The beach was beautiful and we felt safe coming and going from the beach as well as the resort. The grounds/gardens were beautiful and well tended. There was good security. We found the vendors on the beach respectful. However, our room was dated and the dresser drawers smelled musty. The bathroom had a low old-fashioned toilet in a separate small cubby-like room, requiring us to sit down on an angle so as to not bump the wall/door. The toilet area also had dirt in the corners. Oh, and part way through the week the water coming from the taps for 2 days came out very rusty! We reported to the front desk. No feedback form anyone on that, but the problem did seem to subside. The bed was comfortable enough but the duvet was too heavy. Our Club Med walk out was right next to the main entrance of the Med tower so very busy with pedestrian traffic and also the service golf-style carts were often zipping by and/or stopping/parking right beside us. Overall, we were disappointed with the quality of the food, especially the lunches and dinners. Most of the beef dishes were quite tough, at more than one restaurant. One night we had a chicken parm at the Italian restaurant and it was over cooked (hard/crusty) with pasta and a little sauce. Another night we found the fish and chips at the pub to be soggy. However, the buffet breakfasts were good with very good selection. For the money we spent on this vacation, our expectations were much higher with respect to the food and dining experiences. The service was variable, from excellent to poor. All people at the check-in desks were more than helpful and accommodating. Also, walking around the resort, we found the staff to be friendly and caring. Our best server for dinner was John at the OK Corral. He was very attentive and friendly. The worst service was for breakfast at Eleanor's where people who were seated well after us were served first. In the end we had to ask the server about the whereabouts of our meal. Then when it arrived, the omelet was very hot and nice but the waffles were cool and chewy like they had been sitting under a heat lamp for a while. We had a good time, but again for the money we spent, we will be looking at other alternatives for our next vacation.

Beautiful location and beach. We had a newly renovated room in the sunset bluff area which I highly recommend. Service was great but the food was fair. Airport experience was not the best, I think they need to upgrade their airport.

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 reservation, 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.

