Just returned from Sandals Grande Antigua. I'm going to break this review up into "glows" and "grows".
First, the glows. My husband and I luxury travelers, so perhaps our expectations are a bit high. We do love the Sandals resorts and are Sapphire status heading toward Emerald. The beach at this resort is what drew us in. It is incredibly beautiful! People complain about the vendors, but I felt they were okay. We never felt intimidated or pressured. The grounds are so well taken care of. So many flowering trees and beautiful greenery. Again, we love the Sandals brand. We actually got married 23 years ago at Sandals Royal Caribbean.
Here's the lowdown on Grande Antigua. We stayed in one of the Rondovals with a pool and had 3 butlers. They were N'Kosi, Alex, and Charmaine who were wonderful! I cannot say enough about the hospitality and care that they provided us. I don't think my husband and I are real demanding, but they went above and beyond to see that we were waited on and happy throughout the day. They provided snacks, drinks, lunch, and found us the most perfect spots at the pool and beach. I am a Diet Coke addict, and they always had cold cans waiting for me. These folks work so hard and were so sincere. We have had butlers before, and we know when it's a front, but these folks were genuine. Thanks for putting up with us crazy Americans!
The staff in general seemed attentive, especially the bartenders at the main pool who were eager to please. Every restaurant that we frequented had wonderful staff. Go to the spa, you won't be disappointed. Andrea at the spa is a massage master, and Giftare the nail tech was so gentle with my pedi, I almost fell asleep!
Now for some of the "grows". Not a fan of the Rondoval.. we went with it as it was advertised with a private pool, and of course, butlers. It was small, dark, dated, and needed a lot of TLC. There is only one category higher than this, but you would have never known it. The shower was completely exposed with no privacy. There were tiles coming out in the private pool, and the tub was all scratched up. I heard that they will be demolishing these, and I think that's the way to go. We should have done the villas with the pool, but when we were booking, this was not suggested to us. When we were in the main pool, I noticed that there were various cracks in the tile that you could hurt your feet on. I think if you are an older traveler and not aware, this might pose a fall risk/issue. The other grow is that they need to do something about nighttime drinking and snacking. I would have liked some options at the various bars opened at night for snacking, I know that the Drunken Duck has both food and drinks, but this should not be the only place outside of room service to get a snack. Yes, you have Cafe de Paris, but when you are drinking, you want snack food! I never saw a soft serve icecream maker anywhere. I know Sandals RC, and Grenada had one, and of course Beaches in Negril. Could they get one? I think it would be a hit.
The food was just okay. Believe me, I don't expect Michelin dining when at Sandals, but I feel like restaurants such as the OK Corral, and Marios could be better. We are from the Northeast, so maybe our bar for Italian food is too high. I did LOVE any Caribbean food that I ate. The fish was so fresh, and the flavors of the jerk chicken were excellent! I'd like to see more of the authentic local fare as well as Caribbean music at the pool. The music should be on by 10 am. Not sure why it was started later. There were standout folks at the restaurants who made our dining experiences terrific. Carol at Soy was terrific and knows the hospitality business. This lady knows how to get things to run smoothly! Soy was our favorite place to dine at. The sushi was delicious and very fresh. A big shout out to Cathy who was our server at Bayside and the Drunken Duck. She was so accommodating and made great suggestions for food. Finally, the staff at Eleanors are a special group, especially the breakfast crew. Always a smile and right on top of dining requests. The main pool entertainment crew knew how to get the crowd going. Thanks to the DJ for taking my music requests.
So, here's the recap. Come to this resort for the amazing Antigua staff and people, but Adam Stewart needs to attend to the infrastructure of his resort before we would ever come back. We booked Grenada again for 2028, it is our happy place, and we know that every detail will be accounted for. This resort has the potential to be so amazing. Please put the care in upkeep and remodel, and we will return. Thanks again to the amazing staff. We are so grateful for the hospitality. You gave us a wonderful vacation!
