Sugar Ridge Resort Antigua

We stayed a week. Straight away there was a problem with our room. Nice room but very close to the Sugar Club (good) and gym (bad). The gym has a very noisy air conditioning unit which mercifully only ran for about 10 minutes every hour because it was really noisy - surely it could be silenced or changed? We requested to move rooms and were offered an upgraded room at the top of the resort which we judged too far away from the amenities - we would have needed the internal transport both ways - so we were stuck. The hotel seemed empty but they said full with long lets - the crew from a reality TV show being shot locally. They had the best rooms despite being out at work and their presence restricted the room churn and hence the opportunities to move. The pools are small - no chance for swimming but the gym (open to non guest members) was well appointed but very under used. The staff were nice, friendly and reasonably efficient.

My husband and I have been to Antigua twice before on cruises and spent two days from our cruise ship around the island. It has been on our travel list for a couple of years. What perfect timing for Aveda to offer this deal using points! We extended the trip to total 9 days and I am SO glad that we stayed here the entire time rather than moving to another place. Sugar Ridge gets a 5 from me because of the excellent & friendly staff. Just to name a few that we routinely interacted with and LOVED include Marisa at the front desk, Cindy Ann at Sugar Club and the entertainment director, Carlene at the main pool bar, Joanna at the Aveda spa, and others who took care of us like Coffe, Gordon & Ariel. Everyone was great and I left many names off so I apologize! This is a super relaxing resort with 3 pools. The plunge pool at top of hill at Carmichael’s is amazing. The shuttles to the beaches are convenient. The grounds are lovely and filled with lovely flowers and other tropical vegetation. We stayed in villa #14 (ground floor units have even numbers and plunge pools, upper floor units have odd numbers and a nice balcony, but no pool). I loved the sweet little plunge pool, however during our stay the pool light was NOT working and the pool pump was very weak (yes, I reported that). Our roomy balcony had a great sunset view, but rocking table needs leveled. Our room had a very comfortable bed. The light bulb in a lamp by our bed was flashing for half of our stay but finally got fixed. The bathroom amenities and shower were great. Beware if you have any mobility issues or are out of shape since there are LOTs of stone steps to and from the rooms. Overall, I would stay here again and recommend the resort.

The hotel is in a lovely location with hills behind and great views of the coast, but it is a 5-10 minute car ride to the 2 main beaches. The hotel is very obliging with providing shuttles and lifts wherever needed and has connections with the beach bars that enables people with all-inclusive, or other deals, to get drinks and food at no extra cost. They also have staff on duty to help the hotel clients whilst on the beach. Staff all very pleasant and there are lots of them, especially since the bars, restaurant, pool were all very quiet. Some seem to spend their day doing very little, although those in reception, the drivers, room staff & gardeners all keep quite busy. They have many roles and systems for everything that can be perplexing, and are often messed about with so they don’t really work as intended. Also, the lack of activity means that some get into chatting or their own thing so can be less than attentive when needed, in contrast to the busy staff who were delightful. Everything is pretty well set up - clean, nice surroundings, plenty of space, big gymnasium, spa, a shop. Car shuttles run to the rooms which are spread through the estate, some high up the hill. The main bar is usually empty and the main restaurant only busy at breakfast and mid evening. There is a second, up-market restaurant at the top of the hill called ‘Carmichael’s’ along with an infinity pool and fabulous views over Jolly Harbour. Our room was spacious, clean and very well set up with a very comfortable bed with a full mosquito net. This was comforting, but not essential as they spray the area with vaporised diesel to rid the estate of mosquitos and flies 3 times a week: something done across much of the island with very mixed outcomes (see below). We had a big balcony with lovely views over sea, hill and harbour. The menu in the main restaurant is rather restricted and unchanging: ‘catch-of-the-day’ was mahi-mahi for the 4 nights we were there. There are lots of shrimp and steaks on offer, good vegetable soup, and another vegetarian option. The quantity is ample, but the quality indifferent to quite good. Strangely for the Caribbean, fruits and salads seem to be in short supply so there’s lots of lettuce, which comprises 90 percent of their ‘signature’ salad. The wine list is small, but the wines quite drinkable - mostly chilean. Breakfasts are of indifferent quality, with a very limited free choice of bread, buns and cereal in the buffet, and an identical offering every day: again, this seems lazy. Only golden shred marmalade is openly on offer, but they do have honey if you ask for it. The fruit bowl ($9) contained only melon (not very ripe) and pineapple: tinned fruit would be tastier! Cooked breakfasts are prepared to order and not exciting: I had an omelette and some ‘pumpkin pancakes’ which were horrible - they seemed uncooked, being gooey inside. Prices are in US dollars and, to my mind, very high for what’s on offer. I was glad we were on an all-inclusive deal while the service is unpredictable, and not greatly helped by the multiplicity of staff. Carmichael’s restaurant is in a glorious position and a different proposition, with a more interesting menu and first-rate service. It is expensive, but prepared to a high standard and with great flavours on offer. The view from the infinity pool is amazing. In the main concourse is a small normal warm-water pool and a much larger long thin pool of extremely cold water which no-one swims in, although it seems only good for lengths. The pool and bar area was usually empty, and the 6 people was the most we saw: everyone is down at the beach or exploring elsewhere. The grounds are extensive and, where cared for by the team of gardeners, closely manicured. There is lots of bourgainvillia, hibiscus and other tropical flowers. The variety of wildlife is restricted by the spraying for mosquitoes (3 times a week) which kills almost all insects and affects heaven-only knows what else. There are also roaming cats and the mongooses, imported from India to eliminate snakes, but between them, these two predators must clean up any small mammal or invertebrate that might feed a more diverse biology.