We went to Sandals Grande Antigua from April 3 to 10, and stayed in the Mediterranean Club Level walk out room. We are a couple in our late 30's. Here is the great, the good, the okay, and could use improvement in our experience! AIRPORT: we flew on Air Canada Rouge, and arrived half an hour early. Unfortunately, that was the same time as 2 other planes, and there seemed to be not enough immigration employees at the airport, so there was quite a line up. We spent an hour and a half in line, but at least our baggage was definitely out on the carousel by the time we got through. We made a good time of it by people watching, planning what we would do when we got to the hotel, being grateful for the air conditioning, and just having a good attitude about it. We're officially on island time! We did have to walk through a line of porters asking us if we wanted them to carry our bags, which we politely declined. There was a man holding a Sandals sign as soon as we exited the doors, which seemed a little suspect, so we crossed the road over to the outdoor vacation desks, walked down to the Sandals desk, and gave our names to the nice person that was there. Shortly after, we were loaded onto a van headed for Sandals. TRANSFER: it was a very short duration to get to Sandals, maybe 20 minutes tops. The road seemed to be in good condition. We met some very nice people during the van ride, who we bumped into while we were at the hotel. The scenery was great and the weather was fine. We tipped the driver since they are not Sandals employees. HOTEL FIRST IMPRESSIONS: We were on the Mediterranean side, so we drove past the first entrance (which was for the Caribbean side and lobby) and pulled into the Med. entrance. It was impressive, as usual. I find most of the these resorts have fantastic entrances. We were led into the Club Sandals lobby, where we were given cold towels, a welcome home drink (yummy!), and our bags were whisked away. We had to sign our names and a waiver of some sort on an iPad, as well as put a credit card on file for incidentals. The lobby is beautiful - open-air, large, very grand feeling. The Club Sandals lobby staff were all great to deal with. The grounds were well kept and you could tell the groundskeepers took pride in their work. The hotel is very spaced out, imo, but I liked it. I really enjoyed walking around the different areas, and figuring out shortcuts. I averaged 18,000 steps per day! the paths are pretty accessible and smooth, so people with limited mobility shouldn't have much trouble getting around. We just really like to walk and explore. Since we got to the hotel at around 4:30 pm, we were given room access right away. The lobby also has a TV that shows departure flights and info on there. They also offer a currency exchange, but it is pricey. ROOM: since we were in a walkout room in the Med building (Almond, room 5002) we had a larger patio area with 2 loungers, small table, and a drying rack. This came in handy for drying out swimwear. TBH, we didn't spend much time on the patio. The patio doors could be locked from the outside, but the lock was a bit weird, so we just kept it locked all the time. We were closer to the end of the building, so we had no issues just walking out the front door instead. The view was garden. Higher up in the building can provide sea views. On the seventh floor of the Cypress building, there are great views of Dickenson Bay, and also of St. John's. You can see the giant cruise ships docked in the harbour. We liked our room. It was spacious, well-stocked, and nice &cool thanks to the AC. You do need to keep a card in a slot by the door in order to keep the lights on, but you can set it up so that the AC runs continuously. The bathroom was a great size, with double sinks, large walk in shower, and a big soaker tub (also handy for washing out swimwear). I found the decor to be a little dated, but still tasteful and elegant. The counters were a bit too high for me at 5'3", and I thought the water closet was a bit tiny. The shower door would also stay slightly open when we showered, which caused a lot of water to leak out. We used towels to dry that up, and reported it on the Loop. The room came stocked with top shelf bar, water, beer, soda, juice, coffee, tea, kettle, coffee machine, mugs, glasses and spoons. Room service from 7 am to 10 pm was also included. Lots of towels, 2 robes, 2 large umbrellas, iron, ironing board, hair dryer ad extra pillows and blankets were provided. The bed was a little on the harder side for my liking, but not bad. Houekeeping is done everyday you want it, with turn down service as well, which was nice. We were pretty pleased with both the room, and the location. BEACH & POOL: We are definitely beach people, so we spent our entire vacation there. the beach is gorgeous - definitely the reason why we chose this Sandals! Powdery white sand, beautiful turquoise water...it was amazing. We had no problem getting a lounger with shade. I will add that I usually get up at 7:00 am even at home, so I could get a "premium" spot, meaning centrally located in the middle of the beach area and the resort. However, one day we did sleep in, and still had no access getting a shaded lounger. I never saw any fights for loungers. Looks like Sandals has heard the feedback and put up extra beach umbrellas to accommodate visitors. There can be some sharp rocks in the water, so if you are doing any sporty activities like we were, wear water shoes, just in case. They can also come in handy on excursions. It is a public beach, so vendors are everywhere. Also, tourists and locals will stop by and use the beach. It was great to people watch! I found a polite no worked with all the vendors, even the ones that wanted to stay and talk for a bit. I'd listen, smile and then end with "no thanks!" I did end up buying a nice straw hat from a wonderful lady named Merleen. It was much better priced than what you would find in the resort shop, and Merleen had the biggest smile after I bought it. Because the beach is public, there are security guards who will ask for your room # and name to confirm you are a guest. We chatted with most of them, and after a while they started to recognize us. We had no problem giving them our info, as most of the time we were washing off from swimming in the sea anyway, so they would check their list while we did that. Lots of towels were available, but they seemed to vanish at around 3-4 pm. If you are an early riser like me, I recommend grabbing 2 fresh towels to take back to your room for the next day, since sometimes the towels by the beach aren't out as early as I was. Sandals offers water sports, including snorkeling, so I went on one of those trips. It was great! I also did paddle boarding, which was fun, even though I kept falling. My partner got some great videos of me, lol. While we were there, the beach was completely open and swimmable. 