Sandals Antigua Caribbean Village & Spa Hotel, St Johns A&B, Antigua & Barbuda
Hotel Information
Recent Price: £381
Hotel Class:
Hotel Description:
A stylish first class village resort set in lush tropical gardens and on one of the lovliest beaches on the island with an extensive array of all inclusive facilities. An ideal place to relax & enjoy the unique Sandals experience. For Couples aged 18 or over. loading...
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Sandals Antigua Caribbean Village & Spa Hotel Reviews
" Luckily I picked this up on a very... "
Submitted By: Pingu
Luckily I picked this up on a very cheap deal through the Travel Agent’s Travel Club - had I paid the £1600/week going rate I would have been disappointed.
The hotel is a lot older than you would think. From the outside the rooms look more like self catering accommodation in Greece, than a 5* hotel complex in the Caribbean. The facilities aren’t bad - 5 swimming pools (although they are all very small), 3 a la carte restaurants (Italian, Tex Mex and Japanese), one buffet restaurant, 2 tennis courts, 5 Jacuzzis.
Whilst we were there quite a few of the accommodation blocks were being renovated (it doesn’t tell you that in any brochure). It doesn’t look very nice, some of the walkways are closed, and there is constant hammering, banging, drilling etc. Also, they have just started work on extending the hotel. There’s over 100 more rooms being built, and 3 or 4 more restaurants, including a British Pub, another Italian and a Seafood restaurant. When it's finished I am sure it will be great, but in the meantime the crane and noise are a bit of a nuisance.
We were upgraded to a Honeymoon Deluxe Concierge room which was lovely. Big four poster bed, mini bar restocked daily, bath robes etc. The maids were excellent too, and very friendly.
The food was pretty good in all the restaurants, although the buffet was a little repetitive and the food very greasy. The beach BBQ is well worth a visit. The best restaurant is the Japanese 'Kimono's'. The food is cooked in front of you on an open grill in a Japanese style setting - this is also the only air conditioned restaurant at the hotel. The Tex Mex OK Corral and the Italian Il Palio are both in the main hotel area and outdoor which would be nice if it weren’t for the flies. The only eatery that we really didn’t like was the Courtyard Grill open 10.30 - 5.30 and 11pm - 7am. It supposedly serves 'snacks' - we ate there once and didn’t go back all week. It was filthy and the food was cold and dripping in grease.
All the a la carte restaurants require reservations - sittings are at 6.30, 7.45 and 9.00. If you want to eat at 7.45 instead of really late, or too early, book your reservations at the guest services desk in reception the day you arrive. We only managed one 7.45 sitting all week, as the seatings are quite small.
The staff are lovely, although if you are under 25, or look it, don’t expect to be their top priority. We often found we were ignored or it took them twice as long for them to do something for us.
The hotel is 70% British and 30% American. All entertainment is in English, TV is all American channels.
The beach is the best thing about the hotel - apparently it was recently voted the 4th best beach on earth. Just beware if you spend the day on the beach, you will constantly be harassed by locals selling horse riding, jet ski-ing, coconuts, palm tree hats and drugs!
We were a bit upset when we learned that you can no longer swim with dolphins in Antigua. Excursions are available locally - through Sandals the sunset cruise is $50pp and a day trip around the islands including swimming with Stingrays is $160pp. We found that the Casino in St Johns was a good night out (unless you fancy braving the karaoke in the disco, or the sing along in the piano bar!). If you go to reception they will give you a free transfer voucher for the Taxi there - it's only 5 minutes away. Entry is free and if you are gambling, it's free drinks all night.
Overall we had a good time, it's a nice hotel in a lovely location, the weather was fantastic and the people were nice. The opinion of most of the couples we spoke to was that this was probably more of a 4* hotel than a 5*, and I would agree.
I'd definitely go back to Antigua, but probably not to Sandals.
The hotel is a lot older than you would think. From the outside the rooms look more like self catering accommodation in Greece, than a 5* hotel complex in the Caribbean. The facilities aren’t bad - 5 swimming pools (although they are all very small), 3 a la carte restaurants (Italian, Tex Mex and Japanese), one buffet restaurant, 2 tennis courts, 5 Jacuzzis.
