Royalton Antigua, An Autograph Collection - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

4418 reviews

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  A Promising Resort Undone by Poor Management

  We booked Royalton Antigua through British Airways Holidays for our 2nd trip abroad with our 10-week-old daughter. Having both travelled extensively across the Caribbean—and visited Antigua previously—we chose this resort because we trusted the Autograph Collection brand. Unfortunately, the reality fell well short of expectations. What the Resort Gets Right To be fair, there are positives. The bracelet room keys were a clever and convenient touch, sparing us the hassle of misplacing key cards—though guests should note the steep US$150 replacement fee. Most frontline service staff were warm and friendly, even if it was often difficult to get anyone’s attention. We also genuinely enjoyed the coffee shop: bright, airy, and overlooking the lagoon, with great staff and a good selection of coffees, pastries, paninis, and gelato. The three à la carte restaurants were decent, and once the booking system settled after the first couple of days, it was possible to reserve tables with some advance planning. The Caribbean restaurant became our favourite, though on our second visit we were unexpectedly told there was “no room” for our stroller—forcing us to place our 10-week-old on a pillow beside us. Not exactly what we’d expect from a family-friendly resort. Where the Resort Fails—Consistently The buffet was a major disappointment: limited variety, mediocre quality, and poorly cooked dishes. We’re realistic about Caribbean resort buffets, but this was by far the weakest we’ve experienced. Basic supplies ran out repeatedly, even during our first few days—water, orange juice, butter, yoghurt, straws, even certain main dishes. Rather than showing urgency or accountability, the hotel’s attitude towards these shortages was indifferent at best. Other practical issues compounded the frustration. The onsite ATM was broken; a cash advance was available, but with an inexplicable 10% fee. One of the two lifts in our accommodation block was out of service all week, leaving a single, small lift to serve nine floors. With a pushchair, using the stairs wasn’t an option. We even learned to ride the lift upward first just to have space to come down. Our polite request for a ground-floor room was simply ignored. A Widespread Problem, Not an Isolated Experience Throughout our stay, we met an entire community of guests dealing with the very same issues—some even more severe. Many told us they felt ignored, dismissed, or outright insulted by senior management when they tried to raise concerns. Hearing these stories made it painfully clear that our experience was not an unfortunate one-off, but part of a broader pattern of neglect and poor leadership at the resort. Customer Service—Where Things Went From Disappointing to Unacceptable By day two, we contacted British Airways Holidays to see if we could relocate. By day three, we involved Guest Services directly. This is when our experience deteriorated sharply. The interactions with the Guest Experience Manager, Niecer Suffren, were particularly troubling. Rather than helping to resolve issues, the tone was dismissive, defensive, and at times openly rude. Conversations were contradicted or later denied entirely, creating an atmosphere that felt more adversarial than service-oriented. It was surreal, unprofessional, and far below the standard guests should be able to expect from an Autograph Collection property. Despite our repeated attempts to find a solution, neither BA Holidays nor the hotel seemed able—or willing—to intervene meaningfully. Instead, we were offered 20,000 Marriott Bonvoy points in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement. We declined. Final Thoughts The frontline staff do their best, but the resort is plainly mismanaged. The guest services department—particularly under the leadership of the Guest Experience Manager—requires urgent and comprehensive customer service training. Meeting so many guests experiencing the same issues only reinforced that these failures are systemic, not isolated. There is potential at Royalton Antigua. But until the leadership addresses the deep-rooted operational and service shortcomings, guests—especially families—should approach with caution.

  Dec 12, 2025
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  Staying fit at the Royalton

  Beautiful beach and pool areas. Loved the layout of the resort with outdoor dining options available most of the time. This resort had a healthy fitness program. The main instructor, Jameel, was friendly and enthusiastic. Even when I was the only one in the yoga class, he didn't cancel it and led it as if it were full. Aquafit was fun too. Great job Jameel!

  Dec 12, 2025
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  They need help

  Location was awesome,the atmosphere was so…so…rooms were ok but service was spotty….the bar service was probably the worst I’ve ever seen for paying for Diamond club ..never a fully stocked bar ,always waiting for service,staff always on there phones or in the back chatting.The lunch at poolside Diamond side was a gong show,at first they had a guy taking the order and by the time it took him to turnaround he ordered the wrong items! Finally half way through the week they had one lady doing everything and it went much smoother.As for the restaurants …Hunters was an absolute disgrace,they never had the brisket on 3 of the nights we went there and everyone’s meat was like shoe leather! I personally think there needs to be a shakeup of management not doing there jobs and I would also check to see the person buying your meats are getting what you paid for or they are buying the cheapest meat!You have a beautiful island and I believe this resort could be a 5 star with proper management!There is one person that stood out to me and she was training to be a butler,her name was Beverly she also worked at Hunters….. I would suggest you think again about Beverly she is much more suited to be a manager as she was a work horse and tried fixing everything.She has the personality to bring people together and get things done!

  Dec 11, 2025
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  NOT 5 star..

  arrived on november 11th departed nov 25th.we've stayed at 3,4,and 5 star hotels in the caribbean over the last 20 yrs,unfortunately this "5 star" hotel is punching above its weight and has no place calling itself or charging 5 star prices,3 star maybe... why do I rate it at this? well, the finishing in the rooms we had was more akin to premier inn...fittings hanging from the cieling,shoddy paintwork,overpaint everywhere,curtains that dont close fully,air con thats on full or not at all,basins that dont hold water(reported these but the guy couldnt fix them even though he thought he had)... You'd think the beach bar that also served the pool would be fully stocked BEFORE it opened at 10am? oh,no,unfortunately NOT.Every day you only had a slight selection of drinks available,then when the stock actually arrived it still wasn't what they needed and the area infront of the bar leading to the beach was rough and in need of desperate repair so mind your toes on those rocks... The beach was nice,smaller than the pictures would have you believe...this is the only hotel we've stayed at that ADVOCATES saving your sunbed and you need to get up early if you want a pair of beds that have a functioning parasol...we got there at around 7am every morning and the front row had gone!! and it gets very crowded like benidorm,not what you expect..beach towels are free to take as many as you like with no towel card you can change them several times a day and have more than one per person.They replenish them better than the bar restocks... the life guard is on the beach in his/her tower from 9am till 5pm,well,supposed to be...some days turning up as late as 12 midday...so be sure to only get into trouble when they eventually turn up.. Now,on the beach there is a stray dog.She is beautiful and very playful,but not having been taught social etiquette gets a bit excited and bouncy...not a problem if you know dogs as a short stern NO!! will calm her down...there are parents who seem to think she is going to harm their kids and resort to trying to beat her down...this just revs her up and she gets even more excited...she likes the bacon from breakfast and water poored into your cupped hand...she hates the jet ski and other vendors on the beach and barks at them,we think they've been horrible to her in the past and they often try and chase her off the beach.If you ignore her she'll ignore you...At the far end of the beach there's a local lobster restaurant which was usually busy and played better music,which you could hear from the sun loungers at the hotel, than the hotel pool trash....oh,on music,if you want to hear your own music please stick to earbuds,not evryone wants to hear the crap you may call music!! at the far end of the beach is a hill with ruins of a fort which you can walk to. There is a part of the walk that requires a little stamina to get up,wear some propper trainers...the views are great from up there though. There are 2 other dogs who stay around the grounds by the main buffet building. Vendors on the beach...a big shout out to Frenchie,sorted us a good trip...he's not pushy,will chat every day but when you're ready to book just call him over..jet ski's,haggle with the price and make sure they leave the superchargers on... Food...limited restaurants serving mostly the same food as the main buffet but put together for you and called something else..the steak house was a joke,poor organisation with the booking system and I thought it served was poor quality badly cooked food which seemed to be what other people thought too,not good when a "steak house" can't even cook a burger without cremating it or know what medium rare is for a steak..Food in the main canteen was the same virtually every day only changing when something was missing.. Communication between the restaurants is poor..for example the sports bar would have burger buns but no burgers when the main canteen would have burgers but no buns and they're virtually next door to each other..!! the sports bar had pictures around with "insperational" quotes...including one from Lance Armastrong,yes ARMASTRONG,they couldnt even spell his name correctly or realise he was disgraced for steroid use...Very "insperational".. The staff are the usual for a 3 star...some want to be there and are excellent,but some just hate the place and are just watching the clock..but on the whole they're up for a laugh if you want to have a joke with them.. Rooms,nothing special.The web site makes them look great,but in reality they're run of the mill.Maid service was up and down like any other 3 star hotel.. Noise in your room...the walls are paper thin,i'll say no more ....apart from why do people insist on slamming their room doors as hard as they can and shouting at each other when conversing,is there a competition for the noisiest most irratating person? If you take paracetomol and ibuprofen then take extra with you...we ran out and had to buy some there...here in the UK they're less than 50 pence a pack,we paid an eye watering $21 and $9 for the same dosage in the resort shop... Main reception and consierge staff were excellent,always happy to help. To sum up...if you're expecting a 5 star experience then you're going to be disappointed unless you can travel back in time by 10 yrs to its opening as it's tired and needs a quality check and refurb..if you want 3 star at 5 star prices then you'll be happy...

  Dec 11, 2025
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  Post travel experience not so great

  The location is stunning, right on the beachfront, and our Diamond Club room was very spacious. The hotel was fairly quiet for the time of year, and overall we really enjoyed our stay. However, I’ve reduced my rating to 3 stars because of my post-travel experience. I misplaced my AirPods — completely my own fault — and I messaged my butler immediately. Butler Rodwin kindly confirmed the AirPods had been found and placed in lost property and was very helpful throughout, he advised me to email posttravelRAN-ANU@royaltonresorts.com. I’ve now emailed three times, offering on multiple occasions to cover the cost of postage back to the UK, but I have yet to receive a single reply. As no one has responded, I’m turning to TripAdvisor in hopes of finally resolving this issue, as the team seems to reply here.

  Dec 10, 2025