The Escape at Nonsuch Bay

The Escape at Nonsuch Bay is a fairly new-built property with good quality lunches and dinners. We had no real dramas, but a never-ending sequence of irritations that lead to this low rating. Here are some examples: - First of all, the beach is on the side of the hill of The Escape. You can take their shuttle (a car going back and forth) or walk over (the steep hill) which takes about 15min. Not really a problem, but not perfect for what’s supposed to be a beach holiday. We didn’t feel that was made obvious when booking. - At check-in, we’re being asked for our credit card. I show it, it’s confirmed that it’s in the system. The person I spoke to walks over to another guest, another member of staff approaches me (no 2 min have passed) and asks for the credit again. I say, I just gave it to her colleague who confirmed all is fine. ‘Just give it to me again, I just make sure it’s all in the system.’ Duh. - Despite never having more than about 40 guests for breakfast/lunch/dinner, they have a habit of checking the room numbers when entering the area, but they’re so slow that guests have to queue regularly whilst they slowly work their ways through their lists. - On two occasions they were late in opening the restaurant. We and others had to wait for about 15min each time whilst they used what looked like bed linen to polish the missing cutlery for the service. I’ve worked in the industry and I know that spare linens are being used…just don’t do it in front of guests…and there was no reason not to open the restaurant just because of a few pieces of missing cutlery. - Service is slow and sometimes they forget (drinks) orders. That was the least of my problems. It can happen, but it’s just another indicator of the inattentive culture at The Escape. - We pre-ordered Gluten-free meals for my wife. That worked somewhat on the first evening and was subsequently ignored. - Confusion around taking part in a trip to Green Island. We were led to believe we could go on a certain day. At 9.55am someone from reception comes down to the jetty (after telling us the way earlier) to say, they don’t go to the Island on this day. We then book a sailing trip for 11 am instead. Arriving there, they tell us that there’s no free place at 11 am and they’d have told reception at The Escape. - One day we bump into the cleaning team. The Escape asks guests to indicate cleaning by pulling out a shell on a chain next to the front door - which we did. The cleaning team tell us, they saw the shell, but thought we'd just left it in error like other guests. Would we need any more beach towels? No. They walk off. The room is not cleaned on that day. - Finally, I forgot my swim shorts and called them after we booked into another hotel (planned) that I’d come and pick it up on Monday. On said day, the shorts can’t be found. It’s with the laundry. The laundry’s closed now. A nice guard tries to retrieve them. We follow him to the laundry. It can’t be found, we had to leave empty-handed. Read less

We are so happy that we stumbled upon this place in our search for a resort to celebrate our 20th Wedding Anniversary. We can’t say much that hasn’t already been said in all of the other wonderful reviews (which helped so much in making our decision), but we still wanted to express our appreciation for this place and their staff. As said, the staff truly makes the experience here so special. Their warmness and friendliness help to make each person feel at home! The beauty of the rooms that are cleaned to perfection each day and the plunge pool with lounge bed and tub make you never want to venture out! But our trips to Green Island and a taxi to the BEAUTIFUL Half Moon Bay were so worth it. And the sail lessons with their wonderful and fun crew are not to be missed! We had so much fun with them and really enjoyed our daily trips over the hill to the small, but calm and beautiful beach. And not enough can be said about the quality of the food at the Drift Restaurant. We stayed a week and did not have the same meal twice. It is unbelievable that they can create such unique and tasty meals every day. And the daily tapas.... Yum! Definitely the best food that we have had at an all-inclusive. As has been said as well in the other reviews, if you are looking for a place full of action with parties, shows, silly games, etc., this place isn’t for you. It’s extremely quiet and peaceful, but this is what we were looking for and needed on this trip. Our only suggestions are maybe more premium liquor choices at the bar and provided in the room, fans at the bar area would help to keep the pesky flies away and cool the guests and wonderful servers, and room service would be nice as we didn’t always feel up to getting all dressed up to go out at night... but other than that this place was perfection and we definitely would consider returning! Read less

This was our first time in the Caribbean and we were certainly not disappointed. The pick up from the airport was on time with a very friendly driver. It takes 30-40 mins in the taxi to the resort. Once there we were greeted with a rum punch and cold towels and shown to our room. The resort is not quite finished and they were working on things when we were there but it did not worry us at all. The rooms are of a good size and of modern design great views from the upper rooms but you might have a restricted view from the ground floor rooms which is a pity because the view is wonderful. The pool area is quite small and for people our age getting in and out of the pool was not graceful at times as there are no steps in or out. Still it was very refreshing as the heat was intense on this side of the hill. The meals are quite fantastic, best we have ever had on any holiday, congrats to Mitchell the chef and his staff amazing food guys. The service is also very friendly, a special mention to Sasha, Mr Gore and everyone else(too many to mention all) who made the eating experience a joy. Some people (not many) were complaining about the time it took to get served but to be honest there is nothing else to do at night so just relax and enjoy!! The drinks were good quality, beer/wine and the cocktails were lovely and varied, if not on the bar menu they would make anything you wanted if the ingerients were there. There was use of the sister resort which is a ten minute hike over the hill or a short drive in the shuttle. The beach is good and definately cooler with a breeze nearly all the time. You can get free drinks there but there is a supplement if you want to eat and you have to give 24hrs notice that you are going. We were there to chill but would recommend the 4 x4 tour of the island, you see all the main sights, have a lunch and are well informed of all the history and more by the driver, thanks Les you were great. The staff and the food are what makes this place so great. Thanks to everyone who made our stay so memorable. Read less

Our stay at the Escape @ Nonsuch Bay was absolutely fantastic!!! We stayed for a week and it was perfect from start to finish, the room & view was beautiful (better than the photos!). The food was delicious every day, service was slow but it was certainly worth the wait when it arrived. A special thank you to all the staff especially Sasha, Mr Gore, Vincent, Jareem, the reception staff & Avella. They made our stay perfect, anything we needed they were there to help!! The hotel is quiet and is far from most things but they offer taxis and the drivers are so friendly and welcoming. There is a free shuttle car which takes you to the other side of the resort which was fab to go to the beach. I would highly recommend Escape at Nonsuch Bay resort to anyone thinking of a relaxing holiday in Antigua, we hope to return in the near future!!! Read less