The Verandah Resort & Spa

We came here on one of our stops for our September honeymoon. What surprised us the most was the warmth of some of the team members! Yes it’s true, the beaches aren’t the most spectacular here, as you are in a bay, but you have access to the beach next-door at the Pineapple resort which is lovely!! You can even use their facilities for a whole day during your stay. The entertainment was super fun and in a great outdoor area. We are giving it 5 stars due to D’andra at the front desk who welcomed us with a honeymoon surprise! She spoiled us and made us feel so special! She was so nice and knowledgeable on everything we wanted to do on the island. She even set us up with Javier who also deserves five stars! He gave us a five hour private tour of the island, worth every penny of it! He made sure we saw the most spectacular beaches on the island, the shopping, the history and gave us many fun facts throughout. Great on property activities available too. Mini golf etc.. we had a blast!! Read less

The resort was very nice and relaxing. All of the people at the resort, from the housekeepers and the wait staff to the resort owner (yes, I said the resort owner), every person we encountered went out of their way to insure we had an incredible vacation. The only drawback was the food. It was not 5 star food. The meals at the buffet were only ok. I expected that being on a Caribbean island, the food would consist of mostly Caribbean fair. I never expected to have a Mexican Night, an Italian Night or a Asian Night. The food at the higher end restaurants where you needed a reservation in advance was better, but still not what I would consider 5 star. This was our first experience at an “all inclusive”, and maybe We were expecting to much. I really don’t have any other experience to judge from. The property was extremely well laid out and was extremely well cared for. All of the grounds keepers worked extremely hard to keep the appearance at an extremely high level. The beaches, pools, bars etc. were all exceptionally well stocked and would provide whatever was requested. The overall facility was extremely relaxing and comfortable. Even with the food not being what I expected, I would still return, and plan to do so. Read less

