Set on one of Antigua's many beautiful beaches, the Galley Bay Resort & Spa offers guests a fabulous combination of superior service, Caribbean cuisine and rustic luxury in a very natural setting. Much of the architecture here is inspired by the French artist Gauguin. The charming individual suites have their own splash pool and are surrounded by lush gardens and views of the lagoon. There are three excellent open-air restaurants, all beachfront, offering intimate, candlelit dining of excellent quality. Ismay's Restaurant offers a higher quality dining experience to be shared for that special occasion, whilst the more laid-back Barefoot Grill is a great place to enjoy a tasty quesadilla made with resort grown produce. At sunset, hors d'oeuvres are served at the bar which overlooks the sea from under its Tahitian-style roof. There are activities such as non-motorised water sports and a recently expanded gym, but reclining with a novel on the beachfront deck from the library is equally as popular.
Amenities
Bicycle Rental
Kayaking
Sailing
Snorkelling
Tennis
Wheelchair access
Honeymoon
Wedding
Bar
Evening Entertainment
Fitness Centre/Gym
Internet Access
Where is it
On a beautiful beach, adjacent to Hawsbill and Deep Bay. Transfer time from airport: 30 minutes.
Hotel information
98 rooms on 1 or 2 floors. All with balcony/terrace, air-conditioning, ceiling fan, TV, telephone, complimentary WiFi, coffee maker, safe, bathrobes and hairdryer. Deluxe Beachfront Rooms are on the upper floors, located right on the beach. Rooms are large and are well appointed with spacious bathrooms which have a walk-in double shower. Rooms sleep maximum 2 adults.
All Inclusive of: all meals, snacks and drinks by the glass (name-brand spirits, sparkling wine by the glass, Caribbean beers, tropical coolers and soft drinks, excludes bottled water). All activities and entertainment above unless otherwise stated. Restaurants open on rotation.
Superior Deluxe Beachfront Rooms are charming rooms on the ground floor, in the centre of the resort, with private patio located directly on the beach. Each with 1 king-size bed, sleeping maximum 2 adults.
Gauguin Suites are situated on the edge of the bird sanctuary lagoon, just 50 yards from the beach and consist of two wooden cedar shingle roof rondovals with an enclosed large air conditioned sitting area joining the two. The suites have cool and modern white tile flooring with stone accents, plus their own private plunge pool, sleeping maximum 2 adults.
Premium Beachfront Suites are in 2-storey buildings, these have a bedroom and sunken living room with wet bar, huge bathroom with twin sinks, large bath and double walk-in shower, plus ocean views from the balcony or terrace, making these the largest and most luxurious option with iPod docking station, slippers and WiFi access. With 1 king-size bed, sleeping maximum 3 adults. A full-size rollaway bed is provided for Premium Beachfront Suites to allow for triple occupancy. These rooms have direct beach access on the ground floor only.
3 restaurants and 1 beach grill: Sea Grape Restaurant (serves award-winning Euro-Caribbean cuisine; breakfast, lunch and dinner), Gauguin Restaurant (offers traditional local cuisine where you can dine in individual cabanas for romantic meals; lunch and dinner), Barefoot Grill (offers a relaxed and laid-back, beachside atmosphere, serving burgers and 'basket style' sandwiches such as the classic Cuban, all made using home-grown fruits, herbs and vegetables from the resort).For special occasions try Ismay's Restaurant* (International island flavours, open evenings only — a US$45 per person supplement applies, payable locally, subject to change). 4 bars: Teepee Bar, Lounge Bar, Gauguin Bar and Rum Shack Bar serving different rums from around the Caribbean and delicious curated rum cocktails. The coffee shop features specialty coffee, tea drinks and homemade pasties. All restaurants are beachfront. Restaurant hours and availability are subject to change. Restaurants open on a rotation basis due to season/occupancy.
Regular entertainment several nights a week. Weekly beach cinema.
