The Inn at English Harbour

I stayed for 4 days / 3 nights in a suite. I was traveling alone after a week with friends and was excited to have the down time. The hotel was very empty and I was told has a lot to do with the season. The room was spacious and very clean. The bathroom was big and the shower was great. The staff there brightened my day whenever there was an encounter. They were always smiling and ready to have a small chat. I read a review that complained the food was too expensive but I found the quality to be excellent and fairly priced. The menu changes daily which was good. My only complaint was the dining and watersports toys need an upgrade and feel a bit tired. Further their handbook stipulates a dress code for the restaurant - and this might not be fair and the restaurant felt as if it has seen better days. The linens looked a few seasons too old, outdated and the furniture was probably purchased at the same time. So if you want a dress code then I think the facilities need to match their expectation. Granted it was the low season and maybe the dress code was intended for another restaurant other than the beach restaurant but still update your guide book for the seasons. By the third day I then dressed casually and nothing was said. Maybe it was a misunderstanding. Then each is beautiful and they provide a free shuttle to Nelson's Dockyard during the day. Lastly, and this is not the hotels fault but I should have rented a car as the hotel is pretty remote and the island is gorgeous. You will regret not doing this. If you go call Dockyard Divers. Tony is a great and laid back guide and there are some great dives just a few hundred meters from the hotel. I went on 4 dives and loved every minute. If you are considering the English Harbor area this is a great choice as it has one of the best beaches on Antigua, the rooms are great, the food quality was very good and the staff are really nice.

A Lovely Holiday,At the Inn in English Harbour.Situated on galleon beach with a beautiful view of the entrance to Nelsons dock yard.While we were there even sighting a Dolphin playing in the bay right outside our cabaña.The Hotel is in a beautiful setting,and the staff are all very pleasant.We were very pleased with the cabaña right next to the ocean. We also viewed the other accomodation junior & deluxe suites and these are well worth consideration. Our only disappointment was having all our meals at the Reef restaurant which was fine but as the hotel was so quiet we didn't get offered the chance to try the panoramic terraced restaurant at the top of the hotel with the fantastic views of the bay.we felt that we should of been offered at least one meal up there to experience it👎.Vere was brilliant as captain taking us on his three minute ride from the small jetty to Nelsons dock yard and back�.We didn't realise it was going to be such low season with most things being closed or very quiet.but the dock yard still worth a visit.We also took the island safari Land and Sea Tour by Tropical Adventures which was really good.The driver was really informative about his knowledge of the island plants letting us taste and smell lots of the different fruit herb and plant life.When transferring over to the catermaran we sailed to Cades Reef a bit chaotic but fun snorkeling for about 30-40 minutes and on our way back to the yatch my wife spotted a ray and the was made up.we then went up to deep bay by fort Barrington where again having about thirty minutes play time then finishing at Dickenson Bay with a forty minute drive back to the hotel by Jeep.Well worth doing for a taste of the island,if you didn't want to hire a car�.Also did some scuba diving with Soul Emmersion with Shawn and Kevin (Max)a small diving company by Nelsons dock yard, who were very good making you feel very comfortable and looking after you. Seeing my first shark (made up)👌.Would return to Antigue at a busyer period so that my wife could have someone else to talk to.I was happy there with only thirteen max on our vacation. We would definitely go again

