Tamarind Hills Resort and Villas

READ CAREFULLY! DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR SAFETY. We traveled extensively for both work and family vacations, but our stay at Tamarind Hills in Antigua was by far the worst experience we’ve ever had. The main issue was the manager, ALFREDO DIEDRICH, who did nothing to address the numerous problems we faced. Our bathroom didn’t work properly, the shower flooded our room multiple times, and we had bugs in the room. Despite repeated requests for help, nothing was resolved. To make matters worse, a taxi driver arranged by the hotel harassed my daughter, and when we brought it to ALFREDO'S attention, he couldn’t have cared less. He was completely dismissive and showed no concern for our safety or comfort. This place was a disaster, and the lack of care and professionalism from ALFREDO made it even worse. I would never recommend this resort to anyone. Please note the dates and times the hotel staff and manager replied to our needs: **Text Conversations with the Front Desk:** - **2/18:** Checked into the hotel; advised to communicate via WhatsApp. - **2/19:** Notified front desk of clogged toilet and broken coffee machine; maintenance arrived on 2/21. - **2/20:** Requested drinking water and paper towels; did not receive them. Followed up on 2/21 and 2/23.Hotel was clear with us to not drink the water from the faucet. Our room had a tabletop water dispenser holding large jugs of filtered water tat can only be obtained by the hotel via WhatsApp. - **2/22:** Reported a flooded shower and hundreds of bugs in the room and the entry (see attached pics). - **2/23:** Received an apology text for the inconveniences; maintenance came on 2/24. - **2/24:** Hotel manager ALFREDO DIEDRICH finally contacted me on a day we booked a full day of sailing. I told him we could not meet nor was i taking the day away from my family vacation to speak. - **2/25:** ALFREDO requested to meet on checkout day the same time transportation that was arranged from the hotel was waiting to load our luggage in the taxi. Alfredo knew transportation was arranged by his staff and did not care if we missed our flight. I write this because he continues to state we did not want to meet with him. The facts are that we couldn't meet with him when it was best for him. . Additional issues: HARASSMENT - Rude taxi driver arranged by the hotel that harassed my daughter named Shane. Shane would not let us out of the car when we asked him to stop. Alfredo shared with us that he made a report with the local police and taxi commission about Shane. This report was requested multiple times from us, and I believe Amex. We still have not received it. - ALFREDO claimed I was happy with my stay because I paid in full; however, the deposit was charged before the trip, and the balance was settled at checkout. There was no way to stop him from charging our card. -You will notice i paid for all food and beverages. The service at the restaurant and pool was superb. I later learned the restaurant was managed by an outside 3rd party. This explained the difference in service from the way that Alfredo manages his staff and business, and the restaurant manager ran his business. **Summary:** Our stay was from Feb 18-25. Despite repeated requests, the issues were not resolved promptly. The manager reached out on the 23rd, too late to address the problems. He stated it was the first time he learned about the issues. Obviously, his staff either never informed him or he is lying. The facts are (all above). The hotel never replies to questions we ask requesting facts, and their responses never address the problem at hand. Please take notice of the pictures below where the manager ALFREDO DIEDRICH admits fault offering us a discount. The problem is ALFREDO DIEDRICH NEVER GAVE US THE DISCOUNT PROVING HIS INTEGRITY TO BE LIES once again. You will see the flooded shower and mass amount of bugs in the room along with ALFREDO DIEDRICH admitting he was only made aware of the problem from his staff on the 24th. Read less

The resort was the rest I had earned, a serene escape. Nestled on the true star the island Antigua herself. The ocean view was the sight my soul needed. The peaceful ambiance, combined with splendid, sympathetic service ensured a a relaxing stay. Impeccably clean and sand-free, on top of all that, a truly delightful experience. Please go. For me, I'm going to sit back and let the memory wash over me. Read less

We only spent a few hours here for a late lunch and everything was perfection. The location is stunning and I REALLY wish I would have known about this place while planning our trip because I would have stayed here in a heartbeat. While we didn’t see the rooms, I can say that the beach, resturant and grounds were prestine. The hospitality was superb, food was delicious and we were so comfortable relaxing here. Everyone was so nice!!!! We were trying to avoid our resort as much as possible possible (that’s a whole other review) so daily our driver saved our vacation by taking us to all these magnificent locations. Read less

The restaurant unfortunately lets down what is possibly the best beach in Antigua, and the really lovely villas. The breakfast was an absolute shambles. No one to take you to a table or give you menus or take your orders, so you’re forced to choose the $40 USD buffet each morning. The buffet is the same every day, with the same limited options. Carton juices too. Not what you’d expect from the high end they are trying to portray culinary wise. The one day we did opt for the a la carte breakfast, we were waiting almost 90 minutes. And with two young children, this was difficult. You can tell staff turnover is high and unfortunately the staff seem to lack direction - worrying about polishing glasses at peak breakfast time rather than stocking up the empty breakfast buffet. The lunch was just as hopeless. The two times we ate there for lunch, one person’s dish didn’t arrive until the rest of the table had finished. We had really wanted to love tamarind and make it a regular trip, but the restaurant service and quality/array of food has really let it down. Read less

I just finished a family trip to Tamarind Hills. My family loved our trip here although we have some small critiques. This was one of the nicest (if not the nicest) rooms we’ve stayed in the Caribbean. We had a two-bedroom suite (the Panorama) up the hill. The beds were comfy, and we enjoyed the very large patio and small private pool. Housekeeping came around the same time every day for both the morning cleanup and turndown service and we had no complaints there. The hotel supplied us with unlimited jugs of water and two hotel water bottles that we could refill and take to the beach. We did not really use the full kitchen but the washer/dryer in our room came in handy. The room had an interesting setup with two mini couches on each side of the common area. I would have preferred something that allowed our family to sit closer together, but we weren’t in the rooms much. The bathrooms were modern although it didn’t have much room to place toiletries by the bathroom sink. It was a hike up a steep hill to get up to our room, but the hotel did offer shuttle service. We never used it since we are generally impatient, and we all thought the walk up the hill was good exercise. The beach is great with calm waters and soft sand. Although it is a public beach, we rarely were approached by vendors and it was very quiet. The hotel offered non-motorized water activities, and we took advantage by using the paddle boards and played volleyball. The chairs were rarely all taken and there were always towels ready to go. The restaurant is fine. We read the reviews earlier and tried to eat out for lunch as much as possible, but the hotel is just as good as the nearby casual restaurants and similar in price. Breakfast is included in the single rooms but not the suites or villas, so we only went there a couple of times. We would hope that they would include it for the suites going forward but the a la carte selection was ok. Nothing special but nothing to really complain about. We had dinner there once as well and the service was good although again, the food was ok. However, compared to the other restaurants, again, the price wasn’t that bad. Overall, we loved Tamarind Hills. Just some small kinks to work out with the restaurant and maybe a little more advertising for their other restaurant, the Terrace, which is open between lunch and dinner would help. Can't wait to get back here in the near future. Read less