Dian Bay Resort & Spa Hotel

Our party arrived at the Dian Bay 25th June to be welcomed by a friendly receptionist & began to relax immediately. We were showed to our rooms which were huge by any standard & had large balconies with furniture. We met at the open air bar which had stunning views across the bay & were offered some well deserved cocktails. From then on the holiday was exactly what we wanted - a chilled out trip offering excellent food in a smallish hotel with beautiful beaches & scenery & a few activities if we felt energetic. The restaurant staff were occasionally a little unfriendly but Keserine & her big smile made up for this. The chef Bernard is the biggest asset to the staff however. The food was not only excellent but he made an effort to meet the guests to get feedback & was more than happy to act on our suggestions, in particular to add sandwiches to the afternoon tea. He was enthusiastic about the food & has brilliant ideas for improvements to make the dining experience unsurpassable. Overall we really enjoyed our stay & would love to re-visit.

If you are looking for a place to get a way from it all and to sample the culinary delights of the Caribbean, “Dian Bay Spa Resort” is the resort to head for. This is not a place for teeny boppers, or a if you crave excitement, but a tranquil Spa Resort that is exactly as it sound, where you can relax and unwind. It is not billed as a 5 star resort, because it isn’t, it’s more of a “boutique” hotel. There is isn’t a raging nightlife that most hotel offers, in fact when the free bar (all Inclusive) closes there is nothing much to do unless you travel into town for the nightlife.( something that I was getting away from) which is why Dian Bay was most appealing. The Spa services are basic but effective, as I was treated to an anti stress massage, and I found it extremely difficult to get up from the massage table, as the girl worked wonders with her hands, so my body belonged to me no longer. There are some water sports available but you can take it or leave it, and as we just wanted to relax, we watched other guests joining in the fun and games. The food is excellent and rich; the chef competes with his own talents each day to offer a visual and tasteful menu to the guest. He leaves the kitchen and speak to each guests whilst they are eating which I found to be very effective as a way to gain honest feedback A quiet resort with professional and friendly staff, they made me feel welcome and by the second day I was on a first name basis with all of them. I went with friends and had a wonderful time; we mingled with staff and guest alike and found them to be most helpful, we even visited Montserrat and couldn’t wait to get back to the Dian Bay as we found the Monserratians very unfriendly. As a traveller, I enjoy visiting new countries and Antigua is one of the Caribbean islands that I have been hearing about, but never took the time to visit, I have already booked my spot to return to the Dian Bay. Whilst sunning myself by the pool on a particularly hot day, a gentleman came and erected my umbrella to deflect the heat... I later found out that is was the General Manager of the hotel... where else can you find the general manager so at home that he will open your umbrella for you… that small gesture made me feel welcome. I will be back in a few months !

Our room was not ready on arrival had to wait over an hour, no welcome drink or offer to get one while we waited in the heat. Room clean but slightly damp and smelled of cats which wore off after two days. Liked the resort and the three tier pools kept very clean as was our room. Safe did not work asked for it to be fixed four days in a row, gave up in the end. Beaches and swimming could not be bettered in a small resort, plenty of drinks but only had pool/beach service twice in the week, male staff friendly, femal staff more standoffish. The food was dreadful, worst we have ever had on an all inclusive holiday in the Caribbean, very poor quality and never much choice, we costed the buffet one evening at about £1 per head and lunch buffet one day at around 50p per person. As the hotel is somewhat isolated it is quite costly to eat out as transport is essential (taxi or hire car). If the food and the service had been better we would return as the holiday was very quiet and relaxing, but it was a good job ourselves and other guests had a good sense of humour in the restaurant.

My husband and I stayed at the Dian Bay Hotel we just got back few days ago. If you are looking for a luxurious hotel this not for you. If you want some quiet time and relaxing time this is for you. Take your faviorite book with you. There is not much activties at this hotel. The staffs are freindly they took care of us. Food was not all that great need to improve. The chief upon our request he had made a dish for us he was very nice went around the table he welcome everyone. During diner we enjoyed the alive music We got a chance to get away from busy life to quiet place gave us a chance to spend with each other. That is what we were looking for. If you ask us will we go back to Dian Bay Resort yes for the quiet time not for the food. I want thank all the staff for being freindly especially Bently he was extreamly nice.