Large freeform swimming pool with waterfall feature. 'Spa Indulge'* with open-air treatment cabanas, sun deck and splash pool. Fitness centre. Non-motorised water sports: Hobie cats, kayaks, paddle boarding and snorkelling. Bicycles. Tennis and table tennis. New yoga pavilion. Croquet lawn. Weekly cooking demo. Nature lovers will enjoy the garden tours (Tuesdays) to learn about the fresh grown herbs and spices onsite. On-site Diamonds international shop.
Boutique*. Complimentary WiFi available in public areas. Internet room. Library. Cabana rooms can be booked for use on your day of departure. Rooms offer a great place to store your bags and you have access to shower facilities before the flight home. The cost is $35 for 3 hours.
This hotel has a resort fee of USD $24 including tax per room, per night, (payable locally, subject to change). Please note: a room levy of USD $5 per guest, per night (payable locally, subject to change).
Wheelchair adapted rooms with partially accessible amenities or facilities available on request. Please note that these rooms are subject to availability and may be restricted to specific room categories and bedding arrangements. Rooms and facilities vary between hotels so please check at the time of booking. To discover all the special assistance services we offer please see additional information below.
7 nights between 21 Dec-2 Jan.
* Denotes local charge.
Please note: this hotel is adults-only - children under 16 years are not permitted at any time.
Dress code: breakfast/lunch: shoes must be worn at all times and bathing suits must be covered and dry. Dinner: men are required to wear collared shirts with long trousers or stylish jeans. T-shirts, shorts, caprise and ripped jeans are not accepted. Women are asked to wear dresses, skirts, long trousers or stylish tailored shorts or jeans. No short shorts, tank tops or beach flip-flops are allowed.
For all guests in June, July and August: dress shorts can be worn (no short shorts or cutoffs). Standard dress code applies for Ismays.
Please note: guests are required to present a valid form of ID (passport, driving license, ID card) along with a valid credit card at check-in. A USD$350 pre-authorisation will be processed on the credit card at check-in to cover for any incidental purchases or similar expenses. Incidental purchases may include tours, excursions, gift shop purchases or dining in the speciality restaurant. We understand that not all guests incur additional charges during their stay, but this process assists the resort with fraud prevention. Upon check-out, the pre-authorisation is released, assuming there are no charges made.
Based on 4667 reviews
Rating summary
Location
Sleep Quality
Rooms
Service
Value
Cleanliness
Traveller rating
Excellent (3733)
Very good (659)
Average (188)
Poor (51)
Terrible (36)
Laid back older crowd, very good food and drink
Apr 26, 2025cgcthartford, ct
Beautiful resort on the beach. First week of off season and place seemed less than half full. Spacious accommodations, walk onto beach. Water got too rough for swimming last two days. Kayaks and paddle boards available but not much else to do, a tennis court, a pool table, croquet lawn a small but decent gym They have golf clubs available, decent…
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Beautiful resort on the beach. First week of off season and place seemed less than half full. Spacious accommodations, walk onto beach. Water got too rough for swimming last two days. Kayaks and paddle boards available but not much else to do, a tennis court, a pool table, croquet lawn a small but decent gym They have golf clubs available, decent Callaway sets, local course is 25 mins away but those who played said it was too hot by 9 am. Local roads are poor, downtown St John is rundown and sketchy, even English Harbour 45 mins away is nothing to leave home for. This resort has very good food and bar service, room fridge restocked everyday beer wine champagne. Servers on the beach. Staff is great! Mostly older couples like ourselves. If you like to drink and eat very good food and lay on the beach or by the pool this is a great place but a little boring. Excursions help break up the monotony .
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Relaxing, but not sure its VFM
Apr 25, 2025Bill_STH500Colchester, United Kingdom
We love visiting the Caribbean but had never visited Antigua before; we stayed for 9 nights (now I recall think it must have been Apr 2024).
We booked to stay in one of the Beachfront rooms; this was the best feature of the hotel; waking up each morning and just walking out on to the beach. The rooms were light and airy, aircon was good, bathroom…
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We love visiting the Caribbean but had never visited Antigua before; we stayed for 9 nights (now I recall think it must have been Apr 2024).
We booked to stay in one of the Beachfront rooms; this was the best feature of the hotel; waking up each morning and just walking out on to the beach. The rooms were light and airy, aircon was good, bathroom clean etc everything as it should be .
