3 January 2008

We are a family of four and have just returned from a 16 day trip to Antigua and Montserrat. For the Antigua leg we stayed 7 days at the Long Bay Hotel, (our second time there) and really enjoyed it. It is a great place to wind down. We sat and read, (though I jogged most mornings) or took the car on trips out. Our two boys (12 and 10) spent most of their time between the lagoon side (sailing and kayaking) and the beach side (swimming, snorkelling and fishing).

Service provided by the friendly staff was excellent, and the prices were very fair. We (Dad and two boys) went on two water trips (fishing and island snorkelling) with Robert, the in-house watersports supervisor, and he made them both interesting and exciting for all participants (and reassuringly life-jackets worn). Inside the hotel, the children enjoyed the sitting room and the games area (we used pool table, cards, chess and rummikubs although others as well) . Mum and dad liked that room for the huge selection of books.

The constant sea breezes ensured that we did not overheat, and in fact those - in combination with the room fans - were a better option than air conditioning. Environmentally we felt a lot better too about this more natural approach. All rooms are fine, but we have stayed in View House and Cliff House which seem better for a family, and they also have longer range views and the hilltop breezes.

We would recomend the hotel unreservedly for those looking for a traditional (non-bling) hotel with great core values, a strong service ethic, and great food. Before our first time there, we were bothered about the lack of a pool - but having been and experienced the proximity of the lagoon and the totally safe beach, this is simply not an issue. Anyway, whoever heard of making sandcastles by the pool ?

Younger son has just tipped my scoring from 'above average' to 'excellent' and, of course, he is quite right.

We will be back.


Stephen Collier

My husband and I spent nine days at the Long Bay Hotel, and we loved it. The hotel is traditional Caribbean style with lots of spaces open to the sky, ceiling fans, lush gardens, cozy rattan and hardwood furniture, woven mats on tiled floors, romantic views, corners designed for quiet relaxation with cool breezes. It has been lovingly maintained and has kept up with modern expectations such as sparkling bathroom fixtures and plush towels. Our room was spacious and attractive. The four-poster king-sized bed was carved with banana leaves, and very comfortable.

Service was impeccable and friendly. The food was incredible. It was fresh, inventive, and world-class, combining local specialties such as black pineapple, grouper and conch with treatments and ingredients familiar to US and European diners. Daily dinner menus were posted, and we checked them hours in advance to contemplate our choices (there are two options for each of the four courses, and the decisions were seldom easy). The most surprising to us were the daily offerings of cold soups, which we found to be refreshing and creative.

Mosquitoes are the scourge of the tropics. The hotel provides mosquito coils and a good personal spray. Use them. Kill mosquitoes in your room before retiring. Consider this the price you must pay for enjoying paradise while friends and family back home are miserable.

I came to Antigua to SCUBA dive, and this made delightful morning excursions for me. Since Long Bay Hotel is on the Atlantic side of the island and the best diving is on the southern, Caribbean side, driving to a dive site is required. Driving in Antigua is a bit challenging, with narrow and twisting roads, left-side driving, stray goats and burros around every turn, and aggressive local drivers. The dive shop I used, as recommended by the Long Bay staff, was Aquanauts out of English Harbor. They picked me up and returned me to the hotel free of charge daily, and were good company as well as excellent diving guides.

In the afternoons, I rejoined my diving widower. We enjoyed using the library and game room, but in nine days never got around to using the free kayaks and sailboats. Our favorite activity was to sit on our balcony, where we were thoroughly entertained by reading magazines and books from the library and letting ourselves be mesmerized by the waves crashing against the rocks where the bay meets the Atlantic. The big event each afternoon was the arrival of a smiling lady with a bucket of ice to re-chill our Cokes and water, and we had to decide if we were thereby inspired to go for a stroll. Walking was very enjoyable after the mid-day sun was at a lower angle. Our favorite destination was Devil’s Bridge, an archway cut by waves into the rocks at the mouth of the bay, where sea foam flies and the water boils dramatically.

After dinner, we usually strolled the grounds and returned to our balcony to watch the moonlight sweep over the bay. As proof of the romantic charms of this lovely place, my dear husband was inspired to make a photograph in which he wrote my initial in moonlight.

Stay at Long Bay Hotel for a relaxing, romantic Caribbean adventure, and you will be very happy.

I cannot say how much I enjoyed our holiday to Long Bay Hotel. It was everything I was expecting and more! No queues for meals at this hotel. Waitress service which was always a treat as we giggled our way through each meal with the sunny smiles given to us by ALL members of staff. The fresh grapefruit is the best I have ever eaten.

Our rooms were cool and clean with a view to die for across the lagoon. My main fear...the mosquitos...never materialised as my room was sprayed liberally each evening. As someone who suffers extreme allergic reaction to bites the hotel's concern ensured my holiday was bite free.

Chris and Dave couldn't do enough to ensure everything we wanted or needed was provided which is the main pleasure of staying at Long Bay. By the end of our third day we knew most of the staff by name (something that would never happen in a larger hotel) and felt extremely comfortable.

The beach bar and the divine beach gave us lazy days just lolling about in the warm clear waters with just enough energy to walk a few steps to the bar for long cool refreshing drinks and pleasant lunches. Sandra and Gary were always there with a sunny smile and a Wadadli beer.

As this was the last week before the hotel closes for the season and very few guests were staying this might have meant we had MORE attention than some of our fellow reviewers...BUT..not one member of staff ignored us or didn't give us great service and we were more than happy for the 10% service charge to be added.

We would certainly recommend Long Bay Hotel and look forward to returning again.
Di/Mar Berkshire.

18 - 28 th April...Well my mum looked through Trip advisor about this hotel and only saw 1 small complaint so we booked the hotel. I must say we were surprised by the greeting from the lady in charge, almost " oh lord 2 more guests " was it the cricket that had worn her out?? anyway we were shown to our room, lovely and oldy wordly, by that time its very humid and we are glowing............ alot !! No air conditioning, which we know, but we wished we had realised how humid was humid.....,thank the pope for the fans,so girls, forget the hair, all natrual!!...no one told us about the mosquitoes!!! as we had gone for the cheaper rooms,just 2 feet under the more expensive rooms we got bitten, even though we had sprays and coils, . Our passage from the hotel to our room was full of them, like a mosquitoe ally, but Chris sorted it out for an extra fee cos we could go to a room upstairs. Going to breakfast was an ordeal/ experience, the staff were so unfriendly, you could see other guests faces fall from the looks or the slaming of plates and cups from the 2 waitresses. Do not ask for more than was on the menu!!! Then we found out that you had a small walk to the beach which from the photo we missed,we thought from the photos the beach restaurant was the hotel ( duh) but no prob, it was fine, till the cruise ships came in ( thats the people with the green towels)and they took over the best beach in the island,mum wanted to move hotels it was that bad,thank goodness for our hero, David who shood them away unless they ate or drank from the restaurant, with its pinky sand and clear water, the barracuda thats a resident at the end of the reef, octopus,clear snorkling, the best rum and raisin ice cream from the shack 2 mins walk along clean sand,Rum punches poured by Sandra who was the most friendliest and best bar lady by far! we were in paradise, the colours of blue in the water, no picture can capture! but that happens on Tues and Thurs so we hired a car with another couple we met at the hotel that turned out to be lots of fun and helped make our holiday, even if he cant read a map, good fun, how we kept the sump and exhaust ?? tarmac then sand, terrible roads but oh what fun............ thats why we know we had the best beach, the restaurant at the beach was fine, the hotel food, great first, then ok then great again,the BBQ on Thurs was good to bring people together and the steaks were as good as S.A steak, all in all, the hotel needs abit of TLC,David who took us to Green island, wow and Sandra were great,other staff need to be retired and younger ( as in 40 ish) staff in with a positive attitude, again was it the cricket season???, the hotel closes now for 4 months, the guests were the best, and those who know who they were , made our holiday, its the type of hotel that makes you nice to other people, makes you friendly cos you WANT too ,we are intrested in each other, smiles at each other at breaky and supper even though we had the waitresses from hell, but after a rum punch or two, no worries, its an experience, we do have good memories ............................ especially the Harry Belafonte singer!!! go on, spoil yourself........................