cherries, out of Grey Goose before 8pm Housekeeping: no soap left after room cleaning. We were mislead about transportation costs and timing of trip by Naomi Smoke alarm in the room started going off one night night at approximately 1:30, 2:30 3:15, 4:00 and 5:45. It was removed the next day, but not replaced! A late check out was request and approved, but we ended up being locked out of our room as the room key was deactivated at the regular check out time. There was no Sunwing representative on-site the entire time. All Inclusive includes problems and disappointment

Royalton Antigua Resort and Spa: not what I expected

Antigua Royalton Fridge didn’t work No suitcase holders or bench in our rooms We were on separate levels and opposite sides of the resort, we were on the 7 floor and my mom was on 5 floor. The Room smelt musty n moldy especially my mom and sisters room. After going down to the front desk 6 times for about 1/2 hour plus each time. They finally moved us to the second floor on Tuesday. There was no way my mom n sister could stay in that room any longer. Like they slept on too of towe [... read more]ls on the bed cuz the bed was so damp due to the moisture/ musty / mold Barely any pool bar service daily We ordered Room service and it took 2.5 hours. We ordered it at 11:15 pm cancelled it at 1230 am. Then they called our room at 105 am woke us up saying it was on its way we said no cancel it. Then at 1:20 am they banged on our door and scared the crap out of us. Obviously waking us up yet again. No food at the pool area at all No restaurant No mints leaves all week so no mojitos Only buffet for breakfast and the food is ok mostly everything is cold and seemed to be always empty dishes Restaurants aren’t open till 6 pm Only buffet and Italian place open for lunch and closed by 3 pm No food after 10 pm No food in between 1030-1230 except room service and no food between 330-6 pm Score restaurant Horrible Arrived 630 pm ordered 8 pm got 3 salads with nothing but lettuce ( was suppose to be ) wine citrus house dressing , chickpeas, cucumbers , peppers, tomatoes and goat cheese. Then are food all came out missing my moms chicken fajita. I also ordered chicken fajita but it was a chicken wrap with nothing but dried chicken in it. Was suppose to have guacamole, cheese lettuce onions ect .. no sour cream at all even though she double check that they had it before I ordered it. Brought us big bowl of hummus With only 9 little chips on it to split between the 4 of us as our appetizers that took over an hour n a half No utensils no salt ketchup ect Mold in the score restaurant all over the ceiling as well as the main dining room I would say 80% of the waiters don’t talk at all. You order a glass of water n like they just walk away then sometimes come back with it. Servers are so extremely slow n just rude like it’s an inconvenience to serve us At the buffet there was a bird bathing in the bowl of water that they serve water to customers from lol Our room keys didn’t work like 5 times They count the culinary experience as a restaurant I guess but it’s 1 table n cost $110 per person Thursday We got all dressed up for Hunters steak house and got there and it was closed. Not open all night Tried to go paddle boarding but Only 1 paddle board works out of 10 of them ( no fins on them.) Buffet food is always cold Lettuce is always brown No Diet Coke at all on the resort and unless you find a can pop it’s flat. Found a drink we liked at pool bar n everyday by 1130 they run out of bananas then make the drink we order wrong with no vodka n no bananas without even saying anything lol No bars really on the resort. Like to even get a drink Pool bar all day and main lobby bar after 830 pm We came back to our room with puddles of water all over the floor and the paint and drywall coming off the ceiling and the wall as there was a leak 🤦‍♀️ Positive things -They had aqua fit daily -Beach is absolutely stunning -Resort was dead so we had no trouble ever getting a lounge chairs -No problem getting into a restaurant. Just limited food options. -Entertainment at night was ok

Jolly Beach Antigua: Beautiful beach

Beautiful beach. Wonderful staff. Good food. Good drinks. Not too much fruits though as you expect in exotic country. Hotel is old, I think built in 1970s, all is old and a bit run down. They are trying to keep it up but it requires complete renovation or just tear down and build something beautiful on this amazing beach. Old but clean. Walls are painted. Beds are comfortable. We did not have any problems with AC or warm water or anything else. They don’t clean rooms for the first 7 days  [... read more]unless you pay $10. We closed eyes for everything because the beach was just exceptional and resort not crazy expensive. Hotel itself is really 3 stars like reflected by the price. We would recommend especially for older adults who don’t care about luxury and entertainment but quiet and on a beautiful beach vacation.