Sandals Grande Antigua

My waitress Shirnell at Mario’s Restaurant was fantastic. She was very nice to my fiancée and I and was constantly making sure our drinks were filled and our food came out good. She did a great job!

The service at Mario’s was amazing. We went almost everyday for the breakfast buffet and twice for dinner during our stay. The server Shirnell was friendly, and overall an amazing waitress.

Our week at Sandals Grand Antigua was exactly what we had hoped for……tranquil and serene. We enjoyed every moment. The purpose of writing this review is to aid those who are considering staying at this resort. As with everything in life there are positives,as well as,areas to improve upon. Pros of resort 1. Everyone is extremely kind. 2. It is a great resort for couples wanting to spend quality time together. 3. Quiet and not a party resort. 4. Staff members that deserve a special recognition 1. A very special young lady, Taerola who works at Mario’s. She was top notch and exceptional in all areas. Attentive, professional,and personable. We enjoyed her so much that we even went back our last night and requested to be seated in her section. 2. Samuel served us our beach candlelight dinner and was fun, professional, and a very nice young man. 3. Alex, a member of our Butler crew, who was a total delight to work with. 5. There is absolutely no hustling to do time share like other resorts. It was refreshing not to have to deal with that. 6. Mario’s antipasto/salad bar was incredible. It was so good we came back three nights. A five star experience for us. 7. Spa experience was exceptional for my husband. He said it was the best massage of his life. He regrets not getting the masseuse name. Areas of note that potential visitors should know. 1. The resort is lovely and was satisfactory for us but note that it is an older resort. Some might say a bit dated. 2. IF reserving the Rondoval on the beach it is important to note that the shower is over the tub. No doors, no curtain. Now it wasn’t a problem for us BUT if you are staying with a parent, friend,or your child it could be an awkward situation. 3. If you are looking for a party atmosphere this is not your resort. It is a resort that is perfect for couples that are maybe 40 and up. 4. Housekeeping was just okay. I had to ask for dishes to be taken away after they sat for two days. We also had to ask on two days of our stay to be serviced at night because they hadn’t cleaned during the day which we were at the pool/beach from 9:00-3:00. (Yes, we left tips every day). 5. If you are a beach person. Be aware that it is a public beach so there are many trying to sell goods and services the entire time. 6. Note that we prepaid for the spa massage before arrival and at check in we were told since we prepaid we couldn’t apply a $200 credit we were given at booking. We would have to book additional services,which we weren’t interested in doing. So we lost the credit which was disappointing. My effort in writing this review is to praise the positives, as well as, assist those who may want honest feedback on our experience. We loved our stay at the Grand Antigua and would definitely return.

The resort is lovely however it is huge and getting from rooms in the towers and over on the "Mediterranean" area, as well as the rooms up more on the cliff etc. in the "Caribbean" area makes for a long walk to the restaurants, beach, large pool etc. After a few days my husband found a route to our room that avoided all of the stairs. It was a slightly longer walk, however I appreciated not having to navigate 20 steps to and from our building entrance from the pool, restaurants , beach etc. Overall, the resort could benefit from care to safety for older travellers. The grounds were stunning. Beautiful gardens with fireplace areas after dinner and the lighting after dark was so well done. The food was good. Buffet at the Bayside and Mario's were very good. There was a great variety at the buffet. Barefoot by the Beach" was our fave dinner.  We went twice. Bayside had a nice dinner menu as well. We chose not to go to a couple of the restaurants.  Not a fan of sushi and we figured we could get ribs etc. at home. The only reservation we could get for Eleanor's for dinner was 8:30 p.m. Too late for us. If you can contact the resort ahead of time for reservations, I would suggest doing so. Kimono's was a nice evening out. The ambience was lovely and we enjoyed the chef's performance, however we found the food to be under-seasoned. The Drunken Duck was nice. Food was decent. My Bangers and Mash were good. My husband was glad to be able to get a Guiness. I was hoping the menu would include a Scotch Egg. Maybe the chef could add that in the future. We never made it to lunch or to enjoy the crepes since it was too easy to overdo breakfast! Our room was nice. One review stated it was dated. It was a bit, but I would prefer the mahogany furniture to some minimalist ,cold and ultra modern decor. We had a lovely rain shower that appeared to be recently installed. My concern as a senior was the lack of grab bars for safety. Again, as a senior, the commode was very low with no handrails for assistance. Since we are an aging society with lots of baby boomers who are now travelling, I would suggest that some accommodations for safety issues would be a really good idea. As a Canadian, the idea of paying $30 and $40 U.S for a t-shirt even for a children's shirt for young children and grandchildren. We didn't take much U.S. money with us..just enough for tips for cabs etc. More USD would be good to have for the little shops on the beach where shirts, hats, beach bags etc. were much more affordable. We had an issue with chairs at the pool and beach. Every morning they were all covered with towels and stayed that way without people using them. One day we put our towels and books on the chairs we found. When we came back after about a half hour the books and towels were gone. They showed up the next day on another chair. I think there must be rules for this issue. The spa was delightful but be aware that your 60 minute spa massage costs $200 USD. It was very relaxing but I wouldn't spend it again. Overall we had a lovely vacation. I hope the resort management will make the effort to address some of the issues we faced. Overall we had a lovely time and enjoyed our stay. It was li

We came back a week ago to us Antigua is so beautiful we have been here 6 times Sandals location is perfect on a pure white sandy beach surrounded by lush green gardens ,our 15 day stay here was amazing our butlers Hunter Cori and June were amazing did everything we asked for and beyond must mention Tanya Lea what a lovely girl she is even though she wasn’t our butler this year she made a effort to come and see us also the wine manager Jamie an outstanding young man who should be proud of himself .Hotel itself does need some renovations which I believe is being sorted out apart From that everything in Our opinion is perfect so much so we have booked next year to return