Galley Bay Resort & Spa - All Inclusive - Adults Only

This review was a tough one, as it took almost two weeks to compose. I totally agree with Wine Wally's last review in every way. I could almost cut and paste his review. Galley Bay is a three-and-a-half-star hotel. It needs work and, more importantly, new management. The average age, which does not matter to me, was probably in the mid- to late sixties. The non-beach grounds were beautiful and well-kept. The weather was excellent. Our room was a non-renovated Premium Beach Front, and it was great—right on the beach. We sat outside every night and just enjoyed the location. Staff: They need a massive amount of training....and I mean massive. Most had an attitude, never smiled or said hello, and had no idea what they should be doing. I have never seen this type of service and confusion in an island resort and I have stayed at numerous Caribbean resorts as well as other resorts in Antigua. Just a lot of unhappy and confused workers. To be fair, there were some notable mentions, such as Anya at the front desk, Aphique from the beach, and Rose-Ann in housekeeping. They did their best to accommodate. My wife, who always looks at everything with a glass half full, commented on more than one occasion how unprofessional and unfriendly the staff was. There is definitely a major need for training. Beach: Yes, the water is rough, but we knew that going in. If you want to spend your time in calm waters or relax on a raft, this is not the place (during this time of year). The water is beautiful and warm but rough. There is no beach service. Every once in a blue moon, someone came to ask if we wanted drinks, but most of the time, they never came back. The beach is also not well-kept. It just was never in a pristine condition. Hard to imagine this as there is nothing to do at this hotel but spend time on the beach (or pool). This should be a hotel priority. The beach/water sports staff did not start their day until 10/10:30 am. It took two days to remove the sea**** that I was told had been there for almost a week. They had one person...yes only one person tending to the beach. I watched as he raked for ten minutes and then disappeared for the rest of the day. Why aren't there more workers for the beach? Why are they not out at 6 am like every other hotel, cleaning the beach and beach chairs, etc.? Why do guests have to wait until 10/10:30 to get a beach towel, and why do we have to walk the length of the beach to get one? I am aware this was a complaint that many guests had. Why couldn't housekeeping bring beach towels when making up the room? We had to use dirty towels more than once and our dirty glasses took days to be removed. I don't expect ice face towels or cold sorbet served but I didn't expect our beach chairs to have bird droppings on them the entire week. There is definitely a lack of management oversight, as we never once saw management on the beach. Pool: It's clean but definitely needs an update. How about this: There

If you want to experience customer service at its best, then go here. Off or on the complex the people of Antigua our simply the best! The hotel was beautiful with views of the ocean. The food plentiful and of a great selection. The rum shack a hidden treasure. Highly recommended!!

We have just had an amazing two week holiday in Antigua. We love Antigua and it is now one of our favourite Caribbean islands. We are lucky enough to be able to travel a lot and have visited 8 of the islands, staying at lots of different resorts, at various price points over 20 or so Caribbean holidays. We chose Galley Bay because of word of mouth feedback we had from people we had met at other resorts and the high praise it receives on the various review sites and Facebook groups, most of which is from repeat visitors. We felt something must have changed at Galley Bay as our experience was not the luxury we were expecting! The resort itself is beautiful with well laid out maintained gardens and a fantastic beach. Our room was right on the beach, which we loved but it was basic, quite dated and lacked any character. The sea can be rough here, but we were very lucky and were able to swim in the sea every day. The beach team change the flags to red when they leave at 1630 each day, no matter what the conditions are, and I think this might compound the issue that some people have with the beach. We visited many other beaches on the island and loved them all for different reasons, but Galley Bay is a lovely beach. We also liked the pool area, which was nicely laid out and always clean. What let the resort down for us was some of the hotel team alongside the food/drinks. The staff in general do not seem happy, barely smile and mostly offer lazy, slow service due to poor management in our opinion. Even the supervisors don’t seem to know what they are doing although the ignorant way they are treated by some guests might play a part - for example, one guest felt it was appropriate to hold his glass up in the restaurant and shout ‘waitress’ when demanding a refill! Sadly this seemed to be the norm rather than an exception. The food was poor to average at best in the included restaurants. Ismays (the additionally charged restaurant) was just about good, although the service on our first visit, when they completely forgot about our starters was not great and we also felt the service impersonal. The supervisor seemed to read from a script repeated to every guest and didn’t recognise us from one day to the next! It is certainly not a high end venue, but we found ourselves paying the money a few nights purely for the better food and wine (they had a pinot noir that was a bit better than the just about drinkable, wine offered in the other restaurants). We loved the track around the lake for running in the mornings before it got too hot and the evening entertainment was also good albeit a little repetitive(every act seemed to have the same play list) It was great there was no problem with mosquitoes at this resort, and after a few days we weren’t even using repellent, which was nice. However, in our second week there was a huge problem with flies in the main restaurant and barefoot grill, making breakfast and lunch unpleasant. Breakfast was unusually drawn

We stayed at Galley Bay, in a deluxe oceanfront room from late March until early April. I loved that every 2 chairs and palapa had a plaque with our room number on it. No need to get up at dawn to secure a seat. Also, plenty of seats in the bar and around the pool. The room and bathroom has been updated since last year. Love the HUGE new shower. The mini bar was filled daily with water, beer and soda. The room was cleaned daily with a great attention to detail and was always shining and fresh smelling. The staff is welcoming with great smiles and a good morning. We loved the ladies at the small grill near the pool, food was always tasty and the menu changed every day. Food was absolutely wonderful, and it was a pleasure to talk to the chef to tell him so. Don't miss the Thursday lunch bar-b-que. A huge variety of sides and a whole suckling pig. The desserts were great. Ismay's was well worth the extra charge. Service and food were amazing.. My favorite was Gaugin. You need reservations for 1 of 2 seating's but no upcharge. Each table was in its own Palapa. Very romantic and the service and food were wonderful An extra thank you to the lady at the gift shop. I went in looking for a jar of instant coffee because we only had an espresso machine in our room. She said I'll take care of that, made 1 phone call and we had a Mr. Coffee machine in our room that afternoon. Everyone there goes above and beyond to make your stay wonderful. We'll be back next year.

We returned for the 12th time for a week in early April. We’ve been going there off and on since 2005. The property was as beautiful as ever, and the lovely ladies at reception honoured our room request for a room in a specific block. Anya was particularly helpful acknowledging my numerous emails and providing prompt responses. The food was top shelf - we dined at Ismay’s 3 times. We also enjoyed dining at Barefoot Grill, Seagrape and Gauguin (although the service at Gauguin is spotty so we opted to only have one dinner there). Shout outs to Alfred, Natasha, Althea, Caryl, Tarukh, Elaine, Ive, Amanda, Mike and Aliah for their beautiful smiles and friendly service. Housekeeping was also on point. Thank you! The guys at water sports (Shilo, Tafaria and Romario) are really nice. We were extremely disappointed that under new management, water sports doesn’t open until around 10:30am. This isn’t customer centric and the hours should be re-visited. The gym is great and well equipped. Yoga with Mackenzie was fun but it’s not really all levels. It’s really geared for beginners. We also went out with Captain Shawn for a half day and as usual, enjoyed the experience. It was a relaxing week and we will go back for a 13th visit in the future.

This is quite simply the best place we have ever been to. All of the staff without exception were friendly, attentive and efficient and couldn’t do enough for you. The rooms were amazing, the restaurants/food outstanding and we have already rebooked for next year. The only thing I will say is if you want to be guaranteed a swim in the sea every day, it can be a little rough at times but it really didn’t bother us. All in all a very high quality resort and we can’t wait to return in February!

We felt at home after the first day. The staff is friendly and welcoming. We look forward to returning.

Just returned from 12 great nights at Galley Bay. Been before, but many years ago, so a lot of additions, improvements and investment since then. The whole place is relaxing, totally enjoyable and with a stunning beach and views. The food and drinks are top quality, with premium brand spirits, a good wine selection and an excellent menu choice in all restaurants. Our room was very well serviced every day by lovely housekeeping staff and the minibar restocked daily with whatever drinks we requested. The Teepee bar is a great place to socialise and chat to other guests, with your glass constantly topped up by Caryl and her colleagues! The restaurants and kitchen staff do a fabulous job and all meals are freshly cooked to a high standard. The only buffet- style food is the weekly lunchtime barbecue and the breakfast items, but at breakfast there is also a menu of freshly cooked dishes. The grounds and garden areas are immaculate, with a team of gardeners constantly working every day. They even rake and clean the beach. There are plenty of pathways to have a stroll and watch the birds, the little reptiles and see the tortoise sanctaury. Entertainment is provided every evening and depending on ones taste in music, there are some really good musicians. The steel drum guys were brilliant, as was the Saturday evening band with the great cricketer Curtly Ambrose on bass guitar. As stated by many other reviews, what excels at Galley Bay and makes the whole place such a holiday delight are the staff. They are so friendly and efficient and obviously well-trained and mentored, which is a reflection of the high standard of management here. They are given every opportunity to fulfill their potential and many have risen from trainees to senior managers over the years. It would be very unfair to single out certain staff over others, but we were hugely impressed with Stuart in the Seagrape restaurant, Caryl at the Teepee bar, Derrick the Operations Manager, Vincent the Food and Beverage Manager and my new Antiguan friend Nathaniel, the Executive Chef. What a great group of people, with excellent staff reporting to them. Finally, a huge thanks to General Manager Antoine, who's obviously backed by a great team. Please hold on to them! It was probably the best holiday we've had, anywhere and we're already planning our next trip back in 12 months time.

We have been to Galley Bay twice. (Once in May 2023 and March 2024) Both times were absolutely perfection. The property is so beautiful and well thought out. From the minute you step out of the cab from the airport the staff is there to make you feel relaxed and ready to vacation. They get you started with a rum punch and an easy check in process. From there you are given a short ride in a golf cart to your room to settle in. Our room had a spacious bathroom with plenty of space to hang damp items, a double shower, and double sinks. It had a King size bed, couch and love seat seating area and a generous balcony with lounge/sunning chairs. Every room has a fridge that is stocked with some beverages and restocked every morning. One of my favorite things on property is that every room has its own reserved lounge chairs on the beach with your room number. No running down the beach to “save” your seats before breakfast at this resort! They also have a great pool area close to the bar and a lunch spot. They have a water feature at the pool with quiet music. Perfect if you don’t want to swim in the ocean or the tide is too rough that day. A silly little thing that I absolutely adore…they give you a metal, insulated bottle in your room at check in and have “Rehydration Stations” around the property to make sure you get enough cold water all day. As someone who loves to be hydrated I think this is so clever and I love having constant access to water! There are many options for meals at the resort. And all are excellent. I truly didn't have one “bad” meal. Or even bad course! They even excel at the “small things” like daily soups and their breakfast. Every restaurant on property changes their menu daily so you never tire of options. (The only meal that doesn’t change their menu is the breakfast at Seagrape. But the menu is so diverse, it’s never boring to eat the same menu! Think fresh fruit, cheeses, meats and juices. A different pancake of the day, Eggs Benedict, Roti with eggs, Omelets, etc) They are really great at having plenty of meat, seafood, and vegetarian options at every restaurant and every meal. And one of my favorite things about the chefs at GB is that they treat the veggies as good as the proteins. They are truly great to stand alone. (I often grabbed the extra veggies off my hubby’s plate if he didn’t finish them.) Gauguin is great for semi-private dining both for lunch and dinner. We had lunch there several times this past visit and it was a nice break in our day with a starter, main, and dessert. Plus a romantic, semi- private seating area means you get to be cozy with your person. Ismay’s is great for a special occasion or to just enjoy the elevated extravagance. They are determined to show you a great time. And it shows! The property is also well thought out for walkways, plants and vegetation. I spend half my time taking photos of the view and beautiful flowers on the paths. Make sure to check out the Turtle Sanctuary if you li