2 days had super clear water that you could see down to the bottom - the other days it was a little cloudy, but still great to swim in. Very warm after the first initial cold jump into the water. We brought snorkel sets, but there wasn't much to see. I definitely recommend the snorkel trips. I also brough a beach float, and a water frisbee, which were fun to use. We didn't use the pools at all, except for the hot and cold plunge pools by the spa area. Those, and the whirlpool next to them were amazing to use at the end of the day. People really seemed to have fun at the different pools though. The Med pool is the party pool, and the largest pool in all of Antigua, I heard someone say. There are other smaller, more quiet pools sprinkled around the property if music and activities aren't your jam. Sandals branded pool floats are available to use at the pools, but can't be used in the ocean. Bring your own. RESTAURANTS & BARS: We ate at all the restaurants, except Kimono's. I thought all of them were pretty good. Presentation was fantastic. What I really appreciate is that you can order all the appetizers, and none of the entrees, or 4 different desserts, and none of the servers bat an eye. Wait times weren't bad at all while we were there. I think the longest wait time was at the Barefoot by the Sea (Seafood) after placing our order, and Soy (sushi) to get a seat. Soy doesn't feature a dessert, so you can visit Cafe de Paris for ice-cream or a brownie afterwards. Yum! I enjoyed Mario's (Italian) a lot. The lasagna is great! That Antipasto buffet was also amazing! The 2 restaurants we went to that required reservations were okay. We weren't blown away by the food, like when we went to Sandals Barbados. But it was was still pretty tasty, with some delicious options. We also went to the loyalty dinner on Tuesday. I'd give the menu a 7/10. At the loyalty dinner they gave out large bottles of rum, which we ended up bringing back. Bayside for lunch buffet was actually really nice, with Antiguan inspired menu day being the standout favourite for us of all the themed buffet days. We had good service at the bars. However we don't drink that much, so we mostly got ice cold water. SERVICE: Service was good all around. We found employees to be friendly and helpful to us. Granted, we didn't make a lot of requests, so YMMV. Housekeeping was on point. If you wanted extra water or towels, they did their best to accommodate. Since we were Club, we were invited to some special activities like a martini evening, a cocktail party and a wine tasting, but we ended up not going to any of them. We were always too late coming back from the beach. There are also Club organized snorkeling and shopping trips if you want to participate. Club Sandals also offers a Holiday Tour of the property, where they take you around the resorts, answer questions, and point out areas of interest. There was one instance that my partner observed where the service wasn't good, or even adequate. Apparently there was a power outage over on the Caribbean side and a guest had concerns about being able to take a shower, or charge their devices. Instead of simply reassuring the guest, or even try calling her manager to see if there has been an update, the lady at the front desk over at the Caribbean side basically dismissed her concerns, saying "There's nothing I can do". To me, that is a poor example of customer service. Obviously the guest didn't expect the front desk person to actually fix the problem herself, but some reassurance, and even making a token attempt to help would go a long way. AMENITIES & EXCURSIONS: There is a gym on property, which my partner used while he was there. I went once, lol. I figured all the walking and swimming was enough. It has a decent amount of cardio machines, some free weights, weight machines, and mats. It is air-conditioned, but not that well. We didn't go to the spa, even thought the spa employees tried their best! Organized workout activities are offered and there is a schedule. Personal Training is also offered for a fee. We bought an excursion through Island Routes. The Eco Adventure tour. It was $290 for 2 of us. The weather was piss poor that day, but we still made the most of it. It was the one day with bad weather for the whole trip. I wish the tour was explained to us in more detail. I was under the impression that we would be driving in a bus for part of it, and a boat for the rest. Nope, it's all by boat. I think I was confused because it mentioned hiking, but it wasn't hiking like I'm used to - it was just climbing the rocks around hells gate. We did enjoy ourselves and have fun, but I thought it would be a bit more interactive and hands on. Instead, we spent the majority time on the boat, listening to the captain talk about the eco-system, turtles, mangroves, and the different resorts around the island. The snorkeling was great, but way too short. ENTERTAINMENT: Since we usually stayed at the beach late, we often missed the entertainment. What we did catch seemed to be a little on the older, dated side. Sandals Antigua should consider freshening up the entertainment. In terms of guests, there was a mix of ages and races, but it did lean a little older. So keep some of the golden oldies going, but sprinkle in a bit more modern. There were couples as young as mid-twenties there, so I'm sure they would appreciate it. ANIMALS: I made a special section here because visitors to this resort will notice something. Cats. A lot of cats. Personally, I ADORE cats (most animals, really), and we have 2 kitties of our own, so I was happy to meet so many new fuzzballs. Sandals has 2 cat cafes on property (which are really just covered open air shelters) where the cats are supposedly fed and given fresh water. During our time there, I never saw an employee feed or give water to those cats. Other fellow cat lovers said the same. Full disclosure, I totally fed them while I was there. There was the cutest, friendliest little tuxedo cat, who we named Ophelia (or Fefe) who would greet us every morning with soft meows. She would run up to us, and roll over on the ground in front of us, so naturally our hearts melted. That area of the hotel around our room is clearly her territory (she shares it with an orange tabby who we named Sir Marmalade). I hope the next visitors to those rooms say hi and give her pets and treats as well. Most of the cats are fixed, but there are some young cats (kittens actually) who were either pregnant, or had a litter. It was really sad to see. I hope Sandals fixes the rest of them. I reported one young mom who had a bad cough to the front desk to hopefully get treatment, since she was so little, and she was sick, with 3 kittens to take care of. If other guests see any other sick cats, please let the front desk know. Sandals does have a responsibility to the cats. If you are not a cat lover, don't worry. Sandals warns guests not to let cats into the rooms, or feed them in restaurants, so there are areas where you will be safe from the furry terrorists. DEPARTURE: There is a departure lounge on the second floor of the Med building. We had a later flight, so this came in handy. Here's a tip! Check if your carry on fits in the lockers. The front desk told me it wouldn't, but when I checked, it totally did! You can pack your change of clothes, your personal toiletries, and anything you might need in there. There are fresh towels, showers, hotel toiletries and a hair dryer to clean off from swimming or spending the day at the resort before leaving. Our flight was at 4:50 pm, and we were scheduled to depart at 2:00 pm from the resort. Checkout is at 11:00 am. The employees do a very cute good bye song/dance. it was pretty cute! But when we left, there was a massive crowd of people, so it was a bit confusing figuring out which driver to go with. OVERALL: We had a great time at this Sandals. Beach 10/10. Food 7/10. Entertainment 5/10. Service 8/10. Overall score 7.5/10. The beach and swimming there is the deal breaker for us that really made our stay fantastic. I'd rather visit another Sandals before coming back to Antigua, but we had a great time. Maybe Dunn's River Falls next! JANET: Our travel agent, Janet Merrill, was fantastic to work with. She was very responsive, diligent, and worked really hard on our behalf. We have booked 2 trips with her so far, and we would definitely book with her again

