Galley Bay Resort

After reading the reviews on Galley Bay we decided that it was worth a visit as we try to have a week away without the kids in March. We stayed in a Gaugin cottage which was like being in the middle of the jungle ! Plenty of bird and insect noises plus the distant roar of the sea nearby, it was beautifull. Part of the cottage had a shaded area with sunbeds which was ideal either early morning to drink your champagne or early evening to drink your champagne !! Either way it was a nice bit of shade to chill out. We found the staff to be top notch , all of them from waiters to the housekeeper to the groundstaff very friendly and cheery. The restaurants served up some lovely grub- I have never eaten so much fish- and good quality wine to go with it. We just thought that some mornings a breakfast buffet would have been a nice option with different things to choose from, there are only so many ways you can have your eggs !! Also a bit of background music wouldn't have gone amiss up at the bars. it was just a bit too starchy ( like some of the people) The evening entertainment was quite good when they got going. We asked Keri Ann behind the bar what one group were like and she pulled a face but added that if people got up to dance they revved it up a bit and they sure did ! The elderley gent that was one of the lead singers changed from being totally bored beyond belief to this person jigging about belting out songs that I'm sure wasn't on the agenda, because he had a few people in front of him that were having a great old time. Not just him but the whole band, they came alive. So to sum the place up : Beautifull place with views to die for (turqoise waters) excellent food and staff ( the two Kerriannes, Nola , natasha, Lisa and of course Levique ) spotlessly clean accomodation and a totally chilled out environment, ideal for forgetting lifes problems. Would we go back ? Probabaly, after all if we want loud and brassy we could always slum it at the Royal Antiquan..

We returned from our trip in December 2003 and can't wait to go back. Everything about this resort exceeded our expectations of what a honeymoon in paradise should be. We stayed in the Superior Beachfront Suite and thought the size, luxury, view, and service was exceptional. The 2 restaurants served excellent food and responded nicely to our every request. The beach and grounds were beautiful, too. We were looking for a 5 star, quiet, relaxed, beautiful place without a lot of people and found this was the perfect place!

My (new) husband and I vacationed at Galley Bay from January 29th to February 7th. We chose Galley Bay for our honeymoon after extensively researching dozens of hotels around the Caribbean. It was exactly what we were looking for: a beautiful paradise with great food, a quiet, almost deserted beach, and as much privacy as you could want. We stayed in a superior beachfront room (#11) and we felt that it may just be the most private room in the entire resort! We felt that we had our own cottage on the beach, and the beach chairs were right behind the private patio, so we didn't need to pack our things up to go to the beach, we just had to step outside. The ocean was a little rough, but there was only one day where we did not swim at all. Otherwise, you can just go past where the waves break and it is perfectly calm. Great bodysurfing! The food was absolutely delicious, we loved that it was a la carte; the restaurant is practically on the beach, which was beautiful. We alternated between the regular and Gaugin restaurants for lunches and dinners, and found great variety (the chocolate truffle dessert at the Gaugin was AMAZING). The only negative was that at almost every meal, something was forgotten--water, ketchup, bacon, drinks. It was as though they had a set routine of when they brought out your drinks, food, etc. and if you asked for something at the wrong time, they would not remember it. However, we were feeling very relaxed and happy, and this did not affect our vacation. The members of the staff are wonderfully friendly, especially Levique and Mike. The pool was beautiful, and although we are beach people at heart, we spent a great deal of time there. We had read reviews saying how loud the ocean was at night, and had thought that we would love it (how can that be negative?) However, the waves were ASTONISHINGLY loud. You cannot imagine until you are there. The first two nights we slept with the windows open and I jumped awake multiple times thinking the roof was coming down. However, once we started sleeping with the windows closed and the air conditioning on, the sound was dulled to a beautiful soothing music. Every morning, we would sit with coffee on our back terrace, where we were visited by the most adorable singing birds (they just wanted to steal our sugar packets!) Overall, it is the most nature-friendly, beautiful, romantic resort at which I have stayed, and was perfect for the honeymoon where you want to feel like you are the only people around.

Galley Bay was beautiful. The only disappointment was the rough water. This was the first time I've been to an island, and was looking forward to swimming every day in the sea. We were able to get in 3 of the 7 days we were there. They have a relaxing pool, but it is not the same. I would rate the resort a 10, since they can't control the water. We went there for our daughter's wedding at St. James Club. She had calm water and the wedding was excellant. Galley Bay was everything they advertised. It was a vaction in paradise. The only regret was the water. We are already looking into going back to Antigua, but are looking at a resort with calmer water. Most people told us Long Bay was always calm. I think we'll try Pineapple next. Will post when we return.

We spent two weeks in Galley Bay in a Superior Beachfront Room (#4) and it was the best holiday of our life. We got married there and we will always have Galley Bay in our hearts. The staff was wonderful, so friendly and always making you feel special. Our wedding was truly memorable not only for the scenery, but for the staff that made it so even more. We were treated all day as royal and everybody was so excited for us. Our room was amazing and went above all our expectations. We opened the door to the patio and we were so close to the water, we couldn't believe our eyes. The food was delicious and we miss it a lot! Especially the fish, and the salads and desserts, everything really! The maitre d' Mike was a great guy and made our dinners and lunches even more special, he was friendly but very professional. Natasha and Kerry Ann as well were great. Everywhere was very clean and the beach amazing. We went on a Wadadli cruise and had the best time as well, as the crew was really great. All in all paradise, to wake up and look at the beautiful sea, to fall asleep with the sound of the waves and the birds, it is in our hearts and we will be back there for our anniversary as soon as we can afford it again! The saddest day was when we left Galley Bay and Antigua, a truly memorable place and country.

What a lovely week we spent at Galley Bay! It was spectacular - the only thing we would have changed is the strength of the sea - not your usual calm tranquil Carribean - difficult to swim in, and a bit noisy at night. Neither of these 'complaints' can be sorted by the hotel itself of course, and in all other respects we found the hotel outstanding. The staff were truly attentive and friendly, the food was excellent, maid service exemplary, and the surroundings magical. We had our second week at Blue Waters - and we were so disappointed in the contrast!!

We went to Galley Bay for two weeks in october with friends & I can honestly say that it was our best holiday yet. OK ,so the sea was quite rough on a couple of days, but mainly it was flat calm.We were on the upper floor of a deluxe beachfront & the view across the bay was breathtaking. The food was excellent & if there was anything anyone particularly liked the chef would prepare it for them. They were very good with me as I am wheat intolerant & I was given a special menu.You could have as much as you liked & one of our friends always asked for extra soup & never any questions asked. We enjoyed the dancing in the evening & the staff were always most helpful & friendly. all in all an excellent holiday & we will be back !!

