Antigu-aaaaaaaah
It's the staff, the beach, the unique pool and restaurants, and the relaxing ambience that makes this hotel really special. The rooms have everything you need, including very comfortable beds. Food was in good (some meals were superb) and we certainly didn't go hungry. The new Barefoot Grill for lunchtime burgers and wraps is excellent and right by the pool. You could eat there barefoot and in swimwear if so inclined.
Nightly entertainment outside the main restaurant (the Seagrape) is fairly middle of the road with steel bands, reggae bands and jazzy style singers covering well known and touristy Caribbean music. Not many people stay till the end but the lovely south-Pacific style Tepee bar seems to be the hub of the resort where guests gather to chat – and having so many repeat guests says it all.
We had a premium beachfront suite right at the northern end of the beach next to Ismay's restaurant. Galley Bay has a beautiful ¾ mile long beach – I just loved walking from one end to the other each morning, with hardly another person around, just listening to my iPod and treating myself to a cup of tea and then a long swim in the pool (empty apart from myself even though about 8.30am by now). The staff are brilliant - Ismay, one of the Ambassadors, has been there 50 years and one of the restaurants is named in her honour! We were welcomed as old friends and even if the staff didn't remember us they certainly made out they did, and that made us feel really special. This is a relaxing and casual - upmarket but not stuffy - atmosphere and most enjoyable holiday. The new manager, Chris, is always mingling with the guests and seems to be very proactive and receptive to comments and suggestions.
Other than enjoying relaxing at the hotel we didn’t do much else! We did take a two hour trip with Sean (one of the approved beach “vendors”) on his new 38 foot sailing boat which was fabulous and went to the Shirley Heights steel band party which takes places every Sunday evening. It has great atmosphere and views over English Harbour.
We also hired a car one day and, after getting hopelessly lost (road signs are either non-existent or faded) we arrived at the Inn at English Harbour where we had booked a lunch pass. We were shown around the hotel and facilities and I was most impressed. Beautiful colonial-style 5 star boutique hotel, with only 28 elegantly furnished rooms and a wonderful beach. The lunch we had there was the best food we had in our ten days on the island – pricey at around US$80 per person (3 courses including wine though – we made the most of it!) but delicious. The Inn offers half board basis, but there are lots of reasonably priced eateries for lunch close by in English and Falmouth Harbours.
Like Galley Bay, the Inn is for adults only (or more specifically no under 10s, but it is not the sort of place teenagers would enjoy as there are no clubs or facilities for them). Both hotels are highly recommended – and our next visit to Antigua will hopefully be a twin centre staying at both the Inn and Galley Bay.