We just arrived back from a week at Dian Bay, Antigua. This was our first time out of Europe to a location described as paradise. I think not. On arrival from our over priced Virgin Atlantic flight we arrived at V.C. Bird International. This has to be the most awful and disorganized airport I have ever been too. It was small and everyone was crushed into a tiny little room with no aircon in 30' temperatures to fill out imigration forms. There were fans on the roof, but when we asked the staff to switch them on they simply said no. After 1 hour and 30 minutes we finally made it out of the airport to get our transfer. Again disorganization and 30 minutes waiting before we finally got the taxi for the 30 minute drive to Dian Bay. When we first got there we didnt even realize it was the resort, as there seemed to be no proper entrance. We checked in and headed to our room. At first I thought we had gone to butlins, as the colour scheme was rather tacky, with the doors being marked out with something that looked like it was hand made by a toddler. Inside the room we were first welcomed by the loud aircon system. The room was quite spacious and decorated inside with nice pastel colours. There was a balcony overlooking the bay which had a nice view. The only bad point was that the bed squeaked rather loud, and was not the most comfortable. The room had coffee making facilities, good sized tv and fair cupboard space. There was a safe in the room, well at least i thought it was. It was a metal box fixed in the cupboard, but had no lock, so was a waste of time having it there, instead I had to use my suitcase to keep valuables. The bathroom was far worse then the bedroom. It was in a horrible state, badly furnished, and there was ants. While in the shower I could see hundreds of ants walking across the celling. They also had a metal soap holder in the bath, with rather sharp edges, and bad placing. So bad that my partner ending up cutting her back on it, when getting out the bath once. We finally had unpacked and headed down to see the rest of the resort. First we ventured past reception and to the swimming pool, which was descriped as being a nice 3-tier pool. Infact only 2 parts of the pool were open. The largest section was drained, and the bottom was filled with muck. There was what looked like police tape wrapped around it. Then we walked amoung the butlin style buildings down to the bar-restaurant section. This looked nice, all open up, with nice views overlooking the beach and the bay. We checked out the beach, nice white sand and clear water, but very small. Although they do offer a free water taxi across the bay to lovers beach, which was a more secluded beach and much bigger. We had some drinks at the bar and there were some very nice fruit crushes there. The restaurant offered a variety of different food, changing day to day. There was a buffet breakfast, which had a reasonable choice. Lunch and dinner buffet choices varied everyday, but had rice and chicken everytime. The Lunch and dinner was only satifactory. Every few nights they would do a A La Carte menu, which had a tiny choice, and the meals were based on presentation not quality. There was little choice of watersports on the beach. Kyacking, and snorkling seems all there was. The staff on the beach were friendly, but when you wanted a water taxi, or equipment for water sports, it was hard often to find them. On one occasion we got the taxi to lovers beach, then the watersports man spoke to a couple of locals on the beach, and drank beers with them for half an hour, which I thought was very unprofessional. A few staff members were very nice and helpful, but most seemed moody, and one in particular was extremely unprofessional. While out in a kyack I saw him urinating up the wall at the side of the hotel, and he made some EXTREMELY rude comments. Sadly there is far to much to say, and Il sum up Antigua as a whole for you....A run down dump with nice beaches. Avoid like the plague