Spent 7 nights here in mid-September with my husband. There is a terrible review on September 4th that could not be further from the truth about this beautiful place. I know there will always be a few sour apples but I’m not even sure that guest stayed at the same resort we did! We’ve been to AI resorts in Mexico, Dominican Republic and Jamaica and one of our favorite parts of Antigua was the safety and friendliness we experienced. Unlike the other destinations mentioned there are no armed guard checkpoints and here you feel completely safe walking or driving about the island on your own. Every single day a local resident asked us if we were enjoying our stay and thanked us for coming to visit Antigua. Another convenient aspect is that everyone speaks English and they accept and prefer USD. They even broadcast mostly US TV channels, plus the BBC. Here there were no timeshare or resort up-sell pressures either. All lodging at the Verandah is villa-style bungalow duplexes which line the cliffs along the Atlantic coast. We had a waterview king bed which has an optional adjoining door to your neighbor via the balcony. Large balcony, spacious room and bathroom, very clean and well appointed. Housekeeping did a great job daily. Some mentioned in reviews they thought the furnishings were dated but we felt them to be island style appropriate. A few minor cosmetic updates such as some peeling paint on closet doors and some new drapes would be nice but I understand there is a plan to do some renovations in the near future. Comfort of bed, pillows, air conditioning and humidity control were above average compared to other AI resorts we’ve visited. Mini-kitchen with coffee and tea, refrigerator and microwave is provided. You will be given a safe key and 2 room keys. Beach towels are readily available at each pool and beach. There is daily housekeeping, but no turndown service and no robes or slippers provided (if that matters to you). Free Wi-Fi is available at reception and at the Main Bar. It’s not very fast nor reliable but acceptable for light use. The pathways to many villas, pools, and beaches are hilly so I would recommend only flat comfortable shoes day and night. There are golf cart shuttles but infrequent and not always guaranteed to be one heading in the direction you are going. Overall I would say that guests with walking disabilities may be challenged by the general terrain, many stairs, infrequent shuttles, and the standard bath/shower layout. Mid August through mid October is considered off season in Antigua so the resort was only about half capacity. There are a number of tourist sites, retailers, and restaurants around the island that close for all or part of this period. This did not inhibit our enjoyment of the island but it is something to keep in mind if you have a particular place you wanted to visit. We felt it made for a very relaxing vacation at Verandah as there were no crowds to fight for anything at any time. There is a gift shop with sundries at the resort entrance which carry necessities you may forget. The next closest supermarket or shops are 30 minutes away in any direction, typically St. Johns. There is a daily shuttle to St. Johns or you can hire a taxi. There is a spa and a nice fitness room but we didn’t use them. There are also tennis courts and a nice mini-golf course, but didn’t utilize those this trip. There are two beaches at Veranda – the waterports beach and the Rasta beach. Both are more like coves with reef protection so there are little to no waves which makes it easy to try out any of the many waterport options they offer, and they are free/included with your stay. None of the beaches nor pool had waiter service but it was also very easy to walk to a nearby bar to grab a drink, or a tray of drinks for your party. There are 2 pools - a large main pool and a small adults only pool. We mostly ate at the buffet for breakfast and dinners but we did try the Beach Grill and Buccaneer for dinner and they were both very good. We really enjoyed the Beach Grill for lunch, and the Wadladli Shack by Rasta beach makes a mean burger or panini. In general all of the food we had was really very good and of higher quality than we have experienced at most AI resorts. Check the posted schedule for restaurant open dates and make a reservation with guest services for anything other than the buffet within 48 hours of your preferred date. The beverage offerings are good and the 5 house wine varietals, from Spain, are fair though not great. We did not feel $40 PP was worth trying Nicole's. Weather permitting, on Mondays they have a manager’s reception with a bar and appetizers by the pool which was quite lovely and a great chance to meet the resort manager, bar manager, head chef and other staff. On Tuesdays they set up an amazing outdoor buffet and dining area poolside which we highly recommend as well. There is entertainment nightly at the main bar, varying from a DJ, or small bands, to local native dancers. There is board by the main bar that lists daily organized activities and entertainment schedules. Everett runs some fun adult games by the Rasta bar! Did grow weary of Mr. W1nderful so often but suspect that's what you get during slow season. The resort does fog for mosquito control so we never needed to apply any repellent and endured only one bite the entire trip. I would recommend bringing an umbrella since it is a tropical island we probably had 1 brief rainshower each day that lasted less than an hour but it would have been nice to have an umbrella handy to get where we were going when it hit sometimes. Tips are happily accepted but I would say verses the other AI resorts we have visited it was never expected nor did we feel any pressure to tip in order to get a staff member’s attention. We simply rewarded the folks we felt were extra friendly or went above and beyond. We really enjoyed Kertie, Sandra, Jose, and others but I’m afraid I didn’t retain all the names. We never had one issue at all with service in any of the restaurants or bars. About my only negative feedback that management should address is that I saw on more than on occasion a few of the bar staff sneaking beers or shots in the back. Besides the Verandah, Elite Resorts owns and operates Pineapple Beach, a smaller adult-only resort across the street, St. James Resort about 30 minutes south, and a new adult-only resort currently under construction next door called Hammock Cove. You can ask for a day pass (minimum 24 hours in advance) to go to Pineapple or St. James. We went to Pineapple and recommend a visit to their Outhouse restaurant for lunch for some good BBQ and spectacular views from the top of the cliff. Tip: ask for a buggy ride up to it. Pineapple's beach is part of Long Bay beach which is a public beach and a short 1 minute walk from Verandah. We liked visiting this beach a few times because it was bigger than Verandah’s and actually had waves. There are a few vendor shops also but most were closed during our visit. There are numerous excursions available (props to Nian at the tour desk!) but Elite owns and operates several which they naturally promote. We did the Pink Panther jeep tour and the Calypso Cat snorkeling tour. Pink Panther takes you on a site and culture tour around the island, and about my only comment is being that it was slow season and some things are closed, I wish they would have adjusted some of the stops and times accordingly. We had great fun on the Calypso Cat and I recommend it whether you like to snorkel or not. If you are new at snorkeling, they have one person designated to work with the new folks. We also did the Sunday night party at Shirley Heights and had a really nice time there. I would however caution that is not a very friendly site for walking disabled guests. You can charge all tours and resort upcharges to your final room bill (unlike some resorts). We used the Eagle transfer service advertised on Verandah’s website for our airport transfers and were quite happy with their service to and from the property. We would definitely return to this resort again and recommend it without hesitation. 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I have spent 4 days in this resort. The place is nice, comfortable and quiet (despite the noisy frogs at nights), maybe because I went during low season. It is remarkable the beauty of its beaches (water quite warm by the way) and the attentive and predisposed staff. The rooms and bathrooms are huge and fully equipped (even with a so useful small kitchenette). The hotel has a few entertainment options. Being a resort located in such beautiful place it could have some more. The food is also fine but it could have more options and avoid some daily repetitions. Anyway you can have great times here and spend amazing nights (especially when they organize dinners on the shores of the swimming pool) Read less

We traveled late August which although was meant to be a low season it certainly did not feel that way. We had the superior family water front view and the best bit was the view from the balcony. We had to pinch ourselves to ensure the views were real. I can’t recognise the negative feedback about staff. We only ever had positive experience. Our kids loved Tariq who manned the action station who made the best ever omelettes. Sandra at Rasta Beach was so engaging with them too. We were put in touch with a guy called Curtis who drove us to the cricket match on two occasions. He drove us around all the tiny villages and gave us insight into the state of Antiguan cricket. Do seek him out at the front desk. We did not seek Nicole’s as couldn’t work out why one would spend more money after having spent several thousand pounds already on all inclusive. Spa treatments were also eye wateringly expensive despite the discounts. Although it doesn’t get mentioned often, the gym was also a highlight. The treadmills could do with regular servicing though as there was only 1 in working order out of 4. The grounds are immaculately maintained. Every day on our way back from the restaurants we would try and spot the various kinds of lizards. It was reassuring to see staff being resourced from the local community. Long bay beach is walking distance and wonderful place to watch the sun set. Would definitely go back to Verandah! Highly recommend it Read less