Grounds were meticulously looked after. Everything was very clean . Staff very curious and well spoken . Only issue was getting a spot on the beach , if you had a butler it was taken care of , but if you didn’t you would have to be up very early to save yourself a spot .

- perfect unbelievable emerald coloured water, clear sand, perfect weather (went in Feb) - service was 3-4 star - food menu was 4 star, no change, not super flavourful, expect more from sandals - entertainment was 3 stars

Beautiful resort, well maintained and clean and safe. Food was very good and servers were very polite and attentive. Lovely beach and nice pools. Went scuba diving from Aqua centre. Staff were very nice, unfortunately the coral around Antigua is bleached, sad to see. Great dive boat.

My wife and i have just returned from this resort and had a wonderful time. The resort was beautiful and the beach was amazing. The food was good but lacked the options that the Sandals in Barbados offered. All in all it definitely is a 5 star resort and the Staff were incredible.

I would totally recommend this resort, it’s beautifull and the staff are amazing. We had butler service and they were awesome. The grounds were immaculate, the rooms were clean and well stocked. We are definitely going back there and I can say for sure that so far this is my favourite Sandals and this was our third time. Don’t get me wrong they are all great resorts anywhere you decide to go.

Hats off to Westjet-really good seats,.very personable and fun staff and an overall better experience than Airtransat or Sunwing. We think this is the best of the Sandals that we have experienced (have been to Whitehouse, Bahamas, St. Lucia and Jamaica). This one is larger, very well kept, lots of great things to do (pizza joint open most of the day, large fire tables in the evening to gather around, etc.). very attentive and happy staff, a superb stretch of beach- always calm, warm water and hard packed sand. Very beautiful grounds and endless views. Customer service was first rate for the most part. And good for them for switching to paper drinking straws ! And excellent wines and good bar drinks everywhere. And our room was very up to date despite us being in the oldest part of the resort. We still think some of the other 5 star resorts such as Secrets provides far superior food and much better live entertainment, all at a lot less cost. However if the butler experience and snorkeling, scuba and golf are important to you, then Sandals may make sense. For us, the only notable meals out of 7 days at this Sandals were at Marios (Italian) and the morning and lunch buffets (both very good compared to the alacarte offerings). Elenor's, which requires reservations, was pretty much a let down for us. I couldn't seem to get a good piece of grilled fish anywhere. But there seemed to be lots of breaded/deep fried fish and chicken on the menus Again, nothing wrong with the food, but at this level of luxury, we would expect better.

The booking of the trip was easy when you use TripCentral.ca (and Marnie). The Sandals resort is gorgeous! Great food (never disappointed)! Wonderful staff! Beautiful white sand but not a private beach! We did not realize that Antigua beaches are all public, so there are families, children, people from the cruises and vendors going by non-stop. Not the vacation we were looking for as...We are not pool people, so our only disappointment was the busy beach!

We stayed at Sandals Grande Antigua from Dec 9-16 2018. This was our first sandals experience. (Our 2nd time in Antigua. 1st time we stayed at Galley Bay). We are 34 and 35 years old. There was a wide range of ages here. Lots of younger couples on their honeymoons, and others around our age. We never had a problem finding someone to have a drink and some laughs with - young or old. We stayed in the Sunset Bluff Honeymoon Club Level Walkout. The room was modern, spacious, clean with a nice comfortable bed. We loved the location, close to everything and it was very quiet up on the bluff. We didn’t use the pool up there, as we like the atmosphere of the beach and the Med pool. Maid service was excellent. Our room was always spotless, our fridge and bar were restocked daily. Turndown service every night, and they always made sure we had enough bottles of water for when we returned to our room from a day and night of drinking! The grounds were beautiful and very well maintained. The staff does a fantastic job every day to keep the resort looking too notch. They fog for mosquitos late in the day as the sun goes down and it works. Not a single bug bite while we were there. The beach was amazing. Soft white sand, warm but refreshing turquoise water. The beach vendors were always around, but a simple no thanks and they left us alone. I didn’t find them to be rude or relentless at all. Don’t make yourself an easy target - be stern, but nice and they aren’t a problem. I did rent a jet ski one day. they will give you a high price but a little haggling and I got 40 minutes for $40. The food was excellent. We ate at all of the restaurants. Getting an appetizer at one restaurant and having dinner at another is a great way to get multiple visits to the restaurants in. Sushi at soy was great, And the antipasto buffet at Mario’s was awesome. Could have eaten just that for dinner. I always play a lot of beach volleyball when I go away and it did not disappoint here. We usually played for an hour or so in the morning and usually 2hrs in the afternoon. I have to give a shout out to Cara, Sasha, Joiquim, and a huge shout out to “my brother from another mother” - Allen. He matched my energy and level of crazy!! They were all so much fun everyday. Very welcoming, funny and full of energy. We did participate in some other activities as well. Some activities were cancelled due to lack of interest. I wish they would announce the activities to make more people aware that they are happening. Occasionally someone would walk around the pool and talk to some people to see if they were interested in an activity, but they can’t talk to everyone. An announcement at the Med pool would be a much more efficient way. I went out on one of the snorkeling trips. It was pretty rough that morning, and most of the people went back to the boat after 10minutes. A few of us stayed out for the whole time though. The snorkelling was good. Fish everywhere. Big, small, huge. Just had to be mindful of the choppy conditions when going near the coral. The drinks were great, and the bartenders were always happy to make you whatever you wanted. The staff always said hi as they walked by, most were always smiling and happy to talk and help. Be nice to them and you will get the same in return. Overall our first sandals experience was excellent and we really enjoyed it. There have been a lot of negative reviews lately, and we didn’t experience any of those issues or really see any. Everyone is different and expects different and everyone’s stay will never be the same. Some of the complaints are ridiculous and people need to chill out with their complaints about stupid, insignificant things. And some people just go around looking for stuff to complain about. So take some of those complaints with a grain of salt. The resort and beach are gorgeous, the food is really good, the staff are excellent. What more can you ask for.