Whilst we were there quite a few of the accommodation blocks were being renovated (it doesn’t tell you that in any brochure). It doesn’t look very nice, some of the walkways are closed, and there is constant hammering, banging, drilling etc. Also, they have just started work on extending the hotel. There’s over 100 more rooms being built, and 3 or 4 more restaurants, including a British Pub, another Italian and a Seafood restaurant. When it's finished I am sure it will be great, but in the meantime the crane and noise are a bit of a nuisance.
We were upgraded to a Honeymoon Deluxe Concierge room which was lovely. Big four poster bed, mini bar restocked daily, bath robes etc. The maids were excellent too, and very friendly.
The food was pretty good in all the restaurants, although the buffet was a little repetitive and the food very greasy. The beach BBQ is well worth a visit. The best restaurant is the Japanese 'Kimono's'. The food is cooked in front of you on an open grill in a Japanese style setting - this is also the only air conditioned restaurant at the hotel. The Tex Mex OK Corral and the Italian Il Palio are both in the main hotel area and outdoor which would be nice if it weren’t for the flies. The only eatery that we really didn’t like was the Courtyard Grill open 10.30 - 5.30 and 11pm - 7am. It supposedly serves 'snacks' - we ate there once and didn’t go back all week. It was filthy and the food was cold and dripping in grease.
All the a la carte restaurants require reservations - sittings are at 6.30, 7.45 and 9.00. If you want to eat at 7.45 instead of really late, or too early, book your reservations at the guest services desk in reception the day you arrive. We only managed one 7.45 sitting all week, as the seatings are quite small.
The staff are lovely, although if you are under 25, or look it, don’t expect to be their top priority. We often found we were ignored or it took them twice as long for them to do something for us.
The hotel is 70% British and 30% American. All entertainment is in English, TV is all American channels.
The beach is the best thing about the hotel - apparently it was recently voted the 4th best beach on earth. Just beware if you spend the day on the beach, you will constantly be harassed by locals selling horse riding, jet ski-ing, coconuts, palm tree hats and drugs!
We were a bit upset when we learned that you can no longer swim with dolphins in Antigua. Excursions are available locally - through Sandals the sunset cruise is $50pp and a day trip around the islands including swimming with Stingrays is $160pp. We found that the Casino in St Johns was a good night out (unless you fancy braving the karaoke in the disco, or the sing along in the piano bar!). If you go to reception they will give you a free transfer voucher for the Taxi there - it's only 5 minutes away. Entry is free and if you are gambling, it's free drinks all night.
Overall we had a good time, it's a nice hotel in a lovely location, the weather was fantastic and the people were nice. The opinion of most of the couples we spoke to was that this was probably more of a 4* hotel than a 5*, and I would agree.
I'd definitely go back to Antigua, but probably not to Sandals.
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- Date of Holiday:Sep 2005
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:TATC
My partner and I are in our early 30s and do not have children so staying in a couples only resort was actually very refreshing. The hotel was undergoing some work whilst we were there but great effort was taken to keep guests away from this so it didn't really bother us.
The beach is beautiful but there are no sunshades - you need to stay in the grounds for that and space is limited. The beach is public so you will get approached by hawkers - they go away with a firm "no".
The food was mostly very good - our favourite was actually the main restaurant, which is buffet style during the day but waiter service in the evening - with an excellent choice of dishes which changed for the 2nd week. The Italian restaurant was OK but the Tex Mex was greasy and the service terrible the night we went in. The Japanese was a shame for us - the food was fantastic but being seated at a table with 8 Americans was a bit too loud for us! Oh - for a private table!
This brings me to the evenings and the entertainment; karaoke very popular, as was embarrassing the newly weds - amusing to watch a couple of times but severely limited so most evenings we ate late and a bottle of wine kept us later. If you are contemplating getting married at a resort like this - be warned, it is like a conveyor belt - there was one evening where 6 newly weds were all having their first dance at the same time - quite a sight!
Other tips - don't pay for bottled water from the shop - the waiters are happy to give you a bottle when you leave any of the restaurants or there is a water cooler next to the bar you can take the water jug from your room to (we spent a fortune before we cottoned on!). Also, if you fancy a quiet night on your patio - the bar staff will happily give you a bottle of wine to take back.
Overall, I've stayed in better, but not bad.