The Verandah Resort & Spa

First the positives: beautiful location; the 2 secluded beaches are lovely, the grounds are lush, tropical and beautifully maintained. The 3 swimming pools are also very nice and equally well maintained with plenty of sun beds and towels. We tried 3 of the 4 restaurants, Sea breeze, Sails and Tails and Portofino. The sea breeze is a buffet style restaurant and there’s usually something to suit everyone with the quality of the food being average to good. The Portofino is an Italian restaurant and needs to be booked the day before. we tried it twice and it was ‘OK’ but a bit samey with a limited menu repeated every evening. Sails and Tails also requires booking a day before with an international ‘surf and turf’ menu. Our food in Sails and Tails was average with meat dishes being a little tough. There’s not a lot of choice and a ‘proper size’ steak attracts a surcharge! Overall there’s enough food choice across the 3 non surcharge restaurants for most people. The fourth restaurant is Nicole’s and is surcharge only, so we avoided it as we felt that having paid for all inclusive we shouldn’t be paying yet again. I’d say that only about 20% of the staff were friendly with a few including Judith and Gail in the Sea Breeze and Florence our room cleaner, being really lovely, the rest not so nice - explained further below… The negatives? It seemed that wherever we went, the beach the pools, etc, someone would turn up with either a loud strimmer, digging tool (removing weeds on the beach) leaf blowers. Always at peak times when people were trying to relax in the sun - the whole purpose of the holiday When we arrived at the room we had no lock or key for the safe, we also couldn’t open the sliding door to the balcony. Eventually someone turned up with a lock and key for the safe (archaic! what about electronic locks!) and with super human strength managed to manhandle the balcony door open. The door was clearly really old and its tracks had worn away and the only way to open it was to physically lift it slightly by holding the tiny lock recess with finger tips! I bent my nails back many times trying to open the door. I was told by the maintenance guy that ‘they will be here ‘tomorrow’ to install a new door track’ Tomorrow never came - just more excuses! We asked if we could have some more bottled water when the 3 initial bottles had been used. We were told ‘No, you can refill them using the water tap in your room’ A 4 star hotel? Really?? Similarly, absolutely nothing else in the fridge. Again, 4 star? I think not! We had loads of ‘goodies’ including snacks, chocolate, crisps, soft drinks, beers, etc when we stayed in the Heritage Golf and Spa Resort in Mauritius last year, and the holiday cost less than the Verandah! The resort ‘fees’ were eye watering! Nearly £600 for 12 nights! Why?? The hotel certainly doesn’t justify such a high tariff! This fee on its own would put me off visiting Antigua ever again - irrespective of all the other issues we had - be warned! Staying in the Verandah in Antigua has a large additional cost (almost hidden in the small print) We took the time to find email addresses and contact names for the management at the Verandah (Marina Francois-Barthelmy) and the guest services main email address, and emailed before our visit to mention it was a special trip for us encompassing an anniversary and birthday and was our first visit. No one from the Verandah bothered to reply. Not a good first impression. Unfortunately it didn’t get better when we got to the Verandah. There was the ‘music’ Hugely amplified, ‘boom boom boom’ rubbish being pumped out all day and late into the evening around the main pool. It kept us awake at night. It was so loud during the day you couldn’t hold a conversation. There were ‘foam parties’ ’water aerobics’ all accompanied by massively amplified DJ’s and awful ‘muzak’ We thought we were at a 2 star hotel in Benidorm or Ibiza. It also kept us awake at night up to and past 11pm as we were unlucky enough to be in room 255 which isn’t far from the main pool. We ended up having to go to the little pool about a quarter of a mile from the main pool to get some peace and quiet, even there we could still hear the ‘Muzak’ albeit quieter. Why on earth is a 4/5 star hotel ‘for adults only’ doing this? Foam parties, loud awful muzak, ‘pool activities’? It’s really unnecessary and spoils a really beautiful resort. We also found that far too many of the staff have attitudes that range from ‘can’t be bothered to be polite’ to downright rude bordering on hostile. Examples included a bartender on the larger beach named Daquan saying quite rudely ‘What? what do you want? When I simply asked if the bar was part of the Verandah. He was so busy trying to act ‘cool’ and strut around that paying customers appeared to be an irritation. He clearly despises customers and gave the impression that he was ‘too good’ to be serving in a bar with delusions of being a DJ instead playing unnecessarily loud muzak on the beach - laughable 😂 Similarly, most of the staff in the coffee shop were openly hostile and frankly, rude. I asked one of the ladies what meat was in the sandwich rolls and she very loudly and abruptly told me to ‘read the labels!’ Wow! I nearly walked out. There were staff like this in all areas including a waitress in the Sea Breeze who seemed to get really offended when I asked for a couple of diet cokes. She initially seemed to accept what I’d asked for then completely ignored us for the rest of our meal, clearly annoyed about something, no drinks arrived instead she just kept rushing in and yanking my plates from our table even when I was still finishing my food! We were so confused because we are always polite and respectful. I would emphasise that it was only some staff that were hostile and rude, but enough that it affected our impression of the Verandah. There’s simply no need and no place in a resort/location that depends hugely on tourism, for people who treat paying, polite, respectful customers with contempt. Having taken the trouble to look up senior contacts at the Verandah and emailing them prior to our visit - and being ignored, it’s likely that the ‘attitude’ and ‘customers are a nuisance’ feeling we experienced comes from the very top. When we arrived we weren’t actually greeted, instead we had several forms thrust at us and were told to log onto the wi fi, fill the forms out, give them a credit card…. I had to stop the woman at one point because we were being bombarded with directives having just travelled for nearly 10 hours! Similarly, no one asked when we checked out if we’d had a nice stay, if we’d enjoyed it. Nobody gave a toss! So so arrogant. These are the main reasons we would not return to the Verandah. Shame because it is in such a beautiful place, spoiled by unnecessary loud music, lack lustre food and drink and (some) staff who seem to very much dislike the guests who contribute to their salary. Avoid the Verandah, there are lots of other resorts that actually care about their customers and want to provide good service! Hopefully people will start to book elsewhere and if the slide in service levels continues the Verandah will go bust. Such a waste of such a lot of our hard earned money! I’ve seen the ‘standard’ lamentable replies to these reviews by customer services/management at the Verandah and will probably get the same lame excuses and nonsensical platitudes about striving to be better, excellence - blah blah blah. Please don’t bother - just LISTEN take heed and do something about the issues at your hotel!!

