Call us on 028 3832-3618 or click here to book this luxury special offer.

Special offer includes...

• Half-Board PLUS a candlelit dinner for 2 on the jetty
• A couples massage in the fantastic Blu Spa
• A picnic lunch on a little discovered beach arriving by speedboat
• A bottle of champagne and canapes served on your balcony

Save over £1900

Stay 7 nights on a half board basis in a garden suite including British Airways World Traveller flights and private transfers.

• Upgrade to World Traveller Plus from only £395 per person return.
• Upgrade to business class from only £1395 per person return.

Based on 2 adults sharing, subject to availability. Conditions apply.

All meals exclude drinks unless mentioned above in offer.

Travel between 25th April - 22nd Dec **(hotel closed 3rd Sept-14th Oct)

Hotel Overview

An exclusive, sleek, luxury option with a subtle chic décor in a tranquil beachfront location. Attracts the seriously rich hellbent on some serious pampering. Offers a wide range of amenities and facilities including watersports, a dive centre and 9 tennis courts floodlit for night matches. A striking, contemporary interior with high-raftered ceilings washed in pale grey. The understated, spacious and open-sided lobby lounge has low white sofas, black framed chairs and a dark cane bar. A metallic grey-walled Asian restaurant has vivid pink chairs. The main open-sided restaurant is beside the ocean and is stylishly furnished in natural wood and cane.

Other facilities include a small movie theatre with blue leather seats and an ultra-modern library offering books, cds and dvds. Set in immaculately landscaped tropical gardens. The attractive pool terrace is enclosed by bright white walls and lush greenery; there are ample solid sunbeds and the pool has a ledge for loungers to rest in the water. The fine sandy beach is in a pretty wooded cove and features watersports and shady palm trees.

Area Type: On the south side of the island, 12 miles south of St John's. Set back from a small village on the coast road; at the end of a long, palm-fringed, private drive.

Facilities:

Bars

• Poolside bar
• Main Bar

Eating

• A la carte restaurant
• Asian restaurant

Pools

• Lagoon-style (45 yds)
• Free sunbeds/parasols

Beach facilities

• Direct access
• Diving school

Public facilities:

• Beauty/spa
• Children's daytime entertainment
• Children's playground
• Evening entertainment
• Fitness room/gym
• Internet terminal(s)
• Jacuzzi
• Sauna
• Tennis courts

In-room facilities

• Air conditioning
• Hairdryer
• Minibar/fridge
• Safes
• Tea/Coffee making facilities
• TV (English language)

Resort Overview

Antigua has an area of 108 sq mls and a much-indented coastline, giving it its famed 365 beaches, one for each day of the year. Unlike some lusher neighbouring islands, the inland scenery is undramatic and quite flat, with only the southwest being hilly. The island owes its relatively sparse greenery to deforestation during the sugar boom of the 18th century; in fact, over 100 stone mills from that wealthy period still dot the landscape.

The capital St John's is a small town built on a grid system beside a harbour, and contains an impressive cathedral and a famous cricket ground. Cruise ships regularly dock here, dwarfing the capital and transforming the ordinarily quiet quayside into a colourful, vibrant market. English Harbour on the south coast contains the historic Nelson's Dockyard, a quaint little naval centre with inns and nautical buildings, many of which date from the 18th century when this was an important base for the British navy.

Neighbouring Falmouth Harbour is a small, relaxed village of informal restaurants and shops. Shirley Heights has the remains of substantial fortifications and provides a lookout point with fine views over the south coast. The tourist complex at Jolly Harbour in the west is a modern, self-contained village with shops, restaurants, villas and a golf course, all set around a marina filled with expensive yachts.

Location: 25 mls south of its sister island Barbuda. 55 mls east of St Kitts. The international airport is 4 mls east of the capital, St John's.

Position: In the East Caribbean, at the eastern edge of the Leeward Islands, of which it is the largest. Almost completely surrounded by reef.

Accommodation

One of the most expensive Caribbean destinations, with even basic accommodation pricey. Hotels and self-catering properties – varying in quality and services – are scattered all round the coast with many isolated at the end of fairly rough access roads. Greatest concentration at Dickenson Bay.

Entertainment

Daytime: abundant water sports including windsurfing, water-skiing, parasailing, jet-skis, pedalloes, catamarans and small sailboats; snorkelling and scuba-diving (several schools on the island); golf; cricket; horse riding; kayaking; yacht charter; hiking to the island's many hilltop fortifications, including Lookout Trail up to Shirley Heights; bird-watching. Free concerts (often with steel bands) on Sunday afternoon and evening at Shirley Heights. In April/May Antigua Sailing Week draws racing yachts from all over world to English Harbour. Vibrant, colourful summer carnival (late July) around St John's.

Nightlife: varied but concentrated at hotels, several of which have casinos; a few independent bars; weekly evening cruises; Saturday night "party" cruises.

Restaurants

Mainly restricted to hotels, where restaurants offer good-quality if expensive menus; some independent eateries at resort centres dotted around the island. Range of cuisine includes seafood (specialities are red snapper and Caribbean lobster), Caribbean/West Indian, Italian and Chinese. A few fast-food outlets.

Local dishes to try: pepper pot, a spicy stew; fungee, cornmeal and okra pudding; and roti, curried vegetables and chicken wrapped in flatbread. Wadadli, the local beer, is also worth a sup.

Shopping

Though fairly small, St John's has a reasonable choice of shops including Heritage Quay for duty-free goods; a modern shopping centre is located a short distance to the north. A handful of shops and stalls at English and Falmouth Harbours; limited shopping at Jolly Harbour complex. Farmers' market in St John's on Friday and Saturday mornings.

Local Excursions

Shopping and sightseeing in St John's; sightseeing and the museum at Nelson's Dockyard; Betty's Hope, fully restored sugar mill; helicopter trips from Jolly Harbour complex; nearby islands, including Barbuda, by air; Dow's Hill Interpretation Centre for an audiovisual tour of Antigua's history; glass-bottomed boat trips; organised dives to various sites, including Cades Reef (a designated underwater park) and sunken wrecks (particularly the wreck of the Andes, in 30 ft of water); deep-sea fishing trips; day cruises with lunch on nearby deserted islands; eco-tours of mangrove swamps and Bird Island with its live reef and rare wildlife.

Public transport

Limited local bus service, primarily private vans which operate to no fixed timetable and are often overcrowded. Taxis readily available at most hotels. Car and scooter hire (although the latter is dangerous) can be arranged at airport or hotels; minimum age 25 and a local licence is required, obtainable via car-hire companies upon production of full British driving licence (charge).

Beaches

Its main selling point are the miles of white, sometimes gritty, sand. With few exceptions, all hotels have beachside locations although, in terms of quality, some are better than others. Dickenson Bay and Runaway Bay on the northwest coast are the island's busiest, with Dickenson offering a wide range of water sports. The most convenient beaches for St John's are Fort James and Deep Bay; surfers go for Galley Bay and there's a naturist beach at Hawksbill. Beaches on the southwest coast are generally less developed, although the Caribbean Sea on this side of the island is gentler and more suitable for water sports than the rougher Atlantic coast to the east.

Good family beaches on the east coast are Half Moon Bay and Long Bay, which is protected by reefs.

Market/Suitability

Wide range of well-heeled guests, particularly more affluent families and well-off Americans; popular wedding destination. Not for those seeking stunning scenery, culture or anything more than a good tan and organised entertainment.

Interested?

For more information on this offer, call us today on (028) 3832 3618, arrange a callback or email us.

Alternatively, if you would prefer we are very happy to see you in person at our new Travel Lounge, Lurgan. Visitors are advised to make an appointment with one of our specialist consultants.

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