We had our own piece of paradise for one week at the beginning of June in a beach cabana. Having our very own ensuite beach was just lovely. We stayed half board and breakfasts were great, especially the gingerbread pancakes and eggs benedict that came recommended and when there was no peppermint tea left the kitchen staff made me up a pot with real mint, very nice touch. Evening meals were good quality as was the wine. Nice extra touches by the staff like receiving a bottle of bubbly with our first evening meal as it was our honeymoon, beach snacks of fresh fruit kebabs brought to us and the gardener even gave us fresh coconut to drink from one day by the pool. Vere the boat captain taking us over to Nelsons Dockyard was a gent! Wesley's Pina Coladas are now famous! We went to Nelson's Dockyard a couple of times for a bite of lunch a proper pint of beer. The Inn only had small bottles. The resort was very very quiet which had its pluses on the beach for example but did make evening meal time a bit quiet and lacking in atmosphere. We weren't aware that this was the start of the off season when we booked and were not able to enjoy the main restaurant with the terrace views as they closed this due there being only 3 couples booked in. All meals were had in the beach reef restaurant- which was lovely but can't help feel we missed out on the full experience unfortunately. On our second night there was a power outage in our cabana and we were moved to a 'Junior Suite' for the rest of the evening. Fabio the manager came to see us the next morning with options - honestly we didn't want to give up our wee piece of heavenly beach and cabana as he would have preferred to move us to a suite. So when the electric was restored that morning we were given the key for the adjoining cabana so that if for any reason there was another power outage during our stay we could use it. And when we went for dinner we were kindly given another bottle of sparkling wine. We chose The Inn to get rest and relaxation in a romantic location after our wedding and it fitted the bill perfectly. Ordinarily we are very active, walking lots, taking in lots of local sights but didn't feel able to do much here as its a bit out of the way. But that is why we only booked one week, we were fully aware of the location. We did make use of the water sport shed and used the double kayak at least 3 times which was great. We booked an excursion through the onsite boutique to do a circumnavigation of the whole island on a speedboat including swimming with stingrays and lunch on green island. The trips aren't cheap but this one felt worth it to us. The tour company paid the taxi one way and we paid the other which was $40 as it left from Jolly Harbour quite a distance away (about 45 mins in the taxi). We have never felt sad leaving a holiday resort but we did here, glad we chose The Inn for our honeymoon, it was very special.

We had a great holiday here and would definitely come again. But, having eaten in the restaurant on the first night, we didn't eat there again and would plan to use other restaurants in the future. There are two issues with the restaurant: firstly, the quality of the food in a fairly limited menu; secondly, the shockingly high prices, which meant the bill was over double anything we paid in other restaurants. We stayed in the beach cabana, which had a beautiful location on the beach. The people were helpful and it was a pleasure being able to swim before breakfast and enjoy both sea and pool. The room itself was spacious and comfortable with high quality linens. There were some disappointing details - a plastic shower curtain on an extendable pole fixed to the wall by a suction pad was far from stable and instant coffee felt a bit low end compared to similar hotels. We had a car and would definitely say that you need a car to make the most of the island from this location. The hotel is very much on its own and the boat provided by the hotel to link with Falmouth only runs until 5pm. Staying in the hotel was very pleasant (there was an excellent swimming pool and beach area) but if you want to visit the rest of the island, there are no easy transport links from the hotel. We were interested to read the comments about the wedding made by another reviewer. There was no wedding when we were there, but we had a comparable experience in that, while we were there, they shut the restaurant at the top of the hotel for planned maintenance work. We weren't informed of this in advance, but it meant that all meals took place in the outdoor restaurant on the beach. For the reasons given above, this only affected us for breakfast, but we would certainly have been disappointed if we had been on half board and unable to enjoy the views from the top indoor restaurant. Whilst we liked the people we met, we did feel that the property needed to be managed more proactively because it is complacent to expect customers simply to accept weddings taking over the hotel or the restaurant being out of use for an entire week without prior warning or compensation.