We had a wonderful vacation, very attentive staff. A+ We did two excursions, catamaran and fishing, lots of fun The only unpleasant thing was the amount/ frequency of “ merchants “ on the beach wanting to sell you tours or merchandise. Sandals does not own the beach therefore they have no control.

The beach is amazing, room is nice but could use new pillows, staff is nice and always friendly, food is good but was expecting a little better. Not much night life, the resort is very quiet after 10pm. The sport activities are good.

The island and the resort was beautiful, not to mention the beaches. The staff was really wonderful and always had a smile on for everyone. We were not told about the butler service which we may have used. As a result we found that I had to wake up every morning at 6am so that I can go to the beach and safe a chair in the shade. The butlers were usually out before then saving the best spots at the beach and pool for their guests. We were always made to feel less than because we didn't have butler service. The vendors on the beach after the first day got very annoying. They were coming by and interrupting us every 5 mins. They didn't care if we were talking or sleeping, they still interrupted us. The night time entertainment was really bad. After 8;30pm there was nothing to do and the entertainers were not very good. We did love the food and drinks at the resort.

review of the beachfront rondelle with butler services The rooms are small made up of two halves of a circular room, 1 half is the bed and the other half it the bathroom. The toilet is separated from the rest of the bathroom, the bath itself is comprised of the bath, a rain shower and a hand held spray bar. Heat selection from all three were not consistent. because the room is on the beachfront, the main walkway goes along the front if it so if you are out early and are sitting at the table in front of your room, be prepared to say good morning to everyone who passes bye. The butler service was 2/3 good. You have 3 butlers for the week ( shifts generally until 3 pm and then then next shift until 10 pm. You are given a phone to call the butler whenever you want ( the recharger is in the room ask how to turn on the phone afterwards) I had breakfast delivered every morning at around 7:30 am even though a pretty good buffet was approx 150 steps away. The room service as much as the tried could not get me my order correct. forgetting the salt and pepper was a familiar issue. the food was ok The butler service also reserves your beach chairs in the morning and place a cooler at the table with what you want (beer, drinks, water, wine) and will bring appetizers to you when requested and sometimes on their own. Tips should be given at the end of the week, get 3 envelopes from the check in desk and pay them the last day. generally 100-150 per butler for the week but it is your choice how much to give The restaurants were good not great except for MARIOS, where the buffet appetizers choice was pretty good. dress code for all restaurants is resort casual, so shorts are acceptable except for 1 place where long pants were needed (but I did see people arrive in shorts and were allowed in) There are two hidden gems Cafe de Paris provides a good selection of pastries and coffee, and ice cream milkshakes and crepes if you want and on Friday evening there was a Chocolate taster which was quite good it takes about 10 minutes to walk from 1 end of the location to the other end As to activities, do not purchase the catamaran snorkeling adventure, the place gives you 3 one hour snorkeling sessions daily and a 6 hour island boat tour with a 30 minute snorkeling session (they provide the equipment) It is a public beach so be prepared for the locals to try and sell you anything and everything , from beach wraps to an aloe plant My wife swears that the massages were great at the spa

Hotel nice Rooms ok Beds very uncomfortable Staff 50/50 some nice some borderline rude Internet very bad unless you upgrade for 70 dollars US Wine list is good for an additional cost We thought it was all inclusive Not sure if we will go back to a Sandles Jim

I wish they allow tipping at this resort, then the servers would make extra and act more pleasant. For a Sandals - Antigua probably ranks the worst service in all we have visited. This goes for front desk staff, bar tenders, beach and pool service. The evening restaurant service was actually good.

The resort is beautiful and well maintained. It is a very big resort with an older section called the Caribbean and the newer section called the Mediterranean. We were in the Caribbean section Food was great. Restaurants are spread out across the resort. Lots of variety. Staff all very friendly and polite. If you are looking for organized activities like pool or beach volleyball, probably best to hang around the very large Mediterranean pool to find the event coordinators. Good size beach, public, not too busy. Lots of shade umbrellas but you need to get down to the beach early (like 7 or 7:30am). Sea is lovely! We went in April so a bit off season. 20 minutes from Airport.

Great beach, great people, nice food and drink choices, beautiful grounds, but just a few too many annoyances to make it a 5 star. Waiting 30 minutes for the arrival shuttle, wasn't a good start. The electronic check in isn't great due to flaky systems and wifi. they do not help you check in on your return flight if your personal phone or laptop is having a hard time to hook up. Daily bug fogging is a little scary watching the cloud drift through all areas including where you eat, and lastly but the worst thing I have ever come across in any resort considered above a 3 star, was that all of their pools were cold and only 1/4 hot tubs were working. It is worth a try once but until the pools are heated, I will not be returning.

