Sandals Antigua Resort |
Address:
St. Johns, Antigua
Tel: 1-888-SANDALS
Fax:
Email: jamaica@all-inclusive.com
URL: Sandals Antigua Resort
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Type of Property: All Inclusive
Beach Location: Beach Front (Directly on Beach/Water Front)
Island: Antigua
No. of Rooms/Units: 193
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 CheapCaribbean.com Reservations - Antigua Resort Deals
Expedia.com Reservations - Antigua Resorts
| **Sandals Antigua Resort
Summary of All Property Reviews for: Sandals Antigua Resort
Ratings based on answers from a total of 2 reviews
10 is best 1 is worst |
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| Feature |
Ranking |
Feature |
Ranking |
| Cleanliness of Property |
5.00 |
Quality of Property |
5.00 |
| Privacy & Quietness |
0.00 |
Quality of Service |
0.50 |
| Courtesy & Hospitality of Staff |
0.50 |
Accuracy of Website (marketing hype) VS. Actual Experience |
5.00 |
| Food and Dining Experience |
2.00 |
Price/Value of Property |
5.00 |
| Safety Factor (Did you feel safe at property) |
5.00 |
Quality of Beach (ranked closest beach if property is located off the beach) |
5.00 |
| Total Property Score: 3.30 out of 10 | Average Star Rating: 3.00 out of 5 |
- 50% (1 visitors of 2) said they would go back to Sandals Antigua Resort again.
- 50% (1 visitors of 2) said they would recommend Sandals Antigua Resort to friends.
Start of Individual Reviews: Receive Review Updates Via Email
 Pleasantly surprised
By: John F from new York
Date of Visit: July 2008
We had stayed at another Sandals previously and enjoyed it, so we were looking to return to a Sandals property. Two days before we left we found this site and the many unfavorable reviews. Ugh!We went to this Sandals with much fear and trepidation.
I'm happy to report that Sandals Grande Antigua has gotten its act together and we had a wonderful stay. The entire staff was courteous, friendly and welcoming. We had no trouble checking in, beach towels were plentiful and we had no difficulty booking restaurants. The resort overall is breathtakingly beautiful. I suspect many of the problems sited in previous reviews were growing pains as the resort just opened a huge, new spectacular section about six months ago. I also heard that a new, seasoned manager was brought in four months ago and he's obviously made a huge, positive impact. The beach was lovely and there was just enough evening activity (live, outdoor music etc.)
We went to Bermuda last year. While it too was lovely, the value of a Sandals can't be beat. In Bermuda, we found that our hands were always in our pocket ($15 drinks, $62 veal chops)
The reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the food. It was always good and plentiful, but never oh-my-god-great. Still, I can highly recommend Sandals Grande Antigua as a great destination.
To read FULL REVIEW click here: Property and Destination Rankings
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Antigua needs help
By: SN Jacobs from Washington DC
Date of Visit: March 2008
We stayed at Sandals and other resorts in the Caribbean so this is not our first stay at an all inclusive resort. We booked this trip to the Sandals in Antigua for seven days. The new Mediterranean Village, our room, the views, the grounds, the pool and the beach area are beautiful.
The European Management team and European intern staff were excellent. They get it. They understand what 5 star resorts are supposed to be and that if you are spending $5000-6000 USD on a vacation that you should at least get a smile.
We did have some major issues with the Antiguan Staff. It took an hour and ten minutes to get checked in through the reception office. We received a welcome package and headed to the room. We changed our clothes and waited a few minutes for the orientation brief. The orientation brief was poorly conducted by a young Antiguan male from the entertainment staff. He knew some of the layout of the village but could not answer most questions we had. It would have been nice to know where you book tours, where to get a snack in the afternoon, where to get a water or coke instead of waiting at the pool bar for a drink, where to find the illusive towels, when you needed to book dinner reservations and what the dress code for dinner was. It would have been helpful if it were explained that all external tours were not conducted everyday and that you needed to plan and book tours at the beginning of the week. It may also be a better idea to have a managerial intern or junior manager conduct the orientation. This orientation was a complete waste of time.
