The Escape at Nonsuch Bay

We stayed here for 5 nights after staying in a fab air b n b near jolly harbour for 9 nights . We explored the island with our rental car for our first 9 nights in Antigua and then came here for pamper and relaxation . It did not disappoint! The room was fantastic , great plunge pool with amazing bay view . Lovely food and great staff . This place is worth every penny and we will return . Thank you escape for making our 25th wedding anniversary trip so very special . I have never ever been so sad to leave somewhere . The view from our room / pool has blown me away ! Your service was impeccable and the chefs are amazing . By the way we aren’t burger folk but had to try thelegendary drift burger for lunch and wow it was the best burger we have ever tasted ! Read less

Amazing staff & experience all around. The cocktails are fresh and well balanced. Food was varied and again, fresh and lovely. Staff from concierge (who were spectacular!) to the restaurant staff who were always polite and on point. We came here for our honeymoon and were not disappointed st all. The room with a bay view, beautiful gardens and wildlife. Will be back! Location is completely out of the way which is ideal for an escape. We could get taxies to all the sites on the island. And will recommend a tour guide in another review. Read less

Our arrival did not get off to an auspicious start with the taxi driver cursing as he swerved to avoid potholes in the hotel’s drive. On arrival at the large lobby there was a queue to check in, but only 4 chairs to sit on and these were already taken, so we had to stand. Next you need to check in on your phone before taking your own bags to your room. Fortunately Randy was able to help with both, so a big thank you to him especially as each garden view room is down a flight of 20 steps. Reception is open from 9 to 5 so no idea what happens if you arrive or depart outside these times. Our room was large with a big terrace facing a small strip of grass and then dense vegetation. It’s stretching a point it to call it a garden and was shaded for most of the day which was lucky as it received no breeze. The wardrobe, fridge, shower, sinks and toilet are all behind a slatted screen above the bed. The toilet has a frosted glass door which stops a foot from the ceiling, letting the light and sounds filter out waking my partner when it was used at night. It affords minimal privacy as does the shower which has no screen and floods the room. The wardrobe is tiny with insufficient hanging space for a week’s clothes and not tall enough for my dresses. Plenty of shelving space to make up for it. There is a good hairdryer, but robes, slippers and shower cap are not provided. The rooms are cleaned every other day when the towels are also changed. Tea and coffee were also restocked then. The room safe was set just above ground level at the back of the shelving unit. The only way to access it was to lie on the ground and shine a touch in to see which buttons to press. The bedside table drawers were also at ground level. Not great for those with bad backs or less mobile. The pool area is tiny, with a dozen or so sun loungers. The pool itself is too small for swimming and only suitable for cooling off in. There is a small bar by the pool with enough room for one person to serve and about 8 tables. Given there are 40 suites with 80 possible guests, it’s not hard to work out why we never got to use the sun loungers or sit in the bar area and have an evening drink! The bar has local beer, the range of spirits limited and mainly unbranded. The selection and quality of wine, however, was good. Bottled water is available at US$3 for a small bottle. The food was generally good. The menu is accessed via a QR code and you need to let them know the time you want lunch / dinner. There were two starters, 3 mains (including one vegetarian) and two desserts. The only buffet is the BBQ night. There was laid back live music on 3 nights which we would have liked to listen to with a drink except, as noted above, seating in the bar area is very limited. Instead we retreated to our room and caught up on Netflix! If pestered by birds at breakfast and lunch the hotel has water pistol which just pointing it at them scares them away! The scenery around the hotel is stunning. However, the vegetation is so high it hides the view in much of the resort. Each day we took the shuttle boat to the beach which is the other side of the resort. Otherwise it’s a 15 minute walk up a hill – fine early in the morning but not in the heat of the day. The beach has sun loungers but that’s all so you need to take beach towels, water etc. Shade is provided by palm trees. There a barrier across the bay to hold back the seaweed which make the water calm and warm for swimming. The 3rd party restaurant near the beach is open Wed – Sun for drinks and lunch. The hotel arranged a taxi to English Harbour which is well worth a visit and the round trip was US$75 which can go on the room bill. The highlight of the holiday was the sunset cruise with Devon. We had a fantastic trip round the coast and watched the sun go down with a glass of bubbles and a fruit platter. Well work the US$110 and thanks to him for making it memorable. The day before check out they email the bill. Unless you respond to it the charge will go on the credit card they hold on file. I didn’t read the email properly and was unable to pay part in cash or split the bill with my partner. Everything is automatic – no paper copy of a bill to check of receipt to confirm you have paid. My thanks to Keirah who kindly emailed a detailed bill and receipt to me. In general the staff were lovely and very helpful. It was my birthday when staying there. The only recognition of this by the hotel was the next day when housekeeping wished me Happy Belated Birthday in foliage on the bed. This sums up the hotel – a fairly disappointing experience. I’ve been coming to the Caribbean regularly for over 25 years and its increasingly poor value for money compared to other parts of the world. Combined with slow entry and even slower exit from the country at Antigua airport (we needed our full two hours to get through immigration and security), unfortunately I can’t see us returning to Antigua any time soon. Read less

We have not long returned from 14 nights here. I wrote to them before my arrival asking for a room near to the restaurant etc as I have mobility issues. They said they would do there best and wow they certainly did that. We were in a room right next to the pool and restaurant and I did not have to go up and down the normal steps to the room. This really made my holiday. The rooms are amazing, the plunge pool and outside space are second to none. The staff are so friendly and helpful - not one grumpy face in the whole time we were there. A couple of minor negatives - firstly the menu is limited, as we were there for 2 weeks it repeated itself. But the staff go out of their way to get you what you need and I can safely say that for two weeks I was never hungry. My main negative is the lack of shade anywhere in the shared areas. The sun loungers are under a slated roof, as the sun moves round they all end up in the sun. The bar area has a seating area with 2 umbrellas that don't seem to relate to any of the tables. A canopy over that area would be an amazing place to take a break from the Antiguan sun. We hired a car which we used most days just for some variation, after a day at the beach, Escape is an amazing place to come back to. Read less