With regards to the restaurants; Seagrape was the 'standard' restaurant, no booking required and where breakfast, lunch and evening meals were served. The service was very inconsistent, and some staff seemed disinterested/distracted. A couple of occasions an order was forgotten, or was mistaken. Another reviewer has commented that orders were not written down which is a good point. This may help staff particularly when it is busy. But the food was generally good. Much depended on who was serving (you get to know after a couple of days ;))
During the day, the Barefoot grill was ideal as quite often we'd only need a snack and drink during the day. In the evening you had a choice of restaurants, in addition to the Seagrape you could pre-book the Ismay or the Gaugin. We tried both during our stay.
The Ismay is the special restaurant which needs booking and an extra fee of $50 per person. We found it was overpriced for what it was. Sure the food was well cooked and presented, but for example, I had Scallops for the starter and when the dish arrived it had 1 scallop. (I wasn't expecting a plateful, but 1 scallop....really!?)
The best restaurant without question was the Gaugin, and if we were to return we'd look to try to book to eat here every evening. The food here was fresh tasty and the service was better here too. I would recommend the Lobster if its available- there was a premium of $30 but it was delicious.
Overall we enjoyed our stay. Staff were friendly and welcoming, although service levels on occasion just let things down. Would we return?- Well, the Holiday was quite pricey for what it was. We don't mind paying the price, but expect VFM and we have stayed at better places in the Caribbean.
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Relaxing and enjoyable stay
Apr 15, 2025LYNNEHAMPSHIRESouthampton, United Kingdom
We have just returned from an amazing 2 week stay at GB .
Rum punch on arrival and a short tour to our room on a golf buggy was a great start . Our
Beach room floor was perfect , walking straight out to our loungers overlooking the bay . Air conditioning was welcomed as was the well stocked fridge (wines , waters , sodas and beer) and…
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We have just returned from an amazing 2 week stay at GB .
Rum punch on arrival and a short tour to our room on a golf buggy was a great start . Our
Beach room floor was perfect , walking straight out to our loungers overlooking the bay . Air conditioning was welcomed as was the well stocked fridge (wines , waters , sodas and beer) and complementary robes , slippers and full-sized toiletries .
Grounds were stunning and very well maintained. We very much enjoyed the garden tour and Kurt obviously takes pride in his work.
So many different varieties of plants and trees . We saw hummingbirds every day to our delight.
We started our days with morning yoga . We were welcomed and put at ease by Mackenzie who was both professional and friendly . The classes are aimed at all levels .
Unfortunately, on arrival the first week was fully booked so we only managed one day , but we asked if we could borrow mats and guest services arranged for yoga mats to be delivered to our room so we could do our own practice.
Mackenzie also said that guests were welcome to come along and use the yoga pavilion when not in use .
I loved the Spa - one of the prettiest I have been to . The staff were very friendly . I can recommend the reflexology with foot bath and the coconut wrap and massage . It was easy to book.
We went to the Rum Shack one evening when it was quiet . We learnt a lot from the very knowledgeable lady who worked there. (Sorry cannot remember her name) She was definitely passionate about her rums !
Beach drinks service was very welcome, but orders were forgotten occasionally . It didn’t really matter when our fridge was stocked and the bars are close by . We did notice that all staff did not write the orders down so no wonder they forgot !!
Service at the Seagrape restaurant was very hit and miss . Wrong coffee order twice , coffee not arriving , drinks not arriving , no spoons one morning , no side plates on another occasion . Very long waits even for a salad even when the restaurant was quiet .
We are not demanding guests but it did become irritating . We absolutely loved The Gauguin . Wonderful setting and great service so we just booked that instead . I heard other guests were frustrated with the Seagrape also . I feel it is worth mentioning as this was the only area that fell short during our holiday. Sometimes we felt the staff there were just bored with the guests .
Back to the good …… It was lovely to meet Alaska again after meeting him at Palm Island previously. It was nice to hear updates about some of the staff we had met there . He is a great manager and an asset to Galley Bay.
Overall we had a great time and the Full Moon Party on our last evening was enjoyable and we recognise the significant amount of work that went into organising it. Thank you.