Another amazing trip with great friends at The Verandah and boy was this trip needed! There’s so many things to love about Antigua, but what keeps us coming back again and again are the people. From our amazing Taxi drivers to the staff to the residents…it’s hard not to relax and enjoy. Of course, since our first trip, we message our Taxi driver Sylvester to let him know we’re coming and this time I baked him a double-batch of our homemade peanut butter dog biscuits for his 14+ dogs. This time, we met his awesome nephew, Chaad, who was our driver this entire trip. He was born here but lived in Canada for a long time (the “ah” was coming out haha). But he loves the island so much he had to return home to stay and we’re so glad he did. He is the BEST tour guide and knows so much and has the best recommendations for food and places to go and will take you where the locals go. He even hung out with us at Shirley Heights and we have the most DELICIOUS lobster and shrimp EVER!! But it doesn’t stop there…the staff at Verandah is why we keep going back there. From our beloved Gem who knew John was trouble from the very first trip on our very first DAY who schedules all your fun activities, to our incredible mixologists Lassandra (daytime who makes the BEST passion fruit mojitos for me and introduced me to a Coconut Crush but with rum 🤤), Andre Warner and Leon (nighttime main pool - Andre who is the most fun with such a great personality and laugh that you just can’t NOT love him who can make you any drink you’ll love and just tell him your favorite spirit and if you like to taste the alcohol…you all know I don’t lol and Leon always takes care of you with delicious drinks…but tries to convince us that driving on the left side of the road is right 🤣) and Kertie (late night at the Wavy Wicket who makes the best popcorn and a lemonade drink that I still don’t know what it is but yum!) to the amazing servers like Theodore (who remembers you after meeting you once and has the sweetest personality), to Clesa at the gift shop who knows that when John is there to have the best cigars waiting, Sean and Tristan (or Chris Rock lol) who are always ready to pick you up and take you where you need to go on the golf carts, and of course to the amazing managers like Ashah who is John’s double-trouble and incredible Patricia (she had a pup and loves pistachios btw 😉). The list goes on and on and we always can’t wait to see them when we come back. We’re already planning when our next trip will be, even if it’s just for a long weekend 😍 We have SO many pictures and there’s SO much to do that you can choose from just at the resort alone. Honestly, you HAVE to experience The Verandah Resort and Spa for yourself. I promise you, you won’t regret it. I will warn you…the roads on the island are horrible (potholes to fit a car) but that’s the ONLY downfall. But seriously…if you’ve never been….GO!! And stay with our amazing friends at The Verandah! We’ll probably see you there, too, on our next trip 😎❤️☀️🏝️🌊🐚 And we always bring a bunch of $1 bills because they take USD and we try to tip all the staff who do anything for us, from the cook who makes our custom omelets every morning to making our drinks.