Overall, the reviews I've read on this site have been pretty accurate of the resort. My wife and I just got back from Galley Bay (Oct. 21-28) on our honeymoon and I'd like to offer up our detailed review, as well as some advice. The positives: The location is outstanding and the beach is beautiful. Overall the water is clear and a really pretty color (light aqua). The sand is silky soft to walk on. In addition, the resort is actually isolated off on its own, away from the crowded resorts you'll find on Dickenson Bay (where Sandals and others are located). In seven days there, we only ran into maybe two vendors trying to sell things. Not a big deal, and they only came around on the weekends. Ignore them and they will leave you alone and respect your privacy. Also, the pool is great. It's very nice and it's great to take a dive in at the end of the day after swimming in the salty and sandy ocean. The bars are really nice too, utilize them often! We stayed in the Deluxe Beachfront room (second from the top) and were in an upstairs room. The room was very nice with a spacious walk in closet, very nice, large bathroom with dual sinks, and a nice size room for sleeping with a coffee table lounging area. There were two balconies--one in front and one in back which were very spacious as well. The rooms were nice--no doubt---not real luxurious, but a perfect tropical setting. The staff in our opinion was the most impressive feature of the resort. Everyone from the groundskeepers, to the wait staff, to the housekeeping crew were extremely friendly and helpful. The staff takes the time to get to know you and your tastes. A perfect example was when my wife was asking the bartenders the first couple of days on the trip for a sauvignon blanc wine which they were all out of (in fact they didn't even carry a house sauvignon blanc anymore)---their standard white wine was a chardonnay. We showed up at the gougin restaurant for a nice romantic dinner on the third night and the waitress brought out a bottle of wine in a bucket and put it on the table and said "The wine you requested". We said we hadn't ordered any wine yet, she must have had the wrong table. She said "The sauvignon blanc? You've been asking for it the last 3 days, we brought it in for you. We've been noticing your request." This is impeccable service in my mind. On top of that, the next day at lunch, Mike Matthews, the Maitre' D, asked us if we enjoyed the wine (he wasn't even at the dinner the night before!), and claimed that they had enough sauvignon blanc on hand to accomdate us for the rest of our vacation. (And no, we were not charged anything on our final bill). Incredible! In addition, on our last day when we checked out at 5 am for a 7am flight, we couldn't make it to breakfast (starts at 7am), but the crew made a takeout grab bag of fruit, a snack bar, and a bottle of water to send us on our way! What thoughtfulness! As far as the food, overall it was excellent! There is plenty to choose from and even if you are a bit of a picky eater like me, you can find something to eat at every meal and almost every meal was top notch. The only menu that changes is the Sea Grape's dinner menu. The breakfast and lunch menu's as well as the Gougin restaurant's dinner menu are all fixed. Thurs. night is BBQ night--which is pretty good I might add. Don't miss it. You do have to make reservations for the Gougin, and I highly recommend eating dinner there at least 2 nights. The food is excellent and the ambience is much more intimate and romantic and well worth the reservation required. If you're on you're honeymoon, definitely make it a point to eat there. The negatives: There were a few negatives that you should be aware of. First off, we had some issues with bugs in our room. Mainly little cockroaches--we caught about 4 in our room scurrying around at various times---one was crawling on our bed when we came home. This is a huge turnoff for me, especially if I'm paying several $$$ hundred dollars a night for a room. I realize it's the tropics and there are insects and other creatures you may run into, but the last thing I want on my honeymoon is to not be able to sleep for fear of a creepy bug crawling around on me in my sleep. When we showed up in the room, there was a can of bug spray in the closet---should have known then we might have a problem. If you drink enough booze and then go to bed, you won't think about the potential for bugs in the room. However, this got old about day 3. So day 3, I sprayed the cracks around the doors and windows and basically drained the whole can of bug spray to try and perform my own preventive "pest control", just like the guys that come to our house in the US and spray the problem areas. I thought it worked, but I found two more roaches in the bathroom twice even after my own treatment. I honestly couldn't figure out where they were coming from since the doors and windows are sealed pretty tight and I had no clue how these bugs (not that tiny), were getting in. Finally I decided they must have been coming in through the shower drain in the bathroom. So from then on, I covered the shower drain with a towel at all times when I wasn't showering, and also pulled the drain up in both sinks to ensure nothing could get in through the drain pipes. After that, I never saw another roach or bug in the room again for the remaining 4 days of the trip. It was really odd we had bugs given we were on a top floor. Anyway, that's my advice if you have a bug problem--spray the possible entry points and cover the drain holes in the bathroom. The second thing that is annoying, is that except for the top of the line rooms (the Premium Beachfront Suites), none of the rooms at Galley Bay have any windows. They all have screens on the windows with wooden shutters that you can shut. All rooms have an A/C unit, but it is terribly inefficient to cool the room (at least ours because it was pretty large), when you have cold air leaking out of the small gaps in the shutters. At night, you better turn your A/C unit on a good two hours before you go to bed if you want some relief from the heat and humidity. The tempature cools off naturally at night, but the humidity is what makes it uncomfortable to sleep in without A/C. You have to figure that they lose a lot of money in electricity costs with those A/C units cranking away all night (and day sometimes). Also, having windows in the rooms would cut down on the noise at night when you try to sleep that everyone on this site talks about (the ocean waves crashing and the frogs/crickets). A minor gripe--the beach is beautiful, but really the best part of the beach is the right half (if you are looking at the ocean). The south part of the beach is very rocky and hard to swim in. In fact, if the waves are rough, it can be dangerous. It seems odd to me that the the two nicest styles of rooms were built on the half of the beach where the rockiest parts are--so be prepared to hike a little ways to get to the swimmable area with the soft sand if you're staying in the Deluxe or Premium suites (but hey--it's an excuse to pass by the bar!). Another minor gripe - The bird lagoon needs to go. You'll see a few birds in the lagoon but nothing spectacular. Plus the lagoon is a mirky brown, looks like some swamp that you would find in Lousiana that should be filled with crocodiles. Not to mention that this stagnant lagoon is a sure breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects. Other notes from our trip: Rent a car and drive the island! This was a blast and Galley Bay will hook you up with ATS rental services. We saw Shirley Heights (a must see), St. John's, Betty's Hope, and many other sites. If you get going by 9am, you can tour the entire island in a day if you are efficient. Other resorts---Unless you want a crowded mass of people, stay away from any resort on Dickensen Bay. This includes the touted Sandals. Just looked like a mess of vendors and people all over the beach. Jumby Bay, if you can afford it, looks spectacular (we almost went there). We actually toured Blue Waters resort while we there and were quite impressed. This looks like a nice resort as well--not as quaint as Galley Bay, but nice rooms (windows!), nice bars and restaurants, and a pretty nice beach. St. John's shopping area by the cruise ship docks is good as well. Check it out if you are into the shopping scene. The Grand Princess casino is the nicest if you want gambling. It was dead when we were there (must be the slow season effect). STAY AWAY from the progressive lotto game--we got ripped off big time! It's the one where you draw lotto balls out. This is a total scam! We did the Wadadli Cats snorkeling trip to Bird Island. This was a lot of fun and the staff was excellent on the boat. Things we didn't do but looked like fun: Jolly Roger and a trip to Montserrat where the active volcano is.

