There seem to be some emotive reviews about this place, so I'll try to remain objective where possible.

First impressions of the hotel were that it was very quiet - no-one in the lobby and bar area. Also, the water features there should either be pepped up or replaced with some pot plants!

That said, I'd come for a quiet break with my girlfriend, so quiet was good.

The room we were allocated was very large by European standards, and perfectly clean. I tend not to travel to sit in a hotel room, so we were very pleased with it. There was no fantastic view to speak of as it was at the back of the hotel ('mountain view'!). That said, there were plenty of butterfies and mongeese to see, and a nearby osprey.

We only ate at the hotel once, and it was probably the most ordinary meal we had on the break.

Breakfasts were very good, especially those days when it was the full buffet.

The pool looked fine, though the hotel was so quiet, I don't think I saw anyone use it all week, especially with the sea so close.

The gym was a bit dilapidated (dodgy seat on the cycles, uneven feed on the treadmills).

The staff were friendly and helpful, and genuinely brightened the place up no end, particularly the waiting, reception and room staff.

The location was pretty good, with St John's being walkable, though half a mile in, a bus will almost certainly stop and ask if you want a lift for a couple of ECD.

The beach and locale were fabulous with thousands of fireflies illuminating the trees and the moon reflecting in the sean and lagoon at night. The fort was a fun explore by day, and a swim out to the little island revealed many yellow and black spiders which I only later found were harmless!

The only poor view is the hotel itself, which whilst not terrible isn't up to the low-rise low-impact standard of most other resorts. Essentially it's a big box!

Work being done on lower floors (no noise, and I'm pretty fussy about that) lead to the air-con cutting out one day, and we were asked if we might like to move to the front of the building where we would benefit from the sea breeze.

The rooms here are slightly smaller, but well worth it for the views (pics from mobile phone attached). They're still more than adequate for two of us.

Whilst the sea breeze undoubtedly helped, it was warm the first night in that room. We were glad when the air-con returned.

Essentially, this is not somewhere to come and be entertained - you'll be disappointed. This is somewhere to come for peace and quiet and to go find your own diversions (we hired a car and explored the island, did some SCUBA diving, a bit of walking, eating, chatting, swimming...).

I have to say, for what we paid, I thought it great value. It's very much about taste, and if your taste runs to laid-on activity it's not for you. If you like quiet, then this could be for you if the price is right.

We went back in May 2004, resort was exactly was we were looking for. Nice beach, all to yourself, great grounds, food ok, and some cool activities you could do right around resort.
Hike up to Barrington Hill, to the old fort, about 20 minutes, you can see it from beach. Also, snorkel the ship wreck right off the beach, about a 15 minute swim out...really nice

Based on my experience, you should avoid the Grand Royal Antiguan Beach Resort at all costs. I heard about this "resort" prior to my visit to Antigua and wrote to them to inquire about an all inclusive day pass when our cruise stopped in Antigua. They were more than willing to give me a quote of $60 per day and promised food, drinks (including alcohol), beach, watersports, etc.

When we arrived, the "resort" looked in very old and tired condition. No other guests were visible. The woman at the front desk gladly took our money. On our walk to their beach, the guest rooms which, in addition to looking very old, worn out and in need of refurbishment had piles of old used mattresses in many rooms clearly visible by looking in the window. Clearly, no one was staying in any of these rooms. We also passed by the pool, which was old and very dirty. Cloudy water and brown dirt/stains could be seen throughout the pool. Again…not a single guest at the pool.

Then we arrived at the beach. While very scenic looking, there was nothing there except some beat-up beach chairs, shells of straw huts where the actual straw had fallen out and blown away, and what could only be described as a hut/shack that served the food and alcohol. There were no watersports to speak of, although I was approach by 5 different locals trying to sell me necklaces, jewlery and t-shirts. When I told one guy I wasn't interested, he asked me if I wanted to buy some pot instead! (I didn't)

After staying on the beach for two hours (without seeing a single guest besides us), I visited the hut to get a drink. Flies were everyone and conditions were far from clean. We ordered lunch but did not eat it, as the conditions made us fearful of the cleanliness of the food. We also ordered pina coladas…the worker pulled out a dented can of coconut milk with plastic wrap as a top - clearly it had been there for awhile. It poured out as a syrupy sludge….I was getting nervous to drink it. Luckily, the blender also did not work…so, no drink. Just as well….given the appearance, I might not have made it back to the ship if I drank it!

This was the last straw, and we decided to pack up and head back to our cruise ship. When visiting the front desk, I told them how disappointed I was and asked for a refund. They agreed to give me half of my money back. I got a few different stories…one worker said they were undergoing refurbishment and weren't open. Another said they were open, but weren't selling day passes (although no one hesitated to take my money and sell me mine that morning). The manager who approved my refund did apologize and say "You should NOT have been sold these passes, as we are not offering these right now in our present condition". I still do not think any other guests were staying at the hotel, as we were there for close to 3-4 hours and didn't see a single one.

Upon returning home, I wrote to the hotel reservations manager that gave me the original quote and asked them to refund the remainder of my money based on my poor experience. They refused. I made sure they knew that I would inform others of my experience. In the end, I was out $60 to the hotel, $30 in cab fare to get to and from the hotel, and lost 4 hours of my day in Antigua. I hope everyone else who is considering options in Antigua reads this and doesn't fall into this trap. Take my advice - look elsewhere, this place was a dump!

My husband and I stayed from 9th Oct to 25th Oct and were very surpirsed at how quiet the hotel was. We did meet some other people, mainly air crews coming in and out for a night or two and a lovely American couple. Despite what another person stated we found the staff very friendly and the breakfast hot and done just right. Coming from the UK we had booked the All Inclusive packagedand ate in the restaurant. Although the menu was the same all the time we were there we could not complain about the quality and quantity of the food. As for the staff we found them very friendly but we took the time to talk to them and get to know them. In fact they made my Birthday a very special day and decorated the table and even produced a cake. Perhaps because it was so quiet staff had the opportunity to talk to guests who wanted to chat to them and get to know their names or get some insight into places to visit etc.

It was our second visit to the hotel and we would go back again - the beach is excellent and much better than Jolly Harbour. For me the holiday is exactly that a holiday - time away from rushing around and a chance to experience other cultures and speak to people from other countries, read books and generally just switch off from work.

The hotel does need some improvements but they are working on it and everything takes time and money to be done properly.