The resort was amazing from top to bottom, amazing Staff from the GM, Mr. G to food and beverage manager Gus and all the staff at the Aqua centre, Fern, Alex and Kieran to name but a few. All the employees were very friendly and always had a smile to offer. We will definitely be back sometime in the future.

Was as exceptional as our first trip. Despite infrequent sun, this Sandals rocks. Great people, great service, great pool!! Take the island helicopter ride. Best tour we've taken. All round, a 9.5 out of 10.

Beautiful Grounds, very well maintained. Staff are Fantastic. Shemika at Travel & Loyalty was Amazing. Food Delicious. Girls at Bella Napoli were Fantastic. Beach is Great. Very clean and the water is gorgeous.

All in all, a great resort. Staff very friendly and helpful. Just a few "downers".... 1 - water pressure in room VERY poor. Pressure from shower was like standing out in the rain... 2 - "Marios" & "Drunken Duck" restaurants claim to be "air conditioned", but not so much. Very uncomfortable eating when you are sweating. 3 - Not enough lounges by pool/beach for the amount of guests. After the 2nd day, we began to set our alarm for 6am, to get up reserve lounges with towels. If you simply went to the pool around 830-900, you didn't have a chance at getting chairs. 4 - Lastly, I realize they don't have control over Mother Nature, but crickets & tree frogs VERY loud all nite long !! Began around 5:45 pm and didn't stop until around 6am. A little difficult to sleep as they were very loud ! Other than that, a great time, great weather ( we had 45 mins. of rain one afternoon) Snorkeling was fun. Food was good.

My husband & I spent 14 wonderful days in Sandals Grande Antigua. We were there August 6 to 20, 2016. We were checked into our room very quickly. They originally had us booked for the 3rd floor, but when I asked for a walkout room they showed us both rooms and we picked the walkout. The patio was bigger and had two lounge chairs with a round table in between them. And a rack to hang our wet bathing suits. The room was wonderful. Two sinks, a jacuzzi tub and a walk in shower. Lots of shelf and counter space. The room was always kept very clean by the housekeeping staff. The king size bed was comfortable. We had a fully stocked bar, including white and red wine, liquor, beer, juice, water and pop. The restaurants are all very good. I wasn't as keen on the Ok Coral, but my husband liked it. It's really a matter of personal preference. We ate at the Bayside restaurant several times. I would recommend the Chateaubriand or the lamb. The meat was cooked to perfection by Chef Kerry or Chef Dwayne. The appetizers and desserts were also delicious. There were different buffet theme days for lunch at the Bayside restaurant, again, very good food. Eleanor's has a la carte breakfast. Eggs Benedict and blueberry pancakes are amazing. You can even get them with sides of bacon, sausage or ham or all three! Also has Browns. The Eggs Benedict is quite filling. We ate at the Barefoot Grill for lunch. They have jerk chicken or pork, mild or helfire. The portions are generous. We had the steak and lobster for dinner and it was excellent. Mario's has a buffet breakfast. We were in there almost everyday for breakfast. The best thing about it was the chef who cooked our omelettes. Ronalyn was always smiling and has a great sense of humour. After a couple of days, she already remembered what we liked in our omelette. She recommended the use of pepper jack cheese in the omelette and she was right, we loved it. Desire was also one of the chefs who ensured the buffet food was kept full. Rosalyn and Desire made it worth going to Mario's. Rolrene and Asana were very good servers. Kimono's was entertaining and the food amazing. Chef Nathaniel and server Oydayne made our experience great. I suggest you try the Sake Cruise drink, it is refreshing and delicious, but can go down very quickly as you don't taste the booze in it. The main pool was fun. We have never had such good pool bar service. Celestine took our drink order soon after we got our lounge chairs by the pool. She was also quick to return to ask if we needed refills. LaToya was the bartender at the Caribbean pool. Between volleyball games she would set us up with shots, sometimes we picked, sometimes she surprised us. Celestine filled in as bartender when LaToya went for break. Both of these wonderful ladies made the best drinks! The entertainment staff got people involved in the games, flip cup, beer chugging, ring toss, name that tune, trivia, etc. and of course pool volleyball. Cheers to JoJo, Rakim and Antonio for making the volleyball and other games fun. The resort grounds are beautiful and well maintained. Fogging is done to keep the bugs away. The beach is beautiful with soft powdery white sand. The water was warm and clear. The only negative thing I can say is that the beach is public, so you have vendors coming up to ask if you want to buys various items or go on tours. A few pleasant "No, thank you" responses are accepted. We met a lot of very nice people from Britain, the Sates and our fellow Canadians. The resort staff are friendly and very nice. They go out of their way to make sure you have the best vacation. I want to say thank you to nurse Angelina and Dr. Stevens for taking such good care of me when I needed it. Shemika and the rest of the Loyalty Club staff are wonderful in helping you make the difficult decision of which Sandals to go to next. We would return to Sandals Grande Antigua, but we want to try other sandals before returning. We have been to Sandals Grenada, Whitehouse in Jamaica and the Royal Caribbean in Montego Bay. Each resort has so many positive aspects and very little negative. It all depends on personal preference.

