Galley Bay really worth the extra $$?
 

Help. My husband and I are planning our first vacation alone since our son was born 2 years ago. We're trying to decide between Galley Bay and St. James Club. Based on the postings here and at tripadvisor.com, Galley Bay is - hands down - a better resort. It's also $1000 more (for 7 nights). Is it worth it?

Well, I'm afraid that's a question only you can answer. For some folks, $1000 to spend on vacation, much less $1000 extra, is impossible beyond imagining. For others, it's a mere drop in the bucket. My guess is that most of us are somewhere between the two.

I've never stayed at either resort, but I have visited both during one of several trips to Antigua. Both resorts are quite isolated, and both have a nice beachfront--and the main beach at each place sometimes has moderate surf. Galley Bay is hands down more romantic. St. James's Club will have more families with children. SJC is also much larger and thus has the potential to be more crowded. So, it just depends on what you prefer.

GB will be closer to town and most of the other restaurants in the island. SJC is closer to English Harbour and Nelson's Dockyard. But if you're on an all-inclusive plan, you're probably not very inclined to go out to eat and pay "twice" for meals.

Hope that you have a great time, no matter where you stay. Antigua is one of my favorite islands.

I've actually stayed at both, although we have to go back a ways. And I've posted about it here, so if you are looking pretty far back, you might be reading my comments. ejcrowe is right in that it is difficult for one person to say what's worth it to another. It also depends a little about what you are looking for in a resort.

St James is bigger, and has more facilities. It has more variety in dinner options, it has a casino, the beachside grill is very nice. It has a beauty salon/spa (which does great facials!) and it has more facilities for kids. It also has the snorkel boat, which takes you offshore to go snorkling and is a lot of fun.

Galley Bay is smaller, MUCH quieter. The beach is loads nicer for swimming ...I really didn't care for the beach at St James that much. The food was better when we were there (admittedly, they will have changed chefs since then, probably more than once). It's grounds are prettier. And there is very little to do at night, besides sit around and enjoy the peace and quiet. And there are no kids at all.

To me, Galley Bay was hands down worth the extra money. I wanted the peace, and the most important things to me were the beach and the food.

I find it interesting to hear other opinions (that is what this board is all about). We stayed at the Hawksbill in Feb of 2004 which is very near GB. GB was very pretty and the water literally came up to the beachfront rooms--much prettier grounds and lovely pool. However the water was very wavy and strong undertow in both resorts. The red flag was out the 10 days we were there.Passed the SJC but never went on their grounds. If you like swimming in calm waters, do not go to GB> Again remember we were there in winter time. I do not know when you are planning your vacation. My answer would be no hotel is worth anything to me if I can not swim in calm waters. We also uderstand that the water is always that way according to the regular visitors. Sorry to confuse you but hope this is helpful

We have stayed at Galley bay twice & really enjoyed it, but if you like a noisy night life, it is not for you, as most evenings, there is just a small band or piano player. The food was wonderful & so is the beach, although as the post above says, the sea can be a little rough, but my husband enjoyed snorkelling there without any problems.