Sandals Grande Antigua Resort and Spa

We stayed at Sandals Grande Antigua in early October for our 10th wedding anniversary celebration. We booked a Mediterranean Honeymoon Oceanview Club Level Room (MO). We worked with our travel agent to check in online at Sandals to help save us some time when checking into the resort the day of arrival. Be sure to check in online using your mobile phone to Arrive Antigua to save you time entering and leaving the country. Additionally, sign up for Mobile Passport Control (MPC) on your phone so you can easily get through immigration when returning to the US. ARRIVAL At the airport, don't get caught by the luggage assistants standing right outside of the exit of the immigration area. They were saying, "Sandals" and we thought they worked for Sandals. They immediately grabbed our bags and took us to the Sandals desk, which we could have easily rolled them there on our own, so that was tipped money that wasn't necessary. There was a mix up at the airport and our taxi driver took us to the Sandals Grande Antigua Caribbean entrance instead of the Mediterranean entrance. The individual at the Sandals guard post told the driver that was the case, but he argued with her and she let him through. We all got out of the taxi with all of our luggage, received a cold towel and then were told to get back into the taxi with all of our luggage because we were at the wrong entrance. We were then taken to the Mediterranean entrance to start the process all over again. Upon arrival there we received another cold towel, were escorted into the Club Level Sandals waiting area, provided with a rum punch and then waited another 45 minutes to get to our room. We were incredibly tired from a full day of travel starting at 3AM. We just wanted to get to our room, shower, relax and grab dinner. While waiting for our room we were approached by the "spa" employees. Gear up for that my friends, because they will WEAR YOU OUT. I needed a running bib to pin to my shirt all week saying "we already signed up for the spa". They were incessant. We did sign up for a treatment Day 1 just to get it out of the way. By Day 7, I was running around looking for spa employees to let them know that we used the spa earlier in the week so they'd leave me alone. They stand outside restaurants and walk around the pool and beach and entrances. I understand they are there to make a living, but it was very annoying to me to be asked a million times about a spa treatment. During our stay, there was only one working elevator in the Mediterranean building and we were on the 5th floor and the 5th floor button didn't work so we had to go to the 6th floor to walk down the stairs to our room which certainly wasn't optimal for our 8 day stay. Early in the week it wasn't a big deal because the resort wasn't as busy, but by midweek sharing one elevator with a lot of guests and all of the workers became a little irritating, but at least the elevator did indeed work. Our room was older, but very clean. Each day maid service was on par. They refreshed towels and cleaned the room very well. We had plenty of hot water. By about day 3 we figured out that it was a good idea to close the bathroom closet door to help cool air from escaping. Our AC worked fine, as did the ceiling fan. In the evenings it was cool enough in our room to be comfortable. RESTAURANTS Overall, the restaurants were just okay. Our favorites were Mario's for breakfast/dinner and Kimono's, the hibachi meal was amazing. Someone else had mentioned this in their review, but we arrived on a Friday and were leaving 8 days later, but the hours provided in the check in packet ended the Saturday before, so there wasn't a good way to know what restaurants were opened or closed. Additionally, considering we stayed in a Club Level room, we were not offered to set up reservations at various restaurants upon check in, so when we finally did get around to figuring out we couldn't do it on our own - the only times left were very late (8:30pm or 9:00pm) and that wasn't optimal. I suggest that upon check in you take the time to go ahead and book your reservation at the various restaurants. Additionally, I would skip OK Corral - it wasn't not good and the seating arrangements were tight and it overlooked the courtyard where nightly entertainment was going on so it was hardly a quiet meal. Someone else had mentioned that there is only one beer available - Carib and it was not my favorite so we had mostly mixed drinks. We did bring our own insulated cups for the pool which I highly recommend - it will keep the drinks/ice much cooler than the plastic cups they use. The pool bar was outstanding and Shivonna was an amazing bartender. She always had a smile on her face and was eager to assist with a refill. Barefoot by the Sea and Bayside were both good. We did not get to eat at Eleanor's, nor Soy. The rest were fine and as a club level stay we also had room service a couple of evenings. The Pizza was good at the restaurant by Marios. The Drunken Duck has amazing wings! Be sure to check those out. Beach/Pool The beach was beautiful, but due to a lot of the weather disturbances, the water wasn't as clear as normal at least that was per the watersports team members. There were several days of our stay that were red flagged so no watersports were allowed. I did go out on a catamaran ride one day and it was very nice. I appreciated one of the watersports team members taking time out of his day to do this. The beach is public as others have mentioned so there are vendors all down the beach so while you are trying to relax they are trying to sell you things. They were all very nice and we didn't have any issues. We politely said no thank you and they were very friendly. The pool was nice. Tip - get up early if you want to get a seat right by the pool Many had butler service so a lot of the pool seats are taken up early. We never had an issue finding a seat - you just may not be on the front row unless you get up early. The activities at the pool were fun. The entertainment team did a great job of keeping all of us engaged. Champagne, Nia and Amanda kept things lively with couples games, slogan quizzes, sports quizzes and bingo. A big shout out to all of them. We were bummed because Tropical Storm Jerry put a damper on our 10th wedding anniversary celebration. We had a boat trip scheduled to Barbuda on Friday 10/10 and a beach candlelight dinner and both were canceled due to the weather. The last couple of days were very rainy, but we were thankful Jerry didn't decide to become a hurricane and we made the best of our time with some room service and champagne. The colony cats were friendly and sweet. As a cat lover it was enjoyable to have them running around. After the rain, I was shocked at the size of some of the snails on the island. We had to get a flashlight out at night to make sure we didn't squish any of them on our dark walk back to the room. The resort has several photographers and they show up at the pool, dinners, on the beach and you get a 20 minute photo session with them. They are all very friendly and nice. It was nice at the end of our stay to look through all of the photos and we ended up buying (10) of them digital download and (1) 8 x 10 for $200. Sandals App For it to be the 21st Century, Sandals is really missing out on all of the things the "app" could do to provide better customer service. The app is clunky to say the least. It could be much better utilized to reserve restaurant times, reserve watersports, reserve excursions, order drinks/food for pick up, get on a waitlist for a restaurant, request room service/cleaning service, etc. They really need to invest in technology. All of the places used paper and not much in the way of electronics for reservations, etc. They also want you to download and chat with them through "What's App". We downloaded the app and tried to ask a few questions, but many just went unanswered or the answer was incorrect (i.e., we were told there was a ice machine available on the 5th floor, but there was not - at least on our end). The island was beautiful and for the most part the employees were friendly. There were some who were not as friendly, but I figure that is probably everywhere you go when you travel. We had a great time, but I am not sure that I would go to this same resort again in the future. I would try someplace different. Our only comparison was Secrets that we stayed at in Montego Bay, Jamacia for our honeymoon and for us between the two, we enjoyed Secrets more than Sandals. Read less

