TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Firstly, I would like to say that Antigua is a beautiful island and the people are very hospitable and welcoming. We chose to stay at Royalton Antigua after a thoroughly enjoyable trip to Royalton Negril in 2022 - but this experience was completely different. Rooms We were allocated rooms with a ‘mountain view’, which was in fact a tree-covered hill side. From our balcony you could see the waste management area below (see picture). This, quite clearly, was not the premium side of the hotel. Having upgraded to Diamond Club when booking, which claims to offer “preferential room locations with the best views”, we politely suggested the rooms should be facing the bay. In Jamaica, the Diamond Club rooms were all sea-facing and positioned close to the exclusive, upgraded facilities. On this occasion, our request fell on deaf ears - even though we only asked that one of our three rooms be changed to a bay view. Another issue is that the junior suites all looked like family rooms with two double beds instead of a king-sized double in the middle, which was the case in Jamaica. In hindsight, we could have booked just two rooms for the six people in our party. Diamond Club You pay a premium for this service and the facilities on offer. This was, for the most part, a complete waste of time and money. The two pools are separated by the swim-up bar in the middle, but because of their proximity it was easy for non-Diamond Club guests to move between the two without having their status checked. We witnessed this on several occasions as the security could only be described as lax. We also had to wait a long time to be served at the swim-up bar, often climbing out of the pool to get served at another bar. Several other guests we spoke to also had the same complaint. We don’t mind waiting our turn, but when most of the staff are working the other side of the bar it did not seem right - especially when you have paid for an upgraded service. Food and beverages We totally understand that a lack of certain products can result in changes to a menu. However, this happened way too often at different restaurants. Just a few examples. The Hunters steak house had no brisket for the entirety of our holiday, as well the New York strip on one occasion, while a BBQ bacon cheeseburger came out without BBQ sauce and bacon because “they didn’t have any”. I had to send the cannelloni back in the Italian because they forgot to add the tomato sauce. They also ran out of drinks like vodka, and three consecutive bars had no bottled water when my asthmatic mother-in-law was in need of one. Not good enough for a so-called five-star resort. We met with the food and beverages manager - a lady called Yvette - to address the service and food/drinks issues. She admitted they were having problems with deliveries of certain items, which we sympathised with. However, that is not really our problem and food/drink options should not be offered in the first place if they cannot be guaranteed. Yvette deserves credit for speaking with the security team regarding non-Diamond Club guests in the pool area, but the person in charge of the rooms couldn’t be bothered to meet us. Upon our return, I complained to Virgin and the hotel claimed we never met with them or complained about the rooms. They even refused to answer the questions put to them. Never again. ??

The LACK of professionalism, communication and customer care is stunning. Lots of empty words and no action while you stay there. When they have to sell you something, everyone answers and is right there, but when you have an issue, all of a sudden you can’t get anyone on the phone or to talk to. For the amount of money spent for mediocre food and lodging I would never bring my family to any of their properties unless you like to feel robbed, disappointed and disrespected. Don’t fall for their marketing gimmicks! And please, I don’t need a generic response from them that they usually sent to people who experienced poor service.

Royalton Antigua was a nice short trip! What made it a memorable stay was all the fun entertainment activities and the fitness workouts! Jameel from the fitness team led an awesome boot camp workout. The workout is very similar to F45 workouts if you are from the USA. It was a condense 30 minutes full body workout. With an all inclusive stay- workouts like this is a definate must to burn off all the calories! I took 2 classes with Jameel and was happy that on one of the days- since I was the only student in class- he did cater to my fitness level and provided a workout that was suitable to my fitness goals! The class was very good and he challenged me to work on hangs and pullups that I have not practiced in almost 2 years- since pre- pregnancy. He also encouraged me to do aqua fit classes- which I participated with my baby boy. It was very enjoyable and my son had a great time! He was thouroughly entertained and because of it- i think he is not afraid of the water anymore. My husband also took a boot camp class with Lady J on the last day before our departure. My husband really liked the workout as well! He also did the hike to fort barrington- which he loved the view from the top of the hike! The entertainment, activities, and fitness classes was super fun! Thank you so much Jameel for making this trip memorable! Please have more fitness classes throughout the day! If we go back- I woule definately be interested in multiple classes a day!

My third Royalton resort and my least favorite. Some of the staff were quite surly. A few were pleasant. The resort is on the small side. Food choices not great; the entertainment at night (if you could call it that) was really awful. The facility is showing signs of wear and could really use an update. I would not recommend

Visited here on a business trip/vacation with a large group. We upgraded to a Luxury Jr Swim out Suite with Diamond Club. The room was beautiful and very clean. The patio and swim out pool were beautiful although the pool is a little chilly but that’s not a complaint by any means. Our butlers were Kehm and Sharlene. We didn’t have much interaction with Sharlene as her schedule meant she was off a few days of our visit. Kehm , the butler we spent most of our time with was outstanding. After one request for ice in our room he automatically brought ice every day, and no matter what we requested he delivered. He’s also a super friendly and pleasant young man. We lucked out too have Kehm. Id say that at least 90% of the staff is very nice and goes out of their way to help you in any way they can. I’d like to give a special thank you and shout out to Scott from the vibe team, he jumped in and helped us out when we needed it making sure he went above and beyond with a smile. He truly stood out . Thank you. Overall a great trip and I’d recommend it for sure.