For those that hesitated as I did - once in a life time holiday. Deep breath and went for it.....I have to say that we had a once in a life time holiday!

Okay, the accommodation was certainly tired! However, what other holiday offers you the opportunity of pictures of your children windsuring, bodysurfing, sailing (tacking) on a hobiecat for the first time! Not many. That has no value!

The food was good and despite the half board for adults kept you fulfilled for the next meal. Children were full board so that wasn't a problem.

Martin the resort Manager bends over backward to make your stay enjoyable and so do many of the staff - I and my children will always remember it - I hope that Sunsail don't put their prices up too much when they revamp the complex and would definitely go back.

Only downside was that I didn't have time to complete all the Pilates, Yoga classes and would have loved a chance to have a few sessions in the fully equipped gym which was always busy at 6.30 am and the Mountain biking for beginners or even the beginners sight seeing walk.

Do though budget to hire a car - taxis I felt were not good value if you wanted to go out and see the sights - I personally like to see the local sights and taxis around the Island for a day can be expensive. However, I did compliment the car hire that I had for two days with a local taxi driver from the hotel. who added imense value by adding local information and sights off the beaten track. Find one that you that you trust and get on with.

Only other tip would be to ensure that you make your chilren put enough sun cream on - it is hot!

First time with Sunsail having visited competitors.

We had read reviews on trip advisor and reviews from friends/members of our sailing club. Changed our booking from September at Perilli to April at Club Colonna. We were not disappointed, Perilli still our aim, but were tempted by the discounts to Club Colonna and an opportunity to sail early in the season and get some sun.

With regard to food, although I'm not a fan of buffet it was varied and good.

Yes, there were some staff issues with regard to the club closing for a few months and the possibility of the club ownership changing, but generally we found the staff to be very friendly and accommodating (both local and UK staff)

Perhaps the amount we paid (being just at the end of the easter holidays) was less than some people paid during the holidays, but we were very happy with everything.

We thought the check out service was a bonus, having your luggage taken away and the rest of the day to relax and enjoy the resort.

Contrary to a previous reviewers comments, we would say that the facilities were open. The watersports beach did close at 1.30pm on the day you leave, but everything else was up and running. Rooms were even available for a shower and change of clothes prior to departure.

Can't comment on child care facilities, but everyone we spoke to was happy with the child care.

We had 5* facilities, but if you want 5* accommodation then go elsewhere. I don't think you will get 5* accommodation with 5* facilities as the two don't go hand in hand. What we got in the way of facilites costs a lot of money to provide, so something has to give.

We had very good facilities, food and accommodation pro rata to what we paid. We met many people who had been on many Sunsail holidays and were very happy.

We will definitely go back to Sunsail again........where, we don't know yet.

We were very disappointed with this club. We had huge American cockroaches in our room and all members of our family had stomach problems. The room was grubby and never cleaned until the afternoons. The restaurant was also messy with sticky tables and floors.
The hotel is due to be for closed refurbishment which we didn't know about and the staff we believe were very apathetic as a result. We had to put up with the smell of insecticide. Overall the quality was very poor. Never again! I have complained to the company but don't seem to be getting an appropriate response.
On a plus point the sailing is good but not enough to make it a great holiday. Two weeks was just a week too long.

We stayed at Club Colonna in April. We knew from the Tripadvisor reviews that experiences of Club Colonna were mixed.

First the good bits: Food was by far the best I have had at Sunsail and better than Mark Warner. Tennis was better than expected and about as good as you can get with only one court. The peninsular rooms have great views and a door each side means you can have a nice breeze through them. The manager was very visible. John the Gardener gave a delightful tour of the club gardens explaining the medicinal uses for the plants and he finished up shining up and down a coconut tree - this is not to be missed.

Disappointing: the bar and restaurant staff were grumpy and only some of them were helpful, at times the way they spoke to some guests was just not acceptable. (I never saw guests being rude to staff!). At times there was no hot water. Trips from the hotel were poor value - especially Shirley Heights - it was so bad we and another couple paid the taxi driver to bring us back early. Kids club was poor - narrow range of activities and unenthusiastic staff (according to my 13 year old).

Also disappointing was the last day. With a 19.20 departure you might have thought that you would be able to do something with that day but in practice it was a write off. Sunsail arrange check-in at the Club - sounds like a good idea but in practice it means that the whole morning is wiped out checking out of the rooms by 10.00 and then queuing for an hour for airline check-in between 10.30 and 12.30. None of the facilities are available for the rest of the day so you end up queuing and sitting around waiting for the whole day. We were even forbidden from sitting on our ground floor balcony! We were still taken to the airport 2 hours before departure so check in at the hotel did not save any time.

The Club is due for refurbishment this summer and I am sure this will improve the rooms. It would be a good opportunity for Sunsail to refurbish some of its staff or at least train them in customer service.

Not to be missed on Antigua is the helicopter trip to see the volcano on Monserrat - truly exceptional and worth every penny of the $220 fare.