To make arrivals easier submit your immigration details via “arrive Antigua . com” obtain a QR code and breeze through. No need to fill out paper form on plane. Same QR code also required when leaving. Sanders desk at airport was outside and quick drive to hotel. Welcomed with cold towel and glass of fizz. Quick check in at the hotel was quick as did all the information before we left. Room was a club room. All good but small balcony ( not planning to spend much time on it anyway) Good view over gardens to sea in the distance. Given a restaurant hours info sheet which advises open and close dates. Ends on a Saturday so need to obtain a new one as some of the restaurants closing days were different on the weeks we were there. Bayside is buffet breakfast and lunch but a French Brasserie in the Evening. Our favourite place for breakfast was Marios. Also very good in the evening. Eleanor was very good. Dinner was supposed to be evening attire ( no shorts, t-shirts flip flops but seemed to be ignored ) Kimonos very good food a chance to meet fellow quests. Barefoot on the beech favourite was for lunch and was good in the evening also. Visited the Drunken Duck every evening but didn’t eat there. Went to the piano bar and some were having a good ‘ole singalong. Beach is excellent no need for beach shoes, gentle slop into the lovely seaweed free warm sea. Plenty of sun beds available on the beach. Main pool was good and vacant sun beds pretty much available during the day but some must be reserved early to get their favourite space. Didn’t seem to be sun bed drinks service (except if you had a butler) but to be fair pool bar was very efficient and quick service. Entertainment in the pool was good with no pressure to join in. In a nutshell we enjoyed our holiday maybe in some areas a bit of TLC is required but when we’re back home and look back - we wish we were there now. Read less

