The Verandah Resort & Spa

I have waited a while before writing my review, I wanted it to be fair and balanced. It really is a difficult one because I so wanted it to be good, in part it is, but it is also quite the reverse. It is a place of contradictions, the good, the bad and the ugly! I will work through my experience, it is an honest account of our time there. We arrived after a long flight, taxi driver left luggage on pathway, expected help from staff with moving it, no help at all moving bags, offhand receptionist, no details of resort given but I do know all about her medical problems! We moved our bags to the buggy and off we went, info given as we went past places but quite quick so not much went in. Looked like a very beautiful place, great views and a lovely rainbow! So shrugged off the ordinary welcome! We were shown the room, a hillside garden view bungalow. Looked very pretty, from the outside! It was not good inside. Buggy already left so could not ask questions, about the lack of view (roofs of restaurants) no water, no coffee, no robes, 1 towel and it was not very clean. See photos. Very disappointing, spent most our first day chasing things that should have been there, queueing to speak to someone so we could start our holiday. I did get very fed up in the 2 weeks we were there of being told to chill, you on Antigua time! I was aware of that as it was our 5th visit to the island, an island we love, but we did need towels, water etc, and the first day was just the beginning of the constant having to go hassle someone for the basics. Housekeeping only comes every other day, we knew that, but 5 days without seeing a cleaner? More trips to customer service! Dinner reservations were cancelled (note pushed into doorframe), this was so often it became normal. Lunchtimes became a joke, the worst was a 2++ hour wait for a burger which we never did get to eat as we left. We had asked at least 6 times what was going on, we are not rude demanding people, we have manners, and were greeted with shrugs and the usual Chill response! Some staff are wonderful but others clearly have no desire to be there. The place is being run on minimum staff levels, there are very obvious cost cutting regimes going on. A mini bar full of cold air, nothing in it at all? However we did have a very decent time, the drinks were nice, the food was, in the main, good. I am curious though as to how staff would bring you a plate which they warn you is very hot, it is so hot it would burn if touched, and yet the food is lukewarm warm??? How do they do that?? It is a very large resort, very attractive with nice pools and 2 beaches, Lovers Beach is much nicer for swimming but Rasta Beach is more peaceful. There are buggies to take you around, we didn't use them much as we like to walk, however we did order one to take us to reception for taxi to Shirley Heights, several phone calls later and well after we should have got the taxi we gave up and walked! The beach party is great fun, lovely food and music, we really enjoyed it. We also loved the Wavey Wicket pub, and Kerty is great. We usually ended our evening there. It did get a bit noisy sometimes but guess that's down to too many great cocktails. If you are a fan of Pickle Ball then you will be very happy, lots of very enthusiastic players there. Devils Bridge is just a walk from the resort although if you have mobility issues the road is very rough and potholed so probably you would not be able to do it, and would struggle with the resort layout as quite steep in many places with steps and slopes all over. We had lovely weather, very windy at times but sunny and hot. We did enjoy our time there and there was a lot of good things but there was just too much that didn't work for us, and some things that were unacceptable. Even when some of the very good staff tried their best to help us and put things right it still fell short, such a shame for such a beautiful place. I am still so surprised reading some of the reviews on here, I think we must have been in a different place to those reviewers altogether!

This hotel was fabulous and made by the friendliest staff that couldn’t do enough for you, we would say all staff we came across were pleasant and the staff we had more dealings with were exceptional- Reashea, Risa, Kerry-Ann, Typhaney, Edika, Theodore, Dale, Zach and a whole load others. The food was amazing in all the restaurants and a real credit to the chefs/all kitchen staff. The gym was the best we have seen at a resort and we used it daily after our hour tennis sessions. Rasta party on the Friday night was fantastic and the staff went to so much effort and the atmosphere was great on the beach. We would rate the location and resort as 5/5 and would highly recommend it .

I just finished a week stay here with my partner. The resort has some real strengths: beautiful scenery, a spacious room, stunning beaches with plenty of available sun loungers. The buggies are a fun and convenient way to get around, and there’s a great variety of water sports and activities which are free with all inclusive which is unusual in my experience. Both breakfast and dinner offered a wide range of options and the food quality was excellent. Overall, the vibe was quiet and relaxing and we did have a nice break in the main. However, the experience was quite inconsistent. Service in restaurants, particularly over lunch, was often slow, and on multiple occasions we had to ask for the whereabouts of our order and got no apology or urgency from the staff. It's a shame because some of the staff were really fantastic and so welcoming. Others gave us the impression we were an inconvenience to them and they didn't really want to be there. There seemed to be no middle ground. In all resorts I've been to over the years the buffet restaurant was open for all 3 meals. Here it was closed for lunch which might explain why the staff struggled to cope with the footfall at the other restaurants. Housekeeping was also hit and miss. I'm not fussed about having my bed made every day but a fresh towel and a clean around the bathroom so I didn't have to worry about mess when I was supposed to be enjoying my break would have been good. They tell you housekeeping come every other day, that wasn't our experience and when they did come it was late in the day between 5-6pm. We were resting before dinner at the time so asked them to come back another time but they just didn't bother. Our room got cleaned once in the week. The mini fridge only had water in it, the restaurant schedule we were provided with at the start of the trip was wrong, several sunbeds on the beach were damaged and the floats in the sea for guests to sit on were quite dirty and only cleaned towards the end of our stay. Some noisy guested affected the relaxed atmosphere one day, playing loud music and shouting. The hotel staff did nothing to address it and one of the guests had to go over and ask them to settle down in the end. The resort has great potential, but the lack of consistency in service or attention to detail ultimately let it down from my perspective. I was surprised to see other recent reviews with 5 stars which suggested our experience could have been a lot more positive.

I love this resort. It's the perfect place to get away and relax. The resort is beautiful. The bungalow style rooms are adorable. And i love that each one has their own name. Because the resort is so big be prepared to walk a lot, bring sneakers. On the bright side there are shuttles that will take you around. The staff were warm and welcoming. The food was amazing, perfectly seasoned without being salty. The only downside was the pizza. But I am a New Yorker, so I am hard to impress when it comes to pizza. The grounds are spotless, well maintained and visually stunning. The one thing that impressed me the most is their sustainability efforts. They have a huge plot of land where they grow their own food. And their is an abundance of fruit trees on the resort. This cuts down on the amount of food they have to purchase, and give more jobs to community. They have banana, plantain, papaya, mango, and coconut trees. I've been to many resorts, this is the first time I've seen this type of effort. All the more reason for me to return, and suggest it to my friends. I'm already planning my next trip!

It was 5 of us for a girls' trip, with the primary goal of relaxing. Four of us stayed in the Plaintain bldg and loved this layout and naming convention of this property! The rooms were the most spacious I've ever stayed in. A bonus was a.m. sits on the patio with my coffee bird watching. The food, staff, and entertainment, especially water sports, were fantastic. I never order Pina coladas, but they were so tasty here, i had them daily. I loved that it wasn't a big chain hotel, and really felt more engulfed in the local culture. I give Veranda a 10/10. Note, I'm not sure if it's crickets, frogs or what, but they are very loud from about 6p-6a. My group either put in ear plugs or adjusted to it as if listening to the nature sounds music channel.