Hodges Bay Resort & Spa — Hotel in Antigua

We spent a week at Hodges Bay Resort during Easter with our family of four, seeking a convenient and reasonably priced two-bedroom option. The resort largely met our expectations for location and amenities. It's a quick 10-minute drive from the airport, offering a small, calm atmosphere with a good beachfront view. Our two-bedroom suite was spacious, featuring separate bathrooms, a full kitchen, living room, and a large balcony – perfect for a family. The resort boasts a private beach with boat shuttles to Prickly Pear Island, which was a highlight. We appreciated the two pools (one for kids, one for adults), both generously sized, and ample loungers. The kids' club, while basic, offered a few planned activities from 10 AM to 4 PM, providing some downtime for parents. Dining included two on-site restaurants (one dinner-only with no kid-friendly menu/pricing) and a lunch spot on Prickly Pear Island; expect a 30-minute wait for food, which wasn't an issue for us. The sea views from the restaurants were lovely, and the resort and rooms were consistently clean. However, several aspects prevented a 5-star rating: Dining Costs: Restaurant prices were exorbitant. A basic lunch or dinner for four (one entree, one main, two kid's plates, no drinks/dessert) easily hit $100. This made dining off-resort essential, but options within walking distance are very limited. Restaurant Staff Issues: Some staff became noticeably rude when we were mindful of our ordering, even pushing bottled water despite tap water being perfectly safe to drink. Activity Surcharges: The resort adds significant, hidden fees to activities and taxis booked through them. We strongly recommend using platforms like Viator or negotiating directly with local vendors/drivers to avoid these markups and access more options. Outdated Tech: Only the living room had a modern Smart TV with Netflix; other TVs were old, lacked channels, and weren't smart TVs (bring a Roku or Fire Stick!). No On-Site Supermarket: Be prepared to schedule a trip to a supermarket to stock your kitchen; it’s worth it. "Butlers" Disappointing: The so-called "butlers" were largely unhelpful to our well-organized family. Kitchen Limitations: The kitchen lacked proper utensils and cookware for anything beyond simple breakfast prep. Given our experience, and considering our budget, we would seriously consider an all-inclusive resort for future Antigua trips. It would simplify dining costs and eliminate the need to constantly plan meals and activities...

We have visited Antigua for the first time staying in the Hodges Bay Resort 11-16 November 2023.

Lack of management reflecting to service, to the breakfast quality and to the house keeping. We had issues with towels and sheets several times.

There are good people working here but it's the management I think. They did not charge the extras because we had so many inconvenience during our stay in the hotel. I thank for that. Nevertheless, I would like to quickly mention some details.

During our stay we had so many troubles and we waited for a fix for longer hours then promised. That is very tiring. We're here to get some rest and only occupied with hotel problems.

There was only hot water coming out from shower, they fixed this the last day.

The house keeping gave us towels with full make up releases, blood etc. and sheets with previous guests salivas. We got sick because of that hot water and dirty pillows/towels.

I talked with house keeping managers. I pointed out the issues. They were very sweet and asked me if I need anything else. I said thank you and asked for extra water. They said of course and then nobody shows up. Why do you ask then?

The first day we had the chance of having fresh pineapples and bananas in breakfast and then next days nothing tasty came. The food seems like redundant of previous days. The quality of breakfast decay each day.

Last day, before checking out I've told that to the restaurant f&b. There is banana French toast in the menu but no bananas; how come? She told me there is a supply problem and wanted to prepare me banana toast with banana asking the room number. This attempt was also empty, they never show up.

In general, when we ask for a thing either nobody shows up or you have to double ask, double check and wait for hours. Forget about having plans when staying in this hotel. Someone attends to your needs after you are completely exhausted.

We are plainly unsatisfied with its service. The staff is doing best they can but there is miscommunication and It's not enough when they lack the resources, to make a guest feel like in a 4 star hotel.

I would like to thank Vera for being proactive about our needs and asking how we are every...

Hodges Bay Resort & Spa is a Hotel not affiliated with any big brand. There must have been a recent renovation but you can see it's poorly done. The rooms are spacious and so are the bathrooms and terraces. The furniture is dirty or broken ( couch leg missing room 1201) The beige upholstered benches look nasty as too many people have put their oily bodies covered in sunscreen, luggages, shoes or other things on it and cleaning upholstered furniture is not part of housekeeping's room switch. The paint on the walls has cracks and the rooms smell of humidity to an extend that I would suggest checking for mold in the AC ducts. The Air vent in the bathroom was covered with dust and hair. Nobody has cleaned that in months. The sheets are clean and the bed is comfortable. The room is full of mosquitos. So is the rest of the Hotel. It might be the plants growing on the walls that attract and harbour them Not sure, but not have had that mosquito elsewhere. The terraces are furnished sparingly with one chair and one little side table. Getting comfortable is hard. The restaurant is facing the ocean and looks very nice. It's next to the beach and tables and decoration look nice. Some of the table start rusting on the base and are a bit wobbly. Probably not the best choice to have next to salt water. The food is based on the italian cuisine but please don't expect it to taste like you are in Italy. You are not! You are in the Caribbean and locals are preparing your food. I wish there were some local dishes on the menu with locally sourced products. The service staff is mostly friendly but poorly trained. every department I came in contact with had close to no service industry training. They were nice and happy, because that's what most people are on the island by nature. But I truly believe that the staff is not well paid nor well trained. Whoever owns the Hotel is not present and you can feel it in the lack of...