Trip Date: June 26 – July 3, 2022

In Antigua, there are not a lot of all inclusive resorts that work with Canadian airlines to provide a complete package. There is only the Royalton (family oriented) and Sandals (adults only). However, you can book your flight and luxury hotel separately and the hotel will offer meal plans, which include an all inclusive option. 

Our group of 11 stayed at Carlisle Bay, one of my partners that are more family oriented. 

Carlisle Bay is ranked as one of the top 5 resorts in Antigua. It is a very nice, boutique resort where you’ll find a beautiful calm beach, protected by the bay. Due to its location, it is easy to find turtles while snorkeling in this area. 

The hotel’s main demographic are British clients. During the time that we went, it was only 60% full, with the majority being adults. This is the perfect place for those who want to relax and unwind. There are plenty of lounge chairs, so you do not need to wake up early and “reserve” your seat. The staff are all extremely helpful and friendly as well, and can provide a cooler of water by your chair. 

Overall, the property is lovely.  It’s an all suite property, with all the suites being 770+ sq ft (except for Carlisle Suites).  The rooms are a bit dated, but the property will undergo a massive renovation this year. 

Room Categories

  • Garden Suites – There are 6 garden suites and although they do not have an ocean view, they’re literally behind the Beach Balcony Suites so they are a 1 minute walk away from the beach. Because of the lack of an ocean view, they are 30% cheaper. 
  • Ocean Suites – This is most suitable for couples because it has a one king bed or 2 twin options. These are also great for larger families because they have 10 sets of connecting options. These connecting suites are only found on the ground and 1st floor. The top floor does not connect. The 2 twin beds can be converted into king.
  • Beach Balcony Suites – We stayed in this category. It is on the second floor right on the beach. The children’s room is separated from the main bedroom by a hallway and washroom. Video of this room can be found here.
  • Beach Terrace Suites – My parents stayed in this one. It has the same layout as the Beach Balcony Suites but it is on the ground floor so you have direct access to the beach right from your patio. 

Food

Carlisle Bay offers different meal plans to cater to their guests: 

  • Bed and Breakfast
  • Half board – breakfast and dinner
  • All inclusive 

For families, having the all inclusive plan makes it much easier. You can easily order drinks and ice cream whenever you feel like it.

Food on the island is expensive since everything is imported. Having the all inclusive meal plan made the most sense for my family. You would still need to sign for all of the meals, so we saw what the pricing would be without the meal plan. It was easily over USD 2,000 per day for 11 guests (6 adults and 5 children). 

The quality of the food is definitely better than the usual all inclusive resorts (ie. Royalton). We found the salad and greens to be extremely fresh; even more fresh than found in North America! However, if you’re hoping to eat exotic fruits here, you will be disappointed. Although exotic fruits such as black pineapple, passion fruit and mangos grow in abundance in Antigua, the lack a consistent supply and professional businesses make it impossible to source locally for the hotel industry. Therefore, the hotels have to import the common North American fruits (ie. apples, bananas) to manage their supply chain. As their partner, I was blessed to get a bit of preferential treatment to sample their local fruits. (picture of fruit basket). Otherwise, there is a fruit stand near the hotel where you can purchase their local fruits that is well known by locals. 

On a daily basis, you will be served a complimentary afternoon tea which generally consists of different sandwiches, scones, and desserts. This was always a nice treat. 

Activities

Carlisle Bay used to be a tennis academy before being purchased and converted into a resort. Therefore, there are plenty of courts to play on. They supply tennis rackets, balls, and chilled water bottles as well. Unfortunately, the courts have deteriorated and the tennis equipment is in need of a refresh. Fortunately, this will all be addressed as part of their 2022 renovation plan. 

Other than tennis, there is one family pool for the kids. There are non motorized water sports such as the hobbie cat, kayaks and water bikes, which are a lot of fun. You can easily snorkel just off the beach a few meters out. The water gets quite deep fairly quickly though. 

There is a kids club that will schedule fun activities for the children such as mixology class, turtle watch adventure, and steel drum lessons. Due to covid measures, they’ve limited the program but in 2023, they plan on resuming more fun activities. 

Warning: 

You don’t get mosquito bites here. You’ll get sand fly bites. 

About Author

Bonnie Ta has been a Travel Advisor since 2015 and chose to move into the travel industry instead of returning to corporate life because travel has always been her passion. An avid traveller herself, having travelled to 5 continents and 30 countries, Bonnie devotes the same amount of care and attention to helping her clients as she would, if she were planning her own trip.

She is very detailed oriented (PMP certified professionally) and takes the time to understand her clients “travel wish list” and takes that into consideration along with their travel style, interests, age group of travellers and of course, budget to curate memorable travel plans. Bonnie has developed deep relationships with world-class travel partners and that helps ensure her clients have the best travel experience each time.

She has experience planning intimate getaways to big group excursions and have taken her clients all around the world seeing the northern lights in Iceland, tulip fields in Amsterdam, countryside of Tuscany, beaches of Maldives to the safaris in Africa, just to name a few. In her own words, “My husband and I want to see the world with our kids and it makes me happy when I can help other families do the same because the memories we have from travelling together will bring us a lifetime of happiness.”

You might also enjoy:

Leave A Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *