My husband and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary and our 50th birthday, in 2003 so decided for this eventful year we would take a wonderful vacation. After going through the travel books and researching on the internet we chose Galley Bay Resort in Antigua the week of April 27 to May 3, 2003.
Antigua:
Antigua, the island of 365 beaches, one for each day of the year, that’s what we were told, and something I’ll never forget. The island is very beautiful, not very lush though because it has very, very dry weather, not much rain. During our stay we had a light evening rain, which lasted about 5 minutes, and that was it. If you love, sun, sun & more sun, this is the island for you.
About Galley Bay Resort:
Galley Bay is an absolutely beautiful resort. We prefer the smaller more intimate resorts, where you get to know the people working at the resort and the vacationers. The grounds are beautifully kept, with meandering, lighted pathways. Great for after dinner walks. Galley Bay roughly has about 70 cottages. There are the Gaugin Cottages, Deluxe – Beach Front and the Superior – Beach Front. The Gaugin cottages are very cute with one cottage being your bedroom/sitting area a small breezeway in between and another small cottage for your bathroom/change room area. These are on the lagoon side. Yes, the resort has a beach on one side and a bird sanctuary/lagoon on the other side. The Gaugin cottages are great if you want a little more privacy, away from the waves crashing on the beach, people walking by and the fellas handling the kayaks, snorkelling equipment etc…The people staying in those cottages seemed quite happy with them. My husband and I stayed in the Deluxe Beachfront which was exactly what we wanted. About 10 giant steps and you fall into the sea. At times though it can be very, very noisy, the waves crashing on shore, kept me up the first night, after that I got used to it. Don’t know much about the superior beach front rooms, but, can tell you they are very beautiful, I’m sure you can go on Galley Bay website and view them for yourself.
Restaurants:
Galley Bay has 2 restaurants, the Sea Grape Restaurant and the Gaugin Restaurant. The Sea Grape is where we had the majority of our meals. You have to make reservations for the Gaugin Restaurant as there is I think just 8 tables. Each table is set up under its own little tiki hut. Kevin & I dined here twice and chose table #5 as it is the furthest away and closest to the water. It is very romantic. The weddings are all held here. We made a point to come and see 2 couples wed and it was very beautifully done. The meals were very good, we especially enjoyed the chicken. Afternoon tea is also served, a favorite of mine. On Thursday they held the barbeque buffet, with of course your assortment of salads, vegetables, meat and pasta dishes, as well as a dessert table.
Entertainment:
Nightly entertainment was held, that started about 8:00 – 9:00 and played while we had our dinner. They stayed usually till about 11:00. After a big dinner we made sure we got up and stretched our legs, got our exercise dancing. Not very many got up to dance, but, we made sure we did, how could you not with that calypso beat.
To Do:
There are a lot of things to do, if you chose to. For example: snorkelling, windsurfing, sailing, Wadadli Cat (tour around the island), surf jets, shopping in St. Johns, 4 x 4 tour of the island, swimming with the dolphins, swimming with stingrays, tennis on the resort, spa and library at the resort, a track if you want to walk or run, a gym, and I’m sure lots more I’m not even aware of.. My husband and I did the 4 x 4 tour of the highest points of the island. The views were breathtaking and well worth it. Stopped for fresh pineapple & coconut as well as lunch (prepared by a local) and a swim. Do have to warn you though, the ride can be rough at times. As well we did the swim with the stingrays. I was a little nervous at first, but, the owner Andrew Moody-Stuart was very professional and explained things very carefully so that we both felt comfortable entering the water with the stingrays. This was really neat, loved the stingrays, found them very affectionate. You can take your own pictures if you want, but, they do have a professional photographer out with you as well that takes photos and they are great, but, can run you quite a bit of money. I will say this was a wonderful experience and glad we did it.
Resume: I could go on and on about everything we did and saw, but, will have to let you all experience this beautiful island for yourselves.
Highly recommend Galley Bay Resort. The grounds are beautifully kept, the most amazing turquoise blue sea, lots of things to do, wonderful entertainment, the food is good and the staff are very personable and friendly and yes I would most definitely return to this resort