Stayed at Sandals Antigua for 10 days in September. Weather was mainly dry but did have some rain. Beach was one of the best beaches we have come across in our travels. Stayed in the Caribbean side in Olender building, although room dated everything worked and down a flight of stairs was a pool and a hot tub. It was mainly empty, so like having your own pool. Room was central in resort so quite close to everything. Food was a bit hit and miss. We enjoyed Elenors and Soy. My husband doesn’t like sushi but he loved the carpaccios and sashimi and even some sushi. We loved the chefs there who made suggestions and we loved the singing chef. My husband loved it there so much we went three times on the trot. The hostess at Soy was the lovely Carol. We didn’t enjoy the OK Corral, the menu the staff had to explain and the food wasn’t great either. Trying to be fancy but just wasn’t. We ate at the Druken Duck but had to send the food back at was either over cooked or undercooked. Claudine went out if her way to make things right, she wasn’t let us leave unhappy her customer service skills are second to none. There was a BBQ which we would have gone to but it wasn’t advertised and was not on the following week. Sheena, and Oliver on main bar and Joy at Caribbean pool great. We met Violet at Eleanor’s who was lovely as well. Staff mainly friendly. Cathy in Eleanor’s lovely ( she likes Primark) , Dijo - Food and Beverage manager( Indian gentleman )was fantastic as we went sea fishing and brought some of the catch back, he arranged to have it cooked for us in a restaurant of our choice. We met some of the managers including David the GM as some aspects really good but the food at some restaurants needs attention. They were willing to listen and to be fair made changes whilst we were there. Wi-Fi- rubbish really. You have to pay if you want better WiFi. We felt this should be included. There are cats which are ok, not really bothersome. We loved the dog on the beach. The other woman in my husband’s life as he used to walk the beach in the morning looking for her. She did nip at your clothing but she wanted your attention. She was a super sweet girl and I hope she gets looked after. We did deep sea fishing with Rasta Shawnee on the beach. Boat Hi tide. We had a great time and caught Mahi Mahi, barracuda and wahoo. Expensive but totally worth it. Boat went from St John’s harbour and captain picked us up in the morning looking for. Overall a fantastic holiday, although a few niggles we loved it. We don’t normally go back to the same place twice but both my husband and I said we would definitely go back as very chilled and laid back. Read less

I was very disappointed in my stay at the Grand Antigua Sandals Resort. Despite arriving after our check-in time, we still had to wait 45 minutes to get into our room. During some of that time, we were with Ryan — one of the most polite people we interacted with throughout our stay. We were very excited to celebrate our honeymoon on the island, but instead were met with disappointment. The Positives • The island cats are very sweet as they roam the resort. • The ocean itself is absolutely beautiful. • The sushi restaurant, Soy, was very good — I highly recommend stopping by for dinner (or two) if you’re at the resort. Food The food was the biggest letdown. With 11 places to eat, we found only one restaurant worth visiting — Soy, the sushi restaurant. The food there was fresh, and the chefs were kind and engaging with guests. The rest of the restaurants served food that tasted like it came directly off a frozen food truck and was heated in a microwave. Most dishes lacked real flavor. I cannot speak for Eleanor’s or OK Corral, as those were already booked out before we could get a reservation. Additionally, it’s quicker to go to the bar yourself and order a drink than to wait for a refill at your table. If you’re a beer drinker, be advised that there’s typically only one beer available at the resort — Carib. The Drunken Duck pub does have a few other options, but they are limited in quantity. Service Occasionally, you’ll encounter a happy employee, but most of the time it feels like you’re a burden when asking questions at the front desk or ordering at the bar or restaurant. For example, I ordered a Tito’s with juice from the Japanese bar, and the bartender insisted I try the sake instead. I told him I’d tried plenty of sake before and didn’t like it. He made me a drink with sake anyway, and when I said I didn’t like it, he told me I was “hard to please.” He then made me another drink — again with sake. I lied, said it was fine, and walked away. We were also never informed about the water sports included in our “all-inclusive” stay. Even after asking what activities were available, we were handed a tri-fold brochure of paid excursions ranging from $100–$500 per couple. We only found out about the free water sports from other guests. We attended a “Paint and Sip” activity listed on the day’s itinerary, only to be told it required a $30 donation to participate. On the last day of our stay, all water activities were suspended due to a tropical storm. When I went to the front desk to ask about checkout, I was told we would “find out more later.” When I asked about the day’s activities, the woman at the front desk responded with attitude and annoyance. My biggest complaint about the resort is the lack of communication with guests. Whenever we asked a question, we were either sent somewhere else for an answer or given a very short — or no — response at all. Overall Impression I would not recommend this resort for a honeymoon. It’s not relaxing, and the vendors on the public beach are rude. They will sit on your chair while you’re trying to relax and try to sell you things. They also yell over the fence as you walk by, making the experience very uncomfortable. If you’re looking for a mediocre resort with bad food, I’d suggest staying at the Grand Antigua. Read less

Went to the resort when it was not in high season, so it was not crowded which was good as sunbeds were always available, the beach is great with a long stretch of fine sand, the sea is warm and calm at the time we were there, the restaurants and the evening entertainment is good with a great variety . The only downside to the place is that the rooms in the main block are a bit tired and need a bit of a medern update, all the patio doors in the rooms are broken and have had a cheap bolt added to them as they do not lock otherwise. O Read less