I just spent a week at The Verandah with a friend (two women in our 50s) and came away really happy with the experience. I don’t have a long list of resorts to compare it to, but the grounds felt beautiful and well cared for, and the overall setting made it easy to relax. The rooms were very clean, well maintained, and generously sized, which made a difference over the course of the week. I did wish there was more comfortable furniture on the balcony to fully enjoy the outdoor space. What stood out most, though, was the staff. Almost everyone was exceptionally friendly, with a few truly memorable standouts including Theodore, Jensen, Lassandra, Tristan, Shamar, Lucy, Gail, and Leon, who consistently made things feel welcoming and personal. The coffee shop ladies are also a treat and quickly became part of our daily routine. The daily water aerobics class at 10:30 ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. It might sound silly, but it’s actually a great workout and the instructors keep it fun and different every day. The food met expectations overall, with a mix of solid meals, a few misses, and some standouts. I especially liked that the main restaurant offered a different themed dinner each night, which kept things interesting throughout the stay. I wasn’t planning to go to the Pink Party, but I’m very glad we did. It was clearly a big effort from the staff and it paid off. The lead singer of the band was excellent and the whole night had a great energy. Wearing pink is not required, but it definitely adds to the fun. One thing that can always make or break a trip is the people you meet, and we were lucky to connect with some genuinely great individuals. I also appreciated how diverse the resort felt, including seeing LGBTQ couples and families, which made it feel more reflective of the real world. And if you’re an animal lover, bring a few treats. The resort is home to a number of beautiful cats that you’ll likely see throughout your stay. Overall, it was a warm, enjoyable, and easy vacation.

Great location, lots of space, great views, great food and choice of restaurants lots of choices of pools, nice clean, cool ( air con) semi detached studio bungalows. Great choice of activities pickel, crazy golf, kayaks, SUP's sailing. Good price through Tropical Sky and we particularly liked that the management were very visible, professional and friendly. It's a shame though we couldn't visit the Pineapple resort this time, across the road unless we paid $150 charge/ couple. Long beach is a short walk out of the resort was definitely worth a visit for a lovely swim. Devils bridge is worth a visit but go via Wavy Wicket or Lovers Beach for a shorter walk in the heat. Lots of lovely staff, our favourites were Theodore, Patricia, Andre, Ashanti, O'Dell, Lucie, Keshia, Kertie, Robert, Anthony and Monica. Many more whose names we didn't catch. Unfortunately though there were a few members of the team who seemed to find it difficult to be friendly, despite our best efforts, hence the 4 out of 5 stars. But overall a great holiday and our second time.

This was my second time at The Veranda. (Girls Trip) It is beautiful and perfect for a relaxing vacation. Service was slow and they need more staff, especially at the dining areas. But the staff they have are very friendly and welcoming and what makes the vacation special. Tristan-our favorite driver! He remembered us from last year! So friendly! Robert-our new favorite bartender at the Wavy Wicket. Shemar-another special driver! Thanks for helping me out with the tie dye. LOL Theo-a favorite waiter that also recognized us from last year. Always a smile! Ginger- everyone's favorite cat! And Stache had kittens! Leon and Captain Jack-more awesome staff. Marina- the best omelet maker ever! I'm sure I'm missing others! The food was good, but it lacks a place to just pick up a snack at times during the day. The pizza was excellent, love the crust. Portofino and Sails and Tails were great choices. The coffee shop was nice, but PLEASE just get rid of the sandwiches there. They were the worst.