The Verandah Resort & Spa

Positives - Beautiful gardens Negatives - Staff rude, food cold, rotation of restaurants to open was diabolical, resort fees too high especially as your room was only cleaned every other day, run out of pool towels and told by staff to buy them at the resort gift shop and I’m not joking, wait times to get a drink from the pool bar was a joke, beaches smelly, I honestly could go on and on. General Manager has not a clue and after complaining and we were not alone in doing this, things didn’t change. We’ve been all over the Caribbean and Asia and this so called all inclusive hotel was a total disappointment, waste of money. Avoid like the plague.

Couples An absolutely fantastic week away. Gorgeous resort sent in a wonderful part of the island. Not too far from the airport. The resort is set into the hills and coves. Quite manageable to walk if fit and able although they do run golf buggies between the different areas if needed. Stairs to the Lovers beach. Maybe an issue for some. Not too sure how this resort would operate in peak season. But we had no issues. Each cabin was a semi. Quite rustic but clean and well appointed. Comfy king size bed, air conditioning, tv with lots of channels including BBC news but no Canadian channels. Kitchenette area with coffee machine, kettle, cutlery and cups, plates etc. We stayed in a superior water view and oh my what a view ! Food was amazing, never had a bad meal. No issues with making reservations every two days for our next visits. The Seabreeze restaurant was buffet style, Breakfast has lots of variety, husband enjoyed the omelette station, I loved the cooked breakfast options, great sausages! Special shout out to Theodore who was always charming, funny and helpful. Specially finding the hot sauces for me everyday. We ate dinner there the first night and loved the choices, great salads, carvery meats etc. The restaurant was light and airy specially now they have removed the shutters. Sails and tails restaurant served lunch and dinner. Lunch options included items such as fish tacos, fish cakes, burgers, chicken sandwich, curry with roti. Dinner was also very good with four courses and lots of choices. All plated very well. Opted for the house red wine Cabernet from Chile and was very good and very drinkable with as many refills as you desired. No need to buy a bottle! Portofino Italian was my favourite restaurant, impeccable service, beautifully decorated, great food and wine. We enjoyed the Caprese salad, pork tenderloin with mushroom sauce. Papa Riccos Pizza made fresh. Authentic crust pizzas. Again very good. The Beach Grill at Rasta beach had a smaller menu for lunch. Jerk chicken with rice and peas was good. We had a beach bbq one evening at this venue, very well managed, great food and entertainment. The staff worked very hard to pull this off. Wavy Wicket was the late evening bar, showing sports, serving great cocktails. We are beach people. Favouring the Lovers Beach. Plenty of loungers and shade. Towels always available. Not too loud with the background music. The water beds in the sea were a great touch and comfortable to lounge in the warm water. Shout out to Andre at the Lovers beach bar, he made the most wonderful cocktails and always helpful, pleasant, happy and has a good knowledge of different cocktails. Also shout out to Super Mario who took us out on the hobie cat sailboat. So much fun sailing in the bay. We also took out a kayak, paddle boards are available too. Didn’t use the various swimming pools, but they looked inviting, clean and not too crowded. We tried the pickleball courts and mini golf. Most evenings there would be music, band, dj etc. Some organized events. Yoga, tennis, water aerobics, jewelry making to name a few. Staff were all very friendly, helpful and welcoming. Recommend taking a tour of the island. It’s stunning and beautiful. Tip - bring ID if you intend to purchase duty free items on the island. You can walk to Devils Bridge from the resort. The only issue we experienced was the first time room was cleaned it was done late evening. We asked guest services to change this to a late morning or afternoon clean when we were away from our room and this was arranged for us with no issues. We will definitely be back to this resort off peak again !

All inclusive, the resort is quite beautiful: mostly single-storey semi-detached, each having one very large bedroom, bathroom and verandah. Fabulous beach and large estate with several pools, beach bar, and one very very long bar. We understand they were fully booked but it never felt crowded, food wasn't great though: Sea Breeze (aka the canteen) was for breakfast and dinner; 4 other venues available, 2 for lunch(one was a fresh pizza place) and 3 of the 4 available for evening meal by a booking system, one charged a supplement. The booked restaurants' food was better then Sea Breeze but very narrow menus. Wine was appalling unless you paid up for better quality. The all-inc. wines were varietal names and branded but difficult to finish. I asked to take a bottle to our room to enjoy on our verandah (before I realised they were all awful wines) and this necessitated the bar staff getting permission from the Duty Manager who I then had to stand with whilst they had then to get permission from a higher authority!!!! (Like I'd been a naughty skool boy) Quite unbelievable in our experience. Last thing: sadly the staff were not very happy or the least engaging. We've been twice to Gennadi Resort in Rhodes where the staff are fabulous; food genuinely 5* ; and service truly unbeatable anywhere. It isn't the Caribbean though but we'll return again to Gennadi but sadly not to Antigua.

Just came back from a girls trip here, and we had a wonderful time! The resort itself is large and very picturesque, and we enjoyed the two restaurants by the pool the most. My only big complaint was that the so called “steakhouse” with a $40 up charge doesn’t have a much different ambience than the buffet or the other main Italian restaurant (all three are in the same building and it looks a little outdated). Also, there is no service to bring drinks or food directly to guests from the pool or beach (you have to eat at the restaurant). The staff was super nice though and the bartenders were definitely generous on the alcohol. Our favorite part of the trip though was an all day tour around the island by KJ Taxi Service ((268) 772-1924 or osleyjames8121@gmail.com) Kareme took us everywhere!! Stingray city, a tortoise island, a historic sugar plantation, St. John’s and three beautiful beaches on the southern Caribbean side of the island where we ended the day watching the sunset). 10/10 recommend - this was the best part of the trip regardless of what resort you stay at!!!!

My husband and I just got home from our vacation. We stayed at The Verandah Resort and spa. We had an amazing time. The grounds are beautiful and well kept. The staff is amazing always welcoming and friendly. However, the rooms are dated and the food is a big disappointment, I don’t think I had a good meal.