Elba Palace Golf Boutique Hotel — Hotel in Antigua

A hotel worthy of the 4.5 stars on TripAdvisor. When I read negative reviews when the majority of guests love it it is usually down to one of 3 reasons. (1) they have had an isolated negative experience and this may have clouded their judgement about the stay as a whole, (2) their expectations exceed what they paid for the hotel or (3) they are just negative in general and nothing will ever be good enough. We had a wonderful time and all the positive comments posted here are spot on. We were not their for the golf so golfers who stayed there may have a completely different take on the hotel.||I thought I would look at some of the recent negative comments that have been posted and comment on whether - IMHO - they are justified. Here goes -||- Poorly educated and unprofessional waitresses. Couldn't be further from the truth. All the staff worked hard and very attentive to the guests needs from the moment we checked in. For example, I asked about the gym and was told it opens at 9 but if I wanted to come down earlier they would gladly open it up.||- Supposed to be an adult only hotel but they allowed children and babies. The hotel does weddings (and it is a perfect venue for it) so, I assume, that on one particular day there were children in the hotel. Not sure if they were staying at the hotel or whether they were there just for the wedding. I get this gripe if you are there for peace and quiet. If you definitely don't want to see any trace of children! then I recommend you check with the hotel before you book to see if any weddings are booked during your planned stay.||- Hotel does not live up to 5 star - always the same things and little elaboration. I don't fully agree. The breakfast is mostly the same but there is a wide range on offer from hot food, cold meats, cereal, range of breads and a freshly squeezed orange juice from the machine. The range was wide enough to mix it up each day. The evening meal if you are staying half board is a mix of buffet (starter and dessert) and the main from the menu. The starter buffet had a wide range on offer and themed on several nights; for example, seafood platters. The main is chosen from the al la carte menu and there are usually a couple of dishes of the day so more than enough choice to have something different each night. I did see a comment about the food being too rich and I agree there are some rich dishes and it would have been nice if these were offset with more fresh vegetables. We missed the veg! We found the variety of desserts a bit disappointing but there is always ice cream.||- Very tired hotel - I think this is from a review that met the first of my comments about having an isolated negative experience that may have affected their overall judgement. Let's clarify something here. This hotel has been designed in a colonial style around a courtyard and is very traditional in look and feel. I think some guests have interpreted this as old and dated. If you love ultra modern then this is definitely not for you. The hotel is well maintained and very clean. ||- Not allowed in the pool until 10.00am. We didn't use the pool until afternoon so not sure if this is correct.||- A few comments about the staff - I am not sure where these came from as we found all the staff hard working and friendly. Yes, there will always be the odd one who might be a bit brusque but overall we felt looked after.||- Shuttle bus has limited operating times - On the plus side there is a shuttle bus. The walk to the sea front is 30 minutes, mostly around the edge of the golf course so quite pleasant. I do agree the times are a bit limited - doesn't start until 10.50, there is a long gap over lunch and the last bus back is at 6pm. On several days the bus was not available due to "unforeseen...

We stayed here for a week in September (fairly last minute decision).||Neither of us are golfers (though we did take advantage of the facilities and had a basket or balls each on the driving range).||The hotel is beautiful - the reception area and the quadrangle courtyard where you can sit on the evening listening to the wind through the tall palm trees or enjoy the evening entertainment (3 times in the week we stayed).||The staff are tremendous. All happy, helpful and work very hard.||We stayed half board - the breakfast was buffet style in the ‘19th Hole’ with the evening meal on the St Andrews restaurant. Starters are buffet style and different each night - as are the desserts. The main course is à la carte. The food was excellent.||Drinks prices and ‘bar snacks’ in the 19th hole are reasonable - especially as you are pretty much a captive audience. There is a shuttle bus but the times are not really compatible with going off site for the evening - that said, taxi fares are reasonable (€5 each way).||The hotel is a couple of miles from the beach or the main town. We walked a couple of times and used the shuttle bus but we mostly stayed on site.||The pool is fabulous and the regular lifeguard is always keeping it clean and tidy. We also had the benefit of a duck having made a nest on the island in the middle of the pool - I hope the duckling and are now hatched and ok!||Plenty of sun beds and Balinese beds. The pool is lovely to cool off but not much of a swimmers pool. There is no pool bar as such but they will provide plastic glasses at the 19th hole if you ask.||We thoroughly enjoyed staying here for a relaxing stay. ||Personally Im not sure I’d go to Fuerteventura again but if I did - I would definitely stay here again - it is a lovely hot and the staff...

Still here, midway through a short break. Had been looking forward to visiting having previously been rerouted to the Sheraton during 'the bugs' last year.

It's a beautiful, grand, Canarian / moorish style building. Set back from the resort and encompassing the golf club. We live here in the Canaries so our ideal vacation is a quiet place with no kids and plenty of facilities. That's exactly what you get here. Apart from one morning when the place filled up with a bus load of tourists relocated due to flight cancellations, there are no more than a dozen couples here that we've seen. It will be busier in mid summer and golf tournament seasons. Blissful pool area, superb courtyard for coffee and a good little gym. Also booked an hour's pro training on the course and enjoyed it very much even as a newbie. Food is fine and plentiful on half-board.

The main thing I love about this place is how relaxed and welcoming the staff are. I've stayed in many really special hotels but usually the higher the price, the colder the feeling. Not here, everyone has been genuinely lovely during and before our stay when they helped me with questions by email. Sure, lots they could add or fix but that's not the point of these reviews in my opinion. We're not hotel owners, we are guests. And as such this place is absolutely as good or better than it promises to be. So yes, if you like a quiet vacation or happen to play golf, go ahead and book. Kinda wished we booked a suite but maybe next time. It's also pretty good value compared to similar ratings on the islands.

Gracias por tu hospitalidad. Me ayudaste a relajarme y te estoy eternamente...