Wonderful food, cleanliness, service & ambience. The Penthouse Romeo & Juliet Room was so luxurious and spacious. The weather was perfect: 28/29 during the day, 24/25 at night, with slight breeze and only one brief shower.....oh and no humidity. Only suggestion would be to have a couple of larger scale shows, per week.

Recently returned from 2 weeks at Sandals Grand Antigua. Our 5th 2 week Sandals trip and we now rate this one #1. Staff go beyond in every aspect. Not uncommon to see Mr. G., Kevin, Frank and many others picking up glasses, towels, etc around resort. Ate at all restaurants without any complaints. Resort grounds beautifully manicured. Ground crew take pride in their work as do the rest of the staff under Mr.G's expert leadership..Stayed on Mediterrean side. Rooms great. View beyond great. Service impeccable. Definitely a resort we would return to in a heart beat!!

The grounds were perfectly maintained. The food was delicious. The beach and ocean were perfect. Have to go early to find a beach chair at the beach or main pool. The staff is very friendly. There are all sorts of in motorized water sports that you can partake in. The only complaint is when you are on the beach it's a public beach and there are several local residents walking up and down that will constantly try to get you to buy something.

Beautiful Resort. Service was spectacular, very nice and friendly staff. Food was excellent! Only meal we didn't like was at the Drunken Duck. Room was clean with well stocked bar. Maybe the only negative was the bed. Not the most comfortable I have slept on.

It was the greatest experience for my wife and I. Our agent Brenda Melo was truly a wonderful person . The sandals resort was incredible food , room and services . Sandals truly knows how to keep their guest happy and the staff were just to polite and respectful. AAA++++

We stayed at the Sandals Grande Antigua for a week at the end of February and had a wonderful time. From check-in to departure, the staff were friendly and helpful, the facilities were lovely and every detail was taken care of. There were plenty of pools and restaurants to choose from, and we never had difficulty finding chairs. We were unexpectedly upgraded to a rondoval with pool upon our arrival, which added an extra touch of amazing to our holiday. We would definitely go back!

A prime resort on a prime location of beach! It is just as the pictures show, beautiful turquoise sea, white sand and lush gardens all around. Can't see how anyone couldn't have a great time. Food & drink plentiful and delicious.

Beautiful grounds, lovely restaurants except the Asian which needs an upgrade. The food quality was very inconsistent along with the non existent service in the pool area and beach took us by surprise. We stayed in the Mediterranean side for five days and found that it was just sleeping quarters. The lost opportunity of establishing a restaurant on the top floor overlooking the harbour is beyond me and the lack of a bar left that building with a lack of atmosphere. We moved to the Caribbean side and loved the room and the fact we had room to sit on the balcony whereas we couldn't on the Mediterranean side. Overall the staff were very pleasant and friendly. Since we have returned we have been on two additional trips and every conversation we had with people who had been to a Sandals Resort said basically the same thing. Great marketing and poor food.

Again, the common areas were terrific, we were disappointed in the room and some of the restaurants. The Japanese restaurant was average at best, the cook was not qualified in my opinion. He kept dropping the utensils and all the food was overlooked and very tasteless. Eleanor's breakfast service was real slow, my wife and I ordered 2 omlets and it took 1/2 hr. We didn't try the sushi restaurant because of experience we had at Kimonos. The room was clean but the furnishing were old. The TV stand/dresser had broken hardware, and the tub caulking was dirty and falling off. We were in room 807, look for yourself . We spent a lot a money on this holiday and we were a little disappointed since this is considered to be a high-end resort. Pools were exceptional , grounds impeccable, great selection of alcoholic beverages

Room was great, got an upgrade to a one bedroom suite midweek at no cost. Food was good, servers in some restaurants could use some more training. The grounds are very clean and well kept. Would return

My husband and I stay at the Sandals Grande Antigua for our honeymoon. From the moment we arrived it felt like a second home. The resort was breathtaking and so clean. We stayed on the carribbean side and our room was a pool front and garden view. It was beautiful! The room was large and very clean. The pools were amazing and we swam in 3 of them. But we spent must of our time swimming in the ocean, which was breathtaking! We ate at all of the restaurants but our favourite was the barefoot resturant. All of the food was amazing and there was lots of options. The staff were so kind and were always smiling and saying hello. Everyone was so friendly and polite. But there was one staff who went above and beyond with his hospitality. His name is Shannon and he works at the barefoot resturant. He is truly the kindest and must generous person we have ever met. He made our stay there memorable and special. He is an outstanding employee! Thank you Shannon. We highly recommend Sandals Antigua. Thank you to all the staff and to Antigua for welcoming us.

November 16, 2014 Returned. My wife and I just got back from this beautiful resort! The resort reflected in reality exactly as the pictures depicted it! I can't say enough about the resort staff: EVERYONE..and I mean EVERYONE..couldn't do enough for you! The staff are the best of the best!! The food also was barr-none! The care they took in cleaning your room..turning down your bed every night and checking on your personal fridge in your room was so on cue...and welcomed! Nightly entertainment was great and sometimes occurring at different areas of the resort for the different tastes..awesome. We would definitely return to this resort. A special thanks to Julianna in Guest services for assisting us when we received a troubling phone call from home...she made the news easier to deal with. Thanks Julianna!!

