Blue Waters Resort and Spa — Hotel in Antigua

We stayed at the Blue Waters Resort for two weeks and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Nicole (Villas Manager), who had emailed us prior to our visit, was waiting at reception to greet us upon arrival. We stayed in one of the suites in the middle of the resort, only a short walk away from the beach front. Our accommodation was very spacious, consisting of a bedroom, lounge and bathroom with a walk out balcony overlooking the beach. Nicole was exceptionally helpful and approachable and also seamlessly organised a number of excursions for us during our stay. We were also able to make dinner reservations for each night of our stay through Nicole at the outset. ||One of the strongest aspects of the resort was the food. In comparison to some other all inclusive resorts we have stayed at, the food at Blue Waters was consistently of a very high quality and we never had a bad meal. Additionally, the Blue Waters offered an a-la carte breakfast which was a far more enjoyable experience in contrast to the typical buffet breakfast. However, we would note that as we were staying at Blue Waters during off-peak season, the resort only had one restaurant open for dinner each night. This would alternate between the Cove, the Reef and the Palm. We found that the Cove was typically open every second evening. The menu in the Cove remained the same during our stay however, there is usually a special starter and main course on offer. The menus at the Reef and the Palm did vary and we would say that some of the best dinners we had were at the Reef. Nevertheless, if you are staying at the resort for over 1 week, some people may find the food options rather repetitive and limited. Additionally, the Reef is the only option in the resort for lunch. Again, the menu stays the same however there is usually a special on offer. Furthermore, the food options across all three restaurants are rather similar. The resort may benefit from having a more specialised restaurant, such as Asian fusion, as many guests would perhaps enjoy sushi which is increasingly popular. The variety that this could offer would also likely be appealing. ||The resort was rather quiet during the first week of our stay which meant that the beach/pool areas were very relaxing during the day which we liked. The resort didn’t feel busy or overcrowded. However, this also meant that the resort was very quiet in the evenings and there was a lack of energy around the bar areas. There was some form of entertainment on for a short period most nights at the Pelican bar which usually consisted of a band or musician. However, on nights the Cove or the Reef were open for dinner, the majority of guests were unable to enjoy the entertainment as this coincided with peak dinner time. The Cove is a relatively large restaurant with a lovely setting and I found it could have benefitted from perhaps a live pianist or other musician for guests to enjoy whilst they dine (instead of having the entertainment at the Pelican bar or in addition). A minor point of note was that there are three red wines on offer as part of the all-inclusive package, including a Malbec. The Malbec was available at the Cove the first week of our stay and then became unavailable. This was despite the fact that the Malbec remained on offer at both the Reef and the Palm restaurants. We found this to be strange as the Cove is the resort’s ’premium’ dining option. ||Additionally, the Cove is situated at the far end of the resort therefore, a buggy service is offered to take you from reception to the Cove and back again. We found that this buggy service didn’t operate as seamlessly as some other resorts we have stayed in as we were sometimes left waiting however, the walk to and from reception is not long so this wasn’t a massive issue. ||The staff at the Blue Waters were all incredibly friendly and approachable. Pearle and her staff at the Pelican Bar were great, energetic and always happy to serve you. The Pearl Martini (created by Pearle) became a favourite during our stay. Carrez at the Cove bar was also great and made consistently amazing special cocktails each night the Cove was open. During the day, we found that there was a lack of staff coming round the beach/pool areas asking if you would like any drinks. However, there are two bars open during the day which you can attend and the cocktails were all of a great standard. ||The resort itself was lovely, modern and situated in a beautiful cove with great beaches and pools. The resort also had great watersport opportunities such as kayaking and paddle boarding. The resort also offer the opportunity to go snorkelling at the nearby Boons Reef on Fridays and Mondays, subject to the weather. This was a great experience and the speedboat ride out to the reef was also very enjoyable. The resort also offer longer private boat excursions.||Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Blue Waters and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the...