And a last mention to Captain Sean. We had a memorable morning sail with him . We learned a bit about sailing , snorkelled and his lunch was delicious - including the sauce made by his wife .
You’ll find him along the beach and would recommend his trip as an alternative to the overcrowded and noisy catamaran trips we watched go out every day from St Johns !!!!!!
Nb . My rating for this trip would be 4.5/5 . If the service issues could be resolved it would definitely deserve a 5/5 rating .
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Galley Bay - a slice of heaven!
Apr 14, 2025Christine B
My husband and I just retired and treated ourselves to a one week decadent stay at Galley Bay Resort & Spa. This was truly one of the most relaxing and enjoyable all inclusive vacations that we have ever had. The freshness and quality of the food, presentation, and menu selection was top notch. Kudos go to Executive Chef Gavin and his team, and…
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My husband and I just retired and treated ourselves to a one week decadent stay at Galley Bay Resort & Spa. This was truly one of the most relaxing and enjoyable all inclusive vacations that we have ever had. The freshness and quality of the food, presentation, and menu selection was top notch. Kudos go to Executive Chef Gavin and his team, and also to Chef Travis who delivered a delicious cooking demonstration! All staff clearly take pride in their work, were friendly and attentive to our every need. Special shout-out to Ebonee, who provided an in-depth orientation to the on-site farm from which all the fresh veggies/ fruits are grown and delivered to the kitchen daily. Her passion for farming the current 4 acres was evident! McKenzie was an excellent yoga instructor. The opportunity to attend morning yoga classes overlooking the ocean was heaven and a true zen experience! Zonel at Water Sports cheerfully took us sailing and kayaking to nearby Discovery Bay. Ocean swimming and beach walking was glorious. The gym is fully outfitted with high-end equipment. We enjoyed daily lagoon walks and bike rides. If you enjoy birding, there are ample opportunities to observe and photograph the many birds on site. We specifically requested a lagoon side room (Gaugin Suite) for this reason. Herons, egrets, and black-winged stilt walkers among others were just meters away at the water's edge. Our little hobbit house, complete with private patio and plunge pool, was perfectly maintained and the bar fridge stocked daily. While bottled water is provided, there are ample "hydration stations" dotted around the property with ice and drinking water which we used to regularly refill our Galley Bay water cannisters (a wonderful souvenir to bring home!) We appreciated the resort's efforts to minimize environmental waste wherever possible. Evening entertainment was classy and enjoyable, notably the steel pan band! This is a truly special resort and we look forward to a future return. Thanks to all at Galley Bay for making our holiday so memorable!
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a little corner of paradise
Apr 12, 2025TripMember081320151Akron, Ohio
we stayed for 5 nights in early april. the room was an upstairs beachfront suite, which was beautiful, clean and had more than anything we needed. loved to sit out on balcony and listen to the ocean/rain/birds. many tv stations/movies/music. we ate at all the restaurants and all were very good. they post the menus daily but make rez for ismays…
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we stayed for 5 nights in early april. the room was an upstairs beachfront suite, which was beautiful, clean and had more than anything we needed. loved to sit out on balcony and listen to the ocean/rain/birds. many tv stations/movies/music. we ate at all the restaurants and all were very good. they post the menus daily but make rez for ismays and gaugin.
spa treatments were wonderful in little raised thatched huts. took a private 6 hour day trip with vip tours, and highly recommend. you don’t want to drive here, and it would take forever to find places. saw shirley heights (incredible) devils bridge, dockyards, beaches and lunch at a locals restaurant. staff at resort very friendly and helpful. spent time at pool and appreciated the comfy loungers. bar service at pool by just pressing the button on your hut. beach was pristine. not a swimmers beach sadly as surf is pretty tough. bikes to take out on paths at the ready. water refill stations handy.
my only ‘suggestions’ for the resort: please label the switches in the room. there are so many and we played light roulette everyday to figure out what did what. also, a fresh beach towel at the pool daily would be better than dragging your wet towel back to room everyday. also, a pump sunscreen dispenser at the pool would be very convenient.
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Laid back older crowd, very good food and drink