When i first arrived at this place i felt a bit dissapointed from my first impressions of it. The staff at the reception who greeted us were ok, one woman was quite friendly but there was a younger girl with her who seemed less friendly and seemed to have an attitude problem. Our room was ok, but i thought the bathroom facilities could have been much better. The shower water was always changing from hot to cold even though i had set the mix taps to the right temperature. I had a nice time using the two beaches, the one on the hotel and lover's beach, and got on well with most of the staff. That is except for one particular member who me and my boyfriend found extremley unproffessional and rude. My boyfriend even saw him doing his business up the side of the hotel wall and the guy even made inappropriate comments about another employee to my boyfriend. We were told that we could have an excursion to Barbuda but when we inquired they said their boat that took people there wasn't even running, and we were told there was dolphin swimming only to then be told there wasn't anymore when we asked. One of the pools was closed down with police style tape around it. The food was ok, good variety, but i found the food from the a la carte menu dissapointing. I will defend the place in saying that there were some members of staff that we found very helpful and friendly, but another thing that bugged me was that this resort is suppossed to be adults only yet right at the end of our stay (Luckily) I saw loads of kids running around, what's that about!? Well in that case people have been given a false description and i'm sure that couples would be very annoyed if they sepcifically booked a hotel for adults for their honeymoon only to see little kids running around. I'm sorry to moan so much but i was dissapointed and think that me and my boyfriend were ripped off.

I was in dire need of a short getaway vacation. Dian Bay was the answer!! Dian Bay is a quiet getaway. The room was clean and comfortable and had a magnificent view of the bay. The staff was friendly and attentive. If you are looking for a remote, quiet, relaxing and romantic setting, Dian Bay is the place. I look forward to my visit, which I hope is sooner than later.

I have now been to Dian Bay 3 times in the last 13 months, and I love it more each time I visit. For me, the great attraction is that it is not your regular trashy tourist trap. With only 50-odd rooms, it is small, and that makes truly personal service possible. The rooms are large, clean and comfortable, with stunning views across the beautiful bay to Lovers Beach(to which you will be cheerfully ferried in the resort's own boats). I am very partial to good fresh food, well prepared and presented, and that is exactly what you get in the dining room which overlooks the bay, almost al-fresco. Ditto the bar, where you can have virtually any beverage known to man. Above all, there is a refreshing lack of pretentiousness about the place, a great plus for me, as are the very reasonable rates. If you are looking for a teeny-bopping resort, then this isn't the place for you. If what you are after is a good, relaxing and entertaining time, at reasonable rates, you would struggle to do better than this. I'll be back!

Have just returned from our best holiday ever at this lovely hotel. If you're looking for action packed activities and pool aerobics then read no further this is not the place for you! If on the other hand you want peace and relaxation in a friendly, beautiful place then book up now. The room we stayed in was a standard garden view which also had great views of the pool and the sea. The room was spacious , comfortable and very clean with a large balcony for that late night rum punch. The food was excellent with plenty of choice. Buffet and a la carte on alternate nights. We had an all inclusive deal and there were plenty of local drinks to choose from, try a Sun Cream cocktail , its delicious. The staff were friendly and obliging and a taxi service runs from the hotel to Shirley Heights every Sunday evening for the party which includes barbeque, and steel and regge bands , we had a great evening , would definetly recommend it . The beach in front of the hotel is quite small but you can get the free taxi boat to lovers beach across the bay , beautiful with clear warm waters for swimming. One piece of advice , if you are taking any money then make sure it is in small denominations preferably US dollars. There never seemed to be any change for anything we wanted to pay for e.g facial at the spa, premium drinks etc which made it difficult to give tips to the staff. Overall if you want total chill, in beautiful surroundings then get on to your travel agent and pay your money . You will love it!

My husband and I stayed at the Dian Bay Hotel in March 2005. This is a beautiful and unassuming hotel. First of all, it is very pretty. It is not super luxurious, but one feels that one is getting very good value for your money as it is not discount either. It is very comfortable, with nice large rooms. It is also very clean. We were made to feel very welcome by the staff who always had smiles on their faces. The General Manager, Brian reminded us of Geoffrey Holder with his booming laugh and warm manner. We also enjoyed the delicious food cooked with loving care and innovative flair by the French West Indian chef who came by the tables each night to see if we enjoyed the meal. The hotel is not in the midst of any action either, but there was some entertainment some nights. If you are looking for a place to recharge your batteries, this is it. We welcomed the quiet and did venture into St. Johns from time to time, but truth be told, we were very happy in the calm and tranquility of Dian Bay. We also made friends with the other guests who were also raving about the place. We all felt as if we had discovered a well kept secret. We plan to go back again soon. It really is fantastic and we have recommended it to all our freinds.