mrsdee

has anyone stayed there doing the AI plan? my husband and i are going in june but are trying to decide if it's worth it. our current package includes breakfast and afternoon teas but AI is an extra $90/pp per day. we like to drink but aren't sure if we'd like the food. also i undertstand that the resort has a manager's bbq one night and a buffet with carving stations on another night. any thoughts?

ejcrowe

My only experience with Blue Waters is that I went there for lunch one day while driving around the island. The atmosphere is serene and elegant, and my fresh fish sandwich was quite good. Antigua has lots of restaurants in a variety of price ranges, so you could conceivably go out to each for your lunches or dinners, pay for a cab or rental car, and still come out ahead of the $180 AI fees. Then again, many of the better restaurants will run to $100 or more for two people. It all depends on what you're looking for. Blue Waters gets consistently high marks for its food, so if you think it's worth it, go for it, but be sure to get out at least a couple of times to sample the other restaurants on the island. Hope you enjoy your stay--Antigua is one of my favorite places to visit!

Dreps

Don't miss Harmony Hall for lunch in Antigua, even if you do AI at Blue Waters. The food was terrific, and the setting even better. We went twice. Actually ran into Brits from Blue Waters.

ejcrowe

Dreps, glad you liked Harmony Hall--so far it's only been open once on our trips to Antigua, but for future visits we might plan our trips around their opening dates. Such wonderful food -- You gotta love a place that makes lunch a 2+ hour affair!
I take it from your lack of a trip report that you didn't find Long Bay as much to your liking as mine, and for that I'm truly sorry, especially with my encouragement about it before you booked.

Dreps

As long as you asked, I'll say a few things about Long Bay. One thing is that the weather was not very good, so that put a damper (pun intended) on the vacation. They even closed the airport in Antigua because of flooding. And the winds were unusual so it was sometimes chilly on the beach. I think Long Bay is a good value. The food was very good. Service was Caribbean--you'd think after 9 days there, they'd sort of act like they knew your preferences. I don't think we'd want to stay in one of the regular rooms. The view cottage was huge for us, but that was okay, since we spent more time indoors, than I would have thought. I missed air conditioning at times, perhaps because of all the rain. The kitchen and bathrooms really do need some work, though we only used the kitchen for lunch on occasion. The other thing that frustrated us was that it was difficult to arrange any type of sailboat excursion--either you had to go on a large "party" boat, or charter something, according to Chris, the owner--other than their little sailboats. This was not the case in St. Lucia or Grenada. So, I have no regrets that we tried Long Bay, but I don't think we'd go back. Too many other places to see. We're considering TiKaye for next winter if we don't go back to Tahiti to sail once again on the Paul Gauguin while it's still in French Polynesia.

ejcrowe

Dreps, I'm so sorry to hear about your soggy time. When we were there last November we had our first rained-out vacation. Though the weather can't be helped, it's too bad that the rest of the time wasn't so great.

We've never tried doing a smaller-sized sail down there, but I'm surprised by what Chris told you as well. hope you find Ti Kaye more to your liking--I've had my eye on that place for a couple of years. The long trek down the steps to the beach is the only thing holding me back.