Antigua, Sandals Antigua Resort & Spa Review

Overall Rating

Beautiful beach, gorgeous gardens, fantastic food, wonderful weather. Inclusive food & drink, beach towels, sun loungers, maid service, (clean room & change towels/linen daily if needed)& air-con in rooms. Concierge staff, maid service, waitresses, bellboys & beauty salon staff very helpful & friendly.
No screaming, unsupervised kids!

Staff we encountered in reception, shop & bar quite unhelpful, surly & awkward with "attitudes" - very unexpected & shocking!
No air-con in most restaurants - very humid!
Rooms & lounge area quite shabby - needed an update in the decor area in our opinion.
Most of the evening entertainment started too late for us, piano player in the only air-con part of the entertainment area didn't start til we went to bed - 11pm! (Night club started at 10pm).
Had to pay for everything extra in US dollars but would only change up sterling in Caribbean dollars at reception, very unhelpful!
Beauty Salon & hairdressers VERY expensive & they automatically add a 15% service charge at the end of your bill, (on top of prices printed in brochure) - beware!

This is my personal opinion of how I perceived my holiday/honeymoon at the Sandals Antigua Resort & Spa;
If you are expecting an all shiny, new, perfect resort like the adverts you'll be a bit disappointed. Unfortunately because I'd fantasized it would be like the brochure & video, I felt let-down. We ended up deciding we were not going to ruin our honeymoon by sulking, as it's not all bad. After a couple of days we worked out where the quiet pool was, (NOT the pool bar, as it's full of intoxicated, loud couples playing water-polo etc - lots of screaming & screeching & shouting). We found where the romantic, quiet part of the beach was, (down by the honeymoon suites) & stayed near the "English" contingent where it was peaceful in the Bayside restaurant, (breakfast & lunch).
We don't really drink much alcohol & had to request they clear our fridge of "liquor" then we asked for OJ, milk & diet coke, oh & a kettle, no problems done quickly & courteously!
You feel very safe, as there are a lot of security staff about, we left books & bags on our loungers at lunch time & so did most people & we didn't hear of anyone having problems.
You had to go to the bar for drinks which was a bit annoying, as we'd expected a pool/beach waitress service. There didn't seem to be enough staff on at the bar, as it was frequently closed around 10am for approx' an hour & when it was open you had to queue for drinks. I was frequently passed over for other people when I'd been waiting longer & then the staff were quite surly, very slow & would slam your drink down on the counter without a word! I eventually refused to go to the bar area & made my husband go, as they intimidated me so much.
In comparison the staff in the Bayside restaurant were so smiley, helpful, efficient & courteous it was quite a contrast.
We started feeling non-special to be honest, because every couple we seemed to talk to was on honeymoon too!
I'd say if you want a fun, loud, party type holiday with lots of water sports, alcohol & food near a beautiful beach, then yes you'll love it. But if you want a secluded, quiet, and romantic honeymoon where you are pampered & waited on hand & foot, choose somewhere else, like we should have really! We were told that the St Lucian Grande is more like that, by a few couples we met that had been there, however it is more expensive & I can't speak 1st hand!