Firstly, I would give 4.5 if I could! It's a beautiful hotel, nice staff, decent service. It just missed the finite details and attention to details service wise for me compared to other 5* hotels I've stayed in.||(I'm only being picky as it was 5* and was expensive, so I expect more compared to other hotels I've stayed in with a lower price / rating)||Family Suite, but no separate bedrooms and a bed setee for the kids.|Salt and pepper missing off tables and napkins sometimes, things of that nature. Umbrella's missing from the room (other rooms had them) so when it rained we had to call them up, to be able to go to breakfast without getting soaked. Pelican (lobby) Bar meant to be open until 12, but as no one was in it when we arrived back from Cricket at 11pm (and the bar tender was nowhere to be seen, we had to go to the front desk to ask the receptionist if it was still open and she went to look for the bar tender. Thats not something I expect at that level. No "do not disturb" sign for our door so we got awoken early by housekeeping (who then gave us one for future use). Asked for all inclusive mini bar to be restoked as we had 2 coke's and there was four of us staying and it took 7 hours to replenish them. (We left housekeeping a list of items we required each morning for the minibar after that and we're well looked after following this). We managed to drink other stuff in there don't get me wrong and these are all relatively minute things, granted. But these little details added up and for me meant its why it just missed the expected grade.||Tip: Go All Inclusive here: restaurant prices are expensive and its definitely worth doing. ||The beach was a little disappointing too, not much depth to it and sargassam was all over (but that cant be helped, due to the wind/time of year). But the non watersports were great and complimentary/included in the price.||Positives were: Housekeeping did a lovely job. Rooms we're always cleaned to a very high standard and towels changed. Porters again we're really helpful taking us to and from our room on golf buggies and also we're great with our baggage. Breakfast was OK, nothing special. Evening meals. The Palm/Reef restaurant was again OK, but the Cove Restaurant was excellent and no difference cost wise if on AI. So my advice is dress up a little more and go to the Cove restaurant in an evening. If you wish to adventure outside the resort there are no options I was aware of restaurant wise within walking distance.||If You stay here, I'm sure you'll enjoy it! Yet, It just didn't quite make the grade for me value for money vs 5* vs Attention to finite detail. Yet I make it sound bad and its certainly not... it just needs a few little tweaks to have made our...

I stayed at this resort from August 23rd to September 5th and we really loved it. I am not saying the resort is 100% perfect but they TRY their best to make everyone feel comfortable and like royalty.

When you arrive you are greeted by the lovely staff and they offer you a refreshing drink. Then you are escorted to you room, we literally had a beachfront room. The staff is amazing and super helpful, so never be shy to ask them for help! I lost my gold Ray Ban and they found it =)

At night, there's no need to use the A/C since you can leave the door open and listen to the waves, the palm tree and nature come alive. The room is well stocked and they provide top notch shampoo/conditioner/shower gel/body lotion. Just watch out under the AC, there's a closet and the safe is in there and it's so humid that when we left our passports and paper work were wet. Other than that the room was perfect!

They have a lovely sitting room where you can enjoy their wine and their entertainment at night. There are booked on one of the tables in case you left your book at home.

The dining room/breakfast room is open air but if t rains they will close it, the morning breakfast is just spectacular. The staff in the dining area/breakfast room are spectacular.The only thing is that they will not serve you in their dining room if you are not following dress code, we didn't bring jackets, ties, dressed and heel so we were asked to stay out while they prepared our take out order, kind of sad and embarrassing for us who were not prepared.

MY TIP is that you go to the front desk and order from Pari's pizza (delicious, see my review!!)*

Please keep in mind that rooms are cleaned twice a day, so to help them and the environment, we would get the ladies to clean every 5 days.

The beaches are normally empty as the rest of the guest prefer the pool deck. If you go to the beach you will find Tony and he will hook you up with the best land/sea tour (a must). Water activities are complimentary so enjoy them!

The staff (managers) are always on the premises making sure all of their guests are having a great time, any issues please let them know, they are GREAT!

At around 11:30pm they turn on the irrigation system and it's recycled water so try not to get sprayed, if it smells bad (like raw sewage contact Nicole and let her know).

You will see some amazing sunset there and for sure it's a very romantic resort.

FUN FACT: Prince Harry stayed at this resort

Don't forget to visit the gift shop for your souvenirs but mainly stay safe...