The staff were all very friendly. The pool bar tender remembered us from 18 months earlier, The gift shop girl came over to talk to us on her way to work, the management was visible and accessible and the gardeners spoke to us as we passed. My wife in a wheelchair got extra attention an even the OK Corral made special arrangements for us to enjoy their menu as we couldn't get up the stairs. We enjoyed it so much we booked to go back to Sandals in April 2015.

We recently returned from a 2 week vacation at Sandals Grande Antigua, a great vacation at a fabulous resort and we would recommend Sandals Grande Antigua to anyone – it was a perfect vacation for us. Grande Antigua is now our favourite resort – We were at Sandals Grande Antigua for 2 weeks in late April, a great vacation at a fabulous resort and we would recommend Sandals Grande Antigua to anyone – it was a perfect vacation for us. Grande Antigua is now our favourite resort – closely followed by Sandals Whitehouse in Jamaica. Once we landed we were pleasantly surprised as we quickly made it through the airport lines and then 25 minutes later arrived at Sandals where the check in was very quick and well done by the ever smiling Orena. The resort itself was beautiful, the gardens and grounds are amazing, very lush with lots of plants, shrubs, and trees and the gardeners were very busy keeping things looking great. The beach is one of the nicest we have ever seen – and yes there are vendors on the beach but just say “you’re not interested” and they leave you alone. You can walk along the beach for quite a distance on both sides on the “Sandals property” -- making a nice picturesque beach walk a daily must for us. There are at least 5 pools at the resort – the main pool is very large but enjoyable with servers taking drink orders while you relax there. We could always find a chair around the pool, even after lunch. The Caribbean Pool and the other 2 “quiet” pools were frequented by us as well, especially if we just wanted to read, relax, or float around the pool. We found all the restaurants to be good. We had no trouble booking a reservation at either Eleanors or Kimonos and the resort was full the first week we were there. The birds were a nuisance at Bayside at both breakfast and lunch, and we found the service “hit and miss” at Bayside as well during these meals, so we decided to dine elsewhere for most breakfasts and lunches. Bayside has an excellent menu in the evening and we met our favourite waitress the 1st time we dined there – Kellyn is exceptional and we requested her the other times we dined at Bayside. The meals at Eleanors were good but the service was slow, especially the second night. Kimonos was good, OK Corral was very good, Barefoot’s food was excellent at night. We ate at the Drunken Duck both Sundays at noon for their buffet – it’s excellent. Mario’s was our favourite restaurant – breakfast is excellent there with omelets and smoothies made in front of you. The evening meals at Marios were excellent as well, be careful not to fill up on the anti pasta bar as it is amazing and you want to try everything but you have to leave room for the delicious entrees and the famous lava cake – which really is as good as all the reviews say. Ken, one of the managers at Marios, is always helping out and talking to everyone, making your dining experience even better. Soy, the sushi bar is lots of fun with a nice variety of sushi made right in front of you. The sushi chefs are great and very helpful – they made a sushi fan of me – we ate there 3 times. The pizzas at Bella Napoli are very delicious and convenient to take to the pool. A nice surprise was the Courtyard Grab and Go -- the food there was great and it’s very convenient, you could eat in the Courtyard or take it back to the pool, or anywhere else. And don’t forget the Café de Paris – the lattes and other drinks are great and the cookies and other treats really are delicious. It’s a great place to visit any time of the day and all the staff at the café are great. We found the entertainment very good – there was something going on every night at both the Caribbean Courtyard and the bandstand outside of the Drunken Duck. The fire eating / limbo dancer was fun to watch, and one of the highlights was the chocolate buffet – delicious. We were at Sandals for reunion week and the excursion to the beach was lots of fun. One of our highlights was the trip to the school, where we planted shrubs in the school yard while other guests helped the students with their school work. Interacting with these smart young Antiguan children was an experience we will never forget. The one thing that really stood out to us at Sandals Grande Antigua is the staff. Just some of very special staff we met there include Andrea, the environmental manager, we met her at the reunion week dinner and saw her many times around the grounds afterwards – she was always so friendly and helpful and was fun to be with at reunion week excursion and the “tree planting” at the school. Kellyn at Bayside—a great waitress who was always looking out for my wife’s allergy, Gerda in housekeeping – she wasn’t our housekeeper but we saw her many times including the reunion week excursion and the school tree planting, she asked our names after the 2nd day and would say hi and talk to us every time she saw us. Ken at Marios was a great host and always had an interesting story to tell you as you dined. Orena (our colgate girl) at concierge was very friendly and always smiling, and Cecellia at the “Soon Come Back” desk helped us out on many occasions – we called her “the girl who knows everything”. The ever busy manager, Mr G, can be seen helping out everywhere – we first saw him gathering up empty glasses by the main pool, and then saw him every day after, he would always stop to speak and make us feel at home. It’s easy to see he loves his job and passes his enthusiasm on to all his employees. We’re not sure where we are going next year, but we will definitely be back to Sandals Grande Antigua in the future.