The Antiguan, male staff seemed to have no interpersonal skills. Most were extremely stuck up and never smiled. At least most of the female staff smiled and seemed to work hard. Most Sandals pool bars have a large drink menu posted on the wall. The Mediterranean Village pool bar did not. We had to try to make up exotic drink names because the bartenders did not know what we were talking about. We had to practically beg the bartenders to make us drinks. The bartenders gave you the look like it was an inconvenience for them to have to make you a drink. The Mediterranean Village pool bar bartenders just walk around the bar, walk from side to side, get one ingredient, go find another and finally make a drink. It may take the bartenders five to ten minutes to get a single drink order out. They need to be trained in how to be friendly and how to get drinks out to 20 people at a time. That can easily be done with a staff of three or four bartenders that care.
The Water sports guys were lazy and unprofessional. The hotel was 90% booked and the water sports guys only had 03 Hobie Cat sail boats rigged and ready to sail. We waited for sailing only to come back and someone else had taken our boat. The excuse was "sorry mon". Come back later. We booked a snorkeling trip to a dead reef. The only fish were the ones swimming around the bottom of the boat. The staff has to know that.
If you want dinner reservations you have to make them two days in advance. What do you get the first two days? What if you are there for only four days? After checking with the concierge desk we made reservations for the rest of the week. We were later booted out of two reservations and had to eat at two places we had already eaten at. We are also not used to eating dinner at 830-930 PM. On many occasions we noted five to 10 empty tables at restaurants but receptionists were turning us and other people away because we did not have reservations. The food was especially good at Mario’s and Kimonos.
Nevertheless, we had a blast because that is the kind of people we are. I did not want to spend my entire vacation complaining about everything, I certainly could have. I guess we were just spoiled from our last visit to the Grande St Lucia.
If someone were to ask me how to fix most of the problems at the Antigua Sandals, I would have to say that it may be an impossible task because you would have to change the culture of the Antiguans. They seem to have a chip on their shoulder and do not want to change. My only suggestion is to have a European Manager directly overseeing each section and working side by side with the Antiguans every day until they get it!
I would also send welcome packets via the internet or by mail so guests could read ahead on what we needed to reserve and plan before we get there.
To read FULL REVIEW click here: Property and Destination Rankings
Next All Inclusive Review ...
Not Quite as Expected
By: Anonymous from western NY
Date of Visit: December 2007
I have heard for years that Sandals quality is phenomenal and was really looking forward to finally getting to stay at one. I thought this property was gorgeous. The beach was pristine and the overall ambiance was everything we expected. However, the service was quite lacking which was a huge disappointment and quite a nuisance at times. Some examples: 1) Drinks at the main pool bar were slow... you would order and the staff would stack cups before getting around to making your drink. 2) Every morning presented a challenge to find beach towels. This was especially annoying because we went diving each morning and the boat left at 8:00. Even the "watersports" desk didn't have towels delivered in time for when the dive boat was leaving 3) On the last 2 of our 5 day trip, none of the watersports equipment was available for use because they didn't have a rescue boat available on the property. 4)Reservations for dinner were impossible to get, so we either ate at 6:30 wherever we could get in, or waited in lines at the "no reservations required places" 5) During turn down service, the maid fumigated our room. When we would go to turn in for the night, it was like walking into a cloud of Raid. One night we went back out, because it was so unpleasant. We complained about this and were told it wasn't customary practice and on the 3rd night it stopped.
It seems that with the new addition, they haven't yet figured out how to add enough staff to cover the increased guest count. People we met who have been to other Sandals said not to judge them based on this one.
This reviewer did not enter property or destination rankings.
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Sandals Antigua: veiled mediocrity at a 5-star price
By: Anonymous from Fairfax, VA
Date of Visit: April 2007
My wife and I just returned from our honeymoon at Sandals “Grande” Antigua (April 2007) and, believe me, there is nothing grand about it. I will not go on and on but please DO NOT book your vacation here. The way I describe this resort is “veiled mediocrity”. Their grounds and their website are terrific (the veils) but the service and overall experience was much less than we expected. The website had us so excited before our trip but when I look at it now it’s just a joke. It is criminal for them to use words like 5-star. We know 5-star and this was average at best. The service is simply bad. I mean almost mean. We did not get one smile all week. To get a drink from a bartender was like asking for a miracle. They even ran out of towels at the beach. How does that happen? I think the staff must be trained to always say hello to guests in the hallways and along the paths, so what you get is a mumbled sarcastic greeting from someone wearing a scowl on their face as they quickly pass you by. Just one more thing, we even paid for concierge service and we still did not get one single dinner reservation that we requested. We would call as early as possible (8am of the day before) and we were still given 9:15 reservations. Not good. For this kind of money you can do much much better. Good luck on your future vacations!
This reviewer did not enter property or destination rankings.
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