We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary at Galley Bay (Oct. 11-15, 2003), after extensive on-line research. The day of our arrival (at beachfront room #7- the better part of the beach, we felt), a brief rain drizzle accompanied a glorious rainbow, right over our room! It was a good indicator for the next several days. The beach was clean, with powdery sand (several steps from our door), and the water slightly cloudy (some small waves) due to hurricane season, but no problem to swim in. This was a beautiful beach. The room was always kept clean, with a good-sized bathroom and comfortable furnishings- not luxurious, but befitting the island surroundings. The towels were clean, but some were a bit threadbare and scraggly around the edges (I'm nitpicking here!!). The towels are brought to your room every day (unlike some places where you are allotted a towel in exchange for a card). Antigua is humid at this time of the year, so be prepared, especially at night if you are dressing up a bit for dinner. The room had a ceiling fan which worked well, but there are no glass windows if you want to use the A/C. This did not bother us much. The Seagrape restaurant served good food, as did the Gauguin (which is more intimate and required reservations). We enjoyed the best lobster ever at Gauguin (they are called spiny lobsters and do not have large claws like the North American ones, as we found out). The bars all served premium liquor. The staff was exceptional (Hi, Kerry Ann- the one who wears glasses!!). We enjoyed good professional Swedish massages as well. We did not feel like using the pool at all since the beach was so nice, even though it is beautifully designed with a waterfall. The grounds are well-landscaped with lush foliage and lots of frogs to keep you company at night. The noise of the sea is pretty loud in the beachfront room, but we found it to be a heavenly sound. The mood of Galley Bay is geared to upscale couples looking for a quiet, low-key place to relax, without any tacky Club Med- style entertainment, gaudy megaresort atmosphere, or beer cans in the sand (as we sadly experienced several years ago on our honeymoon in Aruba- what a disgrace!). You are paying for a private, tasteful location at Galley Bay-not for some pseudo- Grecian temple plopped in a multicolored swimming pool with a noisy bar. We hope to return to Galley Bay, and have recommended it to our friends.

I read some of the reviews on this site after we'd booked our honeymoon and was a bit concerned by some of the comments. However, the TripAdvisor, UK review of 9 October 2003 did not stay at the same hotel as me. My Galley Bay was unbelievably beautiful. The beach was fabulous, long and sandy. We stayed in a Superior Beachfront room and are glad that we didn't upgrade to a higher class room. We could open our back door and walk straight onto the beach from our little patio. The food was simply excellent, with a vast menu which changed every day, as were the cocktails. We have travelled a lot but have never stayed somewhere with such a friendly atmosphere with staff who bent over backwards to try to help you as much as they could and always with a smile. If you want to stay with 2000 other people in a faceless hotel which has exactly the same features as its sister hotel in any other place in the world, I would recommend Sandals or The four seasons. If you want to go to an individual hotel, with an unparalelled level of customer service, fantastic food, drink, views and beach, try Galley Bay. If you are looking for a place to go to be spoilt and to completely unwind, or for a honeymoon, I cannot reccommend Galley Bay enough. It is the most romantic, beautiful hotel I have ever stayed, and we will definitely be going back. The place is simply paradise!