TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Rooms and main service were excellent. Grounds, pools and beach beautiful. Bar and restaurant service staff require communication and service training. Meals in restaurant took 2 1/2-3 hours. Bars were not stocked daily, not even water.

Just back from a two week stay so plenty of time to judge hotel. We were a group of four and we are in our 50's and 60's . Rooms were clean and tidy and kept that way all two weeks , some staff as mentioned in other reviews were excellent others not so. As an example the ladies in our party enjoyed the sparkling rosé wine with evening meal, one evening a lovely waitress without asking provided a bottle with an ice bucket lovely touch sorry can't remember her name. The next evening a rather miserable waitress told us at around 8:45 sorry bottle empty and walked away, on another evening in the restaurant we were told sorry no sparkling rose left so we went to the restaurant manager who was very helpful turned up with two glasses of wine in two minutes we had to go to the manager later that evening with same complaint and once again the manager was so helpful and turned up with more, the waitress was not impressed . Although food is available untill 10pm they like to get rid of you. The restaurant food was passable when available but kept running out and not replenished for ages,so you would end up picking something you didn't really want. Breakfast was no better replenishment was a joke. Steak house food was even worse over cooked and cold. For clarity me and one other in the travelling party have over 60 years experience in the catering trade so we know what should be expected. Beach bar was awfull people walking away because they were waiting ages and being ignored over diamond club members.The bar and pool were about 10 meters from the beach which sounds great but not so when the music starts to blast out about 10 am.there was no escaping it apparently it was for the people on the pool deck which were outnumbered about 25 to one.once a week there was pool party which was very loud. Not a nice place to relax on the beach more like an 18/30 holiday back in the 80's. The beach itself was lovely white sand and clear blue water Although drug smoking is legal in Antigua do really want to smell it on the beach and around the hotel!! Good points were Italian restaurant and carabean restaurant good food and service in a quiet setting with the sound of the sea Although not employed by the hotel on the beach you will find Doge in charge of jet ski and Frenchie in charge of day trips both were very knowledgeable and approachable even if you don't use there services don't be afraid to ask them anything. We hired a car from the airport which was delivered to our hotel which was 3 years old but drove like new The hotel tried to rent us a 13 year old car which we declined . Antiguan people outside the hotel are very polite so would definitely recommend venturing out. We have previously stayed at St James Palace villa much better than royalton . Two of our party had 24 hour sickness confined to rooms on my wife's advice who is a pharmacist,other guests had same experience

The Royalton Chic Antigua is a gem in the midst of Antigua. The location is not overly crowded. When we arrived, Jim assisted us with our luggage promptly, and he was very helpful to us throughout the trip. The hotel is not too large of a location and not too small. We got a suite, and Nickesha was our butler during the stay and she was amazing! The room was very clean (thank you Stephanie) and well stocked. I would totally recommend coming here.

Royalton Antigua by far exceeded our expectations. After reading so many negative comments and the low star rating we were not expecting much. Glad that we were wrong! The minute we pulled up the staff was eager to greet us, kindly took us to our room. Called to make sure things were satisfactory and if we needed anything at all. Every morning, day, or evening if you saw a worker walking by they went out of there way to greet you. Always looking to please. The restaurants were accomodating, reservations were not a problem at all. The rooms were large and all on the Bay side had wonderful views. The beach was fabulous, the pools were large and clean with plenty of room around for seating/sun bathing. The bar was hopping but had plenty of people on staff making drinks. The buffet was phenomenal and always being tended too.Constantly filling and cleaning the stations. Restaurants were all delish. If I had to give any negative, and thats only if I had too, it would be the evening entertainment. As friendly as the VibesTeam was and they sure were, the shows were mediocre at best. The DJ made up for the shows. His music was amazing and got the crowd on their feet. Keep in mind we did go during a slower season as it was early November but nevertheless it was amazing and looking forward to going back there in the near future.

Arrival 11th November 25 for 14 nights to laborious reception check in at bland featureless reception unlike any-other id ever seen. for the record been to about 30-40 All inc 5 star hotels over 4 continents for background purposes for review and also 20+ years of catering experience ROOM - clean and tidy and always kept that way by room cleaners :-) SInk plug stuck down and maintenance came quickly but said couldn't do anything but when second sink was blocked next day came back and fixed both?? Mini bar refilled irregularly . Phones in both rooms didn't work and look straight from economy 1980s hotel BEACH - beautiful beach , setting and the Sea was stunning - crystal clear and like a millpond at times best feature of the hotel by far :-) Gave up trying to get drink from the bar second day after waiting 40 minutes as under staffed and only interested in serving the Elite Club customers. Music volume for some reason became really loud in the second week for no reason FOOD BUFFET- smallest buffet i can recall for size of hotel. very limited range of foods and invariably run out mid way through service with choices refilled often 30-40 minutes after empty. this is happening at 1pm lunchtime and 7.30/8pm of the evening so no where near end of service. NEVER would you see a member of staff/ supervisor/ Manager walking round the food area reporting to the kitchen what is needed in advance RESTAURANTS - Italian and Caribbean Grill very good but have to be booked in advance and often say fully booked of the evening even with half tables empty . Food and Service very good and exactly as the hotel should be. Hunter Grill - embarrassingly bad. which ever way you ask it to be cooked it will come out well done. getting a drink after asking three times for a drink and waiting 30 minutes went and got it my self from the Score Bar (who supply the drinks) and ask the bartender my self because as he was to busy chatting with staff , or working slowly to bother doing my order ( Theme of the fortnight from him i'm afraid!) DRINKS Beer dreadful and ran out towards end of our stay. bar staff by entertainment very friendly and good but invariably only one staff member at a time. Drinks around meal area a lottery. Some delightful, ultra friendly and always looking to help (as ALL should be) others took every opportunity to be lazy saying "sorry wine bottle is empty" and effectively inviting us to leave at 9.15 rather than going to get another bottle. "Eye rolling" when asking for another drink etc. Long delays from asking for a drink and getting it COMPLAINTS I am all for positive feedback as it happens so problems can be rectified and therefore constructive. Highlighted many of the above points on their app ( as hotel requested) on 3 occasions and not one reply . Filled in questionnaire on both Wednesdays and again no reply. Highlighted issues regarding food and service to two of the supervisors and to their credit 2 of the 7 times they acted and followed it up the next days also. GENERAL I think the hotel was terribly understaffed and there were staff whose sections were empty standing around chatting rather than helping a colleague who was full. Some of the staff you could see would only turn on the charm/ professionality if there was a tip coming. Management was poor and more interested in wasting peoples time sitting them rather than keeping on top of the staff/ drinks/ food which could have resolved many of the issues ICE CREAM and COFFEE site - excellent :-) . Clean, Stocked , well staffed and always trying to help - exactly the way the whole hotel could and should have been STAFF - in general very charming, Smiling, Smart and very Caribbean - SUCH A SHAME I'm sure I will get a reply thanking me for my input and review and apologies but it is no point doing that when we are back with a view of never returning. Instead If the management had acted when issues highlighted on the 2nd, 3rd, 6th 7th day etc we could have come away with much better experience