Royalton Antigua Resort and Spa

It was my first time visiting Antigua and staying at the Royalton Antigua with my family, and from the moment we stepped onto the resort, the staff were at our service. Everyone was knowledgeable, warm, friendly, and attentive.

We were part of the Diamond Club and were assigned two consistent and reliable butlers, Dymond and Shauna-Kay. Both were always attentive to our needs, welcoming, and genuinely made an effort to build a rapport with my family, which made our stay extra special!

The beach, pool, food, and drinks were consistently a vibe, and the island itself is absolutely beautiful. Overall, it was a tranquil, peaceful, and fun experience. We truly enjoyed our time at the Royalton Antigua and would definitely recommend it for a memorable family getaway!

We have just returned from our trip 3 days ago, and I wanted to reflect for a few days before writing this review. Ahead of going, I was apprehensive having read the reviews, and I really wanted to come back and give a positive review. Unfortunately I am unable to do so. To cover it all this will be a lengthy but fair review.

I will start with the positives, the beach on this resort is beautiful and if you walk along the whole beach you can see some lovely sea life and waters are crystal clear. It is simply stunning.

If you are able to book diamond the check in process and the butler service is a great addition. Shawna-ka was amazing and did her best to resolve all our issues (and there were many) as quickly as possible.

I will also say that if the budget allows- definitely give the spa aga- it's one of the best I have been too. I had a parent and child massage and a deep cleansing facial- and they were both amazing.

However the positives stop there. Upon arrival I told the check in desk that I had tried to contact the hotel ten times to ensure we had the right room (for sleeping arrangements) I had no response and was told we had been allocated a room with 2 large beds. This was a lie

When we got to the room, we were presented with a room that was uninhabitable for a family of four. There was 1 single sofa bed shoved up against the sliding door for the balcony - it was already broken upon arrival, next to it was the main bed, next to that was a rollaway cot bed (for a 15yr old) that was pushed up against an entire glass wall. We were tired, so we went to bed- my son kept hitting the glass wall- it wasn't going to work. They initially told us that they didn't have a room available for 4 days - despite having been told the hotel was not at capacity. I explained it was a health and safety issue and we couldn't stay in the room. Eventually it came about that there was a room available but it was the mountain view and was technically seen as a downgrade - but as we had 'volunteered' we would not be eligible for any refund. We wasn't happy but we took it.

The staff around the hotel with an exception of a few are simply disinterested some even rude. It got to the point where we were even reluctant to ask for drinks to be refilled as you are often met with rolling eyes and grunts.

The upkeep of the room was not great, 2 out of the 12 nights our room was not cleaned. And we had to literally beg for a turn down services. We ran out of toilet roll and water and housekeeping simply do not keep on top of stock replenishment.

The pool area is not what you would expect from a five star resort- there are so many tiles missing from the pool- to the point that my son actually cut his foot getting out one of the days. There is also a massive chunk of tiling missing from the bar which just looks unsightly. It is an area that is maintained very badly. There are not enough parasols which are most definitely needed. And even the jacuzzi's in the cabanas are poorly maintained.

Our butler made all of our reservations, but on more than one occasion our reservation was missing, and then the staff make you feel like an inconvenience. I don't think we had one single meal where all items on the menu were available. One particular evening we were eating at the steak house, we were seated 30 mins after our booking, and waiting a further 15 minutes before even receiving the menu. When we did get to make our order there was basically nothing left. Each time we ate at the steak house- we saw cockroaches.

As far as the culinary experience goes, I would save your money. We were paired with a family that had totally different dietary requirements to the menu that was set, this information had not been passed on to the chef. The chef and waitress then had an argument. We were in the experience for over three hours, and our children were completely fed up. The other family had decided they wanted their meal to go- so instead of letting us have our meal in the manner it was meant to be served, we were just sat there waiting, whilst the chef made the other family's food to go. In the end our steaks were completely inedible. When we expressed our dissatisfaction to the team, they explained they were not able to waiver the fee- in the end they settled for a 50% discount.

Across the resort there is a lack of variety of food, especially for children, and the buffet is amongst the worst I have experienced. The chefs that are meant to be at the stations were often missing, when they were available they were very rude and clearly did not want to be of any help. I waited 20 minutes for an omelette one day and even then it was wrong - the waitressing staff in ithe buffet area do not want to help- drinks took an eternity and refills were never offered. Food was luke warm at best.

There seems to be quite an issue here, as mongoose frequently run past you, there are a lot of cats, and a dog that roams freely, and though he seems friendly enough he seems to be allowed to poop wherever he wants- with no one really coming to clean up after him.

The soft serve ice cream machine was broken the entire time we were there, and often the ice-cream being served in the coffee shop had melted before you had even sat down.

This resort has so much potential, and Antigua is a beautiful country, but the poor management of this resort is ultimately its biggest downfall. We stayed at the Royalton in St Lucia, and you would not say that these resorts are of the same family. This resort would just scrape as 4* - and not worth the money spent if you are travelling from UK.

We recently stayed at Royalton and overall had a wonderful experience. I would like to recognize several staff members who made our stay memorable.Sharon, who prepared my eggs every morning, was always friendly, welcoming, and started each day with a smile. Her excellent service was greatly appreciated.Anya, our beach butler, took outstanding care of us throughout our stay. She made sure our food and drinks arrived on time and consistently checked to ensure we had everything we needed. Although she made multiple attempts to get the champagne that was promised to us, we did not receive it until we were preparing to leave. This was clearly not due to Anya's lack of effort but rather a management issue. She did everything she could and provided exceptional service.Our butlers, Danielle and Dewayne, were fantastic. They ensured our clothes were perfectly ironed and handled all of our dinner reservations, making our stay stress-free and enjoyable. Their professionalism and attention to detail did not go unnoticed.As feedback for improvement, I would love to see more local island and tropical fruits offered at the buffet instead of primarily basic American fruit selections. This would enhance the Caribbean experience and allow guests to enjoy more of the local flavors.I also believe the reception staff could benefit from additional training. I received a message from my butler instructing me to visit the office to speak with the General Manager about a possible room upgrade discount. When I arrived and showed the receptionist the text message, she responded that she knew nothing about it and told me to contact my butler and wait for further instructions. I found this disappointing. A better approach would have been for the receptionist to contact the manager directly or assist in determining why I had been asked to come to the office. Guests should not have to coordinate communication between departments.One additional tip for families traveling with small children and staying for an extended period: the resort's laundry service is extremely expensive. If you are staying for a week or more, it may be more economical to use a local laundromat off the resort. We found that a bag of clothes could be washed for as little as $25, which is a much better value for families.Despite these concerns, the exceptional service provided by Sharon, Anya, Danielle, and Dewayne made our stay enjoyable. Their dedication and hospitality are the reasons we would consider returning, and we sincerely appreciate everything they did to make our vacation special.