Galley Bay Resort & Spa

If there’s such a thing as heaven, it’s called Galley Bay! We spent 7 nights at the resort to celebrate my wife’s 60th birthday and our stay was faultless. We arrived via airport transfer at reception, that’s a short golf buggy ride from the main resort, through picturesque grounds, and via a road dissecting a pretty lagoon. We were greeted warmly, with a rum punch and a smile, before being driven to the heart of the resort to take in a jaw dropping view of the beach and the turquoise waters in which we’d swim throughout the week. Paradise! Then it was on to our accommodation, a beachfront deluxe room, up a flight of wooden stairs to the first floor. All the buildings are low rise, in what I’d describe as a colonial style, white timbers and rustic wooden steps, sitting comfortably in the beautiful grounds, amidst exotic trees and well-tended borders, populated by a vibrant array of colourful bird life. Our room was spacious and very high quality, with a huge bed, walk in wardrobe and a fabulous bathroom with large shower. The balcony had two deluxe sun loungers and we could look out on the beach, and our dedicated beach loungers and parasol just a few steps from the sea. Neither the beach, nor the pool (nor anything else come to that) was ever really busy, always quiet and relaxing. The balcony view was stunning and the whole place tranquil and calm. We chose Galley Bay partly for the excellent dining options, and these did not disappoint. The Sea Grape is the basic restaurant, though anything but basic, with excellent menu choices, generous wines and friendly staff. The Gaugin requires booking (no charge) and is worth the walk through the grounds to dine in a cabana on the beach. Again, top notch food. As if this wasn’t enough, we dined twice at Ismay’s, for which a supplement is payable, but worth every penny, for such a fine dining experience (and I mean bordering on Michelin starred). The lobster was delicious but then, hey, so was everything else. The culinary highlight was our ‘Dining by Design’ experience. We pre ordered our choices in the office of the VIP guest manager, Nadia, who was warm, charming, and informative. The meal, if you can picture this, was in a first floor open pavilion on the beach, with our own waiter and chefs - hang on, it was only the executive chef for the whole resort and his capable assistant chef! As each course was served, the chef emerged from his screened cooking area and described each course in detail. The food was exquisite, the service amazing. Our special thanks go to Chef Guvan, his lovely assistant Alicia, and Dasani, our super-smiley waiter! This topped off a week of beautiful dining and we could not have been more happy. The supplement was well worth it for the experience of benefiting from such personalised dining, fed by an amazing chef, who has worked in both Claridges and La Tour d’Argent in Paris. He’s a star! Finally (I could write pages of accolades) the guest services staff, especially Bri, were lovely and super helpful. Cocktails were varied and delicious, the pool lovely, and the grounds exquisite. Get the general idea? If I could only pick one place in the world to go for a final holiday, it would be Galley Bay. Thank you to the excellent team for a truly memorable week.

Our third holiday in Antigua and Galley Bay Resort has been far and away our favourite hotel. It’s a great beach location and the food, entertainment (including Sir Curtley Ambrose & Sir Richie Richardson!) and staff were outstanding. Cannot praise this hotel high enough and we will certainly return. Thanks Cedric and all the staff.

We stayed at Galley Bay for the first time as Palm Island had been devastated by hurricane Beryl in July. Galley Bay is a much larger resort but we enjoyed it so much, I’m sure we will be returning. We booked a Premium Beachfront Suite and enjoyed a luxurious, well-appointed suite with a vast bathroom. We had loungers on the patio and nominated sun beds with a parasol just outside our room, so much better than trying to find somewhere shady to sit during the day. The staff were amazing, too many good people to enumerate. The serving and housekeeping staff were all very friendly and looked after us very well indeed. We especially enjoyed the daily updates we received from Nadia Brown, the VIP Guest Manager. There are three restaurants, all good. We preferred to have breakfast at Gaugins and often had lunch and supper there. The bar snacks from the Barefoot Grill were good for an informal lunch. The dinner we enjoyed at Ismays was superb, absolutely recommended! We also did a ‘Dine by Design’ a couple of times. This involved dinner in the pavilion over the water sports area with personal chefs cooking our selected menu, with cocktails and amazing canapés served at the beginning. A fabulous experience and a great idea for special celebrations too. There was live music each evening with some excellent bands. One such band called ‘Spirited Band’ was formed by Sir Curtly Ambrose, a famous fast bowler now retired and playing the bass guitar! The Rum Shack was open on certain evenings and run by a very knowledgeable lady, we found some very unusual rums there. There is also a coffee shop with sandwiches and cookies which suited us for a quick snack lunch one day. The gardens are fabulous and it’s worth taking the garden tour to learn the names of some of the plants. A lot of greens are grown onsite, providing deliciously fresh salads. The sea was tricky at the start of our holiday, with large waves and a strong undertow. Once it calmed down, it was a joy to swim in such warm waters. However it was only a short walk over the hill into a quiet bay so no real issue when the waves were tricky. We walked round the lagoon before breakfast and spotted birds and wildlife new to us.

Out trip to Antigua, Galley Bay Hotel was seamless. The hotel is a piece of paradise. Our room was right on the beach front and the view was to die for. The staff were beyond amazing, the food was fantastic. I did not want to come home as it was all my dreams coming true at one place. Antigua is a beautiful country with beautiful people and everyone at Galley Bay echoes that. Can't wait to go back - Absolutely loved it Don't tell anyone as they will all be going!!!!

Just returned from beautiful Galley bay Resort. We were most fortunate to have beautifully sunny beach days with calm waves. The food choices were outstanding, freshly prepared and delicious. The attention to detail was amazing in every respect from everyone. Special shout out to Sandy “G” at the bar for going above and beyond in customer service ( from the apple vodka guy ) ! We will be definitely be returning. After having enjoyed more than 110 nights at other “adult all inclusive resorts”, this resort ranks at the top.