Hôtel Sandals Grande Antigua 5 Adult Only +18

“Just returned from two weeks, our seventh visit to a Sandals, which did not disappoint. The high standards which we expecting were maintained and we have had a wonderful time. Very well maintained grounds and campus, good decor throughout, excellent choice of food and restaurants and staff were all friendly, professional and helpful. We will be back

This was our fifth Sandals vacation (having been to Beaches Turks, Exuma, Grenada & Barbados before) and probably our favorite. We are more beach people than pool & the beauty of Dickenson Bay did not disappoint. Other than Grace Bay in Turks & Caicos, we have never seen a more stunning beach. We spent virtually our entire visit at the beach. We never had a problem getting a chaise, no matter the time of day. The sea is very calm & the beach is wide enough and long enough that people are able to spread out. As with previous reports, it is a public beach & you will have vendors up & down the beach. If you don’t want to engage then simply don’t, they are all very respectful & not pushy. If you would like to support the local economy, then take a few dollars with & spend it on a few trinkets, a wrap or a shirt. While the beach is breathtaking, I dare say that the people are the jewel of the island. We did not meet an unhappy staff member- from the cleaners, to the gardeners, the wait staff, the bar staff & even the general manager. We have never had an interaction with a general manager & were blown away by David, the GM, who met us when we arrived and then spent 25 minutes talking to us while we were waiting to leave. He gave us tips on our next vacation & his personal favorites. He also filled us in on the 4-5 year plan to make the resort even better- new rooms & restaurants. We had 2 managers meet us poolside to solicit advice about things that they could do better- thank you Javelin. Far and away, the restaurant staff were amazing- always with a smile & never seeming to be put out by any request. While I wish I could remember everyone I can simply list the ones we do remember. -Sylvia at Cafe de Paris -Jaraine, Shaniqua & Zhevene at Marios -Tamara, Stephenson and Blondina at Bayside -our personal favorite, Racquel, at Eleanor’s I also have to mention 2 of the photographers- Shadi & Davindra, who were always ready to take lovely keepsake photos of us, day & night. We will most certainly be back to what is now our favorite Sandals Caribbean vacation location.

We’ve enjoyed our stay. Everyone with Sadals have been very friendly. Akella really stands out. She brings drinks on the beach. She takes pride in her work. She puts little umbrellas on the drinks and makes them pretty for pictures. It’s nice to see people like her that still take pride in what they do.

This was one of my favorite resort experiences! there are several pools on location so whether you want a mellow day or party day there's one to fit the mood. the beaches are beautiful and well taken care of. this resort also has cats on site, so it's really nice to see that the resort cares for them. a true highlight was Lynnique! she is part of the entertainment squad and we definitely would not have had as good of a time without her! we would definitely recommend and would go back in the future

“Should have known better…” First time at a Sandals resort, but also will be our last. Booked to spend time with old friends, but wished we had looked elsewhere. Positives: Truly beautiful beach with clear, calm water and powdery sand. Beautiful shallow lounging pools if you aren’t a beach person. Easy access to bars and restaurants on the property. The pianist (John) at the piano bar is much better than this resort deserves or realizes - a true musician! Fitness equipment was brand new and very nice. For my wife and I, that is unfortunately where the positives end. We understand it is an older property and appreciate the efforts that go into maintaining the grounds of the resort. We also probably consumed less alcohol than the average Sandals goer, so maybe we were more aware of the quality issues. We found the cleanliness, rooms, food quality, staff helpfulness, and upkeep of the property grounds to be far below standards of average hotels in the US. Property cleanliness and maintenance is extremely poor. Putrid smells abound where there is not open air. Door lock and 3/6 electrical outlets were nonfunctional upon arrival, no repairs were attempted during our stay. Our room and several of the buildings have a severe mold/mildew odor in the HVAC systems, and from appearances, many kitchen vents and cooking appliances have a thick crust of oil and debris built up that suggests many years without deep cleaning. Peeling paint, rust, dry-rotten outdoor furniture, poorly maintained roofs, fixtures, etc. Every countertop, table and bar was so sticky that your arms and elbows cling to the surface. They use a bleach cleaning product for everything where often soap and water are needed. Roaches and other insects present in the room, despite being very careful to open and close doors quickly. Food: We had one nice appetizer at Barefoot and one good dinner at Mario’s including an antipasto bar and entrees of chicken parm and snapper. Most of the food was significantly worse than what we can cook at home, and we found ourselves thinking hard about what food would be hardest to screw up before ordering. Some presentation was beautiful, but flavor, freshness, texture, etc were usually below the quality of your neighborhood Applebee’s. Overcooked/unchewable pork, beef, chicken, soggy Holiday Inn bacon, lack of fresh vegetables and fruit, and hardly a spec of seasoning to be found, even on “Caribbean Jerk” style dishes. Other nuisances include a number of stray, malnourished cats, local vendors who constantly solicit products and excursions, who also leave large tents and structures right in front of the resort like homeless encampments. These vendors are openly rude to you when you decline their solicitation. It is indeed a public beach, but the resort management should seriously consider peaceful negotiations with the vendors and local government about removing permanent encampments on the edge of the property. This is a major deterrent for return tourists. Perhaps the saddest part is that the resort appears to have been very well-designed in its early days, but has fallen into decay and disrepair with poor standards.