The Inn at English Harbour, in Antigua, is located near the southern tip of the island. As its name indicates, it is close to the former British Naval Dockyard, a place which served during several years as Admiral Horation Nelson’s base in the West Indies. From here he protected British interests in the Caribbean, keeping the French at bay and enforcing British law on recalcitrant American colonists. The place is therefore brimming with history, and Nelson’s Dockyard itself, no longer used as a military installation, has been declared a National Park in Antigua. It contains many of the original buildings, each described by plaques situated outside their doors, as well as a Museum occupying what was once a former Naval Officer’s house. English Harbour was effectively an impregnable naval facility, and was further protected by small forts at the entrance to Freeman’s Bay (off which the Dockyard itself runs) as well as by the Shirley Heights Lookout. From the latter it is possible to view the islands of Montserrat , Nevis ,and significantly in the past, the French colony of Guadeloupe. Some holidays are sought by sun-worshippers, scuba divers, beachcombers, and so on. The Inn offers all these, but historical proximity in the Dockyard provides an additional attraction for those, of whom there are many, seeking rather more out of a holiday than the usual range of vocational activities. And this small, boutique hotel is a delight in itself. Its reception desk, bar and main dining area (the Terrace Restaurant) occupy a hilltop site, from which the views across Freeman’s Bay and into Falmouth Harbour nearby are, without exaggeration, stunning. Even after sunset the illuminated masts and twinkling lights of hundreds of yachts, large and small, convert this view into a nocturnal, magical fairyland. Colonial style accommodations, beautiful buildings superbly appointed with every comfort, occupy the small lowland embayment which the hotel’s hilltop centre overlooks. Here are also the beachside bar and restaurant, the latter used for breakfast each day, as well as for the weekly BBQ. There is also a lovely swimming pool, and nearby spa, library, and gym. The sandy beach is always uncrowded, with a plentiful supply of sunbeds, parasols and hammocks. Unobtrusive beach staff attend to the needs of hotel guests, offering free bottles of iced water and, if requested, alcoholic drinks. A day spent on this beach, cooling off periodically in the sea, constitutes the most marvellous way to refresh those tired and fractured minds which have emerged from the darkness and greyness of European or North American Winters. The hotel’s free water taxi is available throughout the day to ferry guests from the beach jetty into Nelson’s Dockyard, and to return them at a time suiting their needs. The Dockyard is steeped in history , while a choice of several restaurants and bars provide opportunities for relaxation. Alternatively, or additionally, it is only a ten minute stroll to the Antigua Yacht Club and Marina, another place (with free entry) of considerable interest.. It is from Nelson’s Dockyard, too, that the No.17 bus begins it 40 minute ride into the capital city of St.Johns. It runs to no timetable, but the wait is rarely more than five minutes, and the price outrageously small! Take a taxi? If you wish, but mixing with and chatting to the locals on the bus is, for many of The Inn’s guests, an unmissable part of the holiday’s enjoyment. It is, however, The Inn’s staff who ultimately make the holiday. Each day they find time for a chat. Nothing is too much for them if and when assistance is sought. Over the years they have become friends rather than staff, and The Inn a home from home. Sherma and Shanice greet guests warmly at Reception upon arrival, and they continue to look after one’s every need throughout the holiday. They organise, amongst other things, the shuttle service between the hotel’s hilltop “social� centre and individual accommodations nearer the beach. The drivers are always friendly and obliging. Robert has been shuttling for as many years as one might care to remember, and could probably go up and down the hill blindfold (though he doesn’t!). His son is following in his father’s footsteps. On other occasions the steering wheel is taken by Clarence or Nelson. The former is always immaculately dressed. Nelson switches between driving the shuttle and navigating the hotel’s water taxi. As a native Spanish speaker , he is happy to be referred to as “El Capitano�. The principal water taxi skipper, however, is Vere, always elegant in his naval uniform. Once referred to as “The Captain�, elevation to the rank of Admiral followed his dispatch of a French catamaran which anchored itself too closely to the hotel beach! The sandy littoral is constantly staffed by Sasha Kay and Darren, who ensure that cold drinks are supplied in plenty, and that one’s comforts are not disturbed. One can enjoy conversing with them about life in Antigua, their families, their hopes for the future. Chambermaids include Rosealba, Shirrene and Cynthia. They are always smiling, constantly courteous, immaculately professional. Dinner in The Terrace is served by cheerful folk. Sheralyn is fastidious in attending to one’s wishes. Wesley, Neil, and Michelle can advise on each evening’s menu, ensuring the meal surpasses expectations. Kayson, calm and graceful, floats effortlessly around the dining floor and the bar . Least but not last there is “Ocean�. This is not his real name, which remains a mystery; but he never stops laughing and imparting joy to the folk around him. Much of the food served in The Inn is home-grown. The hotel grounds are managed by Kenti, but the vegetables more particularly by Martin. Both demonstrate huge pride in their work, and a visit to their gardens is a veritable “must�. Finally mention must be made of Fabio, manager of The Inn. Discreetly present, constantly friendly and polite, he is always available to converse with his guests. He is supported by Cristina who, amongst other things, manages the hotel’s small Boutique. Like Fabio, she makes herself available whenever the need arises. We return to The Inn year after year. If you want to know why, read the above lines again!