Curtain Bluff

Wonderful! Traveling as a family of 4 (4th and 6th graders), we all loved our stay at Curtain Bluff. Room - ground floor junior suite with beach walk out. The pictures don’t do it justice. We were worried the kids would have to sleep on a pull out sofa bed (full size). CB provided a twin cot for my daughter and my son was very comfortable on the pull out sofa (oddly, it was very comfortable - something I didn’t know pull out sofas were capable of). The pictures of the room don’t do it justice. The room is very large as was able to accommodate 4 of us, 4 checked bags, and 1 large carry on bag. The room also has built in wall storage unit with plenty of shelves. As a result, we weren’t living out of suitcases, but instead had our stuff put away. The bathroom was massive and beautiful. Two large sinks with at least 4’ of countertop between it. My only recommendation for CB would be to put in a fogged glass shower door for the shower opening. If this is done, we could use the bathroom much better (as we wouldn’t have to clear the bathroom when someone was showering). Drinks and snacks were in the room and refreshed everyday. It was always well stocked. Cleaning service was exceptional. Beach - I was nervous about booking here b/c the beach is not a dream 5 star beach. Below the water line, there are rocks and some seaweed. That said, you don’t need water shoes to get around in the water. The beach above the water line was beautiful. They rake it every morning, chairs (with shade) are plentiful, and individuals sporadically come around with drinks (and sometimes ice pops/snacks). A huge CB plus is that I reserved my beach chairs when we had breakfast around 9 am. We got second row chairs with plenty of shade. CB is not a place where you have to get up at 7am to get chairs. Water activities - superb. My kids learned to knee board, then water ski on this trip; they went on likely two dozen rides on a float that was pulled by a boat; we did the hobby Cat (sailing boat), kayaks, paddle boards, and pedal boats. Lines for this were minimal - first come first served. Often, we waited less than 10 minutes to go; sometimes no wait at all. This was awesome and transformed a B+ beach to a great one. Food - superb. CB broke the myth that any all inclusive place necessarily has lousy/mediocre food. Food felt like fine dining. Even our last night, they flew in a chef from a prestigious restaurant in Rhode Island and did a five course tasting menu with food and wines. Service of the food was, at times, slower than I’d like. Only one evening at Sea Grape was service atrocious (took 1hr and 40 minutes to be served dinner). That said, chef came out and apologized and we were seemingly an anomaly, as tables that sat down after us were served faster than us. I just think we were lost in the shuffle. Aside from that isolated instance, service was mostly prompt and the food was very good. (And we’ve been to Beaches @ Turks and I believe the food was hands down far better). The food even passed my 9 year old’s very rigorous chicken nugget test. Also - about half the time we were there, there was live music at dinner. We often danced during and after dinner. Was great. Management/attentiveness - The director, Rob, introduced himself soon after we got there. He and the other front desk folks were attentive to our needs. It was clear their goal was to achieve whatever they reasonably could. (Thank you). Excursions: the hotel arranged for 1) zip lining. This was a 10 minute drive. It was disappointing that we stood around for 58 minutes before the first person went zip lining. It took a full hour to do all 13 zip line courses. I’d recommend it, but know you’ll waste the first hour, then get to the good parts — which will still include some waiting. (As our group at 38 people). I’d do this once and then not again. 2) UTV ride at Salty Dog Adventures. This was a disaster. Tires were either completely bald or had trace amounts of tread life. Tires also had dry rot. One tire had a massive crack through the side wall. To add insult to injury, their contract read that the customer pays “$900” for “irreparable” tire damage. It was so dangerous, we refused to go. I spoke to Rob when I returned, shocked that they’d send clients to what can only be considered a death trap. He apologized, was unaware that they sent clients there, and even refunded the taxi cost there and back. (I appreciate CB’s gesture here). 3) black SUV for airport ride home - for $250, we had an Escalade take us to the airport. It made driving through the poorly maintained Antigua streets as pleasant as possible. The hotel arranged this for us. Thank you. 4) sting ray city - we did not do this trip, as it’s roughly a 40 minute drive each way; and we didn’t want to lose a beautiful beach day. That said, it’s apparently highly enjoyed, so we may try it next time. Recommendations for CB - 1) consider a fogged glass shower door. This will enable a family member to use the shower and also allow other family members to use the rest of the bathroom. 2) consider lighting on the shuffle board court (so families can play after dinner). 3) would have loved a large chess board set up. CB comparison against Beaches @ Turks and Baha Mar. - CB is peaceful, quaint, relaxing, and easy. It’s not a mill with 1,000+ other guests running around. There’s personal attention and far easier as a father to be at CB than Beaches or Baha Mar. - Beaches and Baha Mar both have water parks, which is a great feature. Their water parks are somewhat addressed by CB’s fantastic water activities. Beaches and Baha Mar also have better beaches below the water line, but you’ll also have to huddle early to get a chair. Overall, CB was great; a pleasant surprise of what a comparatively smaller resort can do when they show personal attention. Thank you CB for helping create wonderful memories!

Planned a visit on short notice due to a cancelled trip to the Middle East. What a lovely happy alternative! Curtain Bluff is classic excellent service in a stunning location with staff that could not be more expert at their jobs. The rooms are beautiful and comfortable- with fantastic views and lovely surf sounds. The grounds are beautiful. The activities are endless and all included. And the food was so good at every meal. Could not have been happier with our decision to visit Curtain Bluff and hope to return with our whole family!

The excellent... 1. The pre-booking of spa services, snorkelling, and restaurant reservations before arrival (although there was a small issue with one of my dining reservations on site it was quickly dealt with). 2. The following staff - The spa staff, esp. Babs, Donyella, and the masseuses.- The staff at the Tamarind, esp. Patrick - The Sea Grapes staff. - The watersports staff. One of the staff at the adult pool. 3. The room was gorgeous. The not so good... 1. Arrival - no one showed up for the meet and greet and then the driver that was supposed to meet me was not there so they stuck me in a taxi van. There was a very large lineup at customs so it was quite a wait. (The meet and greet is suppose to allow you to go through a special line so there is no wait.) Apparently Curtain Bluff gave the company the wrong airline....Delta (instead of the one I was actually flying in on). Then they couldn't find my name because it wasn't under the airline I gave them - not that it would have mattered because the driver wasn't there anyway. 2. Front desk staff. Friendly enough but unorganized and ill-informed. There seems to be an issue with organization esp. for the arrivals/departures. Also, I did one off resort excursion and they did not arrange for the correct one (they said I was signed up for the stingray and turtle excursion but we were only taken to see the stingrays - which my daughter LOVED). 3. The other attendant at the adult pool. 4. Snorkelling was cancelled 5/10 days we were there because of the high winds. This was our main reason for going to Curtain Bluff - because of the twice a day snorkelling trips, and Antigua is supposed to have good snorkelling in March. 5. Departure - I was promised the meet and greet company would meet me at the airport to walk us through security. The Curtain Bluff driver did not call them to let them know we were arriving (which is what the reception staff at the resort told me would happen). When he dropped us off I asked him where they were and he looked blankly at me like he had no clue. He also stood there while my teenage daughter and I got 3/4 bags out of the back on our own. He didn't contact the resort.....he just drove away once he got his tip. Once again there was no one from Signature there to meet us and everyone we asked inside told me they had not seen anyone from that company in quite some time....so we stood in the very long line, once again, for an hour to get through customs/security. The resort finally responded to the email I sent saying there was no one there to meet us....saying that we could step out of line and fine an escalator to meet someone (pretty vague)....long after we were at the gate right when our plane was scheduled to take off. Lots of extremes here, hence the rating 5/10. Many good to great things but the very beginning and the very end of our stay was so time-consuming, frustrating, complicated and messed up really detracted from the stay.

A place for pure relaxation unless you choose to participate in the many activities they offer. Food was excellent for dinner at both restaurants. The remodeled junior suite was very, very nice! Service was impeccable whether it was housekeeping, servers or watersports I cannot say enough. Spa is beautiful, highly recommend! Management was excellent and were very accommodating. We shall return!

We have been reading about Curtain Bluff for years, and finally made the trip this February with our family. I wish we had come sooner! This is without question the nicest resort we have experienced in the Caribbean - and we've been to many top resorts and islands. It has an authentic feel that is fancy without being pretentious, with every amenity that one could want (except TVs, which was a good thing!) The staff and many of the guests made it feel like we were staying with family. The rooms, great beaches, tennis facilities, endless watersports and exceptional food will also make us return for future vacations. A big thank you to Kevere, Blayne, Danny, Carol, Dequencia, Diana and many others for their hospitality!