The Cove Suites at Blue Waters

It's quite something to have a place function like a Swiss watch yet maintain Caribbean levels of friendliness and informality. Every aspect of Blue Waters impressed. The staff are magnificent. One server, Nia, was about the most conscientious I've encountered anywhere. Quality rooms: Check Generous cocktails: Check Nice fellow guests: Check Great Staff: Check Nice beach: Check Good weather: Check Happy family: Check What's not to like? The facilities for children are thoughtful and engaging. There was zero guilt in dropping him off and enjoying a day to ourselves, knowing he would be more than happy. My child cried on the final day and made us promise to return soonest. But then, no children disturbed us or got in the way of enjoying an adult's holiday either. In short, that was a blissful week. And next year, if I have the time, I will do two weeks instead. Cannot recommend it enough. Read less

We stayed at the Blue Waters Resort for two weeks and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Nicole (Villas Manager), who had emailed us prior to our visit, was waiting at reception to greet us upon arrival. We stayed in one of the suites in the middle of the resort, only a short walk away from the beach front. Our accommodation was very spacious, consisting of a bedroom, lounge and bathroom with a walk out balcony overlooking the beach. Nicole was exceptionally helpful and approachable and also seamlessly organised a number of excursions for us during our stay. We were also able to make dinner reservations for each night of our stay through Nicole at the outset. One of the strongest aspects of the resort was the food. In comparison to some other all inclusive resorts we have stayed at, the food at Blue Waters was consistently of a very high quality and we never had a bad meal. Additionally, the Blue Waters offered an a-la carte breakfast which was a far more enjoyable experience in contrast to the typical buffet breakfast. However, we would note that as we were staying at Blue Waters during off-peak season, the resort only had one restaurant open for dinner each night. This would alternate between the Cove, the Reef and the Palm. We found that the Cove was typically open every second evening. The menu in the Cove remained the same during our stay however, there is usually a special starter and main course on offer. The menus at the Reef and the Palm did vary and we would say that some of the best dinners we had were at the Reef. Nevertheless, if you are staying at the resort for over 1 week, some people may find the food options rather repetitive and limited. Additionally, the Reef is the only option in the resort for lunch. Again, the menu stays the same however there is usually a special on offer. Furthermore, the food options across all three restaurants are rather similar. The resort may benefit from having a more specialised restaurant, such as Asian fusion, as many guests would perhaps enjoy sushi which is increasingly popular. The variety that this could offer would also likely be appealing. The resort was rather quiet during the first week of our stay which meant that the beach/pool areas were very relaxing during the day which we liked. The resort didn’t feel busy or overcrowded. However, this also meant that the resort was very quiet in the evenings and there was a lack of energy around the bar areas. There was some form of entertainment on for a short period most nights at the Pelican bar which usually consisted of a band or musician. However, on nights the Cove or the Reef were open for dinner, the majority of guests were unable to enjoy the entertainment as this coincided with peak dinner time. The Cove is a relatively large restaurant with a lovely setting and I found it could have benefitted from perhaps a live pianist or other musician for guests to enjoy whilst they dine (instead of having the entertainment at the Pelican bar or in addition). A minor point of note was that there are three red wines on offer as part of the all-inclusive package, including a Malbec. The Malbec was available at the Cove the first week of our stay and then became unavailable. This was despite the fact that the Malbec remained on offer at both the Reef and the Palm restaurants. We found this to be strange as the Cove is the resort’s ’premium’ dining option. Additionally, the Cove is situated at the far end of the resort therefore, a buggy service is offered to take you from reception to the Cove and back again. We found that this buggy service didn’t operate as seamlessly as some other resorts we have stayed in as we were sometimes left waiting however, the walk to and from reception is not long so this wasn’t a massive issue. The staff at the Blue Waters were all incredibly friendly and approachable. Pearle and her staff at the Pelican Bar were great, energetic and always happy to serve you. The Pearl Martini (created by Pearle) became a favourite during our stay. Carrez at the Cove bar was also great and made consistently amazing special cocktails each night the Cove was open. During the day, we found that there was a lack of staff coming round the beach/pool areas asking if you would like any drinks. However, there are two bars open during the day which you can attend and the cocktails were all of a great standard. The resort itself was lovely, modern and situated in a beautiful cove with great beaches and pools. The resort also had great watersport opportunities such as kayaking and paddle boarding. The resort also offer the opportunity to go snorkelling at the nearby Boons Reef on Fridays and Mondays, subject to the weather. This was a great experience and the speedboat ride out to the reef was also very enjoyable. The resort also offer longer private boat excursions. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Blue Waters and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the resort to others. Read less

What an amazing resort. Food, staff, resort - all amazing. Never felt too over crowded, staff all knew our names after a couple of days to make things more personable. Great guests too - met many nice people we’d happily socialize with back home. Very expensive but if you want to relax, without being over crowded - this is the place. Only negative is 1) at breakfast it takes far too long to get a coffee or tea! Hire someone JUST to walk around with a hot jug of coffee and tea. Serve that liquid within 2 mins of us sitting down and we really would be in heaven, and 2) the ridiculous behavior of people reserving best sun loungers by 7am and not turning up to use them until 11am (hire someone to remove those horrid people’s towels if they don’t show up within 30 minutes! We will be back ! Read less

Blue Waters Resort & Spa has been family owned and managed for over 40 years. This gorgeous property has 83 rooms, suites and villas situated on 17 acres of beautiful gardens. Nestled away in their own private bay on Antigua's northwestern coast, just a short drive from the airport. This is a family friendly resort with an amazing Kids Club for children ages 5 to 12 with activities for them including fishing, arts & crafts, cricket and more. Nanny and in room babysitting services are available too. The food, drinks and service are absolutely amazing! This is definitely a picture perfect property for destination weddings and honeymooners! Read less

Stayed 10 nights in the cove suites. Lovely room, good sized bathroom separated by folding shutters. Out contained a freestanding roll to bath I could see the sea from as well as a walk in shower twin basins and the loo. Plenty of towels! Sunsets from it balcony were the most incredible I've seen anywhere in the world. Absolutely stunning. The hotel is set in really beautifully maintained gardens, the abandoned if colorful tropical flowers bring beautiful birds and hummingbirds if you are fast enough to see then. The tree is a walkway out to a pavilion which is a lovely spot to sit in the breeze. If it's a bit of a heavier day. Breakfasts seemed quite similar to other Caribbean hotels, my child tended to have a small pizza or some pasta for lunch and occasionally I would have salad sitting in the restaurant by the pool with her. Out suite mad or cane with a private pool which was great as at one point the hotel was st complete maximum capacity so having that pool was fabulous to have a bit more space. We did struggle a bit for evening options in the hotel as the palms menu is limited, the cove is nice but felt slightly inappropriate to take a child to, it if the best restaurant in the hotel though. We had one evening meal at the reef and it was absolutely awful so didn't do that again. We did end up going out s few time which helped. Overall nice rims, wonderful balconies and sunsets, relaxed and generally very nice polite staff. Read less