toppy

I cannot say enough about the fabulous time we had at the Royal Bahamian during the last week of May. I must admit that my husband is a confirmed Antigua fan, and he tried to book Antigua Sandals yet again, but it was booked for that period so he reluctantly booked the Bahamas. I had no interest in the Bahamas after a rainy week one August years ago at the Crystal Palace, of course not really a valid reason for negativity, but after reading mostly great tripadvisor reports, I was excited to try a new Sandals, and felt that rain or shine, we would have fun.

The fact that it was a short flight from New England, and only a 10 minute drive from the airport, and we were on the beach by 2, all added to the total picture.

After a somewhat delayed yet full-bottle of champagne check-in, we found we had been upgraded to a wonderful room. (We had booked this trip only 10 days before departure so originally had a basic room which was still very nice when I saw it.) The room had a bar with a never ending supply of basic liquor, mixers, water, juice, including champagne which we enjoyed each night on the balcony or for mimosas in the morning. There were plentiful towels and robes, and a call to housekeeping brought us anything we needed.

We lost no time getting down to the beach, located chairs, and dove into the beautiful water. The bartenders at the swim-up bar at the pool, conveniently located near the beach, quickly learned our names and treated us royally all week. We joined the "Lover's Game" poolside, (definitely urged on by the over done champagne welcome at check-in), and won 2 tee shirts for simply popping some balloons. This was the last bit of silliness we joined, although there were many opportunities available all week !

While waiting at the check-in area, I booked 2 nights each at the most highly praised restaurants on tripadvisor forums. But for the first night, we had nothing specific planned, but the bartender at the Crystal Room bar called around and got us into Baccarat. The food at all the restaurants (8) was fabulous, although we missed one or two. Drinks as well, at the pool bar, or the restaurants, or indoor bars, were made to your specifications, as strong or not as you like.
There were 2 restaurants hosting breakfast buffets and at least 2 offering a la carte breakfast. The huge bowls of blueberries, raspberries, and other fresh fruits were the draw for me to the buffets, and there were made to order eggs, and hot cereal,bowls of walnuts, coconut, and anything you could want for breakfast....way more than we needed for sure.

Lunch as well had several choices of a la carte or buffet, as well as a poolside grill for a quick hamburger or chicken....and we tried all of the restaurants.
But dinner...that was the best. The Baccarat, Crystal Room and Casanova's, offered excellent choices, and the service was great. We enjoyed portobello mushrooms, scallops, seafood chowder, lobster ravioli, and that's just the appetizers....White glove service...literally. We thought Spices was only buffet, but discovered late into the week it was not, and they served lobster. Cricketer's was a great late night English pub. There were also a few midnight buffets set up around the pool.
The dress code was enforced at the restaurants requiring it...but this meant nothing more than long pants and closed toed sandals or boat shoes for the men, and shirts with a collar. The typical golfer attire worked well....we do not find this a big deal. There were several restaurants allowing shorts and tees for those guys who absolutely refuse to get out of beach clothes. For women, anything goes. I still cannot figure out why my toes are allowed to show and my husband's adorable toes cannot.

Our days were spent using the boats, from saiboats to huge trikes, and kayaks. We went on a snorkel trip twice, and visited their off shore island for snorkeling as well as eating and lounging. If we planned to simply hang out on the beach, we reserved our chairs on the way to breakfast, but it wasn't a problem for us when we didn't. There is a butler service, and they are out early reserving as well, so if you prefer a certain spot, as with most resorts, you need to go out early. We generally liked to get out by 8 unless we had ordered room service.

There are 2 huge pools and many smaller quiet pools around the property. The games were all in and around the Windsor pool and it was large enough that water volleyball or anything else, did not interfere with people simply swimming or lounging, or chatting at the swim-up bar. This pool was also heated a bit. There were also several hot-tubs, and a misting pool.

We went into town once, shopped and ate at a local place. That was fun but not as tasty as we had hoped. Many locals downtown seemed to be frequenting the American fast food restaurants down there. But we were able to find a Bahamian spot for a quick bite.

The weather was perfect...hot all day, and breezy at night. Apparently there was some rain the week before and the week after, so we were lucky, and if someone can tell me when the warmest and sunniest time is, I will be back in a flash.
Thanks to all who gave us their input on SRB, and especially Kelly thanks to you as well.

KVR

I am so glad that your trip turned well and that you enjoyed SRB.

Of all the AI resorts we've been to, SRB had the best service, friendliest staff and really good food. We loved the huge Manor pool. Too bad we just didn't care for Nassau that much.

Thanks for the report.

Kelly

Knowing

You sound like you had a really good time. I'm glad this worked out so well for you. Do you think you'll go back?

ejcrowe

hi, toppy--I enjoyed reading your trip report. But it leaves me with a couple of "legit" questions: what is a misting pool and what is a Windsor pool?

And a bit of a silly question--I read a lot about swim up pools, which on the one hand sound totally decadent. but on the other hand, does nobody worry about people sitting around in the pool drinking all day and not getting up to use the bathroom?

KVR

Though, I'm not Toppy, a "misting pool" is a pool that has water misters around it that spray a light mist of water on/around you. It helps keep you cool in the hot sun.

SRB has 2 huge pools. One for each block of rooms. The Manor and the Windsor. The Manor is the older section, but we like that pool better since is has 2 hot tubs connected to it and closer to the resturants. Both have swim-up pool bars. There are other smaller pools around the property.

Your question regarding the swim-up pool bars is valid. I have never stayed long enough to notice what other people are doing. One good reason that the pools are cleaned and replaced with chlorine/chemicals nightly. Sad that grown people would even consider doing that. Eeeewww.

toppy

Knowing we will go back in a flash. The travel time for us makes it even better.
Yes, ej, the Windsor Pool was near the Windsor Building of rooms and likewise for the Manor Building with its own Manor pool, although any were available to all guests. When not at the beach, I preferred the Windsor because it was heated and is closer to the beach where we liked to sit. It had a separate hot tub. But the Manor pool had the misting section and two connected hot tubs. We spent time in both pools. For total seclusion, there were other smaller pools.
You are right about the swim-up bars,not particularly decadent, but convenient, and I only hope people are decent. There were bathrooms nearby, and the cleaning crews were out every night and again every morning. As far as I could tell, they were spotless. The bar had 2 sides, one for walking up to from the pool deck or beach, and the other for those already in the pool. It is common to see people floating on the rafts and holding drinks too. Not much real swimming going on !

ejcrowe

Thanks for clearing the mysteries up!

I think the idea of a swim-up bar sounds fun but I think I would get a little squeamish about it. Maybe I'm not as trustful of human nature as I ought to be!

mymoosie

Hi toppy, glad you enjoyed your trip. Thanks for taking the time to write the report. Sounds like that's a great choice for folks who enjoy AI.

ejcrowe - I laughed so hard, but you brought up a valid thing to think about. Yiiiick. LOL.

toppy

I believe I saw signs about that very thing included with the pool rules....but pools with children would have the same concerns. Yuk...I am just glad the maintenance people appeared to be very fastidious.
Kelly I agree that Nassau didn't have a great appeal, (yet I found some neat things at the straw market) and there were so many boating activities that kept us very busy for the 8 days. By the way, I had to laugh at your comment about not being in the pool long enough to notice what people were doing ! I wonder how one would notice such a thing. Didn't I read years back about a chemical reaction turning the water a tell-tale color near the perpetrator? ha ! Caught in the act ! That would solve this problem for sure.


We will go back for sure. But is there a great time for the Bahamas weather wise? We have been to Antigua in July, August, and December, and always had hot sunny days with no rain at all. For anyone in South Carolina or Miami, it would be a great trip for just a long weekend, and we met many people who did just that.

KVR

Toppy, can I get your advise on Antigua since you've been several times?

Considering April '08 for my Big 4-0. Sandals is going to out of our price range. I like the look of Galley Bay also, but also out of our price range. Like to stay around $3,000 with air and an AI hotel. Do you have any other recommendations? I like the pool at the Jolly Beach Resort and the price is right, but afraid it will be crowded and full of kids.

Maybe something smaller and more quaint, but it must be AI and close to activities and shopping with a nice pool and swim up bar. Not too concerned about a great beach since we plane on taking tours to various beaches for snorkeling. We don't care about room acommendations as long as it's clean and has central air. In-room amenities won't be important this trip.

We love to take guided tours instead of exploring on our own. We don't like to rent cars in unknown destinations. Eli's tour looks great and we want to take a day trip to Barbuda. Can you recommend any good tour companies or websites?

Any help would be appreciated.

toppy

Kelly, I do not have first hand experience with any other resorts in Antigua other than Sandals and Galley Bay.
But my niece stayed at Jolly Beach about 3 years ago in the winter and, at the time, said she did not like it much. Now, in looking back she said the fact that she was pregnant and with in-laws and her 1 year old might have hindered her opinion.
Now, she says that she recalls that the beach was nice and so was the pool. The food was average. She said the room was basic but clean. There were kids...I think it might have been February break.

We met some people at the airport who liked the Grand Pineapple and another couple who liked St James Club.

One year we did the Eli Eco Tour and really enjoyed it. It was a full day with some hiking and climbing involved.The nature trail on Bird Island was great. One year, on the beach from vendors, we booked a Treasure Island boat trip, with steel drum band which was fun, as well as a glass bottom boat trip.
Also once we did the horseback riding on the beach. We took a bus to St. Johns.
We also had done the Shirley Heights, ate at Admiral's Inn and Hemmingways...places I am sure you have read about.
The last time we went, we basically only did the resort activities since we had experienced the other things before.
We had planned on flying to Barbuda but never did...I think it is only 20 minutes or a longer boat ride.

We enjoyed Sandals Antigua, and liked the food and service quite a bit. I think SRB was better for food though.
I hope this helps.

KVR

Thanks Toppy for the info. That's what I was afraid of, The Jolly Beach Hotel may not be what we're looking for. We are also thinking about Curacao, but it's a longer flight and more expensive. Just can't think of